Teaching Philosophy

In my time at San Pío X saying that I have learned a lot about teaching is an understatement. I have become a teacher, and a teacher with guiding principals.

It is crucial to understand that no child is the same. They are all unique, with different learning styles and capabilities and as a teacher we must adapt our teaching to meet all of their needs. Some students are visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, etc. A good teacher must present material in a way that covers all the bases and is all-inclusive and engaging. All children have the ability to learn and grow. No one is perfect and mistakes are part of the learning process. I tell my students that my expectation is that they always do their best.

Assessment is a very important part of teaching and learning. External Exams are also a very big factor in education now and at my school we spend the entire year preparing the children for these exams. Every week I work with the children one-on-one practicing and reviewing for these exams. I tell the children that assessments are important so we can know what they have mastered and what we still need to review. The other auxiliar that works with the younger children and I have implemented spelling tests in third grade for this very reason, since spelling has been an issue for many and also so the children can be aware of what words they need to focus on from the vocabulary that we expect them to know by now.

It is important to assess all 4 skills of language (reading, speaking, listening, and writing) and to assess children individually based on their unique capabilities and educational goals, one-on-one, but also communicating/speaking within a group, since English is taught as a means of communication. The external exams that my students take are testing exactly that, the child's ability to communicate. We also teach them to learn to assess themselves and their peers.

A way to teach even young children to assess their peers is to use a clap-o-meter when doing presentations. In the book we use with first graders there is an excellent self assessment at the end of each section that prompts the children to rate their understanding of the material by coloring a happy or sad face. I like to do one-on-on reading and comprehension questions with the children to assess them on a more individual basis and also assess their reading skills. Writing activities are a good way to assess shyer students.

For projects and assignments I think rubrics are an excellent resource. With rubrics the children know what our expectations are and they can use them as a guide while they are doing the assignments. I think it is important to establish expectations with students, on day one. Children need structure, especially in an educational environment.

I firmly believe in collaborative learning, for so many reasons. It creates solidarity and teaches children how to work with others, which is indispensable in life. Putting children with different strengths and weaknesses together teaches teamwork and fosters support for those who need it, making them more successful. It also enables all the children to contribute. Every child has a gift, something to offer. In third grade we have put the children in groups of 5 with each group representing an English-speaking country (team USA, team Ireland, etc.) This reinforces vocabulary as well.

As with most things in life adequate planning is a must. We try to teach planning and organization to the children with the use of planners and posted schedules. When planning lessons and curriculum the best curriculum or lesson is one that blends the boundaries between subjects and brings it all together to reinforce what is learned in each subject. An example of how this can be done with Science and English is studying animals and adjectives/body vocabulary together. The second graders were learning about animals in Science and adjectives/body vocabulary in English at the same time so we assigned them each an animal and gave them a worksheet with a format that prompted them to draw the animal in the middle and then describe the animal on the sides using the English vocabulary and grammar they were learning. We were killing two birds with one stone, reinforcing each subject at the same time.

Especially with children it is crucial that the lesson engages them and captures their attention. Without this crucial first step often times little is accomplished. To see many methods I have used to engage the children and motivate them to learn check out my Classroom Resources section of this portfolio.

For me, it is important to instill a joy of learning and discovery, and I think it's important to explain how what I am teaching is relevant and important in the real world, that's it's meaningful. I think it's also important for teachers to remember that we aren't just teaching these kids how to add and subtract or the present continuous. Our job is to make their lives better and to help them make their dreams come true, to help them become what they "want to be when they grow up". We're teaching them how to make it in this world. For me, that is what drives me to be a teacher. I cannot adequately describe how satisfying it is to be a part of that process, or the sense of purpose and accomplishment I feel on the bus back home every night to Madrid. As teachers we have one of the most important jobs in the world. We're shaping the next generation.

Because of the impact we have in their lives I think it is important to engage and communicate with the parents as much as possible in regards to their children's education, among many other reasons. Engaging parents can be easy with many of them. A way I have done that with classwork is by having the second graders create a family tree while we study family vocabulary. I ask them to provide pictures and information about their parents that they probably don't know, both of which without a doubt generate the participation and interest of many parents, if not the majority. This activity was also exciting because I had the children present the family tree to the class, being the first presentation they have ever given. Moments like those are beyond rewarding when teaching younger children.

To see more about my teaching philosophy read my Reflection page where I discuss more things I have learned about teaching.