MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

VIDEO PRESENTATION

https://prezi.com/v/ranmdtfchcxu/

TRANSCRIPT

INTRODUCTION

Hi, I’m Christie, I’m a daughter, sister, wife and since 2020 I’ve been a mum, and I’m a student a
journey to becoming an educator and this term I’ve really begun to understand the depth of the role
and responsibility of a teacher, not only for the learning of my future students, but also their social,
emotional and physical development - and this is how I’d like to start - my teaching philosophy

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Physical, social, emotional and cognitive development happens differently for each person (Duchesne
& McMaugh, 2019), it’s what makes us unique, and this indicates to me that teaching and learning
cannot be one size fits all.

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The developmental process that our brains go through has an enormous impact on how we learn, and
adolescents experience exponential brain growth during this time (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.
51-52). To me, this growth is an opportunity to support my students through any challenges they may
be experiencing whilst they start to consider and define who they are and who they want to be.

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Combining cognitive theories of Piaget and Vygotsky I believe that students are active and motivated
learners who want to construct and discover the world around them, but they need guidance and
support (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp. 253-262). In the classroom I’m aiming to provide my
students with opportunities to be active participants through the use of collaborative, cooperative and
discovery learning. These types of learning experiences also provide the students with the chance to
interact with each other.

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Relationships are key for self-perceptions and a student’s social, emotional and moral development
(Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.155-202). Focusing on building positive relationships between
myself and my students as well as between the students themselves, I hope to enhance self-
perceptions and through my teaching I hope to build my students self-perception through strategies
such as building learner resilience, praising achievement but de-emphasizing unhealthy comparison,
provide learning experiences that are challenging but achievable and, by monitoring my students for
any signs of negative behaviour (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.155-202). My desired effect is that
this helps my students prepare to become citizens of their community once they leave school.

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The environment that surrounds students has an equally important influence on their development
(Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.155-202). As an educator I want to create an environment that the
students feel excited to be a part of, that they feel safe to express themselves in and that presents
curriculum in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

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As a class we will create our own classroom rules at the beginning of the year so everyone can
contribute to the shared expectations of themselves and each other, I will provide opportunities for the
students to use autonomy and independence, so the students feel respected, and I choose to manage
unacceptable classroom behaviour with positive behaviour management policies.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

When it comes to teaching and learning I’m a believer in a holistic approach, as mentioned before,
teaching and learning is just not one size fits all to me. I believe there are small pieces from most
teaching and learning theories that resonate with me, I’m a constructivist, humanist, and behaviorist
all rolled into one.

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The behaviorist in me believes that the things that happen in a classroom and whilst learning have an
effect and lead to a response. I believe that behaviorist approaches to teaching and learning have their
place in creating positive, safe and engaging learning spaces whilst shaping positive, creative and
collaborative students (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.220-247).

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For example, Classical conditioning provides strategies that can assist with certain irrational student
behaviour and shaping behaviour that will assist them in their learning such as responding to a call
from myself that pulls in their attention for further instruction on a task or can reset the hype of
students to get them refocused (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.221).

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Operant conditioning strategies have the potential to teach my students new skills and behaviours that
can better their learning experiences. My focus when implementing this view to teaching and
learning is to use positive reinforcement to shape and create ideal behaviours, not just for my
classroom environment but for the student’s world beyond the classroom. My primary aim will be to
model the behaviour, in the classroom environment and the approach towards learning, that I’d like
my students to develop (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.225).

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I get excited about group work and energetic participation from students and get so much joy from
seeing students have fun in the classroom. This is why I favour constructivism, but it also pairs well
with my beliefs on child development and how learners are mentally and physically active in
constructing their learning.

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Constructivism is also a beautiful marriage of ideas from both Piaget and Vygotsky where we see
psychological and social constructivism influence and shape cognitive development and learning
whilst also acknowledging that the individual can be both at the core of the learning and successfully
learn in group scenarios (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp.254-262).

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Being learner-centered, constructivism supports the practice of providing experiences that encourage
students to actively investigate and explore knowledge, either through discovery learning or inquiry-
based learning (Le Cornu & Peters, 2004). In my practice, I wish to use learner-centred activities and
processes, provide opportunities for group work, and help the development of expertise.

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My desire to be more of a facilitator to learning is what draws me to a humanist approach to teaching

and learning.

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My views on learners as unique, is expressed well through the theories of Humanism (Duchesne &
McMaugh, 2019, pp.330). Young people thrive in environments that are warm, inviting and safe, they
have interests and enthusiasms that I as a teacher want to cultivate and facilitate whilst also nurturing
their positive self-concept and self-esteem.

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Building their positive self-regard, treating them as individuals, and providing a safe and happy
classroom environment will have a tremendous impact on their learning (Duchesne & McMaugh,
2019, pp.330). I want to achieve these things by developing positive relationships with my students
showing my interest in them as individuals, asking about their interests, families and getting to know
more about them at every opportunity.

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I’ll provide stimulating lessons that see them active and engaged whilst also accounting for their
individual way of learning, and I’ll use group work to develop positive self-regard as through this they
will see the value they add when their cooperation and collaboration contributes to group success.

MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Like all teachers, I want my students to feel motivated and engaged in my class and with what I teach.

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Research shows us that engagement and motivation (with me as the teacher, their peers, and the
curriculum) can have an influence on the outcomes of their social, emotional and academic learning
(McDonald, 2013, pp. 107).

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Motivation can be intrinsically or extrinsically created, it’s influenced by a range of factors such as
self-beliefs, interests, needs, goals and emotional states (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, pp. 345).

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And engagement is simply the connection between the person and an activity and can happen on a
task level, class level and whole school level, and you can gauge this through their emotional output,
their behaviour, and their investment in an activity (McDonald, 2013, pp. 108).

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Engagement can be a precursor to motivation, and you can’t deny that they have a symbiotic
relationship, you need one to get the other. So, it’s important to provide for both.
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I believe that it is my role to provide an environment and opportunities that will motivate and engage
my students as it will only serve my goal to ensure they are challenged, active participants and
working towards reaching their full potential.

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Through my deliberate and considered actions I hope to encourage my students to engage and
experience meaningful learning. And hope to achieve this through a combination of theories and
strategies pulled from a behavioural, social-cognitive, humanist, and cognitive view.

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My classroom will

see the use of individual goal planning and practice of growth mindsets,

strive to show the link between efforts and success,

build self-efficacy,

ensure basic needs are being met (such as the essential physical needs for food, water and shelter),

provide opportunities to exercise autonomy,

I will also strive to have clear communication and expectations,

consistently and timely respond to undesirable behaviour,

again - develop those positive relationships, and lastly,

I will use proactive engagement strategies, such as whole-group response systems, movement
integration, visual strategies, and student choice to encourage motivation and engagement (Nagro,
Fraser, Hooks, 2019, pp.132-137).

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To sum it up, my personal belief statement and,

BELIEF STATEMENT

My philosophy of education is that all students are unique individuals and that it is my role as a
teacher to help them develop and grow their individuality so when they leave school, they are
confident in who they are and prepared, physically, socially, emotionally and mentally to become
participating citizens of their community.

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I hope to be a teacher who provides a classroom environment that is safe, positive and stimulating,
allowing the students to be collaborators and participants in their own learning to reach their full
potential. I aim to be a teacher that has high expectations of her students and works hard to deliver a
curriculum that is engaging, exciting, challenging and most of all relevant to their daily lives.

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And my goal is to cultivate a practice of reflection, so I use my experiences in the classroom, with
students and within the school community to grow and develop as an educator to always ensure I’m
giving my best to my students.

REFERENCE LIST

Bee, J, R., (2020). Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/child-development-theories-

2795068

Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A., (2019). Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching (6th ed.).
Cengage Learning Australia.
Epigeum. (2020). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.epigeum.com/epigeum-
insights/news/new-short-courses-offer-timely-training-in-the-fundamentals-of-online-teaching-and-
learning/

Google Images. (2014). Retrieved from https://livelaughlovehugs.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/how-

does-motivation-and-engagement-affect-me-personally/

Le Cornu, R., & Peters, J., (2004, November 29). Managing the Challenges and Dilemmas of
‘Constructivism in Practice [Paper Presentation]. Australian Association for Research in Education,
Melbourne. https://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2004/pet04551.pdf

McDonald, T. (2013). Classroom Management: Engaging students in learning. Oxford University

Press. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/murdoch/reader.action?
docID=4191356&ppg=124.

Nagro, S. A., Fraser, D, W., Hooks, S, D,. (2019). Lesson Planning with Engagement in Mind:
Proactive Classroom Management Strategies for Curriculum Instruction. Intervention in School and
Clinic 2019, 54(3), 131-140.