Teaching Philosophy

When I consider what the purpose of education is, I think that fundamentally the purpose is to provide children the opportunity to learn and grow so that they might find an interest or strength that they may want to grow into and at the very least a starting vocation to take care of themselves and provide something positive to society.  Having stated that, I also feel that education also has a responsibility to teach children on a basic fundamental level how to be kind, socially appropriate and cooperative in this world. It helps to set boundaries and routines, find strengths and encourage the differences and interests in each individual student as best we can. Every child is different and so is every teacher.  The things we bring to our teaching and the things students bring to the classroom all mold the environments that learning take place. 

I align with many different learning theories and a growth mindset consistently.  Everyday I teach such a wide variety of students with individual needs and I relate my teaching to many of the ideas and tools from each that I apply in daily teaching.  In health and physical education we intertwine so many different theories with a strong emphasis on behaviorism and the social learning theory. These two specifically because many of the physical activities and skills in movement are very concrete.  In addition, social behavior in game play is an important role in the success or failures of a team.  With the cognitivism and constructivism theories, they relate to my personal beliefs because students need to use prior knowledge to be successful in physical education, not unlike any other subject. Also, we try to teach students to think, collaborate and work things out independently which lends itself to 21st thinking in a constructivist manner. 

I believe that learning should be structured with opportunities for all learners.  Obviously, this is a perfect world statement and that is not always reality. I definitely fall somewhere in the middle with the level of rules and freedom.  In my classes I need organization for safety purposes and I have high expectations for my students that I expect them to rise too.   Kids are also kids and in any school environment in my opinion, you need to form positive and respectful relationships with students to get them to buy in no matter what the subject or level of technology you have to use.  We earn our mutual respect but there needs to be organization and routine for things to be successful, as well as a balance of caring and fun mixed in. 

Everyone plays a part in the overall outcome of education in a school.  The role of the teacher is to provide students positive and challenging learning opportunities while incorporating the 4 C's.  Students do not always have to like everything they learn, but understanding that it all plays a role in the bigger picture of overall success no matter what the eventual outcome is important.  Being a teacher is not always only about the book work. We are role models and advocates while encouraging forward thinking and students taking responsibility for their own actions. We do our best to teach students the difference between right and wrong and to be good people that can contribute to our world in a positive way.  Peers play a role in the outcome and success of one another. In this day and age with all the struggles of bullying and cyber-bullying it can be difficult for students. The role of technology and how has changed and continues to shape how individuals communicate and interact or the lack of skills as a result of technology changes how we teach. 

Technology is an amazing tool and extends the abilities of teaching everyday.  We see this even as college students doing our graduate work online! It gives students amazing abilities to see the world and learn in ways that have never been afforded to previous generations. Students with disabilities benefit from improved technologies and we can reach all types of learners. Much like anything else it comes with it challenges and there is always a trade off, but the benefits definitely outweigh the non-benefits for me as an educator.  I look forward to continuing to use technology and hope to grow with it, to only be more innovative in educating my students.

Technology innovation starts with the educators utilizing the specific technology to create meaningful learning experiences for students. Teachers need support to help design, modify, and problem solve quickly to maintain the standards and timeframes presented to them by their respective school districts. It is a collaboration between all stakeholders to provide all students with the most innovative opportunities to learn.