Philosophies
I have included my beliefs on what constitutes effective teaching, my idea of classroom management, technology, assessment, and addressing various abilities.
What Teaching Means To Me
Based on what I have observed and experienced, effective teaching is constituted by investment, personality, observations, knowledge, adaptability, and acceptance. While this may sound like a laundry list of adjectives, effective teaching must truly have each of these traits. As a teacher, you must be invested in your craft and your children because work does not end when the bell rings. You must plan, prep, and communicate with parents to ensure the child has the best opportunities for learning. A teacher must be personable to hold the attention of children while teaching, as well as communicate effectively with parents and coworkers. Teachers must be observant while teaching to manage the classroom, as well as to track the progress of the children’s learning. Knowledge about the course content, child psychology, special education, and children’s development is essential when teaching. Every teacher must be adaptable as lesson plans may change in an instant due to the behavior or progress of the children, safety drills, assemblies, and other outside factors. Finally, the teacher must be accepting. In most schools, it is almost certain that your classroom will be full of children of various economic, political, and ethnic backgrounds, as well as on varying intellectual and emotional levels. Your lessons must be able to reach every child and to do so, you must be understanding and accepting of their circumstances and abilities.
Classroom Management
Being an early childhood educator is about teaching young students fundamental knowledge while also encouraging them to be productive members of our society. My ultimate goal as an educator is to create a classroom environment that allows me to teach these two important things, with minimal distractions.
My philosophy on classroom management is truly a melting pot of different theories and practices. Like Haim Ginott, I believe that adults should avoid attacking the child’s character and instead address their behavior in that certain situation. I will also use congruent communication to summarize and validate the feelings of my students. I appreciate Barbara Coloroso’s theory on good discipline. Students deserve respect, a sense of power, and the opportunity to make their own decisions. I want my students to feel like they are young adults who are more than capable of doing so. Rudolf Dreikurs’ idea of logical consequence will be implemented in my classroom. If a child misbehaves, the consequence will be directly related such as cleaning a mess that was made. I am also interested in Richard Curwin’s nine principles for delivering consequences. This includes implementing a consequence when necessary, stating the rule and the consequence, being in close proximity to the student when implementing, making direct eye contact, using a soft voice, catching the student being good, avoiding embarrassing a child, being rid of anger when implementing and not accepting bargaining.
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I truly identify with Spencer Kagan who believes that teachers and students should be on the same side in regards to maintaining responsible behavior. I also need to remind myself of Marvin Marshall’s belief that when instructing, that students do not automatically know what is expected of them, so it must be made clear. Robert J. Marzano’s strategies for teachers will be utilized in my classroom. A few include to give individualized positive reinforcement, assign consistent and reasonable feedback, and use contracts to personalize learning objectives of reach child. I will also use Bloom’s taxonomy when creating learning objectives to ensure that the children are continuously elevating their level of learning.
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Instead of rules, I would like to have ‘good choices.’ On the first day I will sit down with my students and listen to their ideas of what they think good choices would be. With their help, I will condense their ideas down to a few simple positive good choices. Finally, the students will sign a contract including these good choices to promise to always do their best to follow them.
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In regards to my responses to misbehavior, I will begin with reminding the class of what our good choice should be. I will proceed by asking the specific child to tell me what the good choice is. If it continues I will continue my instruction close to the child to try to discourage any disruptive behavior. If needed I will privately speak to the student to understand why this behavior is occurring and how to change it. If the problem persists and becomes a hindrance to the learning of the student and the others in the class I will take note and make a phone call to their guardian.
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I will try to teach all of my desired procedures on the first few days of class. Any jobs that I need to be completed, such as bringing things down to the office or passing out papers, will be given to the student that is currently following the rules. This will give children the opportunity to modify their behavior to be chosen for the next time. Before entering and exiting the room I will ask that my students are calm and quiet. When walking through the halls I will expect my students to remain on the lines on the floor and march all together. My goal is that specific tasks such as marching and staying in a straight line will give them something to focus on so that they act appropriately when moving from place to place.
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One of the most important aspects of a classroom is a positive learning environment. I will constantly thank my students for any contributions to the lessons and for participating in the good choices. Even if a student falters, I will do my best to give them a chance to modify their behavior and make the right decision.
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While everything mentioned is a just plan on how I plan to manage my classroom, I will do everything in my power to be an effective educator and promote learning while encouraging students to make good choices.
Technology
Technology is a fantastic resource for education, but it is not the focal point of learning. It is important to find a balance. If you rely too heavily on technology, you are at the mercy of a reliable internet connection, or that the students may lose out on real-life experiences. On the other hand, if you do not utilize enough technology, the students may lose out on learning new tools or discovering new things. For example, there were days when I had a lesson prepared on the ViewSonic board, then it would crash. I would have to think on my feet and modify the lesson without the technology, while still teaching the content. On the other hand, utilizing technology can enhance a lesson. My class and I were reading a Scholastic News article about Chinese New Year and I found videos on YouTube that allowed the class to be transported to China and experience the celebration. While it can be challenging at times, I appreciate the value that technology has added to the learning experience of my students.
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The technology-related skills that I can contribute to a school district range from programs to tools. I am well-versed with ActivInspire boards, ViewSonic boards, and Windows computers. I am proficient with the online programs of ThinkCentral, iReady, GoNoodle, Zoom, Google Meet, Dojo, Nearpod, Flipgrid, Newsela, and all Microsoft Office programs. In addition to being well versed in using technology in school, I am also advanced in remote learning, or at-home instruction. During my senior semester of student teaching, COVID-19 caused Union Township Schools to close. Every week I planned and conducted lessons with the entire class through Google Hangouts. Using PowerPoint, I would create informational and interactive lessons for my students. The topics ranged from ELA stories, science lessons on plants, planets, and magnets, math lessons on time and multiplication, and social studies lessons on Memorial Day and multiculturalism. The students would answer questions and I would type their responses in the presentation or I would ask the students to draw a picture, and they would share it through the video chat. In addition, every week I compiled STEM activities, vocabulary activities, and books to read online, in case the students finished their work at home. Instead of completing my student teaching when Kean University’s semester ended, I continued teaching my students virtually until their school year ended. I saw the benefits of the virtual lessons and I did not want to leave them, especially when there was so much uncertainty in the world.
Motivation & Assessment
I would motivate student learning by engaging and interesting them. Rather than traditional worksheets all day, I would engage my students by planning hands-on activities to provide them with real experiences with the content. I would also implement activities for visual and auditory learners to ensure that I am reaching all the students. This can be executed through learning centers so that students have an opportunity to experience various activities. While it is important that their learning style is being attended to, it is also important to provide multiple modalities of learning to ensure that the students have understood the content. I would also try to incorporate topics that interest the students in my lessons. For example, during my clinical experience, I observed that my students did not look forward to math. To engage them, I started calling it ‘Ninja Math’ and I would change the math problem to fit the ninja theme. After a few days, my students would walk into the classroom and ask what time ‘Ninja Math’ would be, because they looked forward to it. I observed that their grades also improved once they became interested. For English Language Arts lessons, instead of using generic names for grammar sentence examples, I use my students’ names to excite them and feel invested.
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I would assess student learning through multiple modalities. No child learns the same as another, therefore they should not always be evaluated in the same way. Depending on the content, I would allow various opportunities for the students to demonstrate their understanding of the topic. For example, to demonstrate comprehension of a non-fictional text, students can answer multiple-choice questions, draw a picture, write a summary, or create a comic strip. I would ensure that the students have accomplished the learning objectives while allowing them to express their understanding in a way that suits their learning style. Based on the results of the assessments, I would be able to see if the students met the learning objectives, or if I need to return to the content. I can also use the assessments to see exactly what the students could be struggling with, so that I know what to focus on in the future.
Addressing Varying Abilities & Issues
To address a wide range of abilities and issues in my group I would utilize documentation, differentiated instruction, accommodations, and create a safe learning environment. Without documentation, it would be difficult to detect precisely what the issues are. By observing and noting the academic, behavioral, and social progress of the students, I will be able to pinpoint which students need further assistance or if I need to change my approach. After referring to the progress of the students, I can determine what accommodations are necessary. For example, if I observe that three students are not getting along, I will reorganize the groups. If I see that students are struggling with certain emotional conflicts, I could have lessons in small groups to help them emotionally work through it. I can also use the progress of the students to decide what form of differentiated instruction I will need to utilize. Lessons should be diverse in their method of instruction and assessment and tailored to meet the needs of all students. Instructional strategies should vary so that every child’s intelligence and learning style is being utilized and recognized. An example would be providing visuals for English Language Learners or modifying the questions that you ask to suit the students’ intellectual level. Or if students are struggling with a concept in math, I can provide a visual presentation using snap cubes. Accommodations for the whole class, as well as specific students, are essential. This can include flexible seating for students, or having the class schedule displayed. Finally, a safe learning environment is essential for managing a wide range of issues in my group. The students could be struggling at home, academically, physically, and so on. Any potential issues in the classroom will be eliminated if it is a safe place where the students will be accepted and protected. I will ensure that my language, my actions, and the rules will reflect that of a safe space for the students.