Teaching & Learning Philosophy
Philosophy of Teaching 2/11/2019
Take me back about 8 years ago, I was a freshman at Harford Community College in my Education 101 class. I had substituted a few times here and there, I worked at Celebree Learning Centers, and I had been torturing my younger brother since he was three with playing school at home. "Your assignment for this week is to come up with your philosophy of teaching so we can add it to your teaching portfolio." The excitement began to set in, what are my beliefs on how to reach students best? As I look at my portfolio now and I reread my philosophy from March 2, 2011 it makes me happy to see that I have pretty much the same philosophy and I have stuck by it, even when colleagues completely disagree at faculty meetings about "new" strategies we should be trying or huff and puff about the push with the technology initiative.
My philosophy of teaching is that my first priority is to build a relationship with my students, have them trust me and show that I trust them. No I am not there to be "friends" with my students, but I am there to show them how much I love and care for them because if we look at the hierarchy of needs, if their basic needs are not met first then they cannot be pushed to their full potential. I have had a lot of students with behavioral needs, IEP goals for emotional disorders, and this relationship will make or break your success with these students. I can think of a student just this year that I have all day except for reading. I would say I have a great relationship with him, I hear him out and know what his needs are along with knowing what battles to pick and choose. Unfortunately my colleague doesn't have the same relationship beliefs as I do and has the mindset of her being the teacher and students should always respect the teacher no matter what, teachers are not here to be friends with their students. I love this colleague but she has definitely struggled all year long with different issues when it comes to this student, where I am at a great place and I can talk him through different choices he makes without him lashing out.
I learn best by kinesthetic learning and visual learning, so that is my next priority. I was the first teacher in my school to implement flexible seating and what was my principal's response when asking? "How are you going to react to other teachers talking about your room and how it's just a lounge area?" To say the least my jaw almost dropped because 1. I knew my colleagues would not say something like that and 2. I know my principal was giving me worst case scenario but this proved that the mindset of education has not evolved to the 21st century student. I know students need to be able to get up and move. They learn best when they are comfortable in their learning space, some like to bounce up and down and some would rather stand. Another part of kinesthetic learning is the power of discovery for oneself. With that being said I also believe that students need to search and discover learning rather than being talked at. Having class discussions, partner discussions or inquiry based learning is motivating and students get a deeper understanding of the skills.
Thinking back to my 5th grade year we sat and watched her teach, if we were lucky we worked in a group, and if we were luckier we might have gone to the computer lab four or five times that year. I did not want that for my students, I learn best by talking problems out and getting opinions from others. These discussions are even computer based sometimes in chats and on discussion boards. There is research to prove that students learn best from their peers rather than their teacher. So what does this look like in my class? Just this past week we started learning about fractions and common denominators. As a class they started off with a word problem that they worked in groups or partners to discuss and try to solve. We then went over it, not discussing what was right or wrong, we just got out different ideas. Then we watched a video together that taught students how to rename fractions in order to find common denominators. After that activity I had my class split into two groups, if you felt strongly that you knew how to find a common denominator go to the back and my other unsure students stay at your desk. Since I built a relationship with my students they are comfortable with honestly showing how they feel. Then I had one of the stronger skilled students pair with a student who needed more help. From past experience, where I just talked at the students and tried to teach them rather than them helping each other, this strategy shows more student growth.
When you walk into my fifth grade pod my door is always closed because some may walk by or come into my room and think that chaos is happening. That chaos is beautiful when it is the sounds of students collaborating with one another, learning from a peer, and using technology to showcase their application of knowledge. When you enter, you have to be careful not to trip over someone because yes I have students sitting on the ground, yoga mats rolled out and chairs in mixed matched places. No not all my students are discussing the same thing, some may not be discussing at all because they are using technology based discussions. I believe in changing my classroom environment and my teaching abilities to better suit the minds of tomorrow. This is the way 21st century teaching should look and sound.
Take me back about 8 years ago, I was a freshman at Harford Community College in my Education 101 class. I had substituted a few times here and there, I worked at Celebree Learning Centers, and I had been torturing my younger brother since he was three with playing school at home. "Your assignment for this week is to come up with your philosophy of teaching so we can add it to your teaching portfolio." The excitement began to set in, what are my beliefs on how to reach students best? As I look at my portfolio now and I reread my philosophy from March 2, 2011 it makes me happy to see that I have pretty much the same philosophy and I have stuck by it, even when colleagues completely disagree at faculty meetings about "new" strategies we should be trying or huff and puff about the push with the technology initiative.
My philosophy of teaching is that my first priority is to build a relationship with my students, have them trust me and show that I trust them. No I am not there to be "friends" with my students, but I am there to show them how much I love and care for them because if we look at the hierarchy of needs, if their basic needs are not met first then they cannot be pushed to their full potential. I have had a lot of students with behavioral needs, IEP goals for emotional disorders, and this relationship will make or break your success with these students. I can think of a student just this year that I have all day except for reading. I would say I have a great relationship with him, I hear him out and know what his needs are along with knowing what battles to pick and choose. Unfortunately my colleague doesn't have the same relationship beliefs as I do and has the mindset of her being the teacher and students should always respect the teacher no matter what, teachers are not here to be friends with their students. I love this colleague but she has definitely struggled all year long with different issues when it comes to this student, where I am at a great place and I can talk him through different choices he makes without him lashing out.
I learn best by kinesthetic learning and visual learning, so that is my next priority. I was the first teacher in my school to implement flexible seating and what was my principal's response when asking? "How are you going to react to other teachers talking about your room and how it's just a lounge area?" To say the least my jaw almost dropped because 1. I knew my colleagues would not say something like that and 2. I know my principal was giving me worst case scenario but this proved that the mindset of education has not evolved to the 21st century student. I know students need to be able to get up and move. They learn best when they are comfortable in their learning space, some like to bounce up and down and some would rather stand. Another part of kinesthetic learning is the power of discovery for oneself. With that being said I also believe that students need to search and discover learning rather than being talked at. Having class discussions, partner discussions or inquiry based learning is motivating and students get a deeper understanding of the skills.
Thinking back to my 5th grade year we sat and watched her teach, if we were lucky we worked in a group, and if we were luckier we might have gone to the computer lab four or five times that year. I did not want that for my students, I learn best by talking problems out and getting opinions from others. These discussions are even computer based sometimes in chats and on discussion boards. There is research to prove that students learn best from their peers rather than their teacher. So what does this look like in my class? Just this past week we started learning about fractions and common denominators. As a class they started off with a word problem that they worked in groups or partners to discuss and try to solve. We then went over it, not discussing what was right or wrong, we just got out different ideas. Then we watched a video together that taught students how to rename fractions in order to find common denominators. After that activity I had my class split into two groups, if you felt strongly that you knew how to find a common denominator go to the back and my other unsure students stay at your desk. Since I built a relationship with my students they are comfortable with honestly showing how they feel. Then I had one of the stronger skilled students pair with a student who needed more help. From past experience, where I just talked at the students and tried to teach them rather than them helping each other, this strategy shows more student growth.
When you walk into my fifth grade pod my door is always closed because some may walk by or come into my room and think that chaos is happening. That chaos is beautiful when it is the sounds of students collaborating with one another, learning from a peer, and using technology to showcase their application of knowledge. When you enter, you have to be careful not to trip over someone because yes I have students sitting on the ground, yoga mats rolled out and chairs in mixed matched places. No not all my students are discussing the same thing, some may not be discussing at all because they are using technology based discussions. I believe in changing my classroom environment and my teaching abilities to better suit the minds of tomorrow. This is the way 21st century teaching should look and sound.