Teaching Philosophy
Teachers Are Like Coaches
A coach needs to get the most out of their players in order to have a successful season. They need to make a game plan and execute it. They must be excellent communicators and deal with multiple personality types. A coach must create an environment that is positive and inclusive. They must be supportive but also provide contstructive feedback in a timely manner. A coach is someone who creates lasting relationships where people feel safe to speak openly.
The Game Plan
My philosophy as a teacher is to get the best effort out of my students. I believe that putting in effort is the best possible way to succeed. Not all students are the same. They all learn in different ways but what matters the most is putting in effort and continuing to try when things get hard. As the teacher, it is my responsibility to find ways to motivate students.
Throughout my third year practicum, I looked to applaud effort the same way that I applauded accomplishments. I gave the same enthusiasm to students who had to push themselves to work through an assignment as I did to the students who finished first. It was important for students to know that I was proud that they worked hard. I believe that developing critical thinking skills is crucial for successful students and an effort to continue to learn and ask questions contributes to successful learning.
The Environment
I believe that a positive and welcoming environment is one of the most important aspects of teaching. A harsh environment stunts learning. I want to create a safe and welcoming environment where my students are able to have a voice and are not afraid to speak their minds. I will strive to make the learning environment as comfortable as possible in order for students to grow confidence in their abilities. Effective teaching allows for opinions to be heard and compromises to be made when needed.
In my third year practicum, I worked towards creating a warm environment where students felt like they could ask for help and that all students were able to speak up. There was no criticizing answers or telling students to find the answer on their own. Creating that safe environment allowed students to get out their comfort zones and challenge themselves. The amount of different hands that would go up to answer or ask a question grew each day because of the envrionment that was created.
The Big Speech
Students need to be inspired in order to learn. I believe that open communication and a passion for teaching helps to provide students with engagement in learning. Open communication provides students with the comfort of knowing exactly what is required from them. I will be a passionate teacher by making learning fun and exciting through hands on activites, place-based learning and integrating multiple subjects. I believe that students become more engaged when you speak to them like anyone else. I will provide positive feedback to students in order to foster meaningful relationships and trust.
In my third year practicum, I looked to be explicit and direct with my instructions in order to show students' what was required from them. I set the tone of lessons depending on the topic but always strived to be lighthearted and humorous when possible. I sought to provide feedback to students consistently and used many different avenues to teach in order to have students engaged and excited to learn.
Literacy Statement
Literacy is an essential skill needed to participate in today's world. Literacy skills are necessary across all disciplines whether it is through reading, writing, or comprehending. A quality reading program helps form the building blocks for successful readers. I believe that literacy is the foundation for student learning and providing literacy tools to students gives them the confidence to work towards becoming proficient readers. I’m committed to using my own teaching tools such as systematic and explicit instruction that has shown that students, regardless of their learning difficulties, reach higher and faster achievement. Using tools such as scope and sequence provides me the ability to gradually build on students learning. I want my students to have a variety of tools in their own tool belt, such as decoding and segmenting, that can help improve their literacy skills and allow them to grow into confident learners.