UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA SOUTHEAST

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: A WORK IN PROGRESS

SUBMITTED TO JEFFREY L. LOFTHUS, Ph.D.

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE LEARNER AND THE LEARNING PROCESS

ED 333

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

BY

ALLISON MILLER
 DECEMBER 7, 2009

Introduction

My initial educational philosophy entering this class leaned heavily upon

instilling in children character development via strategies of reinforcement of virtues
such as kindness, justice, service, and honesty during instruction. And although I still
uphold the lessons on how to coexist as necessary building blocks to include in an
educational foundation, I now realize that this outcome is more a result of the teacher’s
effectiveness at modeling societal morals, rather than a theory around which to base
instructional methods and classroom management skills. In other words, the influence
and effusion of virtues can naturally be a part of a teacher’s particular teaching style, but
they are not something to be directly taught to students.
As far as an instructional theory goes in regards to elementary education, mine is
purely philosophical. I have minimal experience teaching groups of individuals, let alone
young children in a classroom setting, so I suppose my educational philosophy relies
heavily on personal reasoning from how I have experienced people in the world to
interact with others, things, and concepts.
At this point in my own education, I can comfortably say that I believe more
holistic, interpretive approaches to learning succeed better than rigidly prescribed
strategies of direct instruction. I like to picture the teacher as a friendly coach and warm
mentor more than an impersonal harbinger of knowledge. In my classroom, I would
rather a visitor see students interacting and learning from each other than me standing
before the class transmitting information (although I do realize this direct instruction
approach is sometimes appropriate.)
I want to provide an atmosphere in which to cultivate lifelong lovers of learning.
In order for children to have the curiosity to excel in school and life in general, intrinsic
motivation and self-efficacy are of the utmost importance. As a teacher, I believe I could
encourage these tendencies by recognizing the strengths in individual students, providing
opportunities for students to learn constructively, and constantly assessing my
instructional efficacy to become an ever more intentional teacher.

Development & Learning Theories: Foundations for Implementation

I suppose a person could say that my interest in the different development and
learning theories and implications focuses on those that are flexible for individual
situations and student needs. Of course it’s beneficial to have a pervasive knowledge of
all of Piaget’s cognitive development stages and Erikson’s psychosocial stages, as well as
Kohlberg’s moral development stages, but I hold more to considering the child and his or
her individuality than attempting to place that individuality into a prescribed
developmental category. Grouping children into developmental stages or blocks of
common characteristics is more beneficial to educators communicating amongst one
another; in practice there seems to be so much overlapping of these progressive stages
that I would rather look at individual needs as a means of implementing instructional
strategy, referring to common characteristics of developmental stages when it is truly
reflective of the case.
I appreciate Vygotsky’s belief that learning precedes development (Slavin, p. 43),
as I can see in this thought a recognition of cultural and historical contexts that are
important influences to a learner’s acquisition of what Vygotsky calls sign systems. I also
value his theory of the zone of proximal development as a basic focus for teachers.
Perhaps what I like best about Vygotsky, though, is the importance he places on self-
regulation while also realizing the intense influence that cooperative situations have on
learning. The relative concepts of private speech and scaffolding, respectively, are vital to
this theory. It’s important to me that this theory is more descriptive than prescriptive of
the learning process and doesn’t attempt to create distinct categories into which we place
children based on comparisons.
At this point, I feel it’s important that I reiterate that I do value the research that
has been done on development and the interpretive formation of stages as general
guidelines to groups of learners. I’m not indicating that we throw away the findings of
what research has shown due to the stages being too constrictive, I’d just stress the
importance of a full consideration of any exceptions and variations individuality may
cause, as well as altering teaching methods, techniques, and material accordingly.

Consideration of Individual Needs & Curriculum Comprehension

I was intrigued by Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory, or at least the concept

of children learning in different ways. Whether this would be considered an argument of
learning styles or testament to the existence of more than one “Intelligence” is less
important to me than the recognition that students can benefit from a variety of ways in
which material is presented and methods by which lessons are taught. The most important
point I can take away from Gardner’s idea is that teachers should strive to recognize in
individual students how he or she learns best (Slavin, p. 116-119).
The Constructivist, or student-centered school of instructional methods seems the
most practical and effective to me. The fact that students must construct knowledge in
their own minds is an undeniable fact (Slavin, p. 231.) Because I believe so strongly in
the idea that people learn more thoroughly when they are able to discover concepts on
their own and build further from those concepts with the help of others, my philosophy of
instructional effectiveness centers around self-regulated learning. I believe the use of
scaffolding, questioning students, and giving meaningful feedback contribute greatly to
the quest to self-efficacy.
In order to assess whether a planned lesson is appropriate for a given group of
students, it is important to do some assessment prior to conducting the lesson. I like the
idea of the formative evaluation to improve both teaching effectiveness and student
knowledge acquisition. It seems it would be important to conduct these formative
assessments frequently in order to determine progress and differences in individual
students’ needs (Slavin, p. 418.)
Montessori ‘s emphasis on working at a student’s own pace meshes well into my
educational philosophy. I also appreciate the belief of building a foundation of
determination and thoroughness in motivation and performance (Plambeck, within lesson
8 documents). Waldorf education is another alternative to traditional teaching techniques
that focuses on cultivating inner motivation and enthusiasm for learning through the use
of art, music, dance, and theater in order to make learning and school in general a place
where students want to be (www.whywaldorfworks.org). I would like to explore further
into both the Montessori and Waldorf theories on education for use in my teaching
strategy for my future classroom.

Cultivating Lifelong Lovers of Learning

Intrinsic Motivation & Self-efficacy

The first goal in creating lifelong lovers of learning is to create intrinsic
motivation within students so that the teacher doesn’t have to rely on reinforcers or
tangible rewards to encourage students to want to learn. The motivation to learn in school
should be based on an inner desire to increase the breadth and depth of knowledge and
achievement, not on acquiring stars or prolonged recesses or better grades than peers. I
believe this intrinsic motivation can begin to take root in young students with use of
modeling, self goal-setting, feedback that focuses on effort, giving students choices in
how they will study material, and varying presentation and modes of learning.
Learning-oriented goals are important to foster within the classroom. Knowledge
acquisition is a more desirable outcome than good grades, and I would strive to model
this belief in my classroom. Grades would be deemphasized by allowing students to
improve their scores by reworking assignments and tests. Furthermore, emphasis would
be placed on the practical importance of material and lessons via application to real-life
situations and examples. I think it is of utmost importance that students not only obtain
the knowledge of concepts, but perhaps even more pressing is whether they can apply the
concepts in order to improve their daily lives. Being able to use newly acquired
knowledge fuels the cycle of intrinsic motivation and how it relates to success in school.
The expectancy theory is a concept that I tend to believe holds true in life in
general, and all too often unfortunately in the case of lower-achieving students. That’s
why I would strive to have high expectations for all students, relative to their
development and situation. It makes too much sense that if you lead children to believe
they can succeed, and help them develop good incentives to succeed (such as self-set
goals), then their motivation to succeed will increase. Specific ways to communicate
positive expectations to students are by waiting for response, treating students equally,
and avoiding making distinctions between different student’s achievements (Slavin, p.
304, 310.)
Self-efficacy is what I see as one of my main goals in what I’d try and instill in
students. All too often, lack of success and learned-helplessness boils right down to one’s
beliefs in what they can do to make a difference in any situation. Sometimes this may
take baby steps with certain students, but I believe this trait is so incredibly important to
success in school that I believe I could find reasons to center my entire educational
philosophy on the development of self-efficacy.

Cooperative Learning Arrangements

Peers are models of slightly more advanced zones of proximal development
(Slavin, in press, p. 44), which naturally leads into the concept that arranging cooperative
learning situations amongst students is highly beneficial. I don’t believe this idea
diminishes the importance of the teacher in any way, but puts the teacher in more of a
coaching, mentor capacity, to which I think students respond effectively. Cooperative
learning arrangements shed a kind of self-discovery light on learning because students
don’t feel like they are necessarily being taught, but are socializing with their peers,
further fueling motivation to learn. Inner speech is available for other students to gain
insight on lessons, and students basically construct their own and each others’ knowledge.
This is why the teacher’s role is still so vitally important: as a coach, the teacher needs to
direct interactions and steer discussion with appropriate questions and feedback.
In order for cooperative learning to be most effective, group goals & individual
accountability should be a focus for important lessons and projects (Slavin, p. 247.) If
enhancements such as communication and helping skills are not established, there is risk
of some students doing all the work while others are essentially spectators (Blachtor et
al.,2006; Fuchs, Fuchs, Kazdan, & Allen, 1999; Prichard, Bizo, & Stratford, 2006; Webb
& Mastergeorge, 2003.)
Beyond the benefits of knowledge acquisition, cooperative learning has the added
benefits of improvement in relations between students, “self-esteem, attitudes toward
school, and acceptance of children with special educational needs”
(Ginsburg-Block, Rohrbeck, & Fantuzzo, 2006; Shulman, Lotan, & Whitcomb, 1998;
Slavin,1995; Slavin et al.,2003.)

Real Life Situations

If a student cannot apply what he or she has learned in school to his or her own
life to better his or her interaction with the world in some way, that knowledge has very
little use beyond a score or grade. It is the teacher’s obligation to incorporate real life
situations into instruction on abstract concepts. The integration of word problems in
math, role-playing of occupations and complicated processes, and discussions on how
historical events contribute to current times are good examples of how a teacher can
attempt to relate less interesting topics to students’ lives.
The CTE Conceptual Framework Goal 3 will be extremely important in my
classroom. It states: “Design instruction that incorporates characteristics of the local
community’s culture and that is appropriate to students’ individual and special needs;
Apply local and Alaska knowledge to the selection of instructional strategies, materials,
and resources.” I believe revisiting this goal again and again will contribute to intrinsic
motivation and, in turn, better curriculum comprehension.
Embracing Diversity & Cooperation: Learning from One Another

I’ve already mentioned my belief that having high expectations of students is

important to my educational philosophy—I want to make those kinds of self-fulfilling
prophecies! I’m reiterating it now because it relates directly to diversity in the classroom
as well. I believe in addressing diversity as different parts working together to make a
better, more unified whole. If students are aware of their strengths and realize what they
can contribute to a community, their efforts to contribute to that community will be
greater. My synergistic view of diversity celebrates differences, and I will constantly
embed this belief in my teaching strategies. For example, successful cooperative learning
arrangements require the embracement of a diversity of strengths, and the
acknowledgement of different students’ strengths propels their self-efficacy and
motivation to learn and help others learn.

Addressing Assessment and Meeting Standards: Accountability for Learning

An idea that struck me as extremely conducive to my developing educational

philosophy is Perrone’s concept of assessment as learning, in regards to both the teacher
and the student. His shift from assessment of learning to assessment for learning to
assessment as learning struck a chord with me. Assessment should be designed with both
the students’ learning and the teacher’s instructional efficacy in mind. It seems that
Perrone’s view of assessment as learning embraces both considerations and certainly
leaves a lot of room for improvement to traditional evaluative methods. Keeping an open
mind, and a constantly reworked belief of what works best is always a good idea when
striving toward intentional teaching.
Just as important as evaluating students for their acquisition of knowledge is
reflection on the teacher’s instructional efficacy. I would keep observational journals of
the classroom and particular students’ progress, perform frequent formative evaluations
before and after lessons, and keep a statement of intentions for the year that included the
general direction of curriculum as well as expectations for students. (Perrone, Ch.7.) This
statement would be revisited and assessed for consistency often throughout the year.
In order to make evaluations of students’ progress meaningful and prescriptive,
grades will be supplemented by feedback-driven evaluations of effort & performance. If
letter grades are required to be used, they will always be accompanied by lengthy
discussions of why that grade was given, expressions of strengths in effort and
performance, and what could be done to improve the grade in the future. I favor the use
of portfolios that provide detail and comprehensiveness that a spreadsheet of scores on
quizzes, papers, and tests cannot reflect. I especially value the process of reviewing the
portfolio as a whole with the student and parent, pointing out gains and strengths as well
as where improvements are desirable. Communication of how the student arrived at a
given grade is just as important, if not more important, as the grade itself (especially to
the parent and student!)
 I don’t have much experience with meeting standards in classrooms, other than
being a student myself taking those tests years ago. Although I have little knowledge of
the tests themselves, my concerns are in direct correlation to “teaching to the test.”
Standards definitely impose time restrictions on all other areas of instruction other than
the expectations of the test. My chief concern is that not enough time is spent on the arts,
music, social studies, and physical education. I can see myself constantly grappling with
how to integrate these subjects into the required (tested) curriculum. As budget cuts are
made, invariably the first subjects to go are those not included in standardized tests, so
my only solution as a teacher would be to use methods that incorporate the arts, music,
social studies, and physical education into the instructional strategy in order to ensure that
students are still receiving a well-rounded education. I can also see the critically
important value of teaching test taking skills, not teaching to the test, in order to improve
success throughout an academic career. It would also serve to decrease the struggle some
students have with test anxiety.

Conclusion

It is my hope that I’ve expressed my deep-seated desire to cultivate lifelong lovers

of learning through holistically constructivist techniques and a sensitive consideration of
individual life situations. Finding and establishing the intrinsic motivation in each student
could be seen as the first step toward encouraging the recognition of self-efficacy in
relation to success in academics and life skills in general. I see these concepts closely
linked to a student’s perspective of diversity: recognizing their own strengths in light of a
communal whole made up of separate, different parts working together synergistically to
enhance and improve the community. I see the teacher’s role in a child’s education as one
that constantly remodels the hat he or she is wearing in consideration of what a student
needs. I believe most children need warm, caring mentors and guidance to discover their
own lessons. Although there is certainly an appropriate time for direct instruction, my
tendency is to lean toward the more constructivist techniques of cooperative learning,
scaffolding, modeling, and real life situations.
Accepting accountability for students’ educations is a big part of being a teacher,
and one that should not be taken lightly. Teachers should never be so satisfied with their
effectiveness that their job can be placed on auto pilot. Frequent reflection and
consideration of a self-written statement of intention and direction in teaching is helpful,
as is keeping a journal of classroom observations and rereading past entries often. These
techniques should be used not merely as reflection, but as prescriptive narration for
improvement to instructional efficacy.