Teaching Philosophy
Gandhi once said, “My life is my message.” Through my own
experiences as a student, I am passionate about exemplifying and teaching the
message: “You are not alone. I believe in you, and I will not give up on you.
You can do this.” I am dedicated to instilling an unbreakable sense of
self-confidence, curiosity, and perseverance in my students. I believe that
every student, regardless of race, economic status, or ability, should have the
right to an education. I believe that every child has the ability and the opportunity
to succeed in school and that we are all continuously learning from one
another. It is my great hope that my students will leave my classroom with not
only new information but new eyes. New eyes to rediscover the world they live
in and ask two questions: Why and how can I make it better? “True teachers are
those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to
cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging
them to create their own.” My bridge is built from several different teaching
components meant to facilitate students’ learning, inspire creativity,
and provide meaningful and authentic interactions that can be used beyond
the classroom.
1) Create a safe and respectful learning environment in which the opinions of all students are valued and positive behavioral choices are encouraged through an emphasis on student leaders and “Ubuntu”.
This is a crucial point in my teaching and classroom management as Ubuntu roughly translates to “I am what I am because of what we all are.” As students hear and repeat this word, they are reminded to hold themselves and others to the behavioral, social, and academic choices a courageous leader would demonstrate. “Ubuntu” is a way for students to make connections, take risks, and support each other and the teacher because we are all in this together. Furthermore, I recognize the importance of instilling in my students a strong sense of respect for differing opinions. Through classroom discussion, I intend to teach my students that every person has the right to share their thoughts and to engrain the message that regardless of differing opinions, everyone’s words hold value and help us see the world with new eyes.
2) Actively seek new methods of incorporating technology and crucial life skills to help shape successful leaders and learners for an evolving and high-achieving society.
The process of learning and growing never stops. Just as technology evolves, the notion of what it means to be considered “literate” is also changing. Students are expected to not only acquire the tools needed to comprehend a lesson but also how to find answers and resources for the future. It is my goal to prepare and strengthen students’ technological, social, and conceptual understanding of the world around them. Students practice authentic, problem-solving techniques that demand perseverance and utilization of different resources in order to help shape successful, high-achieving leaders for the future.
3) Shape lesson plans around a breadth of engagement strategies, divergent learning styles, and perceived strengths and struggles.
Active engagement of ALL students is a key priority for every lesson as I am continuously collecting and implementing new interactive techniques to engage every student in the classroom. Through my experiences as a student, I recognize the important of incorporating multiple methods of teaching in order to connect to several different learning styles. A single class can be filled with visual, aural, oral, and tactile learners, and I present content through multiple methods to give each child the support they deserve. In addition, my planning process includes a deep reflection upon the perceived strengths and struggles of my students and specific techniques, resources, and language I can utilize to help scaffold or extend their understanding of the content.
4) Support the use of individuals’ background experiences, culture, and foundational knowledge as an advantageous stepping stone in acquiring new concepts.
Students should never be told to abandon their own culture or deny personal experiences in order to blend. In my classroom, I stress the importance of using prior knowledge, cultural values, and past experiences to help enhance the class lesson. Furthermore, I encourage students to share their experiences, knowledge, and culture with one another so that we may all learn from one another.
5) Encourage students to reflect on key concepts in both local and global contexts with a strong emphasis on building perspective-taking skills.
In my opinion, student reflection should be the goal of teaching key concepts. Students should reflect upon the implications key concepts have on their learning in the classroom as well as how those concepts affect their community, nation, and globe. Students should recognize that understanding a lesson in a classroom is merely scratching the surface of their knowledge and experiences. Knowledge should be broadened and applied to multiple learning spheres.
6) Daily learning objectives should be clearly defined and discussed with students before carrying out the lesson.
I believe that preparation on behalf of both the teacher and students for any classroom lesson is crucial to the acquisition of new information; therefore, discussing the learning objectives for the lesson prior to teaching offers students a foundation for their learning. It also helps students refer back to the most important details of a lesson if they are confused on which details they should be focusing on or if they are straying from the key concepts in any way. Learning objectives serve as a valuable road map for learning for both students and teacher alike.
7) Scaffold students’ learning by offering detailed feedback with an emphasis on formative assessment and multiple testing methods.
I strongly believe personal feedback on assignments and formative assessments are crucial to the improvement of students’ proficiency levels. I also recognize that students will score higher on certain types of assessment over others; therefore, in order to increase reliability and validity of test results, I test the same concepts in several different ways. In this way, every student has a fair chance at demonstrating their knowledge.
8) Establish and maintain strong, positive, and open communication with school faculty, parents, and the community.
Just as I encourage my students to collaborate on assignments in order to see the same concept from multiple perspectives, I also value the collaboration of effective instructional methods, engagement strategies, and technology with fellow teachers and administrative staff. I also recognize the importance of a strong, positive relationship with parents and the community to enhance students’ experiences. “It takes a village to raise a child”, so why should learning be any different? Collaboration and reflection are crucial components to my development as a teacher.
These are the building blocks of my teaching; however, as I gain more experience I find myself constantly changing the methods I use and acquiring new ways of improving the delivery and development of lessons for my students. I believe that change is not only a necessary aspect of teaching, but a crucial one as well. As teachers, we should constantly be looking for more effective, meaningful, and engaging ways for our students to learn new material. We should also recognize the powerful influence of technology on students’ language and content acquisition and strive to incorporate technological aspects into our everyday lessons. For “who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
1) Create a safe and respectful learning environment in which the opinions of all students are valued and positive behavioral choices are encouraged through an emphasis on student leaders and “Ubuntu”.
This is a crucial point in my teaching and classroom management as Ubuntu roughly translates to “I am what I am because of what we all are.” As students hear and repeat this word, they are reminded to hold themselves and others to the behavioral, social, and academic choices a courageous leader would demonstrate. “Ubuntu” is a way for students to make connections, take risks, and support each other and the teacher because we are all in this together. Furthermore, I recognize the importance of instilling in my students a strong sense of respect for differing opinions. Through classroom discussion, I intend to teach my students that every person has the right to share their thoughts and to engrain the message that regardless of differing opinions, everyone’s words hold value and help us see the world with new eyes.
2) Actively seek new methods of incorporating technology and crucial life skills to help shape successful leaders and learners for an evolving and high-achieving society.
The process of learning and growing never stops. Just as technology evolves, the notion of what it means to be considered “literate” is also changing. Students are expected to not only acquire the tools needed to comprehend a lesson but also how to find answers and resources for the future. It is my goal to prepare and strengthen students’ technological, social, and conceptual understanding of the world around them. Students practice authentic, problem-solving techniques that demand perseverance and utilization of different resources in order to help shape successful, high-achieving leaders for the future.
3) Shape lesson plans around a breadth of engagement strategies, divergent learning styles, and perceived strengths and struggles.
Active engagement of ALL students is a key priority for every lesson as I am continuously collecting and implementing new interactive techniques to engage every student in the classroom. Through my experiences as a student, I recognize the important of incorporating multiple methods of teaching in order to connect to several different learning styles. A single class can be filled with visual, aural, oral, and tactile learners, and I present content through multiple methods to give each child the support they deserve. In addition, my planning process includes a deep reflection upon the perceived strengths and struggles of my students and specific techniques, resources, and language I can utilize to help scaffold or extend their understanding of the content.
4) Support the use of individuals’ background experiences, culture, and foundational knowledge as an advantageous stepping stone in acquiring new concepts.
Students should never be told to abandon their own culture or deny personal experiences in order to blend. In my classroom, I stress the importance of using prior knowledge, cultural values, and past experiences to help enhance the class lesson. Furthermore, I encourage students to share their experiences, knowledge, and culture with one another so that we may all learn from one another.
5) Encourage students to reflect on key concepts in both local and global contexts with a strong emphasis on building perspective-taking skills.
In my opinion, student reflection should be the goal of teaching key concepts. Students should reflect upon the implications key concepts have on their learning in the classroom as well as how those concepts affect their community, nation, and globe. Students should recognize that understanding a lesson in a classroom is merely scratching the surface of their knowledge and experiences. Knowledge should be broadened and applied to multiple learning spheres.
6) Daily learning objectives should be clearly defined and discussed with students before carrying out the lesson.
I believe that preparation on behalf of both the teacher and students for any classroom lesson is crucial to the acquisition of new information; therefore, discussing the learning objectives for the lesson prior to teaching offers students a foundation for their learning. It also helps students refer back to the most important details of a lesson if they are confused on which details they should be focusing on or if they are straying from the key concepts in any way. Learning objectives serve as a valuable road map for learning for both students and teacher alike.
7) Scaffold students’ learning by offering detailed feedback with an emphasis on formative assessment and multiple testing methods.
I strongly believe personal feedback on assignments and formative assessments are crucial to the improvement of students’ proficiency levels. I also recognize that students will score higher on certain types of assessment over others; therefore, in order to increase reliability and validity of test results, I test the same concepts in several different ways. In this way, every student has a fair chance at demonstrating their knowledge.
8) Establish and maintain strong, positive, and open communication with school faculty, parents, and the community.
Just as I encourage my students to collaborate on assignments in order to see the same concept from multiple perspectives, I also value the collaboration of effective instructional methods, engagement strategies, and technology with fellow teachers and administrative staff. I also recognize the importance of a strong, positive relationship with parents and the community to enhance students’ experiences. “It takes a village to raise a child”, so why should learning be any different? Collaboration and reflection are crucial components to my development as a teacher.
These are the building blocks of my teaching; however, as I gain more experience I find myself constantly changing the methods I use and acquiring new ways of improving the delivery and development of lessons for my students. I believe that change is not only a necessary aspect of teaching, but a crucial one as well. As teachers, we should constantly be looking for more effective, meaningful, and engaging ways for our students to learn new material. We should also recognize the powerful influence of technology on students’ language and content acquisition and strive to incorporate technological aspects into our everyday lessons. For “who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”