Teachers are respectful,
hard working, and dedicated individuals who dedicate their lives to motivating
a student to reach their full learning potential. Teachers must be on time, prepared, open-minded,
approachable, and personable. They
must have these skills in order to communicate with their students, parents of
their students, and other colleagues.
These professionals should listen to suggestions from said individuals
in order to create a classroom that is connected and involved with their
surroundings. Teaching means being
able to embody these aspects and using them to create a positive learing
environment. Each teacher has
their own philosophy of teaching that reminds them of what their goals are for
teaching in the classroom.
My philosophy of teaching
science to elementary students is centered around student inquiry. I will teach science in a way that
provokes students thought processes and encourages them to ask questions on
their own. This way, students will
be learning about things they are interested in and will retain the information
they encounter. Learning can be
defined as the act of exploring, gaining knowledge of, remembering, and
understanding intellectual materials that have been introduced or found. As a teacher, it is my responsibility
to create an environment where children can develop learning without
restrictions. I will foster
personal achievement, knowledge, understanding, and growth through
encouragement and hands on engagements.
It is also my responsibility to set a positive example for students to
follow. I will be a role model for
my students and I know my actions/attitude will impact them. I will be very cautious in the
classroom because young minds are very impressionable. This means, I will need to control my
emotions and negative feelings in order to create an environment where my
students will not be effected negatively as well. I will keep a positive environment so students will also
keep a positive attitude and outlook for school that day. My actions will help me to be a better
facilitator of learning for the students as well because my mind will be
focused on the students and daily material being covered.
In order to be an educated professional, I will need to attend various
workshops and continuing education classes. The material that is taught in schools changes every year
and new ways to approach student learning are also developed. To teach science in the classroom, I
must attend workshops and seminars because science is an ever changing field. It changes because of developmental
breakthroughs in research and
technology. I grew up with the understanding that Pluto was a planet, but since
the definition of planet has changed, so too has this information. This example is just one of the many
reasons why it is imperative to continuously educate yourself for the benefit
of your students. Another
beneficial technique I will use is to
keep an on-going reflection of my teaching practices. I will need to know what lessons or
labs worked or didn’t work with my students so that I can change them and make
them better the next time I teach a similar lesson.
The
awareness of my students culture will also play a part in what lessons may or
may not work. I will be working
with a multicultural classroom and one of the greatest challenges will be to
recognize appropriate instruction and discipline that are congruent with each
child’s community norms. I will
also need to recognize the importance of student perception. As of now, I use implied directives to
address students but in the future I would like to use more explicit
directives. I will find a balance
between the two styles; this way students will not see me as a weak teacher and
will respect and follow the rules I
set in my classroom. In
comparision, I must also respect my student’s, their culture, and understand
their cultural use of language.
Students should not be disciplined right away just because I may not
agree with something they do.
I must learn to
access the situation, see how it may or may not be culturally accepted by their
community, and discipline accordingly.
I intend to be critically reflective and conscoius of my social
interactions with students in order to create a socially just classroom
environment. Principles and elements that align with my ideals can be found in
the Model Standards for
Beginning Teacher Licensing, Assessment, and Development: A Resource for State
Dialogue. This
publication lists six social justice related principles that I whole-heartedly
agree with:
1. Priniciple 1:
Appreciates mulitple perspectives.
2. Principle 3:
Appreciates and values diversity, shows respect.
3. Principle 4:
Values the development of critical thinking.
4. Principle 5:
Understands how participation supports commitment, committed to the expression and
use of democratic values in the classroom.
5. Principle 6:
Values the many ways in which people seek to communicate, recognizes the
power of language, appreciates the cultural dimension of communication.
6. Principle 9:
Values critical thinking, reflection, and professional practice, committed to
reflection.
These six principles are what I am
going to base my personal, professional self upon and will serve as the core
values for the way I teach in my classroom.
As a science teacher, I intend to create as many hands on activities as
possible. I believe that science
is a subject best learnt through self observation and exploration. Every lesson should be inquiry based
(trusts all students to learn and every student is involved) and
child-centered. This will allow
for students to become scientifically literate and make sound societal
decisions. To me, science is the
exploration of the universe in order to gain knowledge about life. I will take
every opportunity of leaning to educate the students about all aspects of life. I may be able to provide them with the knowledge they seek
but they will not truly understand their scientific questions until they
explore for themselves. They must
be willing to make predictions, ask questions, and articulate their
understandings.
The
best way for students to achieve this is by promoting inquiry in the classroom
through the use of the Five E model.
Students will begin by Engaging; having a classroom discussion or small
fun activity to get them interested in the lesson. Then, students will Explore with hands on lab activities and
experiences. Next, they will
Explain the knowledge they gained from the lesson. The teacher will Elaborate on the main topic once again by
showing a video/PowerPoint or doing another small activity with the class. Finally, the students will be Evaluated
through various forms of assessment in order to see if they understand the
knowledge they gained from the lesson.
For students to clearly understand
material, they must be taught in a variety of ways.
Many children are
tactile learners and prefer to complete hands on activities for their
lessons. These students retain
information better when they are able to explore the topic by touching and
feeling it. Students who learn in
the manner will excel at lab activities and science projects. Some students are visual learners who
like to read, complete visual charts, or watch videos. When students are able to see what they
are learning, they are able to decipher the information and remember it in ways
that is best for them. Visual
learners will excel at creating graphic organizers and models that depict
scientific processes and cycles.
Other students are
auditory learners and enjoy listening to lectures, videos, and tape
recordings. These students process
information best when they can hear it, think about it, and process it all in
their mind. Auditory students will
succeed when a presentation is being made or their book is being read aloud. E-learning is also a way to not only
intergrate technology but to accommodate different learning styles. This style would incorporate technology
such as email, websites, PowerPoint, blogs, microscopes, and videos. Students may prefer to have activities
that involve all of these ways of learning in order to understand the topics
they are dealing with. The best
classroom learning environment will include activities that will accommodate
every students learning style.
I will create a
learning environment that focuses on each students individual needs. I will need to be flexible and have an
understanding of my students needs in order to construct activities they will
be successful with. This success
should not be determined through a formal assessment, such as a test, because
some students simply memorize and do not actually learn the material. I believe in informal assessments, such
as checklists or conversations with students to truly find out what the student
has taken away from the lesson. I
will still follow the Georgia Performance Standards for Science and align my instructional
plan with that, but they will serve merely as a guideline for assessing my
student’s performance and determining all areas of needed improvement. This
guideline will serve also as an assessment for myself to see if I was truly
able to foster learning in the student or not.
