Hi, I'm Zahra, a graduate student from UMass.

Teaching Philosophy 

What I remember is that I was born into a family in which most members were teachers, and from childhood, I believed that this profession was part of my destiny, so I worked toward it and eventually achieved it. I can say that it was a positive part of my life that I always enjoyed. Constantly evaluating myself and seeing myself through my students' eyes helped me build a positive relationship with them, and over time, it made me fall in love with my job.

 But life does not always move in the direction we expect.

After coming to the United States, I spent about a year volunteering at a school, which was enough to help me realize the significant differences between the educational environments in my home country (Iran) and those in the U.S.

Therefore, I concluded that to continue doing the work I loved, I needed to improve myself, so that I could find a place within this system, and that is why I entered this program.

 After completing this semester, I have come to realize how educational resources and a learning system's instructional approach can influence the quality of teaching, especially for someone like me who has taught mathematics and physics.

 On one hand, studying the strategies of theorists such as Dewey, Vygotsky, Goleman, and Freire, and on the other hand, understanding the powerful potential of multimedia in designing and supporting learning environments, brought about a major shift in my perspective on the educational process and on what my responsibilities are as a teacher.

Overall, what I learned this semester had a significant impact on my thinking and on how I can put these ideas into practice. Creating a learning environment that draws on real life, provides an open space for students to express themselves and have a voice, gives them an active role in the learning process, and uses methods that encourage students to think. These were among the most important points I learned. I believe they will bring effective changes to my teaching practice.

On the other hand, the way these ideas are implemented is another important issue, and this is precisely where technology can support teachers. Using tools such as Google Classroom helps teachers greatly individualize student learning, while tools like Google Slides, Canva, and Padlet create an effective platform for group activities, allowing students to present and express what they want without the limitations of resources or abilities, formative evaluation along the learning path that are graded automatically and the use of virtual labs and technologies such as VR takes this even further by helping students explore and understand the real world, or worlds that would otherwise be out of reach.

I believe the insights I gained this semester are valuable, and I hope to put them into practice in my future teaching.