Arnel Aliwalas

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe teaching begins with learning the basic skills and developing these skills into more complex skills and abilities to ultimately allow the student to apply these skills in their own creative way to create deeper learning. My role as an educator is to facilitate the learning in a way that is learning by doing. In my classroom, I consistently try to make learning visible. This means that students will be able to show their skills and abilities as they learn them and build on their self-confidence to be able to take more risks. Through experiential learning, students will develop more intrinsic motivation and more likely to become highly engaged learners.

Although I have not had a lot of technology education experience in high school or junior high school, I can relate to new students learning new skills. My approach to learning has been influenced by my experience learning as an apprentice. After high school, I was training to become an aircraft maintenance engineer and I found that I learned the best through hands-on training. The Teaching Perspectives Inventory confirmed that my perspective placed a high value on teachers that displayed skilled performance and guided learning. Although I will not necessarily be teaching apprentices, my philosophy will lean towards teaching from the apprenticeship perspective. The student and teacher relationship will be that the teacher will provide guided instructions on the basic and simple tasks eventually providing more complex tasks as the student gains mastery. Successful teaching means that the student will then take agency of their learning and look for ways to apply their newfound skills.

When students leave my class, I want them to be able to feel belonging in my class to want to return. I hope to accomplish this by creating belonging in a safe and inclusive classroom environment. I have experienced all types of exclusion throughout my life. I have seen the perspective from an Asian minority, age minority, gender minority, financial minority, and it is these experiences that I can show empathy towards inclusion. Adaptations and modifications for special education students, English language learners, and gifted learners will also allow me to create a safe space for all types of learners.

My classroom management philosophy is based on a leadership philosophy which states that leaders manage ‘things’ and lead people. Therefore, instead of classroom management, I will be applying classroom leadership. As each student becomes more accountable for their leadership skills I will spend less time on managing behavior and more time on leading their growth. Eventually, students will learn how to self-manage. I look forward to being able to share my experience and passion with the students on their technology education journey.