Teaching Philosophy

 

As an educator, my teaching philosophy revolves around the belief that education is about the learning journey and how as educators, we help to steer or guide our students heightened awareness, new thinking and understanding. It’s about providing the tools and strategies for them to succeed, while engaging in ongoing assessment. It’s about being excited and creating the right environment for that excitement to be transferred to our students. Its about seeing that excitement, engagement or passion transferred to other areas of a students' life, such as in the ways that a student takes action. I see teaching and learning as an ongoing, lifelong journey. As one famous fictional teacher (Ms. Frizzle) often says, “Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy!”

I often think about this quote and how it applies to my own practice, as I believe in the power of taking chances and making mistakes in terms of how this can aid us in our learning journey. Growth Mindset is always at the forefront of my own practices, and something that I try hard to impart in my students. This can be shown in lessons that I teach, the language that I use and the materials that I co-construct with students to help guide them towards success. 

At the start of the school year, I always take my time to create a learning community with my students. Every classroom needs to start with fostering good relationships, both between the teacher and the students, and between peers. My classroom continues to be a collaborative learning space throughout the year, as students are tasked to work collaboratively with a variety of different students in order to co-construct knowledge and understanding.

My intention is always looking at whole child education, as I look at developing each child as an individual and helping find the ways that they can succeed in developing and growing in all aspects. As a teacher I consider it a part of my role to try to find the pathways that best help and support students to develop in various academic, social and emotional areas.

In terms of bettering my knowledge and understanding of the profession, I am always engaged in furthering my education through reading, research and professional development. At the moment I am pursuing a Professional Masters of Education with a specialization in Literacy. A part of the reason I chose this specialization despite already being a Reading Specialist, was due to wanting to update my knowledge on current best Literacy teaching practices.

Community building and thinking about aspects to help develop students’ social and emotional growth is also important to me, which is why every day I incorporate a daily meeting and every week we have a weekly meeting using the Circle Solutions for Student Well-being framework. Through getting to know my students as individuals, I am also better able to understand and tailor learning experiences to fit their needs and interests.

Not only do I stay abreast of new teaching strategies based on current research based best practices, I also engage with the changing teaching landscape. This year I have taken it upon myself to learn more about AI and its various uses. So far, I have used it to create leveled reading passages, rubrics, checklists and to write stories with very specific specifications. I have become more masterful at prompting and also use it to gain extra ideas or insights quickly.

This is not to take away from my belief in collaboration with people, as I believe that the best methods for planning and learning are often rooted in the knowledge that we can gain and share with each other. As I tell my students, “every single person in this world knows something that you do not know.” I approach much of life with the mindset that we can all learn something new from every new person that we meet. I love opportunities to share ideas and knowledge with others, both during planning time, and when presenting workshops.

In essence, my teaching philosophy is an ever-evolving commitment to the learning journey. Education, to me is about diverse learning engagements, providing tools for success and instilling a sense of excitement for discovery. The bedrock of my philosophy lies in fostering a growth mindset, creating a collaborative and supportive learning community, and championing whole child education. My commitment to community building, reflects the belief that every person has something valuable to contribute to the learning journey. I remain passionate about creating an environment where curiosity thrives, mistakes are celebrated and the joy of learning is at the heart of the educational experience.