This page is intended to articulate my personal philosophy of teaching, with regards to my role in the socio-cultural context. In my personal opinion I don't necessarily believe that I have a 'philosophy' of teaching and learning yet, as I believe this is something that I will develop throughout my career. I do, however, have a number of practical teaching and learning strategies, as well as some theory based knowledge that I think would constitute an 'emerging philosophy'. Therefor, I will share with you what I do, not what I want to do.
I strongly believe in providing an inclusive context in which all children can learn. I create such contexts by using a range of assessment tools and strategies to identify individuals' strengths, needs, and wants; and, by presuming every child to be competent. This enables me to provide learning experiences that support children relative to their required need, while at the same time celebrating their strengths (Oyler & Hamre, 2006). In my classroom children feel strong because they can do what they are good at to support me in the modelling process, and because they can see and hear their work being celebrated.
I understand the importance of communicating with whānau, parents, and caregivers. I make it a priority to establish rapport with them and to maintain regular communication. I do this by making time to talk to them before and after school. This, in turn, enables me to strengthen the link between home and school. Furthermore, open lines of communication allow for a collaborative relationship in which whānau, parents, and caregivers can work with me to enhance children's learning (Marsh, 2004). This has benefits for both parties as the children receive more support during learning activities and the parents feel like valued members of the classroom community. This year I have had successfully included parents into my literacy programme as well as my integrated sound unit.
I hold high, but realistic, expectations for all learners. This is in accordance with both the New Zealand Curriculum and the Graduating Teachers Standards. I encourage children to aim high and perservere in the face of difficulty (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2007; New Zealand Teachers Council (NZTC), 2007). I do this by setting personilised learning goals for each child relative to their needs (Oyler and Hemre, 2006) and by using positive praise and reinforcement. By setting high expectations for all learners, including those deemed at risk, I ensure that no one is marginalised. By setting goals that are relative to the individuals capabilities I allow everyone to experience meaningful success.
As a teacher I am expected to use evidence to promote learning (NZTC, 2007). Currently, I use a range of assessment tools and strategies to gather information on students that will enable me to identify their next teaching and learning steps. Recently, I have used conversations, observations, running records, surveys, and writing samples to create literacy profiles for young learners. By systematically gathering and analysing a range of data I am able to plan my programmes with a better understanding of my learners. This enables me, and will continue to allow me, to provide children with stimulating learning experiences that are responsive to their strengths, needs, and wants.
I appreciate the need to use range of pedagogical strategies in order to provide stimulating experiences for young learners. As the NZTC (2007) suggest, such strategies need to be appropriate to the learners. In my class, I enjoy using the theory of multiple intelligences as it can be a useful to convey information to a range of different learners. It also allows me to present ideas from different perspectives. I have also found tuakana-teina useful. This is because it is a cultural responsive strategy and shows Māori children that I value their way of learning. It also provides reciprocal learning experiences for both more able and less able learners (Edwards & Watts, 2008; Royal-Tanagaere, 1997). As a beginning teacher, I will continue to use both of these strategies due to their previously discussed merits.
As a teacher, it is important that I demonstrate commitment, and not only just to children and their whānau, parents, and caregivers, but to society and the profession too. To me, showing my commitment to society means presenting myself in a way so that whānau, parents, and caregivers feel comfortable to let me prepare their children for life in the 21st century. I do this by supporting equitable opportunities for all learners and by teaching and modelling positive values (MoE, 2007; NZTC, n.d). I show parents that I care about their child's learning by celebrating their strengths, meeting their needs and wants (Oyler & Hamre, 2006), and maintaining communication between home and school (Marsh, 2004).
I also have to make a commitment to my profession and I believe I am well on the way to that. In order to do this I complete my planning and assessment related practices to a high standard, I promote the use overall teacher judgment through formative assessment practices, I engage in professional development, and I respect my professional relationships with colleagues (NZTC, n.d.). For me, the hardest part of meeting this standard will be promoting sound educational policy, as I do not believe their is a quality national reporting method for children in primary education.
Although not the most reflective statement, I believe it is the most honest. It reflects my beliefs about my 'emerging philosophy' of teaching and learning in a way that is relevant to my practice at this point in time. It is a practical statement and will always be until I have developed both the experience and knowledge of a practicing teacher.
