Journal Twelve
November 18, 2019
#AllTogether
10 Things I will Include in My Teaching Philosophy:
There were some important changes between my Journal #1 teaching philosophies and the philosophies listen above. The biggest change is that my first list of philosophies were mostly revolved around classroom climate and culture. Thing like positivity, empathy, respect, relationships and kindness. These things are of course, very important, and set the foundation for how a classroom will function but it is important to go beyond that as well. I also still included the philosophy of encouraging students to push outside of their comfort zones and be brave in their creating as it is important for all students and artists to practice. The philosophy about my ability to change and learn as needed and endlessly was in my first list but my first version was stated as simple being open to learning, I have now expanded on it. I have learned that I need to be able to adapt in my teaching and learn from those moments.
The new philosophies I introduced are based around providing meaningful learning opportunities that suit all types of students and provide choices to students so their processes are personal, passionate and personal to them. Over the course of this semester while teaching, I have discovered how lessons that include all of these have produced the most learning. I have also added assessment to my philosophies. Assessment isn't just for generating grades, it is a teachers way of knowing that their lessons are teaching their students what was intended and provides a road map of where learning should go next. The way we assess needs to generate these results. Lastly I added the philosophy about being aware of the world around me as it is relevant to me and my students. What I mean by this, is that I need to be active in my knowledge of what is happening in the world around me as well as what things are important to the age level I'm teaching. What in the current world interests them? Worries them? Etc. Knowing these things allows me to better empathize with my students, understand them and create relationships with them.
All of the events, moments and experiences recorded in this journal have refined and changed my perspective of my teaching philosophy. From teaching at Beattie this semester, learning about assessment and applying it in my teaching, to museum tours for Brainy and peer teaching. All of these moments have shaped how I view teaching now. They have enriched and expanded what I previously thought and refined on WHY these philosophies are important to me and my teaching. The one thing that I have always known and seen as important in my philosophy that hasn't changed is creating relationships with my students. This is because I of course am a student myself and I understand how relationships with my teachers current and previous have effected my ability to learn for better or worse. When I have a strong, trusting relationship with my teachers, I tend to learn more and take more risks because I know that my abilities are seen and my efforts are as well.
To represent this change to my teaching philosophies I created a piece that combines the images from my previous journals into one. I need all of these realizations and moments to be the teacher I will be in the future. Together, all of these experiences help round me into a better educator. They all work together, simultaneously, to create a well balanced philosophy of teaching. I envision my path as an educator similar to this image that will continue to grow, expand and become more lush and vibrant as I continue to learn.
- Empathetic classroom climate and culture
- Safety and respect
- My ability to adapt, change and learn as needed and endlessly
- Create learning opportunities that suite all learners and their unique needs and ideas
- Create opportunities for students to make their own choices in their learning so it is passionate, pertinent and personal
- Apply assessment that is fair and meaningful
- Use assessment to understand what and how my students are learning in order to take the next best steps in my teaching
- Be aware of the world around me as it is relevant to me and my students
- Encourage my students to try new things and push out of their comfort zones and be brave
- Create meaningful relationships with my students
There were some important changes between my Journal #1 teaching philosophies and the philosophies listen above. The biggest change is that my first list of philosophies were mostly revolved around classroom climate and culture. Thing like positivity, empathy, respect, relationships and kindness. These things are of course, very important, and set the foundation for how a classroom will function but it is important to go beyond that as well. I also still included the philosophy of encouraging students to push outside of their comfort zones and be brave in their creating as it is important for all students and artists to practice. The philosophy about my ability to change and learn as needed and endlessly was in my first list but my first version was stated as simple being open to learning, I have now expanded on it. I have learned that I need to be able to adapt in my teaching and learn from those moments.
The new philosophies I introduced are based around providing meaningful learning opportunities that suit all types of students and provide choices to students so their processes are personal, passionate and personal to them. Over the course of this semester while teaching, I have discovered how lessons that include all of these have produced the most learning. I have also added assessment to my philosophies. Assessment isn't just for generating grades, it is a teachers way of knowing that their lessons are teaching their students what was intended and provides a road map of where learning should go next. The way we assess needs to generate these results. Lastly I added the philosophy about being aware of the world around me as it is relevant to me and my students. What I mean by this, is that I need to be active in my knowledge of what is happening in the world around me as well as what things are important to the age level I'm teaching. What in the current world interests them? Worries them? Etc. Knowing these things allows me to better empathize with my students, understand them and create relationships with them.
All of the events, moments and experiences recorded in this journal have refined and changed my perspective of my teaching philosophy. From teaching at Beattie this semester, learning about assessment and applying it in my teaching, to museum tours for Brainy and peer teaching. All of these moments have shaped how I view teaching now. They have enriched and expanded what I previously thought and refined on WHY these philosophies are important to me and my teaching. The one thing that I have always known and seen as important in my philosophy that hasn't changed is creating relationships with my students. This is because I of course am a student myself and I understand how relationships with my teachers current and previous have effected my ability to learn for better or worse. When I have a strong, trusting relationship with my teachers, I tend to learn more and take more risks because I know that my abilities are seen and my efforts are as well.
To represent this change to my teaching philosophies I created a piece that combines the images from my previous journals into one. I need all of these realizations and moments to be the teacher I will be in the future. Together, all of these experiences help round me into a better educator. They all work together, simultaneously, to create a well balanced philosophy of teaching. I envision my path as an educator similar to this image that will continue to grow, expand and become more lush and vibrant as I continue to learn.