Teaching Philosophy

Someone once asked me, why did I want to be a teacher and how will I feel watching
my students become more successful than I am? My response to that question was, exactly for
the reason that I will see them be successful, but not more successful than me, successful because
of me. A lot of people do not give teachers the value they deserve, but we are the ones that
provide a future to the next generation. We are the ones that can make a difference in a childs
education. The key is, how?
As a mathematics teacher, I want to be able to pass onto my students the same passion I
have about Math. I plan to make Math interesting and meaningful to my students. I want them to
make personal connections with different mathematical concepts introduced during every lesson.
I plan to accomplish this by teaching it through critical and abstract thinking, open discussions,
hands-on learning, manipulatives, projects, group activities, and peer to peer teaching. I will
implement constructivist principles and theoretical basis in my lessons that will challenge my
students and broaden their learning. For example, allowing the students to create beams of
spaghetti to discover slopes or any other student-centered lessons with hands-on activities. Also,
the students will get teacher-centered lessons where they will retain my explanation of the
content.
Moreover, it will be my best interest to get to know my students. I will have them turn in
a written excerpt the first week of school explaining what they like/dislike about math and their
strengths/weakness in Math. This will help me plan my lessons according to their needs and
interests and allow me to teach them more profoundly. My classroom will be set to be a learning
environment where my students will feel comfortable to express themselves and indulge in

learning. I will accomplish this by establishing a caring environment and by establishing order in
the classroom.
Furthermore, I strongly believe that policies and procedures is the foundation for
learning. Without them, there is no function in the classroom. Policies and procedures allow
more time for learning and produce a smooth running class. It also serves as a guide for the
students to know what is expected from them. It creates an ongoing routine where there would be
productivity of learning in my classroom. In order to maintain it, I will stay consistent so that the
students do not break from the pattern.
It is very important to let your students know that you believe in them so that they can
believe in themselves. It will give them positive outlooks. I will have rewards and praises to offer
to them. I will have inspirational quotes on the walls and math specific goals to help guide them.
I will always make time to help my students and accommodate them based on their needs. If
there are any students that need special accommodations because of their language or any other
learning barrier, I will modify my lessons and include other methods of teaching. For example, I
would use more visuals and manipulatives. Ex. I will use algebra tiles to help students. I will also
encourage group work with their classmates that are academically stronger in the content.
Assessing my students is another aspect of my teaching philosophy. I will assess them
informally and formally. One technique I will use is thumbs up, thumbs down to obtain an
understanding of where my students are in the lesson. I will also do observations and use
questioning strategies to make sure the students are on task. For example, I will ask indirect
questions to see if they can discover the answers on their own. I will always make sure my
students are getting the best education they can from me. I will be willing to change teaching
strategies and methods to ones that work best for the students. I would attend professional

development meetings and talk to other teachers to improve myself. I will never stop learning. I
will be a teacher and a student and in my classroom we will all learn to create a brighter future.