Philosophy of Teaching
I believe learning mainly occurs when a student not only finds interest in the subject, but also connects to it. They will understand why they need to study a hard subject like science because of the real life examples that connect the material to their life. Learning also occurs when students get to apply their knowledge to a challenge or a goal. Students who get to apply their learning into a big end of the year project would look forward to using their knowledge. I prefer students do a big project because they learn a lot more skills from researching, creating, and presenting the project than from just studying and taking a test. This would, in turn, help them store the information better and for longer. Students store information better if they can build upon prior knowledge and make connections. They also learn from understanding the meaning of concepts, so as teachers, we should encourage them to ask questions. Together, all of these different components prove to me that learning has occurred and why education is important.
We need to educate the students so they can not only grow as people, but to get them inspired and interested. Without education, they will not have been exposed to different ideas and cultures, resulting in closing a lot of doors for them. Through education, if a student learns about stars and they enjoy it, they will continue to foster a love for stars and learn more about them. I believe this is the purpose of education; to foster a love of learning and encourage them to continue to expand their knowledge. If this does not occur, than we have not done our jobs as educators. These students come to us excited and ready to learn. We should continue to foster their excitement instead of crushing it. Students with an education have many doors opened for them they aren’t even aware of so, we must do what we can to encourage them. Our job isn’t to drill the knowledge into their heads, but to ignite their love of learning. This happens in a classroom which will foster an inspiration for learning.
Children don’t want to learn in a cinder-block room with one window and no color. They want to learn in an environment which promotes autonomy, creativity, and learning. My classroom will have a reading corner with a large library to promote reading and many different options of chairs for them to use during reading time or during a non-structured time so that they have options. There will also be an area with different activities to promote critical thinking such as brain teasers or other brain oriented games. There will either be a row of computers, a COW (computer on wheels), or iPads in my classroom on a regular/permanent basis so we can always have access to them for different lessons and for their projects. In front of the board is going to be an area where they can sit on the floor and work or listen during reading time; this will be a way to come together as a class. Scattered around the room are going to be desks, but also various areas where they can choose to work this gives them autonomy. Seating will be assigned, but fluid so they will move around and change up their groups often to promote social interaction. Essentially, my classroom will have many areas where my students can choose to learn through instruction and many areas where they can learn on their own. The walls will be decorated colorfully with their own work to show everyone promote self-confidence by showing off their achievements. My classroom will promote learning through autonomy and promote creativity through options. My students will be inspired to learn by my teaching and the environment will promote and foster that intrinsic need for learning.