Teaching Philosophy

The teaching philosophy is a reflective essay about my teaching beliefs and practices. Prior to
writing this piece, we had to outwardly reflect on who we were as students, as teachers, and what
would work best for us to further our pedagogy. The teaching philosophy contains statements
that describe the commitment I have to my students and their learning (NBPTS Proposition 1),
how I plan on monitoring and managing their learning (NBPTS Proposition 2), and beliefs I have
about being a teacher that is a lifelong learner (NBPTS Proposition 3).

Collaborative Standards Concept Map with Personal Reflection

This concept map is a web of standards for teaching practices, math practices, and propositions
from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Prior to writing this piece, we had
to first familiarize ourselves with the standards and practices we were find commonalities
between. The personal reflection describes the connections that I see between each set of
standards and propositions (NBPTS Proposition 4). Common themes and ideas that were
discussed together among the math group were also described as well as my own thoughts. I
believe the connection between this piece and the teaching philosophy is the objectification of
our values as teachers. Once we understood which standards aligned with our values, we were
able to identify which standards were connected.

Teaching Video Analysis

This analysis pertains to a recording of a math teacher in his instruction for graphing lines. Prior
to this piece, we had to understand how to separate description from analysis from reflective
writing. We did each of these individually before piecing them together to understand how they
support each other and work together to provide a better understanding for the reader. This piece
includes a description of the activities that the class and instructor partook in during the lesson,
an analysis of the effects and decisions from the instruction, as well as a reflection over what
particular elements worked well (or not) in teaching the students how to graph lines (NBPTS
Proposition 4). This piece is connected with both the student case study and the analysis of
student work in that this is a preliminary ‘practice’ of what we needed to do in person.

Student Case Study

This piece is a study of a student who differs from me both ethnically, culturally, and
linguistically. Prior to this piece, we (the math group) had to observe the same student, Moises,
as to provide a description and small analysis of the learning environment for the student. After
observing the student in his math class and detailing the learning environment, a comparison
with another student, Moises, is done. There is also a discussion about how effective both
environments are for the observed student and Moises, what can be done to provide equity, and
connections seen from course readings (NBPTS Proposition 1 and NBPTS Proposition 4). This
piece is connected with the teaching video analysis and analysis of student work in that we are
moving towards taking action that would further the students learning and not just making
observations.

Analysis of Student Work

This analysis is a follow up of the Student Case Study. Prior to doing so, we had to look at
different classroom environments and the effects of student-centered teaching. After learning
about the effects that certain decisions and ways of communicating had on student learning,
observing the student in the learning environment and making instructional adaptations to a
lesson, the student produced work is obtained and analyzed. This analysis is an attempt to
connect his responses to my ability to make adaptations that would advance his achievement
based on his individual needs (NBPTS Proposition 1, NBPTS Proposition 2, NBPTS Proposition
3, and NBPTS Proposition 4). This piece is connected to the student case study and analysis of
student work in that this is the reflection after trying to apply our pedagogy theory to a real
student and the effects that it did or did not have.

Implications
Through making the online portfolio, I had to reflect once again on what I did in attempting to
further my pedagogy. I saw growth when I compared my practices prior to and after applying
strategies. For instance, changing the types of questions I asked allowed students to continue
discussions and connect their learning rather than have it end when they or I said ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I
saw growth when I realized became cognizant of practices I was doing and practices I may have
not doing both passively and actively in my classroom.

The biggest impact I believe the course work has had on my teaching practice is the effect of
being more aware of my actions and reflective of the effects that my decisions have or do not
have, whether intended or not. As I move forward, I realize that it is important for me to actively
take steps to be more intentional in my decision making and instruction in the classroom.
Moving forward in the program, I believe that my ability to analyze potential effects and make
adaptations to further student learning have been amplified.