Audra M. Mearns

Bachelor of Art, Interdisciplinary Studies (K – 8)

Philosophy of Teaching

I have had the amazing experience of working for a school for the past seven years. It is a small public charter school, grades 6^th through 12^th and requires everyone to wear many hats. Thankfully, I have been able to experience firsthand the roles of nurse, counselor, transportation supervisor, State reporting, teacher, tutor, and crossing guard. I have seen the transformation first hand – the light bulb moment of a student grasping their knowledge with two hands.

Everyone learns differently. There are students that learn through watching, through sensing, by doing and by thinking. My classroom will be set up to allow multiple learners to grow. By creating spaces for the solitary learner to work alone, creating times for students to work in groups to learn new things, providing hands on experiences and visually and auditory stimulating curriculum and environments. I feel that the project based learning will support this environment. Research has shown that culture, context and the social nature of learning has a role in shaping learners experiences. PBL gives students a real world context for learning, creating a strong “need to know”. (Boss, 2011)

By providing driving questions and allowing student voice and choice, the students will take an active role in their education. Their projects become more meaningful and they are proud to show off what they have learned. I want to incorporate the 4 C’s – collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking into my curriculum. I will conduct ongoing assessments and diagnostics so I can make my instruction more responsive to learner needs. I want to guide my students in making interest-based learning choices and providing multi-option assignments.

With PBL as my foundation, I hope to laugh with my students; to model kindness and respect. My classroom will have boundaries and consistency but will be flexible for when life happens. I want to be the adult that students feel comfortable with, that they feel respected by, that they feel understood. I want to work with students to create learning goals for the whole class and the individual student. I want to be a teacher that collaborates with other teachers, one that dances at the school dances, and greets parents with a smile and positive feedback for their student, even if there is constructive criticism to follow.

My classroom will be welcoming, spaces created to foster learning and community. Supplies organized and at the ready for when the creative mind takes hold. It will be able to change depending on the activity or assignment, but always made to be a zone that helps students have ownership of their space.

I hope to continue to work as a teacher in my current school. With the current enrollment at a 52% poverty rate, I feel that creating a safe learning environment is very important. Students are hardwired to test the boundaries and I want to make sure to maintain a space that has order and expectations. I want to focus on quality relationships with the students. I want to learn and understand the unique qualities of my students by taking personal interest into each one. I want to show the students what true empathy is: “seeing with the eyes of another, hearing with the ears of another, and feeling with heart of another” (Adler, 1956) I want to be a teacher that finds a way to build relationships with all my students, the motivated to the most difficult.

Boss, Suzie. (09/20/11). Project Based Learning: A Short History. Edutopia.com. Retrieved from:

http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-history

Vega, Vanessa. (12/03/12). Project Based Learning Review. Edutopia.com. Retrieved from:

http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-learning-outcomes

Adler. A, (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Alder: A systematic presentation in

selections from his writings. New York Harper and Row