My Teaching Philosophy
“By learning you will teach; by teaching you will understand.”
-Latin Proverb
I am a young educator, from Michigan State University’s College of Education where I developed, and continue to develop, a teaching philosophy that I feel makes everyone in the classroom a learner and instills many essential principles to help students to succeed both in and beyond the classroom. The way I approach teaching comes from the need to vary instructional methods in order to reach the diverse learners that are in my classroom; so that they can comprehend content and practice long-lasting skills that will make them both successful and productive members of society once they have long walked out of the door to my classroom for the last time. My aim is for students to expand both their critical thinking and analytical skills, develop a great work ethic, and to practice good study habits through the content in my classroom. These skills are adaptable to any jobs or future experiences that my students will have after they leave my classroom.
I aim to both engage and interact with every student in my classroom on a daily basis, and to help them succeed to their highest potential; while making learning engaging, and to make sure that I learn from my students on a daily basis. I hold both my students and myself to high standards so that at the same time we are all striving to be the best that we can be, them to be the best students they can be and so I can be the best teacher that I can be. During class I use as many anecdotes and examples from both history and my life as possible in order to help students relate to the content we are studying. One of the most rewarding times to me is when a student lights up and is able to recall a story that I told (or an example I used) and be able to explain a concept because of it; that shows me that they are well on their way to having mastered the material.
I strive to teach my students not only what they need to know based on state and district standards but to help students make meaningful connections to the content through working hard to vary and adapt my teaching strategies to best suit all learners. I also seek to answer all of my students questions to the best of my ability and if I do not know the answer to a question to investigate it. Overall my philosophy is for my classroom to be a learning environment where students learn from me, but most importantly that I learn from them each and every day. It is through learning from one another that I believe that students and teachers build trust that develops an environment in which learning is best suited to take place and where lasting and meaningful relationships between student and teacher are able to develop and flourish.
I seek to make my classroom student-centered and to give my students whatever they need in order to succeed. To make sure my students needs are met I routinely given them a survey on what worked for them, what did not, what I am doing well, and what I need to improve on as well as "ticket's out the door" in order to check for understanding over material that has been presented in class. This gives them a voice in the classroom and gives them some ownership as to what sorts of activities take place, as well as the ability to ask questions anonymously about the content.
As an educator I do this by making myself available both before and after school to help students and to seek out any resources that either my students or I need in order to better serve their education. That was why I created and maintained my website, in order for students to have access to classroom materials, and be able to contact me 24 hours a day by submitting a form under the “Contact Me” tab. I furthermore believe that transparency is one of the most important aspects of education, communication with parents is as key as having a clear lesson plan. In effect we work for these parents as they pay the taxes that support our salaries, school, and their children’s education. To be unavailable to speak with a parent who has concerns is a disservice both to our education system as well as our community we work in. I believe keeping in contact with parents can only help teachers teach and students learn.
Even though my career is still blossoming I believe that I have a lot to offer others because of my strong work ethic, passion for others and my ability to develop new ideas or approaches to better interact with and teach students. As a lifelong learner I find this the most important part of myself, to work hard to be able to adapt both my practice and myself in order to contribute to an ever-changing world with ever-changing people in it.
I aim to both engage and interact with every student in my classroom on a daily basis, and to help them succeed to their highest potential; while making learning engaging, and to make sure that I learn from my students on a daily basis. I hold both my students and myself to high standards so that at the same time we are all striving to be the best that we can be, them to be the best students they can be and so I can be the best teacher that I can be. During class I use as many anecdotes and examples from both history and my life as possible in order to help students relate to the content we are studying. One of the most rewarding times to me is when a student lights up and is able to recall a story that I told (or an example I used) and be able to explain a concept because of it; that shows me that they are well on their way to having mastered the material.
I strive to teach my students not only what they need to know based on state and district standards but to help students make meaningful connections to the content through working hard to vary and adapt my teaching strategies to best suit all learners. I also seek to answer all of my students questions to the best of my ability and if I do not know the answer to a question to investigate it. Overall my philosophy is for my classroom to be a learning environment where students learn from me, but most importantly that I learn from them each and every day. It is through learning from one another that I believe that students and teachers build trust that develops an environment in which learning is best suited to take place and where lasting and meaningful relationships between student and teacher are able to develop and flourish.
I seek to make my classroom student-centered and to give my students whatever they need in order to succeed. To make sure my students needs are met I routinely given them a survey on what worked for them, what did not, what I am doing well, and what I need to improve on as well as "ticket's out the door" in order to check for understanding over material that has been presented in class. This gives them a voice in the classroom and gives them some ownership as to what sorts of activities take place, as well as the ability to ask questions anonymously about the content.
As an educator I do this by making myself available both before and after school to help students and to seek out any resources that either my students or I need in order to better serve their education. That was why I created and maintained my website, in order for students to have access to classroom materials, and be able to contact me 24 hours a day by submitting a form under the “Contact Me” tab. I furthermore believe that transparency is one of the most important aspects of education, communication with parents is as key as having a clear lesson plan. In effect we work for these parents as they pay the taxes that support our salaries, school, and their children’s education. To be unavailable to speak with a parent who has concerns is a disservice both to our education system as well as our community we work in. I believe keeping in contact with parents can only help teachers teach and students learn.
Even though my career is still blossoming I believe that I have a lot to offer others because of my strong work ethic, passion for others and my ability to develop new ideas or approaches to better interact with and teach students. As a lifelong learner I find this the most important part of myself, to work hard to be able to adapt both my practice and myself in order to contribute to an ever-changing world with ever-changing people in it.