Educational Beliefs & Practices Reflection

When I was a young child I would often play school with my sister and friends, but as I grew up I pursued a different avenue. Then I chose a position in the mental health field educating clients, this ignited a passion in me. For a few years, I worked as a substitute paraprofessional, coached sports teams and taught  community education classes. Then an opportunity to be a classroom paraprofessional was presented to me and I readily accepted the opportunity. I feel in love with working with children, this is when I had my realization moment that this is what I was meant to do.  

Throughout my time as a paraprofessional I developed relationships and made connections with students. Some of my fondest memories are teaching students how to strive for self-actualization, understand that it is okay to make mistakes, showing them how to improve, and teaching them that it is fine to have bad days while showing compassion. These are a few  of the reasons that teaching is crucial: to teach children with understanding and compassion. I strongly believe that all students can can grown if they are shown a positive and engaging environment, love, and support  throughout their learning journey, and to celebrate growth of any size they may achieve. "Teachers who use more learner-centered practices (i.e., practices that show sensitivity to individual differences among students, include students in the decision-making, and acknowledge students' developmental, personal and relational needs) produced greater motivation in their students than those who used fewer of such practices (Daniels & Perry, 2003)."(Rimm-Kaufman,Sandilos. 2025)

I believe that cultivating a positive, fun learning environment will encourage student's growth mindset. By providing students a positive and safe learning environment, it will encourage  them to take risks, knowing that they will have a teacher there rooting for them either way, this will provide students with opportunities to be challenged to grow mentally and academically.  As a teacher, I will provide students with continuous feedback to help them learn from their efforts and not their "mistakes and failures." Additionally, it will promote self=awareness in which I will help students learn how to self-regulate and understand those feelings when they are angry or excited. "Dweck's early research demonstrated multiple potential benefits to encouraging a growth mindset in education. One of her studies showed that praising students'efforts rather than their intelligence made them more likely to pursue more difficult challenges." (2024)

In my classroom, I would like to focus on self-esteem. During my time working in schools, I have noticed that students with low-self-esteem are lower performing students in the classroom and this is an domain I want to work on with students. Focusing on self-esteem, will encourage students to take risks in the classroom and be open to feedback, along with boosting their confidence in the classroom. 

Two ways I will assist students to build their self-esteem is through positive self-talk and self-reflections. I will teach and encourage my students to embrace every challenge they come across with positive self-talk, I can do this verses I can't do this. As a teacher, I will also ask students to self-reflect on one thing they learned and one thing they feel like the struggle with at the end of every school day as a closing activity. 

A few strategies I will utilize to track student's progression will be to show students how to set S.M.A.R.T goals at the beginning of every month. For example, I will say I can do this if I receive a challenging assignment. Students will be handed a worksheet to chart every time they utilized their goal, and at the end of every month, we will discuss whether the students have reached their goal and self-reflect on our answers.

As a role model to students, I strongly believe that building strong relationships with them will also means reaching out to parents, colleagues, administration, and the community. The saying it takes a village to raise a child is one of the most accurate statements that I have ever heard about having children and I feel like this transcends into the classroom. I will work to maintain an open line of communication through weekly newsletters, responding to emails promptly, and meetings. Collaboration works with a team that is there to support each other; I will build relationships with my colleagues and administration so we can share best practices and enhance the student's learning outcomes. 

In conclusion, I will strive to create a safe, loving, and fun environment for my students. Teaching children these approaches will help foster growth in their future academics, along with skills they will need to help them throughout life.

Sara Rimm-Kaufman, Lia Sandilos. 2025. AmericanPsychological Association. Improving students' relationships with teachers. https://www.apa.org/educationcareer/k12/relationships#:-:text=Students%20attended%20math%20classrooms,to%20understand%20the%20math%20lesson.

April, 2024. School of Education Online. How to Foster a Growth Mindset in the Classroom: American University. https://www.soeonline.american.edu/blog/growth-mindset-in-the-classroom/