Teaching Philosophy

My Teaching Platform

I am currently certified to teach math and science in grades 4-9 and Language Arts in grades 4-6. Through college and substitute teaching, I had the opportunity to work with nearly every grade level. I have enjoyed the content and the students in 7th grade, but I love younger students and had a blast with my 5th graders in student teaching. I am most comfortable teaching math, but I enjoy science, and took on language arts when the opportunity arose to teach at my Alma Mater, Benjamin Logan. So far this year has been a blast with my 6th graders! Here I have given a brief description of my beliefs on a few different aspects of teaching.

Style of Teaching:

I try to be very facilitative in my teaching. My relationship with my students is very important to me, and I make an effort to get to know my students and truly connect with them. One thing I bring in to my classroom is my experience in band, theater, robotics, and countless other extra-curricular activities. I have used these experiences, as well as others, like the many middle school level books I have read, to relate to and connect with my students. In general, I am open with my students and I feel I am very approachable.

For grading I prefer formative over summative assessments as they allow me to catch holes in understanding early so I can work to correct the misunderstanding. I am also very open to individualized rubrics especially for group work. When I do a group project I will the rubric so each student's grade is largely based off the work they put into the project, and not based off what the rest of the group does. I try to incorporate Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences by integrating music, nature, and other topics into my curriculum so that each student has an opportunity to thrive. I also do hands-on, challenging work whenever possible. I care about my students and will honestly do whatever I can to help them be successful.

Classroom Environment:

I am a creative person who loves lots of color, and this is reflected in my classroom. I have decorated with posters, personal artwork, and the work of past and present students. When arranging desks I plan on avoiding straight rows at all costs. Most of the time, I like to have the desks in groups to facilitate group work, discussion, and peer assistance, and even In the event of a formal test, I would arrange the desks in diagonal lines or some other creative pattern that still allows the desks to be isolated. I like the idea of having students choose their own seats, but this is dependent on the behavior of each particular group of students.

I strive for an open, accepting, and positive atmosphere in my classroom. I have an open mind and hope that my students will as well, so that they can look at content objectively, and avoid judging their peers. I want each and every student to feel comfortable voicing their opinion no matter the topic at hand. Along with this comes an acceptance for those students who are diverse in any way whether it be ethnicity, sexual orientation, or a disability. I treat my class as competent, capable learners and I expect them to treat me in the same respect.

Motivating My Students:

To the greatest extent possible, I want my students to be intrinsically, rather than extrinsically, motivated. I hope I present the content in a way that gains kids' interest and makes them want to learn about it. Unless it’s absolutely necessary in a particular situation I want to avoid hanging kids’ grades over their heads or threatening them with a big test. I like the idea of giving personal, essay type reports throughout the grading period as opposed to grades. I believe this will help kids appreciate the real work they do, and it will lessen the competitive nature of grades. If I can show the students that I care about what they do, it should help them care more about it and hopefully encourage them to pursue learning simply for the wealth of knowledge and opportunities that can be gained.

Homework:

For a middle school student I think two hours a night is the most one can be expected to spend on homework each night. To make this happen, teachers must talk to each other and adjust assignments to avoid overwhelming the student. If one teacher assigns a large project or paper the others should let up for a day or so. It is also very important to me that the students fully understand the material before they are given homework on the topic. If possible I would love to give some time in class each day for students to get started and ask any questions they may have. Time should also always be given the next day in class to address any further questions. Homework should be practice toward a better understanding, not busy work for a grade. Whenever possible I would like to have engaging, thought-provoking problems and there should not be an exorbitant amount of any one type of problem. As homework is meant to be practice, I believe it should be checked, but not graded. I want my students to understand the importance of homework so they will be intrinsically motivated to do it as a way to enhance learning not just for a grade.

Involving Parents and the Larger Community:

I hope to utilize any resources provided by the community surrounding my school. I believe the content will become more authentic to the students if they can see it in the community and/or see their parents’ interest and involvement. As time and the administration allows I plan on inviting parents and other people from the community into the classroom to speak about what they do and how it may relate to whatever we’re learning at the time. I would also love to take students out into the community to get first-hand experience. Some of my most memorable times from high school are the field trips to the radio station, the art museum, the theater, Kings Island, and more. This not only gives students a chance to see the content in real life situations, but it also gives them a chance to interact with adults and discover something they might truly be interested in.