Philosophy of Education
I believe that education, from kindergarten to high school, shapes students to be the people who they are in the future. Not only is the education they learn throughout the twelve years important, but the social skills they acquire are as well. The students are in school to be taught how to act appropriately as well as learn the specific curriculum designated for each subject. If the students are not taught the curriculum, they will not be knowledgeable in their following years of schooling in that particular subject, whether it be in middle school or high school. Without teachers and peers shaping the child socially, there is a good chance that the student may not adapt well in social situations. It is fundamental that students who attend school go for not only the learning aspect, but for the social aspect as well. Their peers shape them on how to act in school and out in public, and the teacher tries to mold the student to behave the way society expects them to.
Learning is evident in all schools. Learning is the process which knowledge is shared with one person to others. Teachers will usually test students on the material they were taught with tests and quizzes. But I also believe that it is essential for teachers to make sure students have learned, not just memorized, the material. One way I will do this is have a discussion on the material with the students and see how many students have the answer to questions regarding the topic. By doing this, the students who may not know the answer when I ask aloud can also learn by their classmates’ responses to my question. Not all children learn from reading and taking notes from a chapter, so it is important to offer other alternatives as well, such as discussions and projects. Some students are visual learners, some are auditory, and some are kinesthetic. It is important to make sure all students’ needs are met to satisfy all the learning styles in the class. For one section, it can be a read and take notes; for another, there can be a group project where you draw a model or map of what is being discussed. Another way to learn is to have the students role-play a scene in a book to get a better understanding of the characters and emotions.
I plan on teaching with the use of projects, discussions, cooperative groups, and lecture. With a math concentration I plan on graduating with, I believe that math is an important concept to grasp not only from what I am doing on the board, but with what the students understand from the lecture. If they can see and follow what I am doing on the board, but cannot do a problem on their own, then the student is not learning effectively. Without the student trying it on their own, there is no idea whether the student grasps the concept being taught or not. This is where the discussion and cooperative groups comes into play, as the students can see where they understand with understanding the material. Projects will also reinforce the students understanding in certain subjects and allow for a fun alternative from lectures and discussions.
What is also important is to have a quality curriculum, which does not designate what each student does to learn the material, but the concept that is to be understood by the students. Each student learns differently, so a curriculum should just specify that the students learn the material, not designate how they learn. I will specify that the students will understand the concepts, but allow that they learn the students learn from different, more individualized ways. I will offer a number of projects for each topic that is discussed in class. Each project will cover same material, but the students will pick which project they would like to do, depending on whether they are a hands-on or visual learner. That way, the students will all learn the same material, just the process as to how they got there is different – just like each student is.
I believe that education, from kindergarten to high school, shapes students to be the people who they are in the future. Not only is the education they learn throughout the twelve years important, but the social skills they acquire are as well. The students are in school to be taught how to act appropriately as well as learn the specific curriculum designated for each subject. If the students are not taught the curriculum, they will not be knowledgeable in their following years of schooling in that particular subject, whether it be in middle school or high school. Without teachers and peers shaping the child socially, there is a good chance that the student may not adapt well in social situations. It is fundamental that students who attend school go for not only the learning aspect, but for the social aspect as well. Their peers shape them on how to act in school and out in public, and the teacher tries to mold the student to behave the way society expects them to.
Learning is evident in all schools. Learning is the process which knowledge is shared with one person to others. Teachers will usually test students on the material they were taught with tests and quizzes. But I also believe that it is essential for teachers to make sure students have learned, not just memorized, the material. One way I will do this is have a discussion on the material with the students and see how many students have the answer to questions regarding the topic. By doing this, the students who may not know the answer when I ask aloud can also learn by their classmates’ responses to my question. Not all children learn from reading and taking notes from a chapter, so it is important to offer other alternatives as well, such as discussions and projects. Some students are visual learners, some are auditory, and some are kinesthetic. It is important to make sure all students’ needs are met to satisfy all the learning styles in the class. For one section, it can be a read and take notes; for another, there can be a group project where you draw a model or map of what is being discussed. Another way to learn is to have the students role-play a scene in a book to get a better understanding of the characters and emotions.
I plan on teaching with the use of projects, discussions, cooperative groups, and lecture. With a math concentration I plan on graduating with, I believe that math is an important concept to grasp not only from what I am doing on the board, but with what the students understand from the lecture. If they can see and follow what I am doing on the board, but cannot do a problem on their own, then the student is not learning effectively. Without the student trying it on their own, there is no idea whether the student grasps the concept being taught or not. This is where the discussion and cooperative groups comes into play, as the students can see where they understand with understanding the material. Projects will also reinforce the students understanding in certain subjects and allow for a fun alternative from lectures and discussions.
What is also important is to have a quality curriculum, which does not designate what each student does to learn the material, but the concept that is to be understood by the students. Each student learns differently, so a curriculum should just specify that the students learn the material, not designate how they learn. I will specify that the students will understand the concepts, but allow that they learn the students learn from different, more individualized ways. I will offer a number of projects for each topic that is discussed in class. Each project will cover same material, but the students will pick which project they would like to do, depending on whether they are a hands-on or visual learner. That way, the students will all learn the same material, just the process as to how they got there is different – just like each student is.