I know a lot about history and I love to learn, both of these have shown me that the world is diverse but also globally connected. I can teach others to be opened to keep learning and integrate creativity into their lives by always staying curious and open to new ideas or perspectives.
I love to bake, and learning to read and follow a recipe is similar to following the instructions or directions for a project. All my time learning to bake with my Grammy and my public speaking class, helped me be able to teach others about topics I am interested in. As a teacher it is important to be able to have flexibility around lessons and now when the students have picked up a topic easily, or need more time to understand another. It is just like having to edit a recipe if you're baking for a larger group or discover a better way to make the delicious treat!
I have to learn classroom management to better understand how a classroom is run and the strategies for helping different students learn. I know I will have to learn how to use AI, I have already started because of this class, but I know I have more to learn about the different things AI can and shouldn't be used for.
I want to challenge myself to listen to as many perspectives as I can to get a grasp on the various methods and styles of teaching. I need to keep asking questions and be open to others suggestions, as well as students concerns. To be the kind of teacher I strive to be, I need to slow down and focus on developing my communication skills and keep an open mind during my observation hours.
The purpose of school is to educate students on the fundamental knowledge of the world and guide them into being productive and informed citizens of both the United States and the world. My students will learn the importance of history, rhetoric and curiosity and will learn in a student-centered environment. I will provide a hands on educational experience and my students will value perspective. I will positively interact with my students and guide them towards success in my classroom and they will interact with open minds. As a teacher I will be a guide and my students will be inquisitive.
My educational philosophy is progressivism because it is important to me that students can solve problems both in the classroom and in the real world. Working together with their fellow students will prepare them for the wider world and will be useful for the careers they choose after completing school. I believe that hands on learning helps students better retain lessons and materials, but also helps them engage in those lessons in a way that keeps the topic entertaining.
If a visitor walked into my classroom they would see students working in groups to complete an assignment that involves them discussing with one another and coming up with solutions to problems that affect the real world. It would not be a quiet classroom, nor loud, but rather lively and full of informative discussions. This philosophy matches my ideas about good teaching because I believe problem solving is essential to life, no matter the career path and I find a collaborative classroom to be an engaging environment. Classes that focus on working in groups or discussing topic questions with partners fosters a strong community in the classroom.
This image was created with Google's AI Gemini and shows an open classroom with students working collaboratively on assignments. I asked Gemini to put the teachers desk in the front of the classroom because as a teacher, I want to be accessible for my students. I want to foster an engaging classroom and be a guide to my students learning journey. That is why I asked Gemini to have the teacher walking around the classroom helping the students, not lecturing to them the whole time.
I used Google Gemini to make the photo and explain to me about the different educational philosophies. My prompt was: Could you create an image of a history classroom with students working together in groups and a teacher walking between each group to see how their conversation is coming along and answering any questions. The classroom should have multiple round tables for easy student collaboration and historical posters on the wall, but also be an open environment. The teachers desk should be in the front of the classroom and welcoming to students and by a white board presenting the day's discussion on it.
My current thoughts on my own use of AI are that it should be limited, I do not want to become reliant on AI, but rather use it for studying or a tool to bounce ideas off of for a project. In the future, I want to be caution using AI, because the information may not be right, but I also do not want to use it as a way to cut corners on my work.
Jillian: Hi Jo! I want to say that I love the way you presented your information about your author page. I also wanted to add that I enjoyed history and was always fascinated in class when learning about it. One of my top educational philosophies is progressivism as well and I loved to see how similar and different were with ours being the same. I love that you like collaborating in the classroom for your students and having the rounded tables was a good idea! Do you think you would keep lesson plans more to collaborating assignments where there would be a group big or small rather than someone working by themselves?
Hi Jillian, thank you for your comment. I would definitely have assignments that require students to work by themselves as well as group work. I think its important to be able to work in groups but one on one time is necessary so students can learn to be independent.
Hey there Jo, It's Ben Heider! I wanted to say I love how your page looks, it really matches the vibe of the information on the page. I also liked your presentation, for me I can kind of relate about hearing history from an older generation, my Pop used to watch all sorts of historical shows and read bunches of history books and whenever I would go over I'd ask him about what he read.
Hi Jo! I love how much you included your family in your powerpoint. As someone who is also very close with my family and has been influenced heavily by them, I know just how much they can shape who we are! My teaching philosophy also leans the most towards a progressivism stance. I agree that it is incredibly important to teach students problem solving skills not only for the classroom but for the world as well. One thing I loved that you stated is that you want to challenge yourself to listen to multiple perspectives to learn different methods and teaching styles. I think this is a wonderful challenge because we can all get stuck in our set ways sometimes, but learning from others with differing teaching styles can only make us more diverse in our methods. - Jalisa Mathis
Hey Jo! I am also from Richmond, Va and have also traveled alot! I really love how you included how members of your family have helped you grow and become the person you are today, I thought that was really cool and special. I also would want to take a more progressive approach to teaching and would want my classroom to be a place where group work and collaboration is welcomed! - Jordan Brown