Teaching Philosophy

I believe my primary job as a teacher is to create a situation that allows children to develop academically and socially in a safe, effective manner. I believe every child can learn, if they get the chance to. As a teacher, I need to make sure they have that chance by optimizing the tools I have.

Classroom

The classroom should be a safe space where a child knows they are respected. It should be organized so that students know where to find things and where they should be. There should be time for quiet study, vigorous discussions, and fun times. In a world that offers so much insecurity, the classroom should be a place they can find refuge.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Every student comes to class with cultural, racial, and linguistic characteristics that they have had long before they got to school. As their teacher, I can serve them best by understanding the things that make them special and applying that information to the way I teach. If I don't know how to do that, it is up to me to figure it out, and the best way to do that is attempting to communicate with the student and their family.

Instruction

My constructivist view of teaching means that I believe the students make their own knowledge, based on their experiences as a learner, and my role as their teacher is to help them do that. By scaffolding when necessary and challenging the students to continually improve, I can help them develop the tools they need. I believe that discussing metacognitive skills helps students understand how they can take control of their own learning. This is a key to instilling a growth mindset in our students.

While specific curricula or technologies certainly can assist in effective teaching, they are only useful to the degree that they help a student gain a true internal understanding of a topic. Lessons should offer students a variety of ways to interact with the material and should incorporate the ideas of retrieval practice and clear feedback to ensure that students engage topics on level that result in actual changes in their developing brains.