Philosophy of Teaching

My role as a teacher is to motivate students to be more successful than they believed they can be. The teaching goal is that students are engaged and interested in the learning processes as well as in the content. As a special educator I feel that it is my responsibility to help students learn how to learn. From visual supports to graphic organizers, I feel obligated to find the tools that will help students reach their learning goals. Teaching students about the process of learning through critical thinking and problem solving helps students build the framework for learning that goes beyond the school day.

During my demonstration teaching experience I learned to conduct a lively class, where desks move to suit the lesson or learning activity. Students may be sitting, standing or moving. Each class has different needs and challenges so each class is run in a way to fit the energy level of the room. Some days we may raise hands when the room is bubbling over with energy, other days a ball might be tossed to grab a student’s attention when the class is sleepy.

Working with special populations can be trying, but I feel that attitude can make or break a classroom. When completing my practicum requirements I had students that couldn’t sit still for more than 5 minutes, we worked with the issue not against it, setting goals and working that ‘need to move’ into lessons. I enjoy using the library, outdoors and the whole room to keep students engaged. Vocabulary can be as simple as writing flashcards for a half hour at a desk, or taking students for a walk outside reading off words and definitions and having students create sentences.

Cutting-edge in technology and the newest research may be the focus for some new teachers. I want to know what current research says, but I need know how to use the tools that I have and if strategies that I have employed are working effectively. Research takes place in every classroom, it is a matter of how well you document your results that makes it meaningful. Knowing how students are doing and tracking successes and failures is a way to keep the classroom an environment where students are given the best opportunities.
I was very lucky to work in a school for my demonstration teaching that believed in including technology in every classroom. I have become technology heavy in the class, but if I only use it because it is new and cool I am not doing my student any favors. I use technology because it allows me to capture student achievement and my own successes and failures. Interactive white boards allow for pre-planning that is smoother than having to rush to write the agenda on the board between classes. In the past using student input systems have allowed for quick assessments to check for understanding. Completing the homework by coping answers from a book will rarely help a student grasp concepts, checking if they understand the information through an interactive quiz makes the assessment quick and fun.

As nice as it is to be entertaining it is also important to be demanding. Not every student will like me. I believe that there is something interesting in everything that I teach, whether it be the process, the uses or the history. By making sure that lessons reach a number of different types of learners there will be a range of success and failures in every class. Some students will not be comfortable with creative assessments and other students will not enjoy standardized style tests; that does not mean that one or the other should not be included. By including a range or assessment students are given the opportunity to find things that they are confident doing and things that challenge them.

Engaging students and teaching them not only content but about learning gives them the opportunity to see more about the world than what is right in front of them. In the classroom this is achieved through creating an environment that is accepting and creative yet structured so that students understand goals and expectations. Student personalities, identities and backgrounds all impact how teaching needs to take place. Understanding not only the content, but more importantly the student, allows for authentic learning that relates to their lives. Using brain based strategies that focus on information connections can help bridge the gap between learning content and demographic factors that may separate the student from the information. Although it is a struggle to build units of instruction that meet both the individuality of the students and curriculum standards, it is important to be thoughtful of these factors.

There are a number of strategies that can be used to meet my philosophical goals. The use of Universal Design for Learning is alive in my classroom, giving students a range of opportunities and methods to show their understanding of lesson objectives. This single methodology can only help students to a degree, which is why I believe that each lesson should be designed backwards (Understanding by Design) from curriculum standards with clear goals that students can achieve at a level that is beyond what they thought that they could achieve in the past. Creating an environment centered on goals is achieved through thoughtful planning and using research backed approaches to differentiate instruction so that all students succeed beyond their own expectations.