Teaching Philosophy
I
believe the goal of education is to encourage the seeking and discovery of
answers, as it is this way that we advance and become knowledgeable people of
society.
My personal philosophy of teaching is based around a supportive and inclusive classroom environment with positive and engaging teacher-student relationships. Teachers have the responsibility to create a cooperative learning environment where students feel safe and secure. This environment is established through well-structured rules, routines and expectations. In addition to positive and engaging teacher-student relationships; communicating with teaching peers, working alongside parents /guardians and engaging the whole school community are all fundamental aspects of the supportive learning environment. Teachers also have the responsibility to develop students to their full potential by understanding individual learning styles (Visual, Auditory, or Tactile/ Kinaesthetic). Through this understanding, teachers are able to accommodate for different student needs by providing a variety of learning experiences (Griffiths, K. 2005). I believe that teaching is a great challenge as to truly teach a child, you must persist and commit to finding how a student develops his/her knowledge and understanding. I also believe that all students have the ability to learn from, and be supported, through constructivist learner centered pedagogy, and an ICT rich learning environment. Through exploring new ways of integrating ICT into the classroom environment, to support and encourage the teaching and learning progression, teacher are providing students with unique ways to inquire, explore, discover and share their knowledge and understanding of learning with a diverse audience. Due to the evolving world of ICT and ELearning, as teachers we are transformed into EModerators; the new generation of teachers who work with students both online and through the ICT interface. Educational use of computing is vast and continually growing, and as such, networked technologies such as the internet and the World Wide Web have been called 'transformational' because of their wide ranging impact on education via the Internet, creating the possibility of communication across boundaries, across cultures and on a global scale (Salmon, 2012). The concepts of space and time are changing, and of how and with whom people can be educated discover communities, explore learning resources and ideas. Drivers in education are many and complex. Borders and boundaries between locations, year levels and subjects are disappearing. As teachers in the 21st century, we must be aware that the use of ICT has created New Literacies. Literacy and learning (both disciplinary and psycho- social) have evolved. Teachers must support their students to not only use these new literacies, but to become immersed so that they are able to be both functioning and contributing members of society and life long learners. The teachers that stand out in my memory throughout my education are the ones that I now align my teaching values and attribute with, and role model my approach to teaching. These approaches include, presenting topics in a way that is interesting and relevant, clarifying difficult subject matter through other more simple avenues, as well as understanding that all students have different learning capabilities and that I also had learning difficulties when it came to certain areas of my education. |