My Philosophy of Teaching

Philosophy of Teaching

Mary Freeman

Texas A&M University –Commerce

Library Media

Conceptualization of Learning 

    Learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skills through experience, study, or by being taught, which is the purpose of education. For learning to occur the learner must realize how the subject relates to them and why the subject is important for them to learn. Learning is bridge building, i.e., unfamiliar content is made more meaningful by bridging from what is known to what is unknown. Each learner is unique to their own learning style. I might need to give one to one instruction for one student to learn something that others in the class learned in five minutes. Learners actively construct their own understanding; they are not passive recipients of information.

Conceptualization of Teaching

   I define teaching as the ideas or principles taught by an authority. I guide learning by helping students individually, as well as instructing an entire class. Spontaneity is a valued part of teaching. I like to keep my learners focused and have them play an active role in their learning. If the class becomes predictable or boring they simply will not learn. I am a facilitator of learning and as every good cognitive theorist would do, I allow the learners to take center stage. Listening to students’ comments during class and interjecting my comments and-or corrections is how I make it real to them and for me that is teaching. In teaching I have five rules I live by, 1. Get the class’s attention and keep it.

2. I come prepared for class. 3. I check my students’ progress. 4. I teach with love and compassion. 5. I set a good example for the students. As a teacher, I am needed in society, needed as much as the medical doctor, the fireman, the plumber, the postal worker or anyone else that is providing a service to the community.

 Goals for Students

    I set goals for my students; first is for them to expand their critical thinking skills, and become skillful listeners. I want them to be ethically conscious of the decisions they make both in and out of the classroom. I want them to learn how to gather information and become great writers.  Writing skills are developed more readily by working in short practice sessions more often than in one long assignment.  Students also learn better if they receive feedback on their progress and quality of their work; therefore, I evaluate work and return it with feedback by the next class time.

Implementation of the Philosophy

    In the classroom, how are my concepts about learning, teaching, and goals for students transformed into classroom activities? I guide students in recognizing that the subject matter is important by writing key ideas on the board, stating the learning objectives before the instruction, cuing the class “to make a note of this please,” and giving and asking for examples. My body language, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice and proper posture are key elements in underscoring the importance of content. I encourage students to voice their ideas about the subject matter, I encourage them to ask questions, or give examples from their own experiences. This type of classroom is comfortable and encourages attentiveness and participation. Learning involves active thinking. The students are also teaching by sharing insightful comments. I lecture on the key points and then direct a question to the class, if no one responds, I remain quiet, and often the students begin to answer their own question within a few seconds. It’s as if they think silence will kill the class, but I use the silence as a tool to get their attention and invoke thought. When I get no response to a question, I silently count to ten, and then rephrase it, but rarely do I have to do this. Since I don’t lecture but a minute or two before asking a question, they are not caught off guard when I ask a question, and they respond quickly. If I lectured longer before asking the first question, they probably would not be as responsive.

Plutarch said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” One of my roles as a teacher is to kindle the fire that burns in the minds of my students. I kindle that fire by creating a calm stress free environment; I encourage learning by creating stimulating conversation about concepts being presented and organizing material in a way that makes it easy to understand,  helping students find intrinsic motivation, and taking the time to learn about my students. I use a variety of pedagogical approaches to keep them actively engaged in the classroom; I assign small group exercises, show videos, students conduct in class demonstrations, and we use iPads and other technologies to explore or subject. I adapt my teaching methods to students rather than expecting my students to adapt to my teaching methods. I do not use PowerPoint often; I have found a slide show is more likely to deter class discussion than stimulate it.

Professional Growth Plan

    I will list the five primary goals which I have set for myself as a teacher. The first is to keep pace with developments in classroom technology. Many local universities offer annual seminars designed to teach about the latest technology for the classroom, also I attend regular online webinars offered by Ted Reads and Google, and I take advantage of many learning opportunities throughout the year. Secondly, I value feedback from students and other teachers. Sometime during the month of December around midterm I give my students a questionnaire to evaluate how they feel about class and my teaching, I listen to their suggestions for classroom improvements providing them with some ownership in the classroom environment. I invite faculty members to sit in on my classes so I can get their input on how my teaching could be improved. A third goal is to stay current on articles and publications such as education technology and library science. A fourth goal is to attend one or two conferences like American Library Association (ALA) each year. Last, but certainly not least, is my goal to have at least one paper published per year. One of the most important concepts I hope to impart to my students is that learning is a process that never ends. For me, the learning process includes continually working to improve myself professionally.