TEaching Philosophy
My goal as a science teacher is to inspire wonder and a desire in my students to seek answers about how the world works. I want to grow an appreciation for the world of science in their lives. I want to teach students how to use the scientific method in class, and how it can be used in everyday life to gain a better understanding of how things work. I aspire to show each student my deep appreciation for science and help them explore if they have that same appreciation for science, while giving them a sample of scientific experiments, observations, and practice putting their work, and learning, into written form.
I will accomplish this goal through the use of experiential lessons. John Dewey promoted that experiential learning is the pinnacle of the learning experiences. Experiential learning is learn by doing. In science doing is key! It is important for students to regularly participate in labs. Not only do labs give students opportunities to experience the joys of science, but they also give invaluable hands on practice doing what they probably just learned about. Students can also participate in hands on projects. Both group and individual projects can give students practical hands on experience. By creating something, a learned concept is more deeply understood, and the experience is made more memorable.
I plan on assessing my students through the use of performance based assessments. Labs are the perfect example of a performance based assessment. By observing the students participate in the lab, and by analyzing their lab write up after the fact, I will be able to glean a great deal about each student’s level of understanding. This will serve as a litmus test for whether my teaching style is effective, and will also dictate if I will move on to the next subject or continue covering the same material if students seem to need more time on something that was unclear to them. By having students write about what they have learned, they are better able to share what they know; conversely, a traditional test is more trying to find out what they do not know. Even a brief paragraph can tell a lot about a students level of understanding about any particular unit. I plan on using student writing to see what they do know.
I plan on improving my teaching on a regular basis. If test scores show that my instruction is not meeting the needs of my students, then I will go back and re-teach the material in a different way to meet the needs of the students. I plan on regular attendance of conferences to stay up to date on new technologies offered at my school location, and ways to use the internet to aid my instruction. I will continually check my students for understanding using formative and summative evaluations to assess their learning. By analyzing my students formative assessments I will be able to see if they are understanding my instruction and if they are not I will be able to re-teach that information in a different way. The summative assessments will show me if the adjustments made to my instruction were successful in helping each student achieve the learning goals.
I think that teaching is the most important profession that I could have. I truly enjoy working with young people. Young people are learning about the world around them, and I want to be a positive influence in their learning process. I believe that I am a natural leader and that students will want to follow my instruction. I will teach every student to the best of my abilities and give them the tools they need to succeed. Ultimately, I want to encourage my students on what they do well, and give them advice on how to do better in areas that are not their strengths. This will boost their self worth and give them goals to reach for.