"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of the child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." - Emma Golman
My views of teaching and learning started at a very early age and are still evolving every day. I now have different perspectives, and I feel that this benefits me greatly as I begin my career as an elementary school educator. These different perspectives include me as a student, and now as an educator. I truly believe that each of these roles shaped me- and continue to shape me- to be the teacher that I have always wanted to become.
As a student, I‘ve seen many teachers truly excel at what they do. There is one teacher that truly stands out to me as an exceptional teacher, the one lady that I always think of when somebody asks me, “who was your favourite teacher growing up?” and “who is one person that made an impact in your life?” She was my grade one teacher, and she was the most kind, patient, and compassionate lady I’ve ever met. She did not do truly amazing things like Martin Luther King Jr or Mother Teresa, but every morning she had a smile for me, she truly cared about my progress in grade one and beyond, and she simply knew what it took to be a great educator. Because of her, I’ve decided at a very young age that I wanted not only to be a teacher, but I wanted to be a teacher that possesses her wonderful qualities.
As an educator- of a classroom and of parents with their children- I believe that joy is important. What I mean by this is children need to see some joy in their world every single day, and this needs to come mainly from their parents and teachers. When I am joyful in the classroom, I can feel a change in the atmosphere. If I am having an “off day,” I can feel the change then, as well. Showing joy in the little things that my students do, such as spelling a word correctly, being able to tie one’s shoes, and giving a classmate a helping hand, are all things that I believe bring joy to school every day.
I’ve learned about various theories during the Bachelor of Education program that has helped me during my two internships, and they will help me during my teaching career as well. Bruner’s constructivist theory states that learning is an active process in which people learn new ideas based on current and past knowledge. What I take from this theory is that children learn best when it is relevant to them, therefore we need to teach new information in ways that they can relate to. For example, when I was teaching mathematics during my internship in grade one, I was introducing the geometry unit to my students. We had a class discussion about the shapes of everyday objects- oranges at grocery stores, the whiteboard in the classroom, etc. The children loved this and began coming up to me to show me items that related to what they were learning in math! It was wonderful to see them excited about a subject previously known as boring.
Another theory that I will keep in mind when I begin my teaching career is Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, which is basically the span between what a person can learn with the help of another and what he or she can learn on his/her own. I believe that a teacher’s job is to scaffold each student as necessary through positive interaction and appropriate methods according to what the student is capable of. I also believe that scaffolding by a peer is important, so I believe that allowing group work at appropriate times is essential. For example, when I did my internship in kindergarten I would pair up my students for buddy reading- a high student with a low student. This did wonders- not only does it make the high student feel important because he or she is in a leadership role, but the low student benefits simply because he or she is learning from a fellow classmate instead of the teacher for a change.
The last theory that I would like to discuss is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. I feel that this theory is very important to consider while lesson planning. He believes that everybody has the capacity to learn, but not necessarily in the same way. Some students prefer to do math work, some prefer writing, some prefer music, and the list goes on. The teacher needs to ensure that he or she is reaching every student; the way to do this is to differentiate lesson plans- not only to benefit exceptional students but to benefit each individual. One way to do this is to have a choice board, in which teachers can ensure that the curriculum is being met but students have options regarding the process of learning information, skills, and ideas. I believe that everybody has the potential to thrive in the classroom environment, and we need to find ways to reach out to every student.
After learning about the above theories, I feel that I have a good base in which to begin my teaching career. I will continue to research and keep up-to-date on all of the theories and opinions in order to have a broad range of ideas so that I can take what I feel is most helpful for my students. I feel that by being a “lifelong learner,” I will have the knowledge and direction that it takes to be a great teacher. My students deserve nothing less.
"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of the child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." - Emma Golman
My views of teaching and learning started at a very early age and are still evolving every day. I now have different perspectives, and I feel that this benefits me greatly as I begin my career as an elementary school educator. These different perspectives include me as a student, and now as an educator. I truly believe that each of these roles shaped me- and continue to shape me- to be the teacher that I have always wanted to become.
As a student, I‘ve seen many teachers truly excel at what they do. There is one teacher that truly stands out to me as an exceptional teacher, the one lady that I always think of when somebody asks me, “who was your favourite teacher growing up?” and “who is one person that made an impact in your life?” She was my grade one teacher, and she was the most kind, patient, and compassionate lady I’ve ever met. She did not do truly amazing things like Martin Luther King Jr or Mother Teresa, but every morning she had a smile for me, she truly cared about my progress in grade one and beyond, and she simply knew what it took to be a great educator. Because of her, I’ve decided at a very young age that I wanted not only to be a teacher, but I wanted to be a teacher that possesses her wonderful qualities.
As an educator- of a classroom and of parents with their children- I believe that joy is important. What I mean by this is children need to see some joy in their world every single day, and this needs to come mainly from their parents and teachers. When I am joyful in the classroom, I can feel a change in the atmosphere. If I am having an “off day,” I can feel the change then, as well. Showing joy in the little things that my students do, such as spelling a word correctly, being able to tie one’s shoes, and giving a classmate a helping hand, are all things that I believe bring joy to school every day.
I’ve learned about various theories during the Bachelor of Education program that has helped me during my two internships, and they will help me during my teaching career as well. Bruner’s constructivist theory states that learning is an active process in which people learn new ideas based on current and past knowledge. What I take from this theory is that children learn best when it is relevant to them, therefore we need to teach new information in ways that they can relate to. For example, when I was teaching mathematics during my internship in grade one, I was introducing the geometry unit to my students. We had a class discussion about the shapes of everyday objects- oranges at grocery stores, the whiteboard in the classroom, etc. The children loved this and began coming up to me to show me items that related to what they were learning in math! It was wonderful to see them excited about a subject previously known as boring.
Another theory that I will keep in mind when I begin my teaching career is Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, which is basically the span between what a person can learn with the help of another and what he or she can learn on his/her own. I believe that a teacher’s job is to scaffold each student as necessary through positive interaction and appropriate methods according to what the student is capable of. I also believe that scaffolding by a peer is important, so I believe that allowing group work at appropriate times is essential. For example, when I did my internship in kindergarten I would pair up my students for buddy reading- a high student with a low student. This did wonders- not only does it make the high student feel important because he or she is in a leadership role, but the low student benefits simply because he or she is learning from a fellow classmate instead of the teacher for a change.
The last theory that I would like to discuss is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. I feel that this theory is very important to consider while lesson planning. He believes that everybody has the capacity to learn, but not necessarily in the same way. Some students prefer to do math work, some prefer writing, some prefer music, and the list goes on. The teacher needs to ensure that he or she is reaching every student; the way to do this is to differentiate lesson plans- not only to benefit exceptional students but to benefit each individual. One way to do this is to have a choice board, in which teachers can ensure that the curriculum is being met but students have options regarding the process of learning information, skills, and ideas. I believe that everybody has the potential to thrive in the classroom environment, and we need to find ways to reach out to every student.
After learning about the above theories, I feel that I have a good base in which to begin my teaching career. I will continue to research and keep up-to-date on all of the theories and opinions in order to have a broad range of ideas so that I can take what I feel is most helpful for my students. I feel that by being a “lifelong learner,” I will have the knowledge and direction that it takes to be a great teacher. My students deserve nothing less.
References
www.learning-theories.com
www.simplypsychology.org
www.springhurst.org
Go to Philosophy of Assessment