My Teaching Philosophy Revisited

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My teaching philosophy has been strongly influenced by my field experience in the primary grades. It may be necessary to adjust some of these beliefs to fit the needs of the classroom in certain situations, especially if I were teaching one of the intermediate grades. There are five general philosophies that I believe are essential in creating an effective learning environment as an educator: setting clear expectations for students and creating a respectful environment, acting as a facilitator in the classroom, creating relationships with students and their caregivers, and using positive reinforcement. Though there are a plethora of responsibilities that educators have in the classroom, I believe that these five are the most imperative to being successful in teaching in an elementary classroom. To begin with, I believe that students learn best when the expectations that the teacher has for them in the classroom are clearly explained. In the primary grades especially, I believe that social and academic curriculum in the classroom are of equal importance. Many students come into school without knowledge of how to interact with others and are unaccustomed to rules and procedures. Thus, plenty of time should be spent on explicit instruction concerning the rules and procedures in the classroom, as well as the academic curriculum that is required by the state and school district. Some goals that I have for my social curriculum include how to interact with others effectively, waiting your turn to speak and being quiet when someone else is speaking, and how to make friends by treating others the way that you would like to be treated. While the academics in the primary grades will get the students ready for the intermediate grades, the so... ... middle of paper ... ...ne of the most important factors in creating an effective learning environment in the classroom. In all, there are a myriad of teaching philosophies that educators have. Personally, I consider setting clear expectations for students and creating a respectful environment, acting as a facilitator in the classroom, creating relationships with students and their caregivers, and using positive reinforcement to be the most essential in order to create a positive, effective, and safe learning environment for students. Without using these philosophies when interacting with students in the classroom, I do not know how I would begin to attempt to teach them. In my future classroom, I plan to use different strategies to implement these philosophies in my class every day as well as continue to learn about new ideas about how to promote learning in a supportive, encouraging way.

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