Leger 1
My philosophy of teaching is simple and straightforward. I envision a
“philosophy pyramid” structure that encompasses the main components of my teaching
philosophy: core beliefs and values, setting expectations, rules and routines,
consequences, and assessment, leading to the ultimate goal: allowing the students to
thrive and flourish.
Core Beliefs and Values
The foundation of my teaching philosophy is my core beliefs and values. I will
strive to treat my students with dignity and respect; treat them as equals regardless of
their gender, age, color of skin, religion, culture, and learning capacity. I will give them
the benefit of the doubt and always try to understand why they acted out, listen to them
before simply giving out consequences. I will start each day fresh and give each student a
clean slate. I will also try my best to remain neutral with my students and refrain from
labeling them as “good” or “bad”. I vow to encourage and motivate all students equally
and to constantly work on my patience to show how much I care. These core beliefs and
values are what I bring to the classroom everyday; they are the necessary foundation
upon which everything else is built.
Setting Expectations
The next step in my teaching philosophy is how expectations around rules and
routines are set and how consequences are established to encourage students to learn
from their mistakes. Expectations will be set at the beginning of the year and will be done
with everyone in the classroom. After an initial introduction and discussion identifying
expected behaviors and procedures, I will ask students to partake and contribute to
writing a pledge. This pledge, or promise, will unite my classroom and help create a
shared sense of responsibility among my students. I believe that my students will take
this pledge more seriously if they were involved in creating it. I will make the class
pledge visible to all students throughout the year and let it serve as a reminder of their
promise to myself, each other and to themselves of how they should act.
Rules and Routines
Once students understand my expectations, I will explain the rules and routines of
the classroom. Rules and routines are a crucial part of the classroom as they help
maintain the positive and safe learning environment by creating a predictable classroom
for students. It is important to create clear and concise rules for your students to follow.
Consequences
Consequences will be discussed with all students, as a constructive way to
encourage good behavior. Consequences are used to increase student motivation,
preserve dignity, increase student responsibility and improve student decision-making.
Leger 2
Assessment
The next step in my “philosophy pyramid” is assessment. I believe that
assessment is the backbone of every educational system and can be a valuable tool used
to measure student understanding in the classroom. When done properly, assessment in
the classroom can encourage students and help them thrive in their positive learning
environment; when done poorly, assessments in the classroom can interfere with student
motivation and potential successes. It is my job to constantly strive to use assessment
properly in order to help my students flourish; I believe I can work towards this goal
through using triangulation (observation, conferencing, product), and both formative and
summative assessment. I think it’s crucial to recognize the importance of assessing
students in a variety of ways.
Formative Assessment
I believe that formative assessment, often referred to as “assessment for learning”,
is one of the best and more important forms of assessment. Formative assessment is a
strategy that will be frequent and ongoing in order to properly gauge students’ learning. It
will be varied in a manner so that it meets the needs of every student. Through formative
assessment, I will have a clear understanding of what information is being retained and
what information requires extra attention, allowing me, to help improve overall student
learning.
I will focus on the feedback I am providing students on their various types of
formative assessment. Feedback will be goal-referenced, ongoing and consistent.
Students will constantly receive feedback throughout the day and learning process that is
consistently guiding them towards reaching their goal and will offer what steps are
necessary in order for them to succeed (Herbst and Davies, 2014). Feedback will also be
tangible and user-friendly. My students will always understand my points of constructive
criticism; these points also being tangible; students will feel as though they can and will
achieve their goals. While giving feedback, I believe it is equally important to give
praise, and to constantly encourage students to continue trying their best.
Summative Assessment
Although I appreciate the informal nature of formative assessment, to counter and
compliment that, summative assessment is also necessary to understand student’s
comprehension. Summative assessment, often referred to as “assessment of learning”, is a
form of assessment that focuses on curricular outcomes or entire units. Summative
assessment differs from formative assessment as it is not necessarily an ongoing process,
but rather provides a snapshot of student comprehension at one specific time. My goal is
to use summative assessments appropriately and in a constructive manner. In order to
accomplish this goal, there will be more focus placed on the feedback than grades and
will employ strategies to reduce student test anxiety (Kohn, 2011).
Leger 3
Ultimate goal: Thrive and Flourish
My ultimate goal as a teacher is to allow and help my students thrive and flourish
through their own strengths in my classroom. I want my students to actively take part in
their learning and assessment. I want to put more emphasis on “assessment as learning”
and encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and work together
with them to create learning goals that encourage continuous growth and development.
