My Learning Philosophy

My Beliefs as an Educator on Learning and Teaching Philosophies 

 I believe that in order to believe an effective teacher, they must consider the things that motivate their students. Generally, I find Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (1943) as an important theory that helps me understand the motivation behind student behavior.  His pyramid explains how people and their physiological needs are greater than everything else. After that, the need for safety, love, and esteem should be addressed in order for a person to achieve (Huitt, 2004). In terms of motivation that “ I” myself can control everything that goes on in my classroom, I find it hard to try to motivate students, especially in the intermediate school level that I work in. Why is this difficult for me? Well it is difficult because I feel like we are required to give them lavish praise for the simple things that they are expected to do. I feel that this establishes false rewards that are not reflective of reality. Instead, simple, honest, and specific acknowledgement of positive behavior and achievement is the best way, in my opinion, to give feedback and reinforce those behaviors. I feel that this encourages students to have the desire to achieve what is said to be the impossible, which ultimately has more benefits than trying to motivate students through extrinsic means (Lumsden, 1994). 

Another strategy that helped me to be more effective is to consider the learning styles of my students. I believe that it is important to try different ways of teaching because your students may not learn in just one way. Howard Gardner says that there are many ways a person can display their intelligence (Veenema, Hetland, Chalfen, 1997). I agree with that, so it beneficial for me to allow students to be successful through their own intelligences and not those of the school district. This is proven to be more difficult with certain subject matter and with certain curricular restrictions (Hoerr, 2002). My students have helped me learn that they are more cooperative in the classroom if they can be engaged in activities that are challenging or that they enjoy. Planning and preparation are essential when organizing activities that are differentiated and engaging, often taking thought and preparation beyond what a teacher’s guide might say. This also backs up my belief that as educators you have to be always thinking outside the box and not be so complacent. It is important to know, understand and accept that things may not always remain the same and that what may work for one group of students may not work for the next group. It is equally important to prepare meaningful lessons to make sure every child learns. Now, it will not be an easy task but it is definitely one that high quality teachers should be challenged and willing to achieve. 

Take caution in knowing that such lessons become meaningless if a structured classroom management plan is not in place.  Establishing a routine and being consistent with disciplinary issues is very important to the environment of the classroom and to being an effective teacher. I believe that when students know what to expect, then they can focus more on being successful. Keeping this is mind, it is also equally important to maintain a stable learning environment, one without distractions, is one of the rules that I require my students to uphold. Making sure that my students know that they have a role in this is an important piece of effective classroom management (Cotton, 2000). This also represents the COVA model and what it stands for. Students will better cooperate with you if they know that have a voice that gives them a say in their educational learning experience. 

   I believe that the combination of a good management and teacher quality with reducing the number of students in a classroom is an ideal way to increase student achievement. Research studies conclude that 15 to 20 students is the ideal class size that equates an improvement in students success (Picus, 2000). Some argue that the achievement strides due to reduced class size are not great enough to outweigh the expensive costs of hiring teachers and finding classroom space to make it work (Finn, 2002; Picus, 2000). Those obstacles are realistic and unfortunate for both the students and for the teachers because I feel that the quality of my teaching is far better when I have fewer students. The learning was a lot more personable and I was able to address their needs better, assess their understanding quicker, give more one-on-one attention- the list seems endless. Reducing class size is usually not a choice that most teachers can make. This is actually one goal I have for myself is to establish small groups within my class more often. I even do restorative circles in the Library once a week with each of my classes, rotating so that all my classes can participate. Research shows that within-class grouping is more effective than traditional methods of teaching (Slavin & Karweit, 1985). 

I continuously strive to improve my effectiveness as a teacher, and although a highly qualified teacher means different things to different people, the following statement is imperative to take heed to and to know. The quality of a teacher, as Rice (2003) reported, is the most influential predictor of student achievement, more important than school quality, teacher education and experience, or classroom size. Surprisingly, those less important factors have improved my quality as a teacher. Through my three year experience so far, I have gained an appreciation for my education career only after I began working in a small title 1 school district that actually cares, mentors, nurtures, and appreciates learning, and values their families, students, and teachers. Prior to that, I worked in a larger district that had more money and didn’t seem to be concerned with the personal life of students and building relationships with them and their families. Another thing that increased my quality as a teacher was the choice I made to further my education to learn more about the art and the science of teaching.  Deciding to get my master’s degree has by far been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have been through thus far. The knowledge I have gained has drastically improved my confidence and skills, and even enabled me to appreciate such things as working in a classroom with a reduced number of students. My quality continues to improve as I gain more experiences from my own classroom setting while working in the Library. A quality teacher is a product of her knowledge and experiences. A quality teacher also continues to learn from those experiences. 

In considering my learning and teaching philosophy, I think that it will have a very significant and strong impact on my innovation plan to implement the use of eportfolios at my school. As I consider myself a constructivist, cognitivist and humanist, I realize that students being able to use their own experiences will help broaden their overall mindset and develop them socially. This will spill over in how they create their eportolio and give them a way to have more control over their learning as well as being able to have their own voice. I believe that it is necessary for students to be able to use past experiences even if they are failures, as a means to encourage and motivate them to want to keep thriving. My innovation plan promotes student ownership and accountability by giving them a way to track their own learning and progress. I believe it will not only prepare them mentally for the real world but also help them mature as well. My mother always told me that you take care of things better when it is yours and not someone else’s. I think that it so true especially when it comes to my learning theories and my innovation plan. When students feel like that actually own their work and that it will have more of an impact than just going in the gradebook, I think they will try harder to really do their best rather than doing the bare minimum to simply get by. I consider myself an agent for change at my school and I think in order to be successful at implementing change, I first have to prove that it is necessary. We all know that it is. The way I learn and process information is the same way I teach information.  

As I think of my professional philosophy as an undergraduate in college, I recall feeling puzzled as to how and why there could be so many theories about teaching and learning. I now realize that every teacher has their own beliefs about teaching and learning, Their attitude and ideas are communicated in the way that they teach and act towards their students, whether that be that verbally or non-verbally. Every teacher’s classroom is even unique, and all of these things are reflective of their philosophy of education. Realizing this, I find it important to analyze my experiences and beliefs as a teacher to ensure that my philosophy is one that reflects the positive, effective and motivating teacher that I ultimately want to be.