TEACHING PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

People learn differently based on their individual unique styles of learning (Qais, 2011). I believe that learning is a skill that must be accomplished by individuals as learners and thereafter as working adults. On the contrary, teaching is a tool that is used to support learning. Therefore, I believe that as a teacher I should be able to understand the student’s point of view before presenting my own ideas. In my opinion, a flawless teaching situation should focus on the leaner’s proficiency level. Therefore, as a teacher I should consider the learner profile before preparing the lesson material, lesson plan, assessments and activities.  The goals that I have set for my students are to encourage learning, develop critical thinking skills, encourage active participation and serve as a mentor. Furthermore, I encourage student centered learning by allowing students to gather information through their own investigations.

I assume that the students could learn a skill with the help of a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and subsequently perform on their own after learning it with support. However, in order to reach these objectives I used different teaching methods during my teaching experience. I encouraged active and cooperative learning and I think that the different teaching strategies that I used in the classroom allowed my students to learn new skills and obtain new knowledge in a friendly classroom environment where they could express their own ideas without fear. I personally believe that team based learning, interactive activities and in-depth explanations help the students to achieve the focused learning skills. Hence, as a teacher I should be flexible as to adapt to different conditions in the classroom and create the activities that are interesting for my students. Moreover, it is important that a teacher maintain a positive interaction with students. I believe that positive interaction helps the students to grasp knowledge effectively and the teacher to reach the set goals. Thus, the interaction I had with students during my teaching sessions had an impact on their self-esteem. My interaction with students should help to enhance their skills and productivity of the lesson.

Furthermore, assessment for learning is useful for the teachers to adjust their teaching techniques and the students to adjust their learning techniques. In my opinion, assessment for learning helps teachers to plan and modify the lesson materials, identify student’s strengths and weaknesses and their learning needs. I believe that students should be given feedback and grades in order to enhance the different learning and teaching strategies. Thus, I will give appropriate and guiding feedback along with student grades. I believe that students should be given the chance to redo assignments based on the given feedback. Moreover, I will use different types of assessments such as, in class tests, speech tests, creative writing and take home assignments to enhance student’s learning skills. To improve myself as a teacher I should be able to understand the needs of my students and set clear goals that would help me to be more effective in class and prepare the activities accordingly.