Teaching Philosophy statement

I, as a teacher, would reduce teacher-directed instruction and increase student-led

learning activities, based on their interest-based choices. I want to show real-world

relationships in lessons and have students apply the skill to enhance the content of

their real-world for a more profound experience. The classroom learning environment

should be student-centered, who should be involved in lesson planning, implementation,

and assessments. This active involvement is required as in the new world, the effective

teaching style has changed from directive to consultative. These empowered students, share in decision making, choose the focus of content and diverse learning options, which match with their understanding. I would give up the need for control as the students can produce volumes of content through social media such as YouTube, Minecraft, and podcasts, etc.1

I believe in a growth mindset. The fixed mindset avoids failure and strives for success; it assumes that students' character, intelligence, and creative abilities are static and cannot change in a meaningful way. Whereas growth mindset thrives on challenges and sees failure as a chance for growth and stretch of student's abilities. I do not believe that the capabilities are carved in stone, and students have fixed traits. Success is not a certificate of smartness and does not validate their talents, rather basic qualities in the students can be cultivated through the joint effort of learning student and teacher. Students can grow through application and experience and learn something new. Failure in a game or test is about not fulfilling a student's potential. An effort is what makes a student smart and talented. Intelligence is a trait that a student has to work for and is not given to them in a certain amount. I do not believe in undue praise for the students, which pushes them into a fixed mindset, and they do not want to take up challenges that question their talents and expose their flaws. Imperfections are not shameful, and abilities in students can be developed and changed. The growth in abilities is not an automatic process but needs a great deal of effort from the teacher and inspired students.2

I believe in the motivation theory of learning, and intrinsic motivation in students encourages life-long learning. Intrinsic motivation can be promoted by challenging activities, fantasy, and curiosity among the students. Use of a variety of presentation, relevance, and usefulness of content and collaboration among students encourage intrinsic motivation.3

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Motivation is defined as the degree of effort a student is prepared to spend towards the attainment of a specific target or goal. Motivation comes from within a person. It is the responsibility of a teacher to create the atmosphere in the class that increase's the interest of the student to pursue the academic goals over a long time. When the students experience a discrepancy between something new (lesson) and something they already believe, Cognitive view of motivation produces a state of disequilibrium. Induction of cognitive disequilibrium to stimulate the learning is challenging. Stimulation of cognitive disequilibrium drives the students to eliminate the confusion in order to achieve equilibration thus students learn a new subject for their own sake. I agree with humanistic view of Maslow that people are motivated by their basic individual needs to address natural concerns such as physiological needs (hunger, thirst and shelter), safety needs (safe and secure physical environment), the self-actualization needs. Assessment of students' needs is a challenging process, but the development of full individual potential can only be achieved if lower physiological and safety requirements are met. Students are motivated to learn when they perceive that their teachers care about them and provide constructive feedback.4

It has been determined that the individuals differ from one another in terms of personal locus of causality (PLOC). Those who have internal PLOC are initiators and sustainers of their particular actions and connected with intrinsic motivation. Others believe that the external forces are the causation of their behavior; their PLOC is external and connected with extrinsic motivation. Finding the 'Optimal zone of proximal development (ZPD)' is crucial for the development of self-efficacy in a student, the task in ZPD is difficult enough to be challenging but within reach of learner's ability. Self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation do not increase when students are given easy assignments. It is important to categorize students with internal or external PLOC. The students with high internal PLOC will thrive in self-directed learning tasks while students with external PLOC need direction, praise, and accountability to find the degree of autonomy and ownership in their learning process. It is evident by research that extrinsic motivation used in moderation in students with external PLOC can bring about intrinsic motivation5

The wide range of culturally diverse students has unique characteristics with respect to race, ethnicity, culture, native language, values, beliefs, and socioeconomic status. I believe in social justice in which all students in the class have the same basic rights, security, opportunity, benefits, and obligations6 As a teacher, I can only control my classroom culture and not the world outside. The students need to know and understand social justice, as it is relevant, empower them to stand up what they believe, and share their beliefs with the world7 Value integrated into my teaching philosophy is to build a safe, encouraging place where students can communicate their beliefs and experiences, respond to others ideas, allow disagreement and appreciate others perspective, use the learning process as a path of solving problems rather than a mark of achievement, build each other in conversation and actions. I want to help students see others as co-learners rather than competitors or adversaries. Students can facilitate conversations about real-world issues, such as racism, bullying, friendship, social media issues that affect students’ everyday lives and able to recognize real-world problems and critically engage in these issues and build support for a positive social change. I believe in teaching fairness in classroom behavior, discussions, build conscience and social justice.8

Three crucial elements are required to be addressed in order to bridge the gap between the practice of teaching (pedagogy) and teaching a specific subject. First and foremost is the content knowledge required for teaching. Secondly, the insight and compact understanding of this content knowledge by the teachers, and finally, the deconstruction of this knowledge into a basic form where its critical components are clearly apparent and accessible to the students.9 I believe that in order to be successful in transferring the information to the learner, Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Lessons (POGIL) should be part of teaching strategy, it relates to the environment and focuses on real-life experiences of the learner to create knowledge. 

The teacher has to focus on gaining an understanding of realities by using reality pedagogy and reciprocation of knowledge and expertise between the students and teachers. In order to gain the attention of a new generation of this era flipped classroom in the best approach in teaching, where students watch lectures on video and come to school to engage in classroom activities.10

Assessment is a process by which the educator ascertains progress and mastery of target skills via the measurement of objective and subjective data to assess students learning process. The assessment helps the teachers determine the appropriate instructional approaches for students. The teacher should start with the diagnostic assessment at the beginning of the study unit, followed by a formative assessment to ascertain the step-by-step progress of students, and finally, the summative assessment for the determination of student's mastery of the subject. Norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests should also be incorporated into the subject learning to evaluate the students' performance against a specific standard. Teachers are advised to score the performance tasks with a rubric using technology and computer-enhanced assessments. Helping the students learn is the primary objective. Therefore, applications and software based on Common Core tests and state standards should be used for the validity and reliability of different types of assessments.11

A teacher needs to know, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and technology knowledge, the three primary forms of knowledge in order to teach effectively. Knowledge about various technologies range from pencil and paper to digital technologies refer to the technical knowledge, while knowledge about subject matter taught is content knowledge and knowledge about classroom management, assessment, lesson plan development, and student learning comprise of pedagogical knowledge. An experienced teacher gets an intuitive understanding of the interplay between the three components of knowledge. Technology, content and pedagogical and teaches the content knowledge of the subject by using appropriate technologies with pedagogical methodologies. This framework is called technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) .12’13

A teacher with proper understanding and clearer concepts about the subject matter will deduce useful forms of representations of the subject ideas, analogies, explanations, examples, and demonstrations to the students referred to as pedagogical content knowledge. Sound curricular knowledge every teacher needs to comprehend for effective teaching consist of a range of programs with a variety of instructional material designed for the subject.14

A teacher who prompts students to openly participate in the lesson, by talking, writing, reflecting, and reading (active cognitive processing), activates their learning process. Clickers are technological devices that allow the students to answer questions presented in class quickly, while teachers provide immediate feedback, and students can measure their overall comprehension. Collaborative learning occurs when students work in small groups, share knowledge, think critically, and learn from each other. Clickers enhance students' performance by proposing interactivity, engagement, and active collaborative learning. 15

Teaching pedagogies and learning objectives are essential tasks required for better online course design. Course content is presented online and transmitted to the student via the internet. The documents, exams submitted by the students are evaluated and graded. Pedagogical competence to facilitate the online learning process is more important than technical skills in high-quality online course.16

High-quality assessments for the online courses enable students to understand they're learning goals through effective feedback and thus support student-centered classrooms. It is proven that formative assessment helps in engagement, enhanced motivation of online students and provide teachers with necessary data to guide students to seek help a metacognitive skill. Self-assessment, peer-assessment, collaborative work, and project-based learning (reflection, minute papers, hook questions, "things to keep in mind," question wall, role play) are the main tools that encourage students' critical thinking online courses. The asynchronous discussions, online chats, and e-mails help the instructor determine students' knowledge base and enhanced by scoring rubric based on bloom's taxonomy. The rule of thumb is "Never to abuse any instructional strategy". Generating an assessment plan for the online class with enhanced online interactivity and student engagement helps the instructor map out their pedagogical strategies.17

Teaching online requires a specific set of skills and competencies, but distance educators lack a model or benchmark for online teaching. As a novice in online teaching for me, it is more like an independent study, self-directed learning activities, such as reviewing articles and websites on online teaching, would be the beginning point for such instructors. Smaller steps towards teaching online will be the pattern I want to follow for the successful experience. In-depth, face-to-face training session for online teaching is of great help before becoming an online instructor. Different ways to connect with students included video conferencing, online discussions, holding skype sessions to provide students with one-to-one feedback are the creative ways of online instructors to reach students. Changes of course content, advances in technology and search of different ways to connect with the students will require much more time by the online instructor to spend on online teaching.18

I believe in exploring more about my emotional intelligence. An emotionally intelligent teacher is more competent in creating a learning environment and encouraging the students to become more self-aware and be able to manage their educational responsibilities.19

 

References.

 

1.         McCarthy J. Student-Centered Learning: It Starts With the Teacher. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccarthy. Published September 9, 2015. Accessed November 18, 2016.

2.         Popova M. Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives. Brain Pick. January 2014. https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/. Accessed November 18, 2016.

3.         Theories of Motivation. http://innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/motivation/index.htm. Accessed November 19, 2016.

4.         Enhancing Students Motivation - By Annick M. Brennen. http://www.soencouragement.org/enhancing-students-motivation.htm. Accessed November 21, 2016.

5.         Conti G, Phd, MA, MA, PGCE. Eight motivational theories and their implications for the classroom. Lang Gym. July 2015. https://gianfrancoconti.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/eight-motivational-theories-and-their-implications-for-the-foreign-language-classroom/. Accessed November 21, 2016.

6.         Ingram I, Walters T. A Critical reflection model to teach diversity and social justice. J Prax Multicult Educ. 2007;2(1). doi:10.9741/2161-2978.1021.

7.         Why Teaching About Social Justice Matters | Teaching Tolerance - Diversity, Equity and Justice. http://www.tolerance.org/blog/why-teaching-about-social-justice-matters. Accessed November 23, 2016.

8.         How to Teach Social Justice in the Classroom. http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/news/teaching-social-justice/. Accessed November 23, 2016.

9.         Ball DL. Bridging Practices Intertwining Content and Pedagogy in Teaching and Learning to Teach. J Teach Educ. 2000;51(3):241-247. doi:10.1177/0022487100051003013.

10.       Emdin C. 5 New Approaches to Teaching and Learning: The Next Frontier. Huffington Post. January 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-emdin/5-new-approaches-to-teaching-strategies_b_4697731.html. Accessed November 27, 2016.

11.       Ronan A. Every Teacher’s Guide to Assessment | Edudemic. Connect Educ Technol. http://www.edudemic.com/summative-and-formative-assessments/. Accessed November 27, 2016.

12.       Schmidt DA, Baran E, Thompson AD, Mishra P, Koehler MJ, Shin TS. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): The Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument for Preservice Teachers. J Res Technol Educ. 2009;42(2):123-149. doi:10.1080/15391523.2009.10782544.

13.       Rienties B, Brouwer N, Lygo-Baker S. The effects of online professional development on higher education teachers’ beliefs and intentions towards learning facilitation and technology. Teach Teach Educ. 2013;29:122-131. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2012.09.002.

14.       Shulman LS. Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educ Res. 1986;15(2):4–14.

15.       Blasco-Arcas L, Buil I, Hernández-Ortega B, Sese FJ. Using clickers in class. The role of interactivity, active collaborative learning and engagement in learning performance. Comput Educ. 2013;62:102-110. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.019.

16.       Smith VC. Essential tasks and skills for online community college faculty. New Dir Community Coll. 2010;2010(150):43–55.

17.       Vonderwell SK, Boboc M. Promoting formative assessment in online teaching and learning. TechTrends. 2013;57(4):22–27.

18.       Schmidt SW, Hodge EM, Tschida CM. How university faculty members developed their online teaching skills. Q Rev Distance Educ. 2013;14(3):131.

19.       Cherwin A. Using Emotional Intelligence to Teach. https://www.higheredjobs.com/Articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=285. Accessed December 3, 2016.