My Teaching Philosophy

 

A cactus wearing a Hawaiian shirt and playing a ukulele. - Bing AI Image Creator

STATEMENT OF MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

My teaching philosophy statement is the culmination of my four months teaching experience in the field of information and communication technology. My philosophy statement has helped me identify individual styles, priorities as well as objectives in guiding my students. I believe that my teaching philosophy statement will set a strong foundation for my teaching goals.

I believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas.

My teaching philosophy is that students learn best when they are provided with the requisite materials and placed in a stimulating environment.

VALIDITY

My philosophy is embodied within the constructivism framework. Constructivism is one of the paradigms of learning that describes the process of knowledge formation.

In constructivist learning, students learn actively rather than wait passively for the teacher to spoon-feed them with information (Ellison & Wu, 2008). Constructivists believe that one has to adapt to the environment to acquire knowledge.

In the process, one reshapes the acquired knowledge and creates new knowledge (Sternberg, 2008). Constructivist learners acquire knowledge by blending their present and the past experiences to make new discoveries (Mayer, 2003).

To learn the constructivist’s way, the learner should make sense of things instead of accepting information at its face value.

Indeed, learners are encouraged to internalize and reshape information, transforming it through active observation.

The information transformation must be meaningful. By activating his cognitive processing system, the learner will be able to organize his thoughts into logical representation by bridging the newly learnt knowledge with that already acquired or prior knowledge (Mayer, 1999).

According to constructivists, learning is a mental construction which takes place collectively. In the constructivist classroom, learning is facilitated by collaboration (Hughes & Golan, 2008). It is all about interaction to find solutions to a given problem. Studies have found that learners who have been taught using a constructivist approach are very motivated and they enjoy learning much more compared to their counterparts in traditional classrooms (Gabriel, 2004). There are three elements that I believe are conducive to establishing such an environment, (1) the teacher acting as a guide, (2) allowing the child's natural curiosity to direct his/her learning, and (3) promoting respect for all things and all people.

APPLICATION

Even though there many approaches and philosophies available for teaching of ICT. No matter the method I use for teaching any topic, I am always conscious to inculcate elements of constructivism in it. I do this by: Firstly, learners were given topics to be taught for the term with reference to the scheme of work. What is required of them was discussed to arouse their interest in the topics. Their inputs were also accepted, respected, incorporated.

In teaching a Topic like ‘Computer Storage Devices’, I conduct research on learners’ background to assess the level of prior knowledge. I assemble teaching and learning materials beforehand and test them to ensure they are appropriate. Ideally, images of some storage devices could be used. But I go an extra mile to provide physical artifacts to engage the learners.

I start with simple concepts before progressing to advanced concepts. I divide my learners in groups. In each group, I add one or two brilliant students so that the average students can learn from them.

I allow the students in their groups to feel the devices and tell me what they observe. I go round to assist those having difficulty. We finally swap the devices amongst the groups. I then lead them in a discussion on how the various storage devices work.

This helps my students understand and internalize the knowledge gained in the class, otherwise such knowledge will neither be meaningful nor applicable in their real lives.

I always challenge my students to put in their best effort to produce quality work. The achievement of each individual student will be recognised and he or she will be able to stand out from the crowd. In this way, I boost their confidence and improve their survival skills to cope in the real world.

I promote active, cooperative, and creative learning. It is my passion to help my students enjoy the learning process. I place great emphasis on creating collaboration rather than competition among my students. Which is a vital attribute they will need in their future job places.

EFFECTIVENESS 

Success, in my view, means the achievement of a desirable outcome. When I assess my students’ performance, I use the techniques described below and I also observe samples of their behaviour, performance, skills, and knowledge. I also pay attention to their facial expressions in the classroom. For these reasons I am convinced that my philosophy has had tremendous impact on my students. In that most of them have shown keen interest in the study of ICT and have also started seeking career guidance in the field of IT from me. Most of the girls who hitherto were adamant in class and will never make any contribution in class are now confident to express their opinion freely.  

CONCLUSION

One of my hopes as an educator is to instill a love of learning in my students, as I share my own passion for learning with them. In our competitive society it is important for students to not only receive a solid education, but to work with someone who is aware of and sensitive to their individual needs. I am such a person and will always strive to be the best educator that I can be.

REFERENCES

Ellison, N. B., & Wu, Y. (2008). Blogging in the classroom: A preliminary exploration of student attitudes and impact on comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia , 17 (1), 99–122.

Gabriel, K. (2004). Teaching unprepared students: Strategies for promoting success and retention in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Hughes, C. E., & Golan, G. J. (2008). Constructivist learning theory in the classroom. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Constructivist_Learning_Theory

Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of educational psychology: Learning in the content areas. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sternberg, R. J. (2008). Applying cognitive psychology to education: Translational educational science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 1-3.