Philosophy+of+Teaching

Philosophy of Teaching

**Tanya Opiekun** **SCED 357.101** **Dr. Theresa Adkins** **February 14, 2011** **Philosophy of Teaching English** **I.** **Values and Beliefs** All teachers are memorable in some way. Whether they are known as kind or cruel, we never really forget our teachers. My most memorable teacher was my tenth grade English teacher, Mr. Perham. He was by far the most influential educator that I have encountered so far. His methods of teaching differed from those of my previous English teachers, and his classroom management never seemed to be hindered by any sort of friction from the students. Mr. Perham was in the United States Air Force before he became my English teacher in the school year of 2003. He used his training, and discipline from his service in the military to create a strong and successful classroom environment. For example, Mr. Perham never yelled or even raised his voice above a general-speaking tone. By doing this, he maintained that discipline he retained from the military, which required patience. In remaining patient, he always maintained a professional, and yet caring, demeanor. We as students then felt comfortable with him as our educator. Mr. Perham was also known for his creativity. For one unit, we were required to read //Lord of the Flies//, by William Golding. Rather than have us read the novel and fill out worksheets, which was the general assignment given to us by other English teachers, Mr. Perham gave us the assignment of decorating the classroom to resemble a rainforest. We were to include parts of the novel in the decorations, and then we were to create our own survival groups. Such is an assignment that I would like to present in my own classroom. Mr. Perham, in my opinion, was the model of constructivist teaching. I believe that this teaching method is the most effective and well developed for young learners. Children should be allowed to learn on their own, as well as with their peers, rather than be subjected to one way of learning, where they do not retain the information necessary. Such a way of learning is lecture, and it is completely ineffective. Children spend more time daydreaming during lectures, than actually retaining the information presented to them. It is due to this fact, and the many examples of constructivist teaching shown to me by Mr. Perham, that I plan to use only constructivist teaching methods within my classroom. **II.** **Pedagogy** As mentioned above, I prefer to use constructivist teaching methods within the classroom. Students are more likely to retain information through interaction and problem-solving, than they are to retain through lecture and direct teaching. By giving a student the answers, he or she will only remember the content for enough time to complete the initial assignment. However, when one works for an answer, the individual will hold on to that information for a longer period of time, until which the information becomes useful to them once again. I also plan to incorporate numerous outdoor activities with my lessons, as it is my personal belief that children also need fresh air in order to learn. Classrooms eventually begin to resemble traps to the students, and they find themselves thinking of ways to get out, rather than on the topics presented. By allowing them to go outside, they do not feel as cramped, and are able to relax in regards to their present environment. They stop thinking of escape routes, and unconsciously begin to focus on the lesson. My decision-making will be influenced by the students. If I find that all, or the majority of the students understand my lessons, then I will continue on to the next unit. If I find that there is an even split in the classroom between those who do understand, and those that do not, then I will freeze the plan until the content is understood. This also means that I will mold and revise my lesson plans so that the class will be able to catch up once they have passed the location of their difficulty. Another means of assisting in their understanding is to assign groups, where those who are on or above the level of understanding will work with those who are on or below the level of understanding. This promotes student interaction, which helps to build strong social skills. Finally, if there are no students in the class who understand the content, then I will completely revise my unit plan. **III.** **Content Knowledge** My content knowledge will bring a unique influence to my teaching. As an English major, having taken a variety of courses, I find that one can create a variety of activities and lesson plans from literature in order to influence education. For example, a student who is unfamiliar with the tragedy of September 11, 2001, has just begun a unit on politics and the United Nations in their history class. However, they are having difficulty understanding the content of the unit. As an English major, with some education on the psychological aspects of reading, I would say that this is due to his or her lack of background knowledge on the situation, which is therefore inhibiting their ability to develop an understanding. It would be the same for a student in my English class. If I were to open a unit on Japanese literature, and not a single student in my class knew anything about such a concept, I would not be able to present the unit or to continue teaching it, without providing the class with some sort of background knowledge. I have Dr. Gloria A. Neubert, at Towson University, to thank for my education on how the brain works with reading. In Dr. Neubert’s class, I developed an understanding for the five Cueing Systems, which are associated with reading. The first, and most important cueing system, is Decoding. This is where the brain recognizes the symbols, letters, etc. before it. The second is Semantics, or the vocabulary. Here the brain recognizes the meaning of a concept. Third, Syntax is the arrangement of words in a sentence. In other words, this is grammar. The fourth system, Background Knowledge, is what makes all of the other cueing systems easier for the brain to accomplish. If one knows some information on a topic, it makes it less difficult to retain more information on that same topic because one is now piecing the parts together. Finally, the fifth cueing system is Text Structure. This involves the organizational pattern of the text: Narrative (story), or Expository (informational). Because of this knowledge, I know that in order to ensure the understanding of literary concepts by my students, I will have to influence all five of these systems for each child. Such influence includes images and sounds, for those who possess no knowledge; interaction of students who possess some background knowledge with those who possess none; and activities that continue to influence each system. **IV.** **Cultural Diversity and Social Justice** The Cultural Diversity of my classroom, and how it will influence my instructional practices, is something that I am greatly looking forward too. The fact of the matter is that I do not know how it will influence my practices, my interactions, or my classroom environment, and such a concept brings me excitement and joy. On a politically correct and professional basis, I can say that I will incorporate literature from a variety of cultures and beliefs, at appropriate times throughout the school year. My interactions with my students will be constant and equal, as well as professional and appropriate, and I will do everything within my power to ensure a safe and healthy classroom environment for my students. The role that cultural diversity will play in my selection of course materials will be a large role, and one that I hope will positively influence the students. The demographic of the school sets the tone for what is learned within the classroom. If the school is generally African American, then the literature is going to be African American. However, what I hope to do is to incorporate a little bit of every major culture known to the students, and some literature from cultures that they are completely oblivious too, in order to possibly build an acceptance for cultures other than their own. As for the role of social justice and the examination of social inequalities, I plan to use those everyday in my classroom. It is important for students to be aware of such things in the world in order to survive in it. If students grow up, and the enter the real world, following a naive belief that all men are equal, and are treated equally, when in reality there is consistent social inequality worldwide, they will fail. However, if they are appropriately educated on such concepts, then they can use them to their advantages. For example, I could provide an eighth grade literature class with the novel //Sounder//, by William H. Armstrong, in order to start a unit on the social inequalities of the past, and how they have shaped the present. I would then ask the students to develop an idea of how the future in the story would be if the cycle of social inequality were to continue. If all the students came up with similar answers, which I assume they will, I would then have them gather into groups and discuss ideas on how to change that future for the better. Finally, they would take their group ideas, and rewrite the part in the story that they think is the point where the present and future begin to form. By engaging in this activity, they are not only forced to review literary elements to complete the assignment, but they are also using concepts and ideas from their personal environments to develop an understanding of the message in the text.



=Bibliography =

©2011 SparkNotes LLC, A. R. (2011). //SparkNotes//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from SparkNotes.com: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/sounder/ University, T. (2001-2011). //Albert S. Cook Library//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from Towson University Library: http://towsonuniversity.worldcat.org/title/lord-of-the-flies-a-novel/oclc/36252820&referer=brief_results

(All other information came from classroom and personal experience)