A teaching philosophy is something that can never be complete as I progress through my teaching career I will forever be learning and creating new beliefs, feelings and values. I will continue to grow and evolve throughout my career, reflecting and evaluating my teaching practices as I begin this wonderful journey as a teacher. Some of the following quotes align with my teaching philosophy.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn” – Benjamin Franklin (Alatis, 1993, p.443.). Through a student centered approach I believe that children need to be active learners whereby their needs and interests are always upheld and respected. Students will be intrinsically motivated and will be able to make connections to their world. As a teacher I believe I have a commitment to my students to further their knowledge. Together we will build on prior knowledge to create new concepts and understandings. I believe in making connections and striving to know my students. I value the individuality, respect the differing abilities and see all students as contributors to the classroom learning environment.
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, we should teach the way they learn”– Ignacio Estrada (Mariotti, 2009, p.54). I recognize and understand that all students have diverse styles of learning. I therefore value the importance of differentiating my lessons accordingly and keeping them relevant as well as allowing students who may learn in different ways to connect to the content. It is my responsibility as a teaching professional to allow students an opportunity to achieve their full potential through challenging and rewarding experiences so they are happy, confident and productive members of the school community.
I seek to create an environment where students feel safe, secure and included. This will be upheld through respecting and promoting difference, individuality, intellectual diversity and cultural differences. I believe that families play an important role in the education of their children so I will also strive to involve all family and community members to work together through partnerships which aim at building respect and shared expectations and goals.
I understand that students bring different experiences and perspectives to the classroom. Therefore I believe in an approach which promotes open discussion around the topics of equity and social justice in the classroom, so all children will feel a sense of pride in their social and cultural individuality where difference is respected. I strive to provide a space where I am able to foster respect in my classroom and allow my students to recognize and appreciate others beliefs, thoughts and ideas, as all students are unique individuals.
I will seek to connect my lessons to the appropriate framework documents. I believe in respecting the Victorian Institute of Teaching standards and their characteristics as a professional. These policies and documents will continue to be a large part of my teaching practices, acknowledging and always maintaining the best interests of all children in the school-learning environment.
Self-reflection and evaluation of my teaching practices will be a continuing process as I seek advice from my colleagues and use student’s evaluations to improve my teaching. I feel that although I am coming close to finishing my official studies in education I am just beginning the learning process. I am looking forward to working in my own classroom where I will have colleagues that I can continue to learn from. This is where I believe I will learn the most about the practical aspects of teaching. I am also looking forward to reflecting on my teaching practice with them and being able to discuss what I feel has worked well and where I can improve.