My Personal Teaching Philosophy
Every child is unique in their own way. Each child grows at their own developmental level and each child comes from a family that have their own beliefs and values. I believe it's the teacher's responsibility to understand the child as a whole and base their curriculum according to the child’s needs. I think as educators we should set up a high quality classroom environment where the child can grow, learn and explore at his or her own developmental level. I believe that a teacher’s job is to guide students in building their knowledge on what they already know. By getting to know the students, diagnosing their abilities and learning about their world views, families, beliefs and interests, I will make learning relevant and interesting. By allowing students to make decisions regarding their learning environment, behavior management plans and lesson types, students become accountable to their decisions and therefore more likely succeed.
As a future teacher my goal is to promote the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of each child. I strongly believe in having a play based program in Early Childhood. A play-based program does not mean that children just do what they like all day. In a play based program there are times where children come together as a group, listen when others talk, follow rules and take responsibility for their actions and their environment( Lubawy, 2010).We as teachers offer children choices that reflect their developmental stage, where choices are provided within limits of safety within group setting. Play based programs give children emphasis to encourage children to express their own ideas in play through creativity and the use of their imagination. This allows children to represent their world in order to understand it better.
I strongly believe that play should be the base of learning since children learn best by doing. As educators we must find a balance between teacher-directed and child-initiated activities. As physiologist Jean Piaget states “a student’s efforts come from the student himself instead of being imposed and that his intelligence undertakes authentic work instead of accepting predigested knowledge from outside, it is simply asking that the laws of all intelligence be respected” (Dunlap, 1997).
In my teaching career I will create and maintain strong relationships with parents/carers, teachers and staff in the school. Collaboration with families is integral to supporting children’s learning. Having healthy relationships based on mutual respect, with open communication allows educators to present their ideas and have them more readily accepted. When parents are able to share their children’s home and community experiences, they come to view the school more positively and are eager to sustain the high quality of the program. Children benefit from seeing respectful interactions with a parents, teachers and community members, and from a sense of connection and engagement with their environment.
As a future teacher my goal is to promote the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of each child. I strongly believe in having a play based program in Early Childhood. A play-based program does not mean that children just do what they like all day. In a play based program there are times where children come together as a group, listen when others talk, follow rules and take responsibility for their actions and their environment( Lubawy, 2010).We as teachers offer children choices that reflect their developmental stage, where choices are provided within limits of safety within group setting. Play based programs give children emphasis to encourage children to express their own ideas in play through creativity and the use of their imagination. This allows children to represent their world in order to understand it better.
I strongly believe that play should be the base of learning since children learn best by doing. As educators we must find a balance between teacher-directed and child-initiated activities. As physiologist Jean Piaget states “a student’s efforts come from the student himself instead of being imposed and that his intelligence undertakes authentic work instead of accepting predigested knowledge from outside, it is simply asking that the laws of all intelligence be respected” (Dunlap, 1997).
In my teaching career I will create and maintain strong relationships with parents/carers, teachers and staff in the school. Collaboration with families is integral to supporting children’s learning. Having healthy relationships based on mutual respect, with open communication allows educators to present their ideas and have them more readily accepted. When parents are able to share their children’s home and community experiences, they come to view the school more positively and are eager to sustain the high quality of the program. Children benefit from seeing respectful interactions with a parents, teachers and community members, and from a sense of connection and engagement with their environment.
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
- Benjamin Franklin
- Benjamin Franklin
Each child has unique strengths, varied prior language learning experiences, and preferred learning styles.I believe children learn in many different ways and the way I will teach, plan and assess reflects the range of learning styles within my classroom. I will use a variety of assessment methods including summative and formative assessments which are carried out over a period of time in a variety of contexts. This ensures I gather sufficient information to paint the 'big picture' on each child's learning development. I believe Vygotsky's belief that a task should be challenging yet achievable (Snowman, 2009). For this reason I differentiate learning tasks where needed to cater to the differing abilities within my classroom.
I believe that the environment is the 3rd teacher. I aim to create a warm, welcoming and stimulating classroom environment. I believe that it is crucial to provide children with a safe, predictable, supportive and active environment to support the children’s achievement of the Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes. A supportive social environment is just as essential for meaningful and healthy learning experiences, as a positive physical environment. “Children are more able and more motivated to do well and achieve their full potential in schools that have a positive school climate and in which they feel safe and supported”. (Ontario.2010). Children need to feel safe to take risks and explore; they should feel that they have a wide support network so should they have any issues or questions, they can reach out to a number of sources. The environment should be designed to promote children’s confidence in their ideas, to support their curiosity and resourcefulness, to provide a space where children can be creative, share and explore ideas, and build on the ideas of their peers.
Most importantly, my classroom will be one where mistakes are encouraged as a learning experience. This is highly important to me, as my main motivation to become a primary school teacher was to mold children into confident, self assured, intuitive and inspired individuals. I understand that through the acknowledging of a mistake, we acknowledge that we can better ourselves – and teach others how to become better also. I have always held teachers in great esteem for the reason that they begin the cycle of making a difference. In teaching each student, they begin a cycle of making a difference to the molding of individuals, and inspire a relationship not only with academia, but also their passions and interests, which will equip them towards the future. I certainly look forward to being a part of this cycle.
I believe that the environment is the 3rd teacher. I aim to create a warm, welcoming and stimulating classroom environment. I believe that it is crucial to provide children with a safe, predictable, supportive and active environment to support the children’s achievement of the Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes. A supportive social environment is just as essential for meaningful and healthy learning experiences, as a positive physical environment. “Children are more able and more motivated to do well and achieve their full potential in schools that have a positive school climate and in which they feel safe and supported”. (Ontario.2010). Children need to feel safe to take risks and explore; they should feel that they have a wide support network so should they have any issues or questions, they can reach out to a number of sources. The environment should be designed to promote children’s confidence in their ideas, to support their curiosity and resourcefulness, to provide a space where children can be creative, share and explore ideas, and build on the ideas of their peers.
Most importantly, my classroom will be one where mistakes are encouraged as a learning experience. This is highly important to me, as my main motivation to become a primary school teacher was to mold children into confident, self assured, intuitive and inspired individuals. I understand that through the acknowledging of a mistake, we acknowledge that we can better ourselves – and teach others how to become better also. I have always held teachers in great esteem for the reason that they begin the cycle of making a difference. In teaching each student, they begin a cycle of making a difference to the molding of individuals, and inspire a relationship not only with academia, but also their passions and interests, which will equip them towards the future. I certainly look forward to being a part of this cycle.
References:
- Dunlap, L. (1997). High Scope: One Program Model . Retrieved from education.com:http://www.education.com/reference/article/high-scope-one-program-model/
- Lubawy, J. (2010). Pancakes and Red Buckets: Emergent and Intentional. Working within the Early Years Framework. NSW: Joy and Pete Consulting.
- Ontario. (2010) The Full-Day Early Learning- Kinder garden Program. Retrieved from (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf) (Accessed 1/10/2014)
- Snowman, J. Dobozy, E. Scevak, J. Bryer, F. Barlett, B. ( 2009). Psychology Applied to Teaching, 1st ed. Milton, Qld: John Wiley and Sons Australia.