My teaching philosophy is grounded in the motivation on why I chose to become an educator. In my practicum, the greatest joy of educating students was when I was able to watch students achieve understanding of concepts that I taught them. There is a discernable “light bulb” moment and smile that is hard to put into words when a student learns a new concept. This moment is heightened when they have learned something that was previously difficult for them to grasp. I find this incredibly rewarding because I am helping students achieve a new level of understanding that will help them in their future lives. It is my belief that all students want to learn and want to achieve academic success. It is my calling to help each student achieve this success and foster a love of learning.
This is not a simple task and it requires a great teacher. I define a great teacher as an educator who inspires and helps every student achieve their personal academic success. A great teacher does not focus only on the academically strong students but on the entire class, especially the weaker students that require more attention. While there are students at different levels with modifications or individualized education plans, the goal of a great teacher is to move the needle of understanding and learning consistently to the right. It is often the weaker students that feel they are left behind or simply have not been given the attention they deserve, particularly if their home environment does not foster this. These students feel disenfranchised and often do not care about learning. Fostering a love of learning in all students is the catalyst that helps each student become intrinsically motivated to want to learn and helps them achieve the growth mindset.
The backbone of how I foster the love of learning is my lesson planning. The groundwork or objective of lesson planning is to ensure that the core curriculum has been covered. While that is necessary for all lessons the key to a great lesson is making sure it is engaging. I use humour, drama, mystery, and technology to engage the students in my lesson. For example, I took a grade 6 decimal ordering lesson and assigned students secret agent code numbers that were their dates of birth represented on that exact day. I created interactive group games where children could help each other learn. I always put myself in the mindset and seat of the student that I am going to teach and if I don’t find my lesson engaging, I improve on it. Engaging lessons have students that stay focused, have students wondering what they will get to learn next, and are the best method of classroom management. When a student is engaged in the curriculum, they are not acting out. My goal with engaging lesson planning is to foster the love of learning but also have the students enjoy the lesson so much that classroom management happens on its own.
Engaging lessons, however, are only effective if the students feel that they are in a safe and welcoming environment. While I want my lessons to be enough that classroom management happens by itself, I understand that this is not always the case. I believe that students learn best when they are in an environment with clear expectations and responsibilities. The outside world is chaotic enough that when they enter the classroom, they know exactly what they can expect from me as an educator and what my expectations are of them. I believe co-created democratic rules and responsibilities promote this environment. I also believe in celebrating the differences that make us unique and different. Promoting our differences such as culture and incorporating this into my lessons ensures that students have personal investment in what is being taught. Lessons need to be relevant to their lives. I view being an educator as an excellent opportunity to help inspire and shape our future students. I look forward to helping future generations achieve their potential.