Philosophy of Education

As a teacher, I will strive to relate to my students instead of labeling them, be someone they
can confide in, and have them feel comfortable asking questions. Learning through discovery by
doing hands-on projects and experiments in collaborative groups is a teaching method I will
strongly endorse. Students learn the material best when they can make connections through
real life experiences. My teaching philosophy relates to Constructivism Theory. Constructivists,
such as Lee Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, believe that children should be introduced to problem-
based, adaptive learning that challenges faulty schema, integrates new knowledge with existing
knowledge, and allows for creation of innovative procedures. Constructivism also contributes to
the type of learners of Gardners Multiple Intelligences. Students in my classroom will represent
visual/spatial, musical/linguistic, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and
naturalistic intelligences. In my constructivist-based classroom, students will take ownership of
their learning while Ill act as a facilitator.
By providing an experimental, hands-on learning environment, I will also incorporate Vygotskys
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). I will keep constant track on what students can do
independently and by what the child can do when assisted. By using Vygotskys ZPD, I can
indicate where the child is at given moment as well as where the child is going. To integrate the
ZPD in my instruction, I must organize activities for individual students or for groups of
students, design cooperative learning activities that can be planned with groups of children at
different levels who can help each other learn, and practice scaffolding with a student at their
own ZPD to support and assist until they can complete all of the steps independently.
Each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in
which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, and socially. Providing a positive
classroom climate sets the tone of learning and appropriate behavior from your students.
Students learn best in student-centered classroom where they are actively involved not only
with the subject matter but also with their classmates and teachers. My positive classroom
climate will be characterized by students who support one another, recognize and respect
individual differences, share their thoughts with one another and their teacher, and deal
constructively with conflicts. The outcome of my positive classroom climate guarantees the
accomplishment of common goals, promotes self-esteem and feeling of security, allows for
shared opinions, and ensures a high degree of healthy interactions with one another.
In order to create and maintain a smoothly functioning learning community, I will endorsed
several strategies. I designed planned lessons for the class with the idea of making transitions
between activities as smooth and efficient as possible. Students will easily became familiar with
my basic lesson format of a start-up activity, interactive lecture, lab/activity, and reinforcement
exercise. These start-up activities promote dispositional thinking routines which are to get
students thinking about a concept at the start of the class, evaluate their prior knowledge, and
link concepts to their everyday lives. I will also provide opportunities for students to work both
collaboratively and independently. One of the important keys to an effective functioning
classroom lies in knowing what students should be doing at any moment, and incorporating
multiple and varying hands-on activities into lessons to engage students in productive tasks.
Establishing an inclusive classroom culture where acceptance, respect and appreciation of
diversity will be the norm. To maintain this classroom culture I will set specific goals and
incorporate basic principles. Every student will feel respected, supported, valued, and
appreciated. Allowing students to incorporate their diversity will be a key factor in promoting
successful classroom culture. By sharing their diversity in the classroom, I want my students to
focus on the things that unite them instead of things that divide them. To encourage this
collaboration, it is crucial that I set specific goals by creating a culture of inclusion in my
classroom.
Adhering basic principles will establish an inclusive classroom culture. Students will be aware
that treating others with respect is both imperative and non-negotiable. They will acknowledge
learning differences positively as it will help them understand that everyone learns differently,
embrace diversity to develop a profound appreciate of one another differences, and share
stories and traditions together to build rich, cohesive, and unified classroom community. As a
teacher, I will model these ideas so students will exhibit them proficiently. I will teach my
students tolerance, patience, kindness, compassion, and empathy explicitly so they will develop
these habits of heart implicitly.
Classrooms with inclusive cultures explicitly and implicitly, consciously and unconsciously, and
verbally and nonverbally convey all learners to positive messages. All students want to be in
classroom environments that transmit positive messages which can exert a powerful influence
on academic achievement. Students are more likely to take risks when they feel safe and in
classrooms where mistakes and error are viewed as learning opportunities.
For me, teaching provides an opportunity for continual learning and growth. One of my hopes
as an educator is to introduce a love of learning in my students, as I share my own passion for
learning with them. There is a need for compassion, strong, and dedicated individuals who are
excited about working with children. In our competitive society it is important for students to
not only receive a solid education, but to work with someone who is aware of and sensitive to
their individual needs. I am such a person and will always strive to be the best educator that I
can be.