"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -- Benjamin Franklin
An Abstract from my Personal Philosophy of Teaching
In essence, my Teaching Philosophy revolves around three key values:
· To inspire students to question, challenge and become involved in the world around them.
· To establish a classroom environment that encourages each individual to feel safe and secure in sharing their insights, questions and interests with confidence and curiosity.
· To always be mindful of the very large responsibility and accountability that teachers have to their students in developing a relationship with academia, and in shaping the people that they will become.
It is then very important for me as an educator to show an interest, passion and enthusiasm for what I am teaching, how I am teaching it and most importantly: for who I am teaching – the students.
I aim to fulfill the values listed above by continuing to be flexible and self reflective with my teaching pedagogy, to remain current with students' needs and – as much as the prescribed curriculum allows– allow the student's curiosity to lead the learning program and experiences. This requires me, as their teacher, to be constantly in tune with my students needs, and to encourage them to ask questions of the topic from a base interest level. I will strive to seek out opportunities for students to encounter abstract, kinetic ‘hands on’ activities in which to learn.
This involves remaining current with:
· teaching strategies promoting active learning and
· the equipment and materials that are available to facilitate positive and productive learning experiences such as IT resources.
· New concepts, innovative teaching practices and the current curriculum
A foundation to my Teaching Philosophy is the student centered learning approach, which encourages the student to be an active participant in their learning journey – not merely the passenger. The key characteristics of this approach that resonate with my values as a teacher are the following:
· the reliance on active rather than passive learning,
· an emphasis on deep learning experiences and understanding,
· increased responsibility, autonomy and accountability on the part of the student,
· an interdependence between teacher and learner,
· mutual respect within the learner teacher relationship, and,
· A self reflexive approach to the teaching and learning process on the part of both teacher and learner
The classroom setting can encourage or inhibit learning opportunities, depending on the dominant learning style of each student. I recognize that students learn differently, some are motivated through discussion, some through theory based learning; others absorb optimally through self reflection – for instance, when they read material or attend a workshop and reflect later on what was taught. Some students learn best through interactive activities. It is part of my philosophy of teaching to recognize the myriad of learning techniques my students present, and to try to reach each student in their best and most accessible mode.
Most importantly, my classroom will be one where mistakes are encouraged as a learning experience. This is highly important to me, as my main motivation to become a primary school teacher was to mold children into confident, self assured, intuitive and inspired individuals. I understand that through the acknowledging of a mistake, we acknowledge that we can better ourselves – and teach others how to become better also. I have always held teachers in great esteem for the reason that they begin the cycle of making a difference. In teaching each student, they begin a cycle of making a difference to the molding of individuals, and inspire a relationship not only with academia, but also their passions and interests, which will equip them towards the future. I certainly look forward to being a part of this cycle
