Jennifer Lombardy

Professor Suk
Education Field Experience 230-01
Spring 2016
Personal Philosophy
As far back as I can remember, I spent many hours playing school in my
childhood bedroom. I used my dolls as students, my mini chalkboard to write the
homework I assigned and I used a fancy double sized red and blue pen that was given to
me by of my elementary school teachers, to correct the work of my dolls. I have always
loved going to school. When I was younger I enjoyed the experience of leaning new
things, but as I grew up I was more eager to go and see my friends and socialize. I can
still remember back to my kindergarten days, which was nearly thirty years ago. I recall
every teacher that I had during my educational journey, especially the really good ones
and the really bad ones. There were many teachers that I really clicked well with. I really
enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that came from coming to school, getting my work
done, participating in clubs or activities and going home to complete my homework. I can
recall only a few teachers that I had in school that I didnt particularly look forward to
seeing. I never had any awful experiences, but I think we just had different personalities
or their method of instruction didnt resonate with me. I am a bubbly, energetic and
upbeat person by nature, and I was fortunate that most of my teachers were the same way.
I remember the rooms of the teachers that werent quite happy or energetic, reflected their
personality and seemed dark and gloomy. On the contrary, the happier teachers
classrooms were full of life, color, projects, and sunshine. I felt more comfortable in these
environments and I was always able to focus for a longer period of time and willing to
push myself a little more for those teachers too. I knew how eager they were to teach and

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how much energy they put into creating their lessons and I didnt want to let them down.
I also left the classroom with much more information, ideas, and interest than I did from a
teacher who was less engaging or eager to teach.
As a student I struggled with keeping up in class because I was a perfectionist and
afraid to make mistakes. I was the type of student that had to really work hard to do well,
but high grades did not come naturally for me. I recognized this early on and in order to
offset it, I would review the notes or worksheets that were handed out in class when I got
home or several times during the night. My parents were very involved in my schooling
and I was fortunate that I had a great amount of support at home. In addition, all of the
teachers in my past were very supportive and helpful while I was at school. My teachers
would provide me with additional worksheets or extra practice to do at home. My
teachers did a great job identifying what type of student I was. They knew that I was a
hard worker and that I learned best when engaged in group projects. These teachers took
the time to provide me with the necessary study guides that accommodated my learning
needs. Over the course of the past two semesters, I spent fifty hours observing in a selfcontained math class. I considered myself very aware of each students classroom
performance and using observational assessment I was able to determine how much
support they had received at home and how much attention they needed in class. As a
future teacher, I want to continue this type of relationship with my future students. Often
times a student needs to know that someone cares about their educational success and is
going to be there to assist and support them as need be. I hope to provide students with
support while in my bright, cheerful, and inspiring educational environment. As I
previously related the teachers of my past to colors of bright sun or dark clouds I hope

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my future students always think of my classroom and my instructional demeanor as
colorful, engaging, safe, supportive and provides them with fun learning experiences.
As a future special education teacher, I can completely relate to Burrhus Frederic
Skinners theory of operant conditioning. From my Foundations of Education class, our
textbook Teach states, Using the behaviorist approach, teachers structured their lessons
around clear objectives that stated what students would be able to do by the end of the
lesson. Many of the students benefit from rewards and are better workers when they
know they will receive something at the end of the class or week. In some cases, these
rewards could be earning good grades or be tangible things such as a sticker, a price or a
treat. In a self- contained program there are often times when students benefit from direct
instruction from a teacher. However, ideally I would like to incorporate a variety of
learning theories into my classroom. Often times students with disabilities lack social
cues, as well as what is socially acceptable. To enhance their social awareness I would
like to introduce the social cognitive learning theory. In the textbook, Teach provides the
definition of social cognitive learning theories as, explanations that describe how
learning involves interactions between the learner and the social environment.(Koch,
2014, 74). Often times I can rephrase an explanation, but a student might not grasp or
understand, but allowing them to work together or to seek assistance from a peer would
be very helpful. In addition, many of the students I have worked with in the past were
often times visual learners and need to physically see a demonstration. Ironically, Koch
also writes, Many social cognitivists stress the importance of modeling. I believe this
is an important technique in any classroom, not just a special education one. Lastly, I am
a strong believer in constructivism student-centered learning. I really agree with this

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statement also found in the Teach textbook, For real learning to occur, you also have to
make that information your own so that it becomes significant to you and you can use it
for your own purposes. (Koch, 2014, 74). I think that is important in any classroom for
the students to learn in their own way and be able to apply it in the future. They will walk
away from the classroom with much more confidence and be far more successful once
they make any content their own, and they can apply it to other areas in their life.
When I picture my future classroom, I picture one with lots of warm colors, one
that makes you want to come inside, make you feel welcomed and one that gives you
positive energy. I am a big fan of displaying student projects, previous work, and pictures
of students throughout the year. I would also display posters with motivational phrases or
inspiring quotes. I would like the layout to be open, allowing for group work to be done
at large tables. In addition, I would like to have individual desks allowing for independent
work during teacher lead instruction. Hopefully, I will be teaching in a special education
self-contained program and as visitors come in whether to visit or to give a student
therapy, they will observe many types of learning while in my specifically design
environment. I plan on doing many projects at the conclusion of each unit, or to help
students to understand a lesson. I will focus on problem-based learning as well as
differentiated instruction to help students master concepts. The students in my classroom
will be eager, enthusiastic and excited to be there. They will respect each other, our
classroom, and myself. I want my students to work together, to be there for each other
and to grow not only academically, but also as a whole into respectful, bright, and
hardworking young adults. I think that the students in my class will feel safe, in my
classroom. I am a very observant person and I can pick up the subtle clues that indicate a

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student is struggling. While in my presence there will be no bullying or intimidating each
other. I hope that is a quality I can instill in each student so that they are helpful and not
hurtful to their peers. I hope that no matter what the topic is that we are learning about,
each student will be comfortable and ask questions if they are unclear. My hopes are that
my classroom will have an overall warm climate that allows everyone to feel
comfortable, welcomed, as well as encouraged to learn or try something outside of their
comfort zone. Most importantly I want them to enjoy their learning experience and grow
as individuals. Typically when a person has a negative experience, they no longer want to
continue to go to a certain place that they connect with negative memories or feelings and
they tend to want to give up if something is difficult or confusing. I want my future
students to feel that they can continue to keep trying and not to give up. I was fortunate
enough to have very supportive teachers, which has inspired me to become a teacher
myself. I would like to continue that pattern and I hope that someday one of my students
will look back and recall all the wonderful experiences from my classroom and have
those experiences inspire them to become a successful member of society and possibly
even a teacher as well.

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References
Kock, J.(2014). Teach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth