Running Head: TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

Teaching Philosophy

Nolan Mendonca

University of Redlands

LBST 101

Professor Lium

December 14, 2019

Teaching Philosophy
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Over this course, I have observed many kinds of teachers and their philosophies and

techniques. I have seen some things that I would love to incorporate into my teaching style and I

have seen some things that I know are not my kind of style. I think that my teaching philosophy

is more progressivism and I will explain why it speaks to me the most.

The philosophy of progressivism is saying that it is more child centered based learning

and focuses on the individual needs of the children. I would also like to include the technology

we have today into this concept because if it is going to help the children learn, then why

wouldn’t we use our resources? In the article by Tsisana Palmer, “15 Characteristics of a 21st-

Century Teacher”, she lists fifteen characteristics of being at 21st-century teacher. One point that

she made was “Creating digital resources, presentations, and projects together with other

educators and students will make classroom activities resemble the real world.” I think the

communication between an individual student and teacher is very key to furthering their

knowledge. If technology can help them in and out of the classroom, then I think it would be best

to utilize it. My teaching strategies would consist of a lot of “hands-on” work and constantly

checking on the kids to see how their progress is going. In the textbook we had been reading

through the semester by Janice Koch called Teach, it discussed about project-based learning and

said “...it adds creativity and depth to a curriculum, promoting more meaningful learning than

rote memorization or worksheet activities.” I agree with this quote very much because when I

was in elementary school I had teachers who would give us many worksheets and would not

walk us through it, so we would not actually learn the material. I think creating projects that are

engaging and fun for students will interest their learning and they will retain the information

better. When it comes to the curriculum, I do not like following a specific outline without any

room for flexibility. I would use that standards as an outline, but would put my own twist on the
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information. I would still make sure the children are keeping up with the other classes in the

same level, but I think we would have a more freeing environment. The assessment always used

to freak me out when I was in lower grades because I never felt prepared for them. In my

classroom, I would incorporate at least one section of the assessment in my class per week, so

that my kids would feel prepared. Lastly, the classroom management would be a struggle

because of how free the kids will be, but I think I can be a fun and strict teacher at the same time.

In Teach, Koch says, “...the term classroom management is frowned upon because it can simply

imply that teachers use the power differential between themselves and their students to force

students to follow a certain set of rules.” Although I can see where she is coming from, I do think

you can set your authority to the children without being dictating. At the end of the day, you

want to build a welcoming learning environment not a scary place they see as a prison.

After reviewing all the types of philosophies teachers use, I do think that progressivism is

the best fit for me. I know kids need more help than others and I have seen too many smart kids

get ignored by teachers and end up in bad places that I want to make that change. I do think kids

learn better by experience and that they will do better in life as well.