Facilitating Learning Through Supporting the Individuals Needs

Mackenzie Tourigny-Conroy, 103612755

University of Windsor
A Philosophy of Teaching

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Table of Contents

Introduction
I.

Academic Considerations
A. Supporting Educational Psychology
1.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

2. Motivation as a Foundation
B. Application of My Philosophy of Teaching
1. Supporting Students Needs
2. Creating a Motivation
II. Personal Development: Rationale
A. The Development of My Philosophy of Teaching
B. The Stabilization of My Philosophy of Teaching
Conclusion

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Introduction
My teaching philosophy is to create a strong motivation in students to be active learners.
A teacher can differentiate learning and deliver material but it until the student has a desire to
learn this means nothing. I also consider how Maslows Hierarchy of Needs plays into
motivation and must be fulfilled before a student can reach their highest potential. I consider how
as educators we can use psychology to promote a students motivation. I draw from my personal
experiences throughout my educational career not only as an educator but also a student.

I.

Academic Considerations
A. Supporting Educational Psychology
1.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

A student is always a person first, which I believe is often neglected in the classroom. In
order for any student to begin their task in learning the needs they have as a person must first be
met. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs outlines the needs of an individual that can allow them to be
successful. The higher-level need of self-actualization can only be met once each of the lower
needs has been fulfilled.
As teachers it is our job to help the students meet each of the needs the best that we can
so they are able to reach their highest potential and becoming everything one is capable of
becoming (Woolfolk, 2016). The needs that we as teachers are able to directly affect in the
classroom are deficiency needs physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness and

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esteem needs. Through these we can allow them to achieve being needs cognitive needs and
self-actualization.

2.

Motivation as a Foundation

The level of self-esteem in todays youth has greatly declined that I believe it is inhibiting
their ability to learn. I have seen too often students that are resistant to learn for fear of being
wrong or not understanding. Students believe in a fixed ability and will only set goals for
themselves that will not allow them to fail. I think that through understanding .
I think that we need to reach students before they develop a lack of motivation, Woolfolk
(2016) says, The greatest motivational problems arise when students attribute failures to stable,
uncontrollable causes. We should focus on removing a fear of failing, this can allow students to
create an incremental view of learning in which they find ability improvable, as Woolfolk (2016)
says, They are not fearful of failure, because failing does not threaten their sense of competence
and self-worth.
Using extrinsic motivation can also be useful, mainly in creating an environment that
encourages the students to want to please the teacher. If a teacher is helping a student in meeting
their needs outlined my Maslow and creating a relationship with the student then trust and
respect from the student should follow. This can motivate the student to want to do well in order
to make the teacher happy. This is a positive side effect of working on motivation and needs.

B. Application of My Philosophy of Teaching

1. Supporting Students Needs

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My main consideration when teaching is that I focus solely on teaching each individual
rather than delivering material. I create a safe environment within my classroom by removing
any negativity and making everything a learning opportunity.
A student must feel trust and acceptance to feel completely comfortable within the
classroom. I promote this acceptance and trust by always being honest with my students and
removing any negativity. One way I try to create this acceptance is by arranged seating plans, I
believe this is a way of removing any chance of students being left out and feeling awkward. I
always arrange students in a manner that will allow them a person that will help them feel
comfortable as well as a person that may push them out of their comfort zone. This way students
can feel safe and accepted by someone they may not normally interact with. From experience I
have seen this increase students comfort within the classroom and encourage them to work
harder.
Another strategy I use is always promoting students to take risks and learn from them if
they are wrong. I find that through modelling that being wrong is okay has encouraged students
to promote each other. At the beginning of a practicum I had a grade 11 college class that refused
to participate or contribute in any manner that was educational, for what I had decided was fear
of failing. Through using whiteboards which created a low risk way of contributing student
slowly realized it was okay to make mistakes and that everyone was doing the same. By the end
of my practicum I had students raising their hands to answer and encouraging each other to
participate.

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2. Creating a Motivation
Once a students needs have been met and they feel safe within the classroom I can start
focusing on creating a motivation within. I will never simply tell a student that they are wrong
for something they have said or answered, instead I will applaud their willingness to take a risk
and turn the moment into a learning opportunity. I promote students taking risks and being
comfortable with being wrong because I truly believe that is the best way to learn.
Not only within the classroom do I remove any negativity but when marking as well. I
avoid using x when a student has a wrong answer, instead I question the student and lead them
in the direction to better understand the material. I like to provide students with the opportunity
to correct and improve on any formal assessment completed because again I choose to promote
that being incorrect can be a positive learning experience.
I have seen these strategies change the students view of learning and it directly increases
their ability to understand the content. At the beginning of a practicum I was tasked with a
student who I could see had the ability to learn and was a truly amazing person, however his fear
of failing and being labelled stupid hindered him from trying. Instead the student chose to be
the cool kid who did not care about school and failed because of lack of doing work. After 5
weeks of using these strategies with the student and focusing on all of his positive experiences in
learning he has achieved an 87% on a unit test. Through building his esteem needs and modelling
that ability is improvable his motivation to learn and make an effort had done a complete 180.
This truly showed me that the best way to facilitate learning is by focusing on the individuals
personal needs and the learning will follow.

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II. Personal Developments: Rationale

A. The Development of My Philosophy of Teaching
My philosophy of teaching solely stems from my favourite quote, Teachers who love
teaching, teach children to love learning, Robert John Meehan. Educators can go half of the way
to deliver content to students and the students have to go the other half of the way to learn it and
understand it. This means we expect every student to have enough motivation and ability to meet
us there, which I dont believe is true for most students. I think after going our half, we need to
then assist each student in going their half. We must not only teach them, but teach them to learn.
My goals on being a teacher have not always been set, they have wavered some. I
had originally joined the Concurrent Education program as a fall back career if medical school
fell through. I knew I had loved teaching and had an ability from previous tutoring and leading
opportunities however it was not my first choice. After my first practicum I had decided I did not
want to pursue a career even as a fall back in teaching. My observations showed me that teachers
are there to deliver and no more than that.
For some reason, one I am thankful for, I stayed in the program and my next practicum
changed everything. I had the opportunity to observe and begin to practice how a teacher can
really change a students life for the better. I was able to see the teacher I wanted to be in the
future and compare it with the one I would never allow myself to become. This is where I chose
teaching as my first choice and developed my philosophy that I would be a teacher who teaches
students to learn.

B. The Stabilization of My Philosophy of Teaching

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Through practice my philosophy has become more defined and I have been able to
practice it. I have learned that creating a positive and good relationship with students is a great
way to promote their learning and allow all other needs to be met. This sets the foundation for
them and allows learning because of the trust and respect developed.
As previously stated I initially believed that teachers had no control over anything more
than providing information for students to learn. I now understand that teachers have the ability
to teach their students so much more.

Conclusion
From my personal experiences I have found that the best way to assist a student in
learning is through increasing their motivation. Students have to be active learners and the best
way to promote this is through motivation through psychology. The motivation of students
cannot be fully achieved until all of their needs as outlined my Maslow have been met. I believe
that creating a positive learning environment can help with this and help students to be active
learners in their own education.

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References

Woolfolk, A.E. (2016). Educational Psychology (13th ed.). United States: Pearson.