The best teacher is not necessarily the one who possesses the most knowledge, but the one
who most effectively enables his students to believe in their ability to learn.
~Anonymous
My Philosophy of Education
As I have gained more experience and knowledge about teaching, I have adopted several beliefs about teaching and learning that influence my role as a teacher. My beliefs are always changing and adapting as I continue to learn more about myself as a teacher and gain more experience within the classroom.
One of the most important goals as a teacher is to create life-long learners by teaching my students to take responsibility for their learning. They are in charge of their own learning. I am in charge of creating a classroom community and environment where it is safe for them to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from every experience. School is not just a place where students learn academic knowledge. It is a place where they learn how to be a good friend, a contributing member of society, and a team player. It is a place where they learn respect, responsibility, confidence, trust, and independence. School should be a home away from home. As a teacher, it is my job to model not just the academic skills that they need, but the social and emotional skills that are sometimes more important.
I view my classroom as a community: a community of learners, a community of friends, and a community of unique individuals. I want my students to understand that together we help each other to succeed in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. However, we also help each other be good friends and good citizens, as well as valuing each other’s individual strengths and differences. I set high expectations for my students because I want them to be able to challenge themselves as much as possible. I have found that if my expectations for students are set too low then the students will learn to only achieve at this level. If I give them the extra push and support to go one step further, then it gives them the confidence to continue to do the same on their own.
I believe that the most important part of learning is the process that a student goes through in gaining knowledge and understanding. Learning is a process, not a product. Although the product is important, the steps taken to achieve a final product demonstrate where the most learning occurs. I explain to students that although the end product of any task shows what they have learned, I also base my assessment of their progress on the work they have done to reach that final point.
Research has shown that each student learns in a different way. I provide many opportunities for students to learn the same material by teaching it in different ways. I use cooperative learning so students can work together to further their knowledge and understanding. I use hands-on activities, such as manipulatives, so students can learn by doing. I use movement and music in the classroom to reinforce concepts and as a tool to remember important facts. I use pictures, graphs, and charts to visually represent an idea. I want my students to learn in whatever way works best for them, however, I also want to expose them to all the different ways to learn something. This way can have multiple ways to attack a problem they might encounter in the future.
Motivation.
Responsibility.
Success.
Metacognition.
Engaging lessons.
Gradual release of responsibility model.
Authentic assessment.
Novice teacher with fresh ideas.
Problem-solving.
Expectations defined for the students.
Differentiated instruction = meeting the needs of EVERY student
Each of the curriculum areas are integrated with each other.
Monitor progress.
Open-ended questioning to develop higher level thinking skills.
Never say "I can't" instead say "I need help or I don't understand."
Teamwork within the class, as a small group or with a partner.
Involved in the classroom, the school, and the community.
