My Teaching Philosophy
Beliefs About Learning
I believe that students are at the centre of their own learning and that the most powerful learning experiences happen when they are able to take ownership of it. This means never telling the students the right answer, but showing them the way. It means knowing how to ask the right questions. Most of all, it means that how I teach is just as important (if not more) than what I teach. As a facilitator of the learning process, I want students to leave my class with a set of skills they can carry with them beyond the school and classroom.
In order to put the learner first, I strive to craft authentic learning experiences that engages students in the reality of the world. This involves activating students' prior knowledge through diagnostic assessments, and allowing ample opportunities to help them process, link, translate, and synthesize information (Loughran). For instance, I use activities like POE’s (predict-observe-explain) in the sciences and story-building or “Three Act Math” in mathematics (Meyer) which serve to create these rich, inquiry-based learning experiences.
By incorporating choice, student-centered activities, and the “explore first, explain later” model in my classroom, I hope that I will be able to give students the best learning experience possible.
In order to put the learner first, I strive to craft authentic learning experiences that engages students in the reality of the world. This involves activating students' prior knowledge through diagnostic assessments, and allowing ample opportunities to help them process, link, translate, and synthesize information (Loughran). For instance, I use activities like POE’s (predict-observe-explain) in the sciences and story-building or “Three Act Math” in mathematics (Meyer) which serve to create these rich, inquiry-based learning experiences.
By incorporating choice, student-centered activities, and the “explore first, explain later” model in my classroom, I hope that I will be able to give students the best learning experience possible.
Philosophy on Inclusion
Inclusion is the total involvement of all students in the regular educational setting regardless of their background or level of ability, to the fullest extent possible. To me, building an inclusive classroom means creating a safe and positive classroom climate, using differentiation, and knowing my students’ strengths and needs.
Safe and Positive Classroom Climate
The first few days of school are critical for establishing the tone I would like to set for the rest of the school year. It is important for me that students respect each other and the environment they are in, and so it is up to me to lay out these expectations clearly right from the beginning. I also believe that students learn best when they are happy and healthy. I plan to build a supportive and collaborative environment by incorporating opportunities for students to work together on daily group tasks and assignments.
Differentiation
Differentiation is a student-focused approach to thinking about teaching and learning. I believe that differentiation is most effective when all three of the following – content, process, and product – are considered. I plan to differentiate content by providing a variety of ways to convey key concepts, such as investigations, labs, readings, field trips, and multimedia concepts. This enables me to cater to learners with differing intelligences. Allowing for student choice, scaffolding, and using flexible grouping are some ways I am able to differentiate process. It is important to allow learners to interact to the material presented in different ways in order to help them engage in different thinking processes. Finally, I can encourage critical and creative thinking by allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned in various ways.
Knowing My Students’ Strengths and Needs
In order to deliver quality instruction to my students I need to meet them where they are at. This means understanding them individually and as a whole. Thus, I think it is important to learn about my students outside the domain of my classroom – their interests, likes, dislikes, goals…etc. Not only will this allow me to cater any classroom adaptations and accommodations to my students’ strengths and needs, but also enable me to make my lessons meaningful and relevant to their lives.
Safe and Positive Classroom Climate
The first few days of school are critical for establishing the tone I would like to set for the rest of the school year. It is important for me that students respect each other and the environment they are in, and so it is up to me to lay out these expectations clearly right from the beginning. I also believe that students learn best when they are happy and healthy. I plan to build a supportive and collaborative environment by incorporating opportunities for students to work together on daily group tasks and assignments.
Differentiation
Differentiation is a student-focused approach to thinking about teaching and learning. I believe that differentiation is most effective when all three of the following – content, process, and product – are considered. I plan to differentiate content by providing a variety of ways to convey key concepts, such as investigations, labs, readings, field trips, and multimedia concepts. This enables me to cater to learners with differing intelligences. Allowing for student choice, scaffolding, and using flexible grouping are some ways I am able to differentiate process. It is important to allow learners to interact to the material presented in different ways in order to help them engage in different thinking processes. Finally, I can encourage critical and creative thinking by allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned in various ways.
Knowing My Students’ Strengths and Needs
In order to deliver quality instruction to my students I need to meet them where they are at. This means understanding them individually and as a whole. Thus, I think it is important to learn about my students outside the domain of my classroom – their interests, likes, dislikes, goals…etc. Not only will this allow me to cater any classroom adaptations and accommodations to my students’ strengths and needs, but also enable me to make my lessons meaningful and relevant to their lives.
Professional Growth
“The best teachers are those who have as much to learn as they do to teach,” is a personal philosophy statement that rings true for me. As a new teacher, I still have much to learn about the art and science of teaching and learning.
Strengths
I continuously strive to grow my professional knowledge by attending ongoing professional learning opportunities such as conferences, workshops, and AQ courses, reading educational books that interest me, and reaching out to my mentors in the field. I also maintain a teaching blog that serves as a tool for critical reflection, as well as a resource bank for other members of my learning community. I am committed to student learning and I do not underestimate the incredible privilege I have of shaping the lives of the students I teach.
I volunteer to facilitate professional development sessions at my school whenever possible. The first session I ran, titled Better Questions, was about tweaking our understanding of “relevance” in math education, and explored tools for asking better, engaging questions to promote inquiry. The session was inspired by Dan Meyer's 2016 NCTM Talk, "Beyond Relevance & Real World: Strategies for Student Engagement" and tidbits of knowledge I learned from the ever-changing realm of the Math-Twitter Blogosphere (#MTBoS). In First Days of School, I drew on my past failures and readings to help colleagues reflect and plan on how they want to set the tone for their classrooms for the rest of the year. Last fall, I enrolled in the Masters of Mathematics for Teachers at the University of Waterloo, and have been happily spending my off hours from work struggling with mathematical software, proofs, and various problem solving methods.
Areas for Growth
One of my goals last year was to step into more classrooms, in a range of subjects and observe my peers. The #ObserveMe movement that started trending in 2016 has been on my mind for some time, and now in 2020, I'm wondering if I can continue to make small steps towards making this the norm in our school culture. I know that in many schools, peer observations are not the norm and are seen as a rather stressful event, but it doesn't have to be a source of anxiety. I know that every time I get observed in my classroom I gain new insight into aspects of my teaching practice that might be improved. Or when I observe a teacher I always walk away with a new idea or strategy that I'm excited to try in my classroom. For me, the biggest challenge is overcoming the excuse, "I don't have time." There's always marking or planning to be done and its easy to tell myself, "I'll do my observations tomorrow." By scheduling in specific dates and times, I'm hoping to be able to visit at least one teacher's classroom for a minimum of thirty minutes each month. There is still much to learn in my own journey of teaching and learning, and I'm excited for what 2020 has in store.
References
Loughran, J. (2010). What Expert Teachers Do: Enhancing Professional Knowledge for Classroom Practice. Routledge: New York.
Meyer, D. “The Three Acts of a Mathematical Story.” dy/dan 2011. Web. 21 June 2006.
Strengths
I continuously strive to grow my professional knowledge by attending ongoing professional learning opportunities such as conferences, workshops, and AQ courses, reading educational books that interest me, and reaching out to my mentors in the field. I also maintain a teaching blog that serves as a tool for critical reflection, as well as a resource bank for other members of my learning community. I am committed to student learning and I do not underestimate the incredible privilege I have of shaping the lives of the students I teach.
I volunteer to facilitate professional development sessions at my school whenever possible. The first session I ran, titled Better Questions, was about tweaking our understanding of “relevance” in math education, and explored tools for asking better, engaging questions to promote inquiry. The session was inspired by Dan Meyer's 2016 NCTM Talk, "Beyond Relevance & Real World: Strategies for Student Engagement" and tidbits of knowledge I learned from the ever-changing realm of the Math-Twitter Blogosphere (#MTBoS). In First Days of School, I drew on my past failures and readings to help colleagues reflect and plan on how they want to set the tone for their classrooms for the rest of the year. Last fall, I enrolled in the Masters of Mathematics for Teachers at the University of Waterloo, and have been happily spending my off hours from work struggling with mathematical software, proofs, and various problem solving methods.
Areas for Growth
One of my goals last year was to step into more classrooms, in a range of subjects and observe my peers. The #ObserveMe movement that started trending in 2016 has been on my mind for some time, and now in 2020, I'm wondering if I can continue to make small steps towards making this the norm in our school culture. I know that in many schools, peer observations are not the norm and are seen as a rather stressful event, but it doesn't have to be a source of anxiety. I know that every time I get observed in my classroom I gain new insight into aspects of my teaching practice that might be improved. Or when I observe a teacher I always walk away with a new idea or strategy that I'm excited to try in my classroom. For me, the biggest challenge is overcoming the excuse, "I don't have time." There's always marking or planning to be done and its easy to tell myself, "I'll do my observations tomorrow." By scheduling in specific dates and times, I'm hoping to be able to visit at least one teacher's classroom for a minimum of thirty minutes each month. There is still much to learn in my own journey of teaching and learning, and I'm excited for what 2020 has in store.
References
Loughran, J. (2010). What Expert Teachers Do: Enhancing Professional Knowledge for Classroom Practice. Routledge: New York.
Meyer, D. “The Three Acts of a Mathematical Story.” dy/dan 2011. Web. 21 June 2006.