MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

Exploring My Beliefs About Teaching

Candace Renea Howell
University of South Florida

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

Table of Contents
Exploring Initial Beliefs about Teaching..3-5
Background on School Context...3
Background on Class Context.4
Personal Background Information4-5
Articulation of Beliefs about Teaching.5-9
Expansion on Beliefs and Ongoing Wonderings9-12
Conclusion12-13
References.14

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

Exploring My Beliefs About Teaching

In the fall semester of 2016 at Trapnell Elementary in Plant City, I have developed three
initial beliefs about teaching. More than half of this elementary school is predominantly
Hispanic. Over 90% of the fifth-grade class I was in this fall is Hispanic. In my intern class this
semester I had the pleasure of working with many students. I particularly had a good relationship
with one student name Julie. Her and I helped each other this semester grow in our academics.
Even though she is in fifth-grade I learned a lot from her by teaching her math and science with
different learning strategies. From my learning experiences with her and her fellow classmates I
have developed three initial beliefs about teaching.
My three beliefs about teaching are:
1. I believe that I should tend to the students learning needs and goals.
2. Teachers should build a relationship with parents to help create a better learning
environment.
3. Students should be held accountable for their own educational learning.
Background on School Context
The institutional setting is not a magnet school it is referred to as a public school. Its
operational business hours are from 8 am till 2:15 pm. They do offer before and after school
programs to students. The grade levels at this elementary school starts at Pre-K and ends at fifth
grade. Julie is in her last year at this institution. The demographic chart for the school shows that
61.82% are Hispanic, 22.55% Caucasian, 12.55% are African American, 1.64% Asian, 1.45%
Multi-racial, 0% Indian. Over half of this school is Hispanic, considering the area in which this
school is located I dont doubt the population of Trapnell Elementary. The students that attend
this school do not have to wear uniforms.

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

Background on Class Context

The learning environment in my fifth-grade class at Trapnell elementary is teacher
centered. The students sit in pairs of two in three rows. They are facing the smart board which is
in front of the classroom. Here is a picture of the classroom setup:

There are sixteen students in my fifth-grade class. Nine of the students are Hispanic. Five
of the students are Caucasian. Two of the students are African American. 56% of this class is
Hispanic, 31% is Caucasian, and 13% is African American. This means there is a wide range of
diversity in this classroom. The students in this classroom age range from 10-11 years of age.
This means that students should all be expected to have about the same maturity level.
Personal Background Information
As a young child, I did not have the privilege to a private school or a fancy boarding
school. I was privileged to have two grandparents that cared about my education. I was raised by
my mother who worked two jobs and was barely home to help me with my academics. I was
doing good in school until I got to third grade. My grades started to slip due to the lack of my
reading skills. My grandparents decided to pay for me to go to Sylvan Learning Center in Winter
Haven FL. A lot of students in the educational setting do not have this privilege as I did. My love

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

for education and learning is what drives me today to become the best teacher I can be. Below
are two pictures of my second and third grade report cards which will show you my decline in
reading.

Reading is a very hard subject for some students. During my internship, this semester I
have observed many students who are struggling with reading. I took the liberty of looking at
some of the students test scores and most of them were not on the level of reading the state wants
them to be on. Now I took into consideration that over half of my internship class are English
Language Learners and this could be the reason their FSA test scores are not on the current
reading and/or math level. This here brings me to my first initial belief about teaching.
Articulation of Beliefs about Teaching

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

My first initial belief about teaching is to tend to the students learning needs and goals.
Every student is tested by the state. Floridas test is called the FSA which stands for Florida
Standard Assessment. This semester in my internship class I got the privilege to work with a
young girl who I am going to refer to as Julie (not her real name). Her test scores on the FSA for
reading and math were both a 2. She is currently in fifth grade with a second-grade reading level.
She is an English Language Learner. My first initial belief about teaching is the ability to teach to
the students learning needs and goals. After spending time with Julie every Thursday at Trapnell
Elementary School I began to notice that she has long-term retrieval weakness. Julie needs help
in building her vocabulary and retrieving long term information, which will help her with her
reading comprehension and mathematics.
Based on Julies FSA test scores, she is lacking decoding skills due to a lack of sound
knowledge, particularly medial vowel blends. Her strength in her reading skills is that she stops
and tries to pronounce words she does not know. In my EdPsych textbook it states,
Metacognition is the ability to think about your own thinking processes, including study skills,
memory capabilities and the ability to monitor your learning (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber,
2009, p.211). Julie has a problem pulling out information from where her brain has the
information stored. Talking with my Collaborating Teacher and reading my EdPsych textbook I
have come to the conclusion that the, use of long-term memory requires students to encode the
information in a meaningful way for long-term storage and then to use retrieval strategies to
recall the information when needed (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009, p.189). My
recommendations for change for my collaborating teacher is to provide Julie with worksheets
that require her prior knowledge of the information which helps her retrieval process and by not
giving her worksheets or assignments that require no critical thinking task. Using Julie as an

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

example furthers my belief that students need to be taught based off what they need individually
as learners.
My second belief derives from my experience in my collaborating teachers classroom. I
believe teachers should build a relationship with the students parents in order to create a positive
learning environment in their classroom. There have been many incidents this semester with
behavioral issues. One incident that threw me for a loop this semester was one of the students in
my fifth-grade class was caught cheating on her math test. She was sitting at her desk taking a
math test and kept raises the edges of her test to look at a piece of paper under her test. Now the
students are allowed to have a scrap piece of blank paper at their desk to work out their
problems. This was not a notebook paper it was her math practice test they were given for
homework to help prepare them for their test that day. When I saw what, she was doing I
informed my CT and he began to observe what she was doing during the test. After catching her
in the act he stopped her during her test and we both took her out of the classroom to talk to her.
She told us both that she forgot to put the practice test up and that she was not cheating. We both
explained to her that we saw her go back and forth from the test to the practice test several times.
She began to cry and she was given a zero on her test.
The student then went home and told her mother that she was accused of cheating on her
test because she forgot to clear off her desk and that her teacher assumed she was cheating
because he saw her practice test on her desk. The mother called up to the school and wanted to
speak to her daughters teacher. She told my CT that he was lying and that her daughter would
not cheat on a test or lie about such a thing. The mother explained to the teacher that her
daughter should be able to retake the test that this incident was a only a perception of what really
happened. I was informed the following Thursday about the phone call and my CT had the

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

student take the test in the office in a private area where she would not be allowed to look at any
sheet beside the test and scrap paper.
I feel that this incident escalated very quickly and could have been prevented. I think my
CT should have asked the girl what she thinks the teacher should do. If the teacher offers the
student a choice of changing his/her behavior or experiencing the logical consequences. The use
of this technique places the responsibility for appropriate behavior where it belongs, on the
student. Using the words you have a choice communicates to the student that the teacher is in a
neutral position and thus serves to remove the teacher from arguments and power struggles with
the student (Clayton & Forton, 2001, pg. 162). It should be explained afterwards that if this
behavior happens again such as her cheating on a test that her parents will be contacted. In my
mind the girl could have asked to finish the test with the rest of her class with nothing on her
desk. If this happened she would not have to miss valuable learning time in the classroom by
having to go up to the office.
I believe that there should be a relationship between the students parents and the teacher.
If there was a positive relationship setup by the teacher with the parent, I think the mother of this
little girl would not have acted the way she did. There are many benefits of having positive
parent-teacher relationship and the necessity of having positive proactive interactions with
parents before any contacts are made regarding disruptive behavior. When the time arrives that
we are requesting parents assistance with a chronic problem, most parents would be unreceptive
if all they have ever heard from the school are negative complaints about their child. If teachers
are proactive and positive, then most parents would willingly help out or at least be supportive of
the teachers efforts because they view the school in a positive light and the teacher is perceived
as trying to help their child (Clayton & Forton, 2001, pg. 196). This in my mind is all I want to

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

do as a teacher is to help students become the best they can be socially and academically. I did
not want this girl to get into trouble but how can I help her become a better student if I dont say
something to my CT about my observation. Her cheating on a test will not get her very far and I
want her to succeed to the best of her ability. This brings me to my next belief.
My third initial belief is that students should be held accountable for their own
educational learning. As teachers, we hold the knowledge that students need to grow into
educated adults. As a future educator, I can tell that there is only so much I can do for my
students in school and out of school to help them learn the material I need them to learn. Their
main job as children is to be a student and go to school to learn what their parents learned or had
the ability to learn when they were their age. Here is another example from this semester in my
internship at Trapnell Elementary.
On November 10, 2016, my CT was not in class and he had a substitute teacher there on
one of my internship days. The students were required to do a math sheet for homework and
when Breanna and I got to class that Thursday the students told us they did not understand how
to the math worksheet. I got in contact with my CT and he told me the students were taught the
material before he left that week. The students were not taking responsibility for their education.
I asked the class if they would like for me to teach them how to do their homework and they
responded with yes. I then told them that I would give them another worksheet that they had to
do for homework that night and bring back the next morning and if they didnt they would
receive two zeros on their assignments instead of receiving one 100 for one assignment. I was
trying to give the students in my class control over their own learning. In my EDPsych textbook
it states, Students should feel that they have control over their learning. Teachers who promote
autonomy by offering students opportunities to make choices that affect their learning create

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10

more responsible, independent, self-regulated learners (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009,
p.273).
Based off of my learning from my EDP3273 class I incorporated this into my internship
class that Thursday and it worked. The students were hands on deck learning and were full
engaged in what I was teaching them. The students that did not understand the basic principle of
fractions I sent back to Breanna to work with them, while I stayed and taught the rest of the class
the curriculum that they were trying to learn. This can also be proof of my first belief of teaching
students what they need to learn based on their needs and goals. They cannot learn how to
multiply a fraction or find a missing denominator if they do not know how to multiply. The
students in this class were accountable for their learning because I asked them if they understand
how to break down a whole number and if they did not understand they needed to speak up and
seek help from Breanna in the back. This is holding students accountable for their learning.
Below are two pictures of Breanna in the back working with the students and the other one is my
group upfront with me.

Expansion of Beliefs and Ongoing Wonderings

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11

In what ways have my current beliefs expanded from my initial beliefs? I feel that my
three beliefs tend to grow as I receive more and more information on education. I love going to
my internship class every Thursday. I learn about the students and ways to become a better
teacher. This semester I have studied Julie as my case study student for my EDP3273 class and I
wonder if incorporating some informal assessments would benefit Julie as a student. An,
Informal assessment is the spontaneous, day-to-day observation of how students behave and
perform in class. It may involve techniques such as listening, observing students interaction, and
asking questions (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009, p.480). Julie is required to take the
FSA once a year, which provides an assessment on Julie at that point of time frame. An informal
assessment using authentic assessment will help target her problem areas and be able to correct
any instruction that is needed sooner rather than later. Authentic assessment measure important
abilities using methods that simulate the application of those abilities to real-world intellectual
problems, roles, or situations. Rather than relying exclusively on a paper-and-pencil test format,
authentic assessments may require students to carry out an activity or develop a product in order
to demonstrate skill or knowledge (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009, p.481).
For example, in Julies reading and writing class when she is given vocabulary words and
asked to take a test on those words. Instead of giving her the paper-to-pencil assessment I can ask
Julie to write a letter to our President of the United States of America using those vocabulary
words.
One thing that I struggle with is watching her not grasp concepts that other students are
grasping because her teacher cannot stop what he is teaching to help her one on one. I wonder if
he could break up his class into sections and teach a certain lesson to one group and have them
work on one assignment while he teaches the other group what they need to be taught. This

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12

would help Julie with her learning because she would be learning what she needs to learn. This
would be teaching to the students needs and goals. Every child should have a goal when they
come to school the next year. The teacher has their tests scores from the previous year and can
identify what each childs weakness and strengths are.
I wonder about my future classroom and how my students parents will react to my
beliefs about teaching. I wonder if they will be receptive to me reaching out them and trying to
build a relationship with them to create a positive learning environment in my classroom. I want
my students parents to be involved in my classroom and know what is their child is learning and
how they are developing as people. In my Principles of Classroom Management textbook, it
states, before school starts and once the teacher receives a class list, she can write a letter of
introduction to both students and parents. The letter should introduce the teacher summarize the
class and curriculum and express optimism about what a great year it will be. Some teachers
arrive at school a few days early to get their room ready and set up bulletin boards. If your school
allows it, invite parents and students to stop by and introduce themselves. (Clayton & Forton,
2001, pg. 196) I love this idea and I think this idea would start off a great relationship foundation
for me as a teacher and my students parents.
I do not think I will struggle with holding my students accountable for their learning (my
third initial belief). I know that as a future teacher I will have to write assessment plans for each
student based on their needs. In my EDPsych textbook it states, Creating an assessment plan
can be a challenging task, but it has several benefits for the classroom teacher. Knowing how to
choose and/or design assessment components increases the quality of teaching decisions and
offers the teacher more flexibility (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009, p.481). I think that I
should teach to my students needs and goals. Yes, I have to teach them the core curriculum but

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how I teach is up to me. Some students cannot grasp things as quickly as others and this is where
creating an assessment plan will be beneficial to my future students As I move into my Level 2
field experience, I continue to wonder about how teachers can get parents more involved with
their childs academics. (My second initial belief.)
Conclusion
In conclusion, I know as a future educator that I am held to a higher standard. An
effective teacher always follows the Code of Ethics and the Principles of Professional Conduct of
the Education Profession of Florida. My three beliefs about teaching represent the complex
nature of teaching and learning by always wondering how do I engage the students in learning,
how do I get the students more involved, and how do I help the students grasp certain core
curriculum tasks. My first initial belief about teaching to the students needs and goals will
impact my future students learning ability to their benefit. I hope to raise any FSA test scores and
help my students retain the information that I have taught them.
With my last two initial beliefs about teaching I will make sure that I always practice
justice and equity in my classroom. Students should be held to accountability for their learning
and teachers should reach out to parents and communicate with them about their child. In my
future classroom, I will practice justice and equity for all my students, because every child
deserves to be treated with the same respect and fairness. I see myself engaging with my future
students parents which will allow for continued growth within their child and growth within me
as a future educator. This can be done by parent teacher conference or a professional letter that is
sent home with the students and signed by their parents. I know as a future educator that I will
always be responsible for the education of my students. I will act accordingly to the code of
ethics to help promote the best learning environment for my students.

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References
1. Bohlin, L., Durwin, C. C., & Reese-Weber, M. (2009). EdPsych: Modules. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. (Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber, 2009, p._)
2. Clayton, M. K., & Forton, M. B. (2001). Classroom spaces that work. Greenfield,
MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.