teaching philosophy
what teaching means to me
Student-Centered Environment
I find my greatest pleasure in being an inspiration and making a difference. I believe that in order to do this, one must invigorate each child’s educational weapon by using a student-centered approach. It is important to understand that each student has a unique gift/meaningful purpose and an educator should incorporate ways to strengthen them. Inspiring students to think for themselves and providing guidance is integral to ensuring their success and encouraging them to fulfill their potential. This entails one being a trusted source of advice for students weighing important life decisions; helping them pursue higher education, explore career opportunities, and compete in events they might otherwise have not thought themselves able to. The Importance of Technology With today’s world being highly influenced by technology, teachers are able to improve their educational strategies/approach with just the click of a button. This approach is very beneficial for Generation Z because they are immersed in the rapidly changing world of technology and find this approach more interesting than the traditional classroom setting. The Foundation: My Teaching Approach As a graduate student at TAMUC, I’ve had the opportunity to explore different theories and discovered that my approach is closely related to Vygotsky’s (later influences were contributed by Bruner) social constructivist approach. My teachings are endogenic and student centered in which I consistently encourage each of my students to express their own opinions and nurture their own ideas. I place a high emphasis on knowledge but even more importance on my students rational capacities and ability to deliberate their knowledge. I believe that helping students to develop a deep love and respect for themselves, others, and their environment occurs through an open sharing of ideas and a judicious approach to discipline. I’ve learned that by instilling fair and consistent rules initially and stating the importance of every activity, students are shown respect for their presence and time. Using strategies such as class meetings, positive discipline, and democratic principles show children how to become responsible for themselves as well as their own learning. In turn they learn to respect themselves, others, and their environment. My Technological Duty as an Educator As a teacher, it is my duty to increase my knowledge about technology and stay abrupt with new innovations that compliment my educational approach. Technologies such as blogs alter students’ conventional idea of writing papers and many of them are more engaged in writing assignments when they are approached in a technological way. Discussion threads such as Twitter, are useful for having students write short summaries in 140 characters are less. Being able to reply via thread is also great for collaborating ideas. I’ve completely eliminated the primordial “poster board” projects from my classroom and require my students to present their projects via media such as; Powerpoint, Poppet, Glogster or Prezi. The Journey Teaching is definitely a lifelong learning process that involves a combination of old and new philosophies/strategies. Teachers must remain open-minded and respect the joys, the innocence, and the diversity of ideas in the world. The best teachers are those who possess a passion for learning and a zeal for knowledge. For, "Zeal without knowledge is like an expedition to a man in the dark." - John Newton |
