MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Working with kids everyday is such a wonderful experience. Witnessing their growth, both intellectually and emotionally, while playing a part in it is both a joy and an honor. For all of these reasons, teachers should take the responsibility of their jobs very seriously. It is very important that we help students reach their maximum potential. In order to do this, I believe that a teacher must model a love of learning, help build confidence in students, motivate students to want to learn, and respect students as both learners and individuals.
Model a Love of Learning
"The creative mathematics teacher has a love and enthusiasm for mathematics as a curriculum area. Through education, he/she has brought forth the needed knowledge, abilities, and attitudes to be a creative teacher of mathematics." (Ediger, 2000, p. 1)
My role in my students' lives is not to simply teach them mathematics, but it is also to help develop them into better people. One way I will do this is by instilling in them a love of learning. I consider this a very important trait because it is this desire that pushes one to improve as an intellectual and as a person.
Modeling a love of learning involves not just telling students how much I enjoy math, but showing them with my enthusiasm. I believe that when a teacher is excited about what he/she is teaching, it is very obvious to the students. At the end of my student teaching, all of my students wrote me letters about what they liked about my class (you can see a few of these letters in Entry 1 of this portfolio). By far, the most common response was regarding my enthusiasm. By displaying my enthusiasm toward math, I found that my students developed a similar enthusiasm toward learning it. Many stated that as a result, they were more motivated to engage in discussions and activities, and they found math to be much more fun and interesting.
I also believe that in order to model a love of learning, I must first model learning itself. It is important for students to see that I do not know all of the answers, and that I too am a learner. By working through unfamiliar problems, I can show them my thought processes. This accomplishes two things. The first is that it shows students that learning is a process that cannot be rushed. They will see that learning takes time, and that going down the wrong path is part of that process. The second is that I am modeling mathematical problem solving. Contrary to popular belief, learning math does not simply mean memorizing formulas or arbitrary techniques. Instead, it involves understanding the logical relationships of mathematical ideas. By showing students my thought processes, they will discover that math is about finding those relationships.
Build Confidence in Students
"During this time [middle school], many students will solidify conceptions about themselves as learners of mathematics - about their competence, their attitude, and their interest and motivation. These conceptions will influence how they approach the study of mathematics in later years, which will in turn influence their life opportunities." (NCTM, 2000, p. 211)
Almost everything that a student does involves a huge risk. It is a risk to ask a question in class, because classmates may think you are dumb. It is a risk to put forth your best work, because it may not be good enough. It is a risk to start a difficult problem, because it might be the wrong way. These risks are very real to students and also very scary. In order for students to be willing to take those risks, it is vital for students to have confidence in themselves and their abilities.
I believe that confidence is built on a foundation of past successes. In order to create situations for students to experience those successes, I must first understand them. Once I learn who they are and what they can do, I can adapt the curriculum to fit my students' needs. This is absolutely necessary, because students arrive in my classroom with completely different levels of knowledge, abilities, and learning styles. Thus, what helps one child succeed will not necessarily help the next one. It is my job to see that all students succeed.
I can also help students develop confidence by modifying their definition of failure. Many people, both young and old, view math as a subject where not getting the right answer is considered failing. However, I believe that struggling to solve problems is part of the learning process, because this is when students learn the most. By taking the emphasis off of getting the right answer, students will be more likely to accept getting the wrong answer as a detour, and not a failure.
I also believe that patience is extremely important in building student confidence. Whereas some students may experience success in giant leaps, others will experience success in little steps. It is important to help them climb those little steps, recognize their successes (however little they may be), and build on them. Only then can students fully appreciate what they have accomplished and realize what they can accomplish in the future.
Motivate Students to Want to Learn
"Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need - or expect - their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them... Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom." (Davis, 1993, p. 1)
I believe that it is important to create a classroom where students want to learn. It is a place where students do not just complete their work, but willingly go above and beyond my expectations. It is a place where they put out effort because they want to, not because they feel they have to. And most importantly, it is a place where they have fun during the learning process. I believe that teaching is so much more than relaying knowledge to students. Effective teachers are able to get students interested, so that the kids want that knowledge. This ability to motivate students is what I think separates the average teachers from the great ones.
While I truly believe that it is possible to motivate all of my students, I also believe it will take a lot of work. My first step would be to understand who my students are and what they can do. This is important in motivation because I can then make the material meaningful and interesting to them. For example, because of a poll my classes conducted earlier in the year, I knew a lot of my students' favorite radio stations and music groups. Later that year, when I needed to create a problem involving common multiples to start the class, I created the following:
KISS plays a Destiny's Child song every 275 minutes. KUBE plays a Destiny's Child song every 286 minutes. If both stations are playing the song now, how long will it be before they are both playing the song together again?
While this story problem obviously did not take a lot of work to make, the kids loved it! All of my students were involved in the discussion. One of my students even remembered this problem and mentioned it specifically in her letter to me.
I also believe that it is important to allow students a chance to make decisions in the classroom. This could be in the form of a choice between assignments, the selection of a topic for a project, or help in creating the class expectations. These all allow students to voice their opinions, giving them a sense of ownership. And because they made the decision, I have found that they are more likely to want to follow through.
Finally, I think that it is important that my students and I build a relationship upon mutual respect. I have found that if students know that I genuinely care about them and the curriculum, they will reciprocate. However, as I stated before, this should not simply be done verbally. Showing excitement and enthusiasm over my lessons makes a much deeper impression on them than any statement could.
Respect Students as Learners and Individuals
"Most important, students say they like classrooms where they feel they know the teacher and the other students. While students appreciate a well-organized and orderly environment, they do not like one in which the teacher is detached and treats the classroom as a whole rather than as a roomful of individuals." (Phelan, Davidson, & Cao, 1992, p. 696)
I believe that the most important thing that I can do to promote a learning environment in my classroom is to respect my students as both learners and individuals. It is important to remember that students do not enter school with empty minds, waiting for someone to fill them up with knowledge. Instead, they arrive full of ideas, and it is my job to help them build on and around these ideas. For this reason, it is very important to value students' prior knowledge, past experiences, interests, and differences, because this is what they bring with them to class everyday. Only after I understand these things can I see how the student is viewing what I am teaching, and fully assess the student's understanding. Respecting students as learners also includes respecting the ideas they develop. By giving all of my students a chance to voice these ideas completely, I show them that their opinions are important and matter.
I believe that it is important to remember that students are not robots, but are in fact people. They have good days and bad days; they sometimes have too much energy and sometimes not enough. Keeping this in mind is part of what I mean by respecting students as individuals. The other part involves caring about your students. For myself, and probably many in the teaching profession, it is impossible not to care about your students' lives in and outside of school. I have found that it is extremely obvious that students are much more motivated when they know that I care about their well being.
Conclusion
I believe that each and every one of my students has the potential to learn. It is my responsibility to make sure that they do. I will do this by modeling a love of learning, helping build student confidence, motivating them to want to learn, and respecting them as both learners and individuals. By doing these things, I believe that I can make a positive impact on every child that walks in my classroom door, so that they can make a positive impact on the world outside of it.
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