DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Through my coursework, student teaching, and personal reflection on my teaching and learning experiences, my philosophy of teaching has become clear. What I hope to create in my classroom is a positive learning environment where students see their experiences reflected in the curriculum. In addition, I believe that students and teachers need to be supported to the greatest extent possible through collaborating and communicating with parents and other staff. 

 

Inquiry-Based Learning

What I believe is essential in teaching is to create an atmosphere where students learn through exploration and inquiry. While teaching, I will act as a facilitator of learning, allowing students to construct their own knowledge. For example, while taking students on a field trip to Sauganash Prairie Forest Preserve, I encouraged the students to use identification books, background knowledge, and their journals from previous visits to find the answers to questions they raised. I believe that when students go through the process of raising questions and finding the answer, they understand and remember it better. 

 

Connected Curriculum

Each student brings unique experiences, skills, and knowledge to the classroom, and will learn better if they can tie new information to what they know or are interested in. The first step is getting to really know students in order to understand what motivates them. I will provide opportunities where they can share their stories and experiences, likes and dislikes, which will help guide instruction. By understanding and encouraging individuality of students, I will create lessons that incorporate the multiple intelligences and interests that students possess.    

 

Positive Environment

In order for learning to take place in the classroom, students must feel safe, respected, and like a valued part of the classroom community. I will promote this type of atmosphere by encouraging positive interactions between students. By providing activities and lessons where children are collaborating and interacting in a positive way, we can build an open-minded and respectful environment together.

 

Collaboration and Communication

To provide the best educational environment for students, I will strive to collaborate with other professionals, parents and volunteers.  While student teaching, I not only collaborated with my cooperating teacher, but the other third grade teacher and student teacher. I also maintained communication with the special education, ESL, and speech therapist so that I could provide the best accommodations and support for students. I encouraged parents to talk with me if they had concerns, and used parents' knowledge of their children to implement changes. If behavioral or academic issues arose, consistent support was provided at school and at home to get the student back on track.

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.