Teaching Philosophy

I believe teachers should have a synthetic understanding of content knowledge, proper developmental understanding of students, the willingness to adjust practices consistent with research literature and be an advocate for their students and the school they serve. While I do not believe teachers must have encyclopedic knowledge of the subject they teach, teachers should be comfortable enough with the material to facilitate learning. We all may have had a extremely intelligent math or history professor who would not do well in a middle school classroom. And we have probably had an inspiring middle school teacher who lacked a certain knowledge base.

Secondly, a teacher must be able to take content knowledge and use it in a multitude of ways which are developmentally appropriate, engaging, and applicable to a variety of learning styles and interests.

Next, the science and art of teaching is often updated. New pedagogical strategies, neuro-science research, and studies of motivation are constantly tested and published in scholarly journals. Keeping abreast of such modernization of best practices better prepares teachers to make wise decisions.

Finally, teachers should be an advocate for their students and their school. A child is undergoing several changes (physical, social, emotional and intellectual) while in middle school. It is the teacher's responsibility to be supportive of a child's individual developmental needs.

Most schools are publicly funded. Therefore, I believe they should play a role in the community. Teachers should support and promote their school during its successes and stand up and voice their concerns when a school fails to maximize its affect on students.

I believe in the progressive middle school philosophy of small learning communities, teaching a common core of knowledge by eliminating academic tracking, ensuring success for all students, and engaging families and the community in the education of early adolescents. I believe in blurring the lines between subject-centered daily structures and focus more on collaborative, expeditionary learning that solve problems, explore solutions and tackle issues of significance to early adolescent's interests and development. I believe in providing a safe, engaging and democratic environment where students can freely share ideas, feelings and criticisms.

Banishing Boredom

ARTICLE REVIEW

White begins with an anecdote comparing student engagement in an elementary math classroom and one in a middle school. She uses colorful, active language describing the elementary activities. Students were interacting with math manipulatives, “thinking aloud”, “working in groups and partners”, etc. The middle school example was bleak. Students were seen “working individually”, using textbooks and the teacher was the center of attention. While the former example can also be found in modern middle schools, White’s point is that student-centered learning in math classes with hands-on activities and group or partner collaboration is under-utilized in many middle school math classrooms.

The remedy to boredom in middle school math, White outlines, is broken into five categories: mixing up activities and classroom arrangement, making lessons and homework relevant to students, incorporating student interests, using different approaches to learn formulas and, lastly, utilizing games for learning.

White’s overall contention is learning should be fun, relevant and collaborative. Many of her suggestions are ideas I would utilize in my classroom. One easy adjustment would be incorporating group or partner structures. Having the students work in groups allows them to develop social skills. Group work may also eliminate some unnecessary questions asked of the teacher. It also allows students to explain and listen to different approaches to the given problem and test their reasoning and logic with a partner before presenting to the class.

Relevance is vital to student engagement in middle school. White suggests giving students a real-world task, such as: calculate the area of the classroom walls and how much paint is needed to re-paint them. This example could be expanded to carpeting the room or the team area or how many tables are needed in the cafeteria. When students find problems relevant to their lives, they are more likely to be engaged and learning is heightened. Awareness of student interests also has positive implications for student learning. Whether it is sports, music, storytelling, dance or possible career dreams, focusing on student interests can raise motivation.

White emphasizes that teachers should remember middle school students are still kids and kids love playing games. Games make learning fun. The inherent competition can motivate some students, but most of all, games provide a much needed break from rote memorization of formulas, textbook work or direct teacher lectures. Using Jeopardy as a format for test reviews, matching games, crossword puzzles and word searches for essential vocabulary and even flash card games can be helpful.

Many times teachers can become too comfortable with one approach to delivering lessons. I remember all the times my middle school math teachers would have us sit in rows with dimmed lights looking at an overhead projector as she modeled equations and word problems. Lesson plans that are relevant varied, interesting and fun can liven up otherwise dull instruction. I feel if I become comfortable using several of the strategies White describes in this article, my math classroom will invite engagement, learning and comprehension.

White, J. (2007). Banishing boredom in the middle school math class. Middle Ground. 10(4). P. 38-39.

MI Theory and Effective Teaching Behaviors

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences is a guide to better assess student giftedness. He outlines eight “intelligences” which demonstrate potential for an individual’s success within society. He believes student ability should be measured beyond just literacy and mathematical skill, but in all the other strengths individuals possess, such as, people skills (interpersonal), connection to nature (naturalist), athletic and performance art (bodily-kinesthetic), artistic creativity (spatial), etc.

The multiple intelligences theory has implications in the general classroom as well. While educators are warned to not ignore effective instruction procedures (Fasko, 2000), MI can be incorporated into lesson plans through learning centers (primarily used in lower elementary grades) or, as in the example below, differentiated instruction.

Sixth-grade language arts with Mr. D. opened me up to reading and writing like I had never before experienced. Every three to four weeks we composed short stories, poems, plays, non-fiction research projects, fantasies and dramas. We were introduced to Edgar Allen Poe. We experienced music and studied the poetry and descriptive language of the lyrics.

The class had an open, creative feel. No rows or gluttonous teacher-directed lessons. We discussed, debated, created and shared. I enjoyed listening to other student’s stories. The class not only opened my eyes to myself but to the other students.

Mr. D was more of an orchestrator than a technician. He did not have a codified process of the way learning had to be achieved, but provided an environment for each student to succeed. Yes, he had a couple central goals for all students and a purpose to his class, but like a composer he allowed the individuals to provide their part of the overall classroom dynamic. There were times he would reel us in and later he would release us back redirected and refocused to our work.

Such is an example of the facilitation of Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory. Research showed that learning environments that value all the intelligences would enhance the talents of all students (Fasko, 2000). Mr. D’s class utilized popular songs and lyrics (musical and linguistic intelligence), the process of editing (linguistic and logical) and had us share and reflect on our short stories (interpersonal and intrapersonal). Mr. D’s approach took the teacher away from the center of attention and placed the focus on the creativity, drive and cooperation of the students.

Through his classroom procedures and differentiating instruction, Mr. D demonstrated several characteristics of an effective teacher. First and foremost, he maintained excellent personal interactions with students. He joked, and accepted student ideas and debate. He closely monitored student-learning processes by asking questions and critiquing our writing in small personal groups. When implementing differentiated instruction or MI, a teacher must be able to track what and how the student learns and how he/she best learns the material. At the same time, Mr. D had high expectations, also critical when using MI in the classroom. If a student is high achieving in the linguistic intelligence, that student should be challenged to improve, either in that intelligence or to develop his/her abilities in other intelligences. Lastly, Mr. D had high standards for classroom behavior, a vital component to an effective MI classroom. If students are encouraged to be creative and accept creativity, they will continue to improve their abilities.

As a pre-service teacher I plan to implement these effective teaching behaviors in my classroom. I will be open to ideas and creativity and expect the same of my students. I will set high expectations by challenging students and teaching students to challenge themselves. I will closely monitor student progress, but most importantly I will monitor how they learn. Because knowing how a child learns will better help me assess his/her progress and allow me to construct more effective and engaging lessons down the road.

WORK CITED

Bain, H., Lintz, N., and Word, E. (1989). A study of fifty effective teachers whose class average gain scores ranked in the top 15% of each of four school types in project star. Paper presented at AERA annual meeting, San Francisco. http://wenku.baidu.com/view/9484d249e45c3b3567ec8beb.html

Barry, R. (2010). Teaching effectiveness and why it matters. The Chalkboard Project. February 2010. http://chalkboardproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/teacher-effectiveness-and-why-it-matters.pdf

Fasko, D. (2000). An analysis of multiple intelligences theory and its use with the gifted and talented. Roeper Review 23(3), 126-130.