1. Commentary
Note: Artefacts are included under the ‘Teaching Philosophy’ tab on the website.
Through thorough engagement with teaching theories and applied applications in practicum experiences, I have concluded that my teaching manifesto is centered on the student. This move towards student centered teaching is shown to be a natural progression in the thinking of a teacher as a result of understanding the student as an individual, rather than an overall class (Anspal et al. 2012, p. 207). In this way, as proposed in artefact 2 when conducting a lesson, I am sure to vary activities in the classroom to allow individual learners who learn best ‘visually, auditorily, tactually, or kinesthetically’ to engage with the information (Dunn & Dunn
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33). Accordingly, this practice aligns with ‘the social constructivist’ view of believing that students do not just learn from egocentric tasks but rather through social activities (Steffe & Gale, 1995). Through incorporating group work in the class, students with varying academic abilities are able to interact and ‘learners can benefit from the interaction with a more knowledgeable other’ if partnered well (Vygotsky 1978). In this way, my practices have been evolving from class to class as I critically reflect on each lesson; analysing what was successful and what needs further improvement. Flores & Day (2006) support this notion that ‘identity is a dynamic, ongoing process and that teacher identity is influenced by a range of external experiences, such as life experience’. As a result, I believe it is critical to continue reflecting on every lesson and question why it is that I taught in a certain manner or reacted in a certain way as reflective writing allows thoughts ‘to become more explicit’(Anspal et al. 2012, p. 205). Furthermore, I am acutely aware that my current teaching identity has been informed through the specific school and students I was placed with, however, I am flexible to adapt my practices to another …show more content…
174). Accordingly, every lesson builds on the previous class, allowing a student at the end of the unit to say “I can’t believe how much we have learnt over the past few weeks”. This sequence has therefore been successful due to creating a final assessment report which is the summation of every task completed in the class, thus making every task relevant. Some of the factors explicitly being taught include a neighborhoods’ social connectedness and perception of crime and safety in the area. Students will also be required to ‘apply their knowledge and understanding of scale, legend and direction to use large-scale maps’ in their final assessment, as well as apply their knowledge ICT skills through research and excel tasks (VCAA 2015). In this way, students will be participating in ‘E-tivities’ to create ‘frameworks for enabling active and participative online learning by individuals and groups’ (Salmon 2013, p. 5). Students were able to do through most of the course with the inclusion of self-directed research, interactive programs and online game creation. Accordingly, at the conclusion of this unit, students will be more informed global citizens. Additionally, the unit has been created with the cross-curricular priority of civics and citizenships, ensuring students ‘consider the
The title of the first presentation was Practicum Experience at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Joshua Moore is from the Kinesiology-Exercise/Fitness Management and he did his internship at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Joshua made programs using dumbbells for his group of clients at his Internship. Other responsibilities he had was to monitor them while they exercised, check their ECGs and paperwork. He mentioned that checking their ECGs was the hardest part of the job since he was not very familiar with it from the beginning. Overall, Josh enjoyed working at a cardiac rehab center.
A walk through demonstration and rationale discussion completed the WinMed experience. Learning about emergency lighting, testing of emergency lighting, fire extinguishers use/deployment/charge monitoring, sprinkler systems with backflow prevention valve, smoke detector yearly cleaning, cleaning of general areas including bathrooms, trash pickup and disposal, biohazard disposal, sharp containers, standard precautions, and biohazard facility pick up opened my eyes wide to a whole new world.
As professionals, pedagogues are encouraged constantly to reflect on their practice and to apply both theoretical understandings and self-knowledge to the sometimes challenging demands with which they are
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
Teachers continually learn about ways people learn – the processes of learning and how individuals learn best. They learn about their students and individuals, and learn with as well as from their students when they seek knowledge together. (Principles of effective learning and teaching, 1994). Through continually discovering new and exciting ways to help mould a constructivist classroom, the students will be able to achieve their outcomes with great ease and learn to enjoy education.
Students are social by nature and given the right instructional strategies and good classroom management teachers can promote a positive learning environment. The use of instructional strategies will be different from class to class due the diversity within the student population. It is important to use strategies that actively engage students and modify them to meet the needs of the students. Social learning or group work can be g...
I could go on at length, discussing all aspects of my praxis as an educator, however, that would lead to a paper of excruciating length. These aspects of my teaching pedagogy that are delivered in this praxis statement are those that I feel strongest about upholding. It is important for educators to value their students and the perspectives and cultures they bring to the classroom. Student-centered education is what I find to be the key to great teaching, and overall, is the greatest way to allow students to value and grow through their own self-exploratory and self-directed education. Valuing and appreciating each of your students is what makes teaching such an enlightening, uplifting profession.
Everyone has a different view on how they learn and learning itself. First starting in EXP 105, my understanding of learning was new knowledge and becoming wiser. Taking EXP 105 has truly increased my knowledge of what learning is and the process of it. The most important thing I have learned about learning is that you observe the world around you, make sure it is understandable, and figure out the right way to respond. Learning also provides critical thinking skills. Everyone have different ways of learning and those ways are based on four different learning patterns. The four different types of learning patterns are Sequence, Precision, Technical Reasoning, and Confluence. Learning patterns are very helpful when it comes to everyday life, school work, and your job. Knowing your learning patterns and which ones you should use make
As an educator, there is always room for reflection and growth. Being in this class has provided an opportunity for both. From my knowledge gained in this class I believe that I have become smarter and have learned how to implement different tool into my teaching as well as general life as a teacher. Of the topics discussed in this class, commitment to students, avoiding burnout and reflective practices had the biggest impact on my professional growth.
Among many teaching styles and learning theories, there is one that is becoming more popular, the constructivist theory. The constructivist theory focuses on the way a person learns, a constructivist believes that the person will learn better when he/she is actively engaged. The person acts or views objects and events in their environment, in the process, this person then understands and learns from the object or events(P. Johnson, 2004). When we encounter a certain experience in our life, we think back to other things that have occurred in our life and use that to tackle this experience. In a lot of cases, we are creators of our own knowledge. In a classroom, the constructivist theory encourages more hands-on assignments or real-world situations, such as, experiments in science and math real-world problem solving. A constructivist teacher constantly checks up on the student, asking them to reflect what they are learning from this activity. The teacher should be keeping track on how they approached similar situations and help them build on that. The students can actually learning how to learn in a well-planned classroom. Many people look at this learning style as a spiral, the student is constantly learning from each new experience and their ideas become more complex and develop stronger abilities to integrate this information(P. Johnson, 2004). An example of a constructivist classroom would be, the student is in science class and everyone is asking questions, although the teacher knows the answer, instead of just giving it to them, she attempts to get the students to think through their knowledge and try to come up with a logical answer. A problem with this method of learning is that people believe that it is excusing the role of...
...eptions of teachers (Akerlind, 2007; Buskist, 2002; Erdle, Murray, & Rushton, 1985; Lowman, 1984, 1996; Murray, Rushton, & Paunonen, 1990). The teacher’s capability to create rapport is revealed in students’ sense of classroom community (i.e., the more positive and interactive the student-teacher relationship, the higher the students’ success). In order to build and keep that student-centered quality that is so important to students’ success, teachers would appear to have an open posture towards their own teaching. But what shapes teachers’ attitudes and objectives for their own teaching?
... to interchange ideas and clarify doubts or issues I have. I have to contain myself for doing the most of the speaking in some of the classes, overcome laziness to analyze how well or bad an activity or class turned out and think of better ways to do things when they did not work as I thought they will . To conclude I am aware that the only responsible of my learning is me. “Teacher training or education is something that can be managed by others; Teacher development is something that can be done only by and for oneself” Wallace, 1991.
We must first look at the need for a constructivist approach in a classroom, to do this we think back to our days in primary school and indeed secondary school where textbooks we like bibles. We were told to take out our books, look at the board, and now complete the exercise on page z. This approach in a class is repetitive, the teacher holds authoritarian power and learning is by no means interactive. “In a traditional classroom, an invisible and imposing, at times, impenetrable, barrier between student and teacher exists through power and practice. In a constructivist classroom, by contrast, the teacher and the student share responsibility and decision making and demonstrate mutual respect.” (Wineburg, 2001) This approach focuses on basic skills and strict adherence to the curriculum. Children are being forced to learn through repetit...
In today’s classroom, the teacher is no longer viewed as the sole custodian of knowledge. The role of a teacher has evolved into being amongst one of the sources of information allowing students to become active learners, whilst developing and widening their skills. Needless to say, learning has no borders – even for the teacher. One of the strongest beliefs which I cling to with regards to teaching is that, teaching never stops and a teacher must always possess the same eagerness as a student. Through several interactions with other teachers, I always strive for new ideas, techniques, teaching styles and strategies that I might add to my pedagogical knowledge. Furthermore, through personal reflection, feedback and evaluation...
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.