Philosophy of Teaching

My philosophy of teaching is that all students have the ability to learn and succeed in school. As

their teacher, it is my job to differentiate my instruction to meet the needs of all of my students in

order to make sure they each are successful. My philosophy is that teachers need to provide a

welcoming open environment in which students are engaged in their learning and instruction is

based on the students skills and interests. Teachers need to provide a classroom in which

students can take risks, express their ideas openly, make mistakes, and learn to work

cooperatively. The most important thing is that each student receives an education which reflects

their strengths and is differentiated to meet their needs.

Throughout my seven years of teaching my philosophy has changed based on the students who I

have worked with. Working with the students who have had different disabilities, I have

observed first-hand how each child learns differently. Every year I meet a new group of students

who come from different backgrounds, family life, culture, race, and socioeconomic status and

who have different skills and deficits. I have worked with students with special needs as well as

students who are gifted and talented. I have worked with students who are reading and

performing two levels ahead and students who are still performing on a 1st grade level. In order

to meet the needs of each of my students sitting in my classroom, I have to learn about each

individual student and their strengths and needs. I have to learn what motivates them and keeps

them engaged in lessons. I need to learn about their past in school and what skills they have

mastered and what they still need support with. In order to be an effective teacher, I need to truly

understand each of my students abilities in order to make instructional decisions that will benefit

all of my students. This is a continuous reflection that teachers need to do throughout the year in

order to stay effective and meet the needs of the class.

In my teaching, I have learned to implement different learning styles and strategies to meet the

needs of all my students. Within my teaching, I differentiate my instruction for those students

who learn and perform differently. Through creating a more flexible learning environment, each

of my students has the capability to learn the material and demonstrate their understanding in

different ways. This is especially important for those students with special needs. Over the last

few years I have been an inclusion teacher so I have worked with students with both IEPs and

504s. For each of these students they have their own individualized strategies and goals to help

them be successful. Within my planning, I have to specifically plan for each of these students to

make sure their needs are being met. In each of my lessons, I have to provide differentiated

instruction and assessments to give all students the ability to be successful. Also, to increase

engagement and participation with my students, I try to plan instruction around things in which

the students are interested in. I try to include the students interests and current events. Also to

keep the students engaged, I try to use more hands on activities and transitions so the students are

always moving and engaged with a new activity. When students are engaged with instruction,

they are less likely to get off task and act up. At the school that I currently teach, I have several

students who get easily off task and frustrated so in order to keep a positive atmosphere; I have

to keep them engaged and active to stay on task. Through my instruction, I can implement

strategies and activities to keep the students engaged and on task.

Overall, my philosophy of teaching continues to grow and change as I have more experiences

with my students and learn from working with them. Their strengths and weaknesses continue to

vary and I have to continue to learn new strategies and ways to differentiate my instruction to

meet the needs of all my students so that they can be successful.