Educational Philosophy
I believe that education starts for students at birth. Students learning experiences begin from their homes and the world around them, it is my job as a teacher to use that knowledge and to build on and add to it.
My definition of a successful teacher is one who learns from their past experiences including the times when they were students in elementary, middle and high schools. They also pull from the resource they gain from their college career and internships. A great teacher is one who is always striving for the best in their careers. If the teacher is successful in their career then it is understood that the students they teach will be successful, too. The recipe for a successful or a great teacher is to be motivated to teach, the willingness to learn from past mistakes, and an optimistic attitude. These are qualities that I posses.
I believe when a teacher is motivated to teach they tend to motivate their students to learn. It is imperative to have engaging activities for the students. Because of the engaging activities, there would not be a large room for behavioral problems. These activities will pull from and build on their background knowledge and they will be able to make connections to the activities. I believe when a student make a connection a they are more apt to value their education. Moreover, have learning centers or workshops are another way to motivate and engage students. In these center / workshops, the students will have choices or options of activity to work on. I believe when a student have choice they going to value that activity and learn more from it. I will use group activities, too.
Learning from past mistakes is what make teacher better everyday. As a human being, I am not perfect but it does not stop me from striving for perfection. How do I learn from past mistakes? Reflecting constantly is one way I believe a teacher can continue to learn. Reflect on the day, the lessons and on strategies used should be daily. For example, if a lesson did not a go as plan, I have to ask myself a couple of questions like what happen? Why did it happen? How would I change it to make it better? For me reflection is very important in striving for perfection.
Having an optimistic attitude is crucial. Realistically not everything is going to go as plan sometimes. My attitude on how I handle situations will show my students and peers that whatever happens there is always a solution. It will show off my optimistic attitude and show my perseverance. When a student walks in my classroom, I will have high expectations for them and I will expect them to have high expectations for them selves. I want the students to believe that, with an optimistic attitude, they will success in my class.
Finally, I follow constructivist approach to learn. As a constructivist, most of my lessons will consist of “cooperative learning, project base learning, and discovery.”(Hoffman, B p. 202) I believe in social learning. Student need to learn how to work and learn form each other. In addition, learning to work with different personalities will help them in the future, working in the real world. Secondly, projects engage the student into the lesson; it will also spark their curiosity to learn more. Discovery is the student’s curiosity at work. I believe these are very important ways to run classroom.
In conclusion, to be successful I will have to be motivated to teach, willing to learn from past mistakes, and have an optimistic attitude. My style of teaching is the student-centered approach. For students that enter into my classroom, my goal is to make them learners for life.
**Hoffman, B. (Ed). (2007). Learning Theory and Assessment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
