Philosophy of Teaching

Educational Teaching Philosophy

I have had many teachers that I would consider incredible, and I have also had several teachers that did not really teach. As a child, you would think that getting the easy “100” would be the class you would want, but as I got older, I realized it was more the content that I wanted to learn. I didn’t want to just sit through a class and sleep to get the easy A. I would much rather have a teacher that challenged me to grow and have success or failure. There are a few teachers that have been that for me, that have helped me become the teacher that I am today.

I have several teachers that I would consider the best. One of them was my first grade teacher. I remember she spoke to me one on one. She created things in her classroom that were fun and exciting. She found different ways to help me with reading and math. She was creative and inventive in her classroom.

Another teacher, that I would consider a master teacher, was my high school journalism teacher. Her name was Alison Conger. She is someone that I still keep in contact with today. She was very personable with me. She let me babysit her kids. I was going through some hard things in my personal life, and she was a constant encourager. She also gave me a lot of freedom, as she had selected me as the editor of the year book. She allowed me to do so many different things to create and invent, and she was just a facilitator.

My worst teacher was a history teacher when I was in high school. I was always an excellent student. I made mostly A’s and very rarely a B in a class. This particular teacher lost one of my assignments that I certainly turned in, and it dropped my grade to a C in the course. He was a very poor teacher, gave us lectures everyday and did not ever do anything to challenge you to think about what you were learning. I disliked that class greatly, and dislike him for his disorganized, boring teacher style.

I think the best teachers have challenged me to be like them. I am very personable with my students and parents, yet professional. I like for the students to get up out of their seats and participate in activities, rather than sit and listen to me lecture. I like for students to be actively engaged, rather than doing repetitious activities constantly. I think that each of these teachers have definitely affected my style of teaching, my personality, and my confidence.

There are many different theorists that I have discovered over the years that has challenged me to teach the way that I do. I think that the constructivist theory is a huge part of the way that I think. Within this learning theory, it is very meaningful instruction with experiences that encourage students to reflect on what they have seen. I think of when I am teaching students to read, I use many different media and materials to teach, so that they will be able to process the information and use it to reflect and add to what they want to know.

I also like the theory of idealism because the students are valued in their cognitive growth and moral growth. The idea is that you find material to aide the student in learning. It is a more holistic approach to teaching. Students need to have self actualization. This type of learning also incorporates a higher level of thinking for the students.

I also think about Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. I think it is important to include all different types of strategies because there will be all different types of learners in your classroom.

I am in my career because I feel like it is a calling from God. I know my strengths and weaknesses and pairing this up with student’s learning is a perfect match. I think that I have a good personality to deal with little children. I still feel like a child myself. I am constantly doing silly voices, singing songs, and using very animated things to teach my students. Obviously, technology is the direction that the world is headed. Using computers, promethean boards, websites, etc. are incredible ways to connect students with the way the world is headed. I think it is incredible to see a five year old sitting at a computer, and accessing so many different tools that older teachers are afraid to approach. My career is not in technology but I incorporate it constantly to add flavor to my teaching, and help the students gain what they need to function in America in the year 2010.

I think my teaching and studying has greatly morphed from when I was in high school. Just ten years ago, we used the internet, but it was not on the cell phone. It was not as easily accessed. We mainly used it to chat on AIM or to check our email. Now, we have access to creating so many websites, blogs, personal pages, etc. I use so much of this when I study and teach. The internet is full of so many different teaching ideas. You can look up a theorist in 10 seconds, rather than driving to a library to find the resources you need. It is more realistic to use the internet at home and find the information quickly. I teach and study using these resources because that’s the way the world is moving. If I kept using old books and encyclopedias, I would be behind the times.

A great teacher is someone that gives everything that they have to their students. When they are at school, they are pouring their being into the 22+ children they are around. A great teacher is a leader, full of energy, grows a one-on-one relationship with the students. A great teacher gets to know the interest of their students and uses that to benefit the child’s learning. A great teacher is a facilitator, that supplies students with a variety of choices to start their learning. A great teacher provides opportunities for the students to learn. A great teacher discovers the best way that a student learns and then plans accordingly. A great teacher discovers new ways to teach the TEKS in a creative way.

I want learners to gain a confidence in themselves, that they can be a part of their own learning. They can create and discover different ways to learn for themselves. They work independently and cooperatively. They need to gain the skills for the grade level they are in and much more. I teach the way that I learn. I also try to implement different things to help different types of learners. As a Kindergarten teacher, I use so many visual things in my classroom. I like to create games, activities, hands on experiments, reading activities, etc that help the students get excited about learning. I like to work with small groups, to gain a better understanding of what my students need. I use these things because I think it is best practice. I select assignments that will help the students gain what they need. I hope that they are able to creatively use their experiences to grow and learn new concepts. A teacher is a facilitator, trainer, encourager, and guide.

I use technology daily. I create lessons on my promethean board so that the students can go up to the board and sort, write, create, etc. The whole idea of the promethean board is that the students will interact with the lessons. They also use different programs daily on the computer to help re-teach concepts we have learned. I also let them explore different things on the computers. I also plan to create a webpage for my parents this year, and some things may be interactive with the students. I think that doing computers and learning this way is the way of an informator because I am not dumping information on students. I am allowing them to discover and learn.