My Teaching Philosophy
I want to be a more effective teacher.
If there any statement that encompasses my career focus and what I aspire to be, this is it. By nature, I am a questioner. A person who looks at the world and it’s ideas with wonder and a little skepticism For every statement there are important questions that need to be asked and, more importantly, sufficiently answered. All questions have an answer, even if it leads to more questions. If the question is important and leads to learning, then ‘I don’t know’ is not acceptable. To my inquisitive mind, my statement and teaching philosophy has been turned into series of questions, like ‘why is effective teaching important?’, ‘what does it mean?’, and ‘how should I best practice?’ To be truthful, I don’t have all the answers, but this is what I’ve discovered so far.
Why?
When I stand in front of a group of students, a little disorganized and perhaps unprepared for the lesson ahead, I know the reason why. The person who stands in front of the classroom, who is ready to lead and be heard is the difference maker. The effective teacher knows the lesson objective and not only imparts it upon the class, but makes it the mission in which all learners should attain mastery. There is dogged pursuit of this goal, and all limitations and distractions are overcome because that’s what an effective teacher does. It’s the difference between a classroom that succeeds and grows and one that often does not. In my classroom, I know that’s what I want for my students. They deserve quality of instruction that meets their needs and allows them to grow as learners.
What it means to me?
In the end, I too am a learner. One who loves learning, for the sake of learning. I have found that effective teaching equates with effective learning. If I am an effective learner, then I owe much of my success to teachers who instilled within me the pursuit of knowledge. It is a gift that I try to impart on my students. Effective teaching is finding the learning opportunities in everything. It’s challenging everyone in the classroom, including myself, to ask the right questions and find the connections that make further learning meaningful. If you look in my classroom, you’ll see that lessons begin and end in inquiry. Sometimes there’s debate, often there is discussion, but always there is learning.
How?
This is one question that I wrestle with the most. How do I best become an effective teacher? For one thing, I know that I’m not quite there. It’s an ongoing process of discovery, practice and refinement. There are some things I learned, used and know that work. For example, I’ve seen the importance of complete attention, felt how smoothly a class goes because of good preparation and understood the efficiency of proper class management. Sometimes though, things do not work out as expected. It is those times that I try to pay attention. I ask myself: What went wrong? What’s the lesson here? What should happen for the next time?
In the end, I read, ask advice, adjust and try again.
How do I become a more effective teacher? I learn and practice.
If there any statement that encompasses my career focus and what I aspire to be, this is it. By nature, I am a questioner. A person who looks at the world and it’s ideas with wonder and a little skepticism For every statement there are important questions that need to be asked and, more importantly, sufficiently answered. All questions have an answer, even if it leads to more questions. If the question is important and leads to learning, then ‘I don’t know’ is not acceptable. To my inquisitive mind, my statement and teaching philosophy has been turned into series of questions, like ‘why is effective teaching important?’, ‘what does it mean?’, and ‘how should I best practice?’ To be truthful, I don’t have all the answers, but this is what I’ve discovered so far.
Why?
When I stand in front of a group of students, a little disorganized and perhaps unprepared for the lesson ahead, I know the reason why. The person who stands in front of the classroom, who is ready to lead and be heard is the difference maker. The effective teacher knows the lesson objective and not only imparts it upon the class, but makes it the mission in which all learners should attain mastery. There is dogged pursuit of this goal, and all limitations and distractions are overcome because that’s what an effective teacher does. It’s the difference between a classroom that succeeds and grows and one that often does not. In my classroom, I know that’s what I want for my students. They deserve quality of instruction that meets their needs and allows them to grow as learners.
What it means to me?
In the end, I too am a learner. One who loves learning, for the sake of learning. I have found that effective teaching equates with effective learning. If I am an effective learner, then I owe much of my success to teachers who instilled within me the pursuit of knowledge. It is a gift that I try to impart on my students. Effective teaching is finding the learning opportunities in everything. It’s challenging everyone in the classroom, including myself, to ask the right questions and find the connections that make further learning meaningful. If you look in my classroom, you’ll see that lessons begin and end in inquiry. Sometimes there’s debate, often there is discussion, but always there is learning.
How?
This is one question that I wrestle with the most. How do I best become an effective teacher? For one thing, I know that I’m not quite there. It’s an ongoing process of discovery, practice and refinement. There are some things I learned, used and know that work. For example, I’ve seen the importance of complete attention, felt how smoothly a class goes because of good preparation and understood the efficiency of proper class management. Sometimes though, things do not work out as expected. It is those times that I try to pay attention. I ask myself: What went wrong? What’s the lesson here? What should happen for the next time?
In the end, I read, ask advice, adjust and try again.
How do I become a more effective teacher? I learn and practice.