Teaching Philosophy & Pedagogy

Dvora Dusowitz
MA English Language Arts 7-12
 Over the past 4 years of my teaching career, my core beliefs on education and learning have been

developed, refined, and transformed into my current teaching philosophy and pedagogy. These beliefs, which

guide my practice, consisting of having a multicultural and socially conscious education; learning critical

literacy skills through questioning, deep analysis, and discussion; writing and project-based assessments;

celebrating improvement, partnership, and participation; having a respectful and loving nature to manage the

environment to establish and maintain a safe and equitable classroom; and further my own education through

professional developments, courses, and training. By using these methods of practice, I have grown as an

educator and a professional, and my students have accomplished their academic and personal goals.

Language: The method of communication developed by and expressed through reading, writing,

speaking, listening, and non-verbal cues, is one of the most essential skills necessary in every stage and area of

life. According to Derrida, "there is nothing outside the text” and “nothing can be defined without using the

language” (“Jacques Derrida's Quotes”, 158). If a text is everything, one can infer that knowing how to read,

comprehend, analyze, and further convey those ideas, are indispensable skills needed in life. To build one’s

language abilities, my students use a variety of texts ranging in different genres, perspectives, and styles.

Additionally, the ELA curriculum is integrated with other contents, strengthening student learning and language

skills.

Main texts that students read are “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Thank You, M’am” by

Langston Hughes, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, To Kill a

Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Wave by Todd Strasser, spoken word poetry, and CommonLit articles. To

supplement the main texts, students also read “The Black Cat” and “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Mother

to Son” by Langston Hughes, “Oppose Death” By Marcus Williams, “10 Supreme Court Cases Every Teen

Should Know” by Tom Jacobs, “Roper v. Simmons” by Oyez.org, “A Brief History of Jim Crow” by the

Constitutional Rights Foundation, “Emmitt Till Biography” by Biography.com, “The Trials of The Scottsboro
Boys” by The New York Times. To support their learning, students are supported by videos, visual aids, graphs,

and charts.

These texts initiate some and extend other conversations that are important, current, and relevant to my

students’ lives. Furthermore, students research a text’s author, their historical background, and the historical

content; which provides students with a deep social, historical, and cultural knowledge to support text analysis.

Students read, write, and engage in activities independently, in partnerships, and in groups. When reading a text,

we critically analyze it through Innovative Questioning (Berger) to develop creativity in analysis and Humble

Inquiry (Schein) in search of deeper meanings. Questioning and annotating a text are skills that extend and are

beneficial to all texts. If everything is text, students can then apply these reading skills and be capable of

reading the “word and the world” (Kirkland, 1).

Many student questions derive from problems they experience in their personal lives and across the

world. If a student has the skills to both read the world and question the world, they can then develop an interest

in and feel equipped to change that which they see as unjust in the world. One way I foster socially

conscientious students is by teaching my students that “Words are... our most inexhaustible source of magic”

(Rowling). Written and spoken words have the power, quite like magic, to change the world. With our texts, we

conduct research analysis on their social climate, the relevancy to our lives, and the continued headway towards

progress.

The next step after reading the world is writing the world (Freire, 1970). Like reading, my class is

writing in a variety of styles ranging in genres, perspectives, and styles. Examples of writing assignments

include essays, research infographics, personal journals, poems, comic slides, and book reviews. My students

follow the workshopping method as their writing process: developing an idea, writing a draft, revising and

editing that draft, and finally, publishing their work. Students rely on and support one another for their

continued growth through digital revisions. Through the revision process, students learn that writing, like

learning, is an ongoing process, and it is never fully completed. Therefore, students will keep their work in a
digital Google Drive portfolio, so they can return to their work to further revise and edit it (Berger). Students

follow a rubric that I digitized, which guides their work because they know their expectations and have goals to

work towards. This work is completed through Google Classroom or outsourced to other digital academic

websites. It’s used for and provides a digital hub for class updates, notifications, birthday announcements,

assignments, communication between myself and my students, and stores their digital portfolio.

As a young student, I often felt defeated by unmanageable content and assignments and appreciated the

teachers who differentiated my tasks. This personal experience illuminated the need for students to receive

accommodated assignments to support their developmental, cognitive, and academic needs. Students may

receive extended time and can also virtually interact with me outside of school for academic guidance.

I use a multimodal approach to instruction to accommodate students’ various learning styles (Barbe,

1979). Audio and visual text, stimuli, and materials are incorporated into the lessons, through google slides,

videos, gifs, art-based assignments, students use audiobooks while following along in the text, and English

Language Learners use iPads for translations. Students have a unit section in their Google Classroom with

supports, guides, materials, and resources and can access them at school and at home. A lot of the learning

happens through peer or group work, that is strategically grouped, and there are constant Turns and Talks for

quick recaps and discussions that can hold their shorter attention spans. As a teacher I am conscious of my

students' academic, social, and emotional needs; and am constantly working to improve my instruction.

For students to accomplish all these tasks and surpass their goals, the environment has to be conducive

to learning. There are many steps I take to create a positive environment for all students. In the classroom, there

are posters that have messages on respect and inclusivity, such as the “Inclusive Safe Space” poster, “Respect is

not given, it is earned,” class volume scale, and messages to clean up after oneself. The room is also neat,

organized, and does not have overly stimulating and distracting visuals, but calm colors and plants.
 At the beginning of the year, we have a discussion about respect, collaboration, and equity; what it

means, looks like, and who is deserving of receiving these (everyone, including the self). Additionally, at the

beginning of the year, my students and I collaborate on expectations and supports for them to be able to

complete tasks, develop clear guidelines of how to behave in specific situations like entering the classroom,

independent work, and group work. We collaborate on many aspects of the class structure because the best way

to create an equitable space is with and by the people in the environment. Students are also given a Beginning

of the Year survey (BOY) that has questions asking for their pronoun, what they would like to be called,

learning styles and needs, personal and academic goals, and supports needed by their teacher. Completing a

questionnaire provides students with the opportunity to vocalize their identity, personal attributes, and needs to

succeed. Many of these topics, as well as other current and relevant concepts, are purposefully brought up by

the content in fiction and nonfiction texts that we read. This provides a fluid foundation for the topic to be

discussed, an example as reference, and the basis for deeper understanding and connection.

I find that by showing love, care, and respect for my students, I build a strong and purposeful

relationship with my students while modeling positive behavior and attitude. Students are given clear rules and

daily procedures that they are expected to follow. However, when a students’ behavior dramatically disrupts the

environment, I pause the class and firmly acknowledge how the ramifications of the behavior have disrupted the

atmosphere, broke the “contract” of respect, hindered the learning from continuing, and if necessary, I begin a

discussion with the class about the situation. At the end of it, I find it helpful to have everyone in the room take

a moment to breathe out all the negative energy and reconvene to continue learning.

Everyone deserves an equitable and fair education, and sometimes my students and I have to go through

difficult times to make sure that everyone receives the opportunity to have that good education. Whether that

means differentiating students’ tasks to accommodate their learning style or using a period to discuss important

issues occurring on the news. The most important thing is to create and maintain a safe, respectful, and

inclusive environment for profitable learning experiences to occur.

 My utmost belief about education is that learning never ends. It is critical that I constantly reflect on my

teaching methodology and if necessary, act to create change (Freire). With this mentality, backed by my core

teaching beliefs, I am confident that my students are accomplishing their goals, will continue to do great things,

and become proud individuals.  

 Works Cited:

“Jacques Derrida's Quotes.” https://www.shmoop.com/derrida/quotes.html . Accessed 4 Feb.

2018.

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Berger, Warren. A More Beautiful Question. Bloomsbury, 2014.

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MD.

Fleming, Neil D. Not Another Inventory, Rather a Catalyst for Reflection. To Improve the

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Fredrick, Tim. "Looking in the Mirror: Helping Adolescents Talk More Reflectively during Portfolio

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Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of The Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. Print.

Kirkland, David. Critical Media Literacy: Teaching the Word and the World Syllabus. June 2017.

NYU Steinhardt. New York, NY. Print.  

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY :Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007.

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