Teaching

Philosophy

There are multiple purposes present in teaching and learning. As a teacher, you are

not only educating your students but you are also learning from them as well. My
viewpoints about teaching indicate that my philosophy is a combination of Progressivism
and Social Reconstructionism. Some of my viewpoints also come from an Essentialist
background. Education should be student-centered in order to be the most successful for
students. Realistic and relevant teaching is more important than test based teaching.
Individuality should be a focus that is celebrated, and lessons should focus more on the
student and their ideas than on the students technical work. Group work is an aspect of
most classrooms that often works well and helps students learn from their peers. Student
engagement is one of the most important aspects of learning. When students are engaged
and interested, learning will take place. Lessons should always be informative, important,
and purposeful, which is where my essentialist viewpoint comes in. It is important to also
ensure that lessons are entertaining, and interesting, interactive. A balance of pragmatism
and imagination should be present in the classroom. Students learn based off of experience
and asking bigger questions. Strategic thinking and creativity should be encouraged.
Diversity of any form is also something to be celebrated. Students should be uplifted and
inspired to learn every day. I agree with some of John Deweys beliefs, including social
interaction and applying previous knowledge and experiences to new content.
My viewpoints on Social Reconstructionism include incorporating hands-on work
and experiences, as well as a combination of thinking both inside and outside of the box.
Students can, in a sense, change the world with their education by exploring. Social
challenges and problems should be appropriately discussed in order to help students gain

more real world experiences and understandings. It is important to keep in mind that each
student sees the world differently and has different experiences.
It is still, however, important for students to learn the knowledge of our civilization.
Classrooms still require guidelines and standards to teach to. Certain aspects of
essentialism really are essential to learning. Overall, one of the most important beliefs to
have about education is to enjoy the process.
For the role of the teacher, it is just as important to teach, as it is to guide and
facilitate student ideas and conversations. All of the qualities discussed above are those of
an effective teacher. There needs to be a combination of getting done what needs to be
done, but doing so in an interesting and engaging way. The biggest goal in teaching is to
have my students be successful, in their own individual definition of success. Success is a
relative term and different students can succeed in different ways. Students should look
back on their learning experience in my classroom and remember always being engaged
and enjoying the learning process. Positive interactions should be fostered between
students and teachers by getting to know each student and their strengths early on.
Lifelong learning should always be encouraged.
Assessment of student work is best done through a combination of formal and
informal assessments. Tests and formal assessments can show understanding for some
students. Although this is true, not all students succeed in this way. Each student and their
individuality in learning should always be considered during assessment. Today, there is a
large focus in education on making sure not to forget about students who arent the Type
A student, meaning the student who thinks school is easy and doesnt study for tests but
still gets As. Any other type of learner is just as important and deserves to be properly

assessed as well, whether this is through discussion, one-on-one work with the teacher,
worksheets, or any other method that works for that individual learner. Learners deserve
to be properly assessed to monitor their learning progress, meaning there should always
be a variety of assessment methods practiced.