Nicole Bouvier

Dr. Leo-James

Placement

15 May 2017

Philosophy of Teaching

As a student of Psychology, I am an admirer of the learning theories of Erik Erikson,

whose theory of psychosocial development suggests that middle school children are developing

a sense of competence which, if reinforced, will result in confidence, industriousness and the

belief that goals will be achieved. Children who do not have their competency reinforced

develop feelings of inferiority and are more likely to struggle with academic, social and

emotional challenges as they grow older. For this reason, the goal of my work as a teacher is to

cultivate the competence of all students to the best of my ability. In service to this goal, there are

several principles which I believe should underlie my developing teaching style.

I believe that students are in school to have authentic learning experiences. I believe

that students have diverse learning styles and that some methods of instruction will be suitable

for some learners, while others will benefit different learners. For this reason I believe that

differentiation of instruction is crucial in order to teach groups of learners. I aim to provide my

learners with a variety of ways to see, hear, visualize and understand the material I am

presenting them.

I believe that learners will enter our classrooms with a diversity of previous experiences

and skills. I believe that we cannot assume that all students understand how to learn. I aim to

teach my learners about metacognition and self-reflection. I aim to explicitly teach my

learners about how their brains work and how learning occurs, and to work with them to develop
strategies which will optimize their own learning. I am to give them ample opportunity for self

reflection through writing, speaking, drawing, and other ways of showing. I believe in sharing

the goals I have set for my students by creating and communicating Shared Learning Targets

(Moss, Brookhart & Long) which express in clear language what the purpose of each lesson is.

Additionally, I will always strive to give my students the thinking strategies and mental tools to

succeed academically and in their own emotional regulation. The Foundation for the Atlantic

Canada English Language Arts Curriculum encourages teachers to share their thinking and

strategies at various stages in the process of their own writing, reading, or viewing (45). This

can be achieved by explicitly instructing students about the thinking strategies they can employ

to think through scenarios, solve problems, and produce creative output.

I believe that we live in a rapidly-advancing technological landscape and that literacy is

no longer solely about reading words on a page. I aim to provide my learners with opportunities

to develop multi-literacy skills. I believe that extracting and constructing meaning about

images, music, drama, video, and other types of media is a valuable skillset that our young

learners need to develop. The Foundation for the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts

Curriculum mandates that teachers anticipate that what it means to be literate will continue to

change as visual and electronic media become more and more dominant as forms of

expression and communication (1). I will do this by incorporating a wide range of multimedia

resources into my classroom and preparing my students to be thoughtful and critical consumers

of text, in all of its forms.

Finally, I believe that it is my responsibility as a pre-service teacher to learn from the

professors and cooperating teachers around me. These professionals are kind enough to share

their experiences and knowledge with me, and I aim to spend my time as a pre-service teacher

learning as much as possible from them. My placement experiences with two experienced
classroom teachers have been the most significant experiences for my professional

development as a pre-service teacher, and I wish to continue learning from experienced

members of my profession throughout my career.

 Works Cited

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation. Foundation for the Atlantica Canada English

Language Arts Curriculum. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Bang-Jensen, Valerie. "A Children's Choice Program: Insights into Book Selection, Social

Relationships, and Reader Identity." Language Arts 87.3 (2010): 169-76. Web.

19 Oct. 2016.

Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.

Erikson, E.H. (1963). Childhood and Society. (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.

Hidi, Suzanne, and Judith M. Harackiewicz. "Motivating the Academically Unmotivated: A Critical

Issue for the 21st Century." Review of Educational Research 70.2 (2000): 151-79.

Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Moss, Connie M. and Susan M. Brookheart. Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for

Understanding in Today s Lesson. 2012 by ASCD.