Philosophy of Teaching

     As I look back at my development in the Master of Arts in Teaching program, I realize that my teaching philosophy has developed as well. Where my teaching philosophy was once rooted in an individualistic approach to education, the experiences I have shared with my learning community have changed my approach. My teaching philosophy has evolved into striving for collaboration and growth for my students, my professional learning community, and myself. 

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     When I began to pursue my career as a teacher, I assumed that my teaching would come from me alone. Much like my experience as a student in public education, and even in my undergraduate education, learning felt like an independent endeavor. However, through my educational experiences in my internships and working with a diversity of students, professors, administrators, teachers, and peers, I realized how collaborative education needs to be. 

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     In my internship at Springdale High School, I had the honor of teaching Critical Reading to tenth grade students. I set out to be an English Language Arts teacher, and had little idea of what a class like Critical Reading entailed. This is where collaboration and constant communication with my professional learning community, professors, peers, and students was essential to my successful teaching of the course. The exchanging and collaboration of ideas between everyone involved in the education process is one of the most important concepts I have learned as a teacher. 

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     Teaching is collaborative, both for myself and my students. I want my classroom to be a collaborative space where students learn from each other as much as from me to construct meaning from reading and writing. Educational theorist Lev Vygotsky advocated that people learn through social interaction, therefore I aim to use collaboration and communication as a tool for students to learn the essential standards, and think critically and creatively with culturally relevant texts and meaningful writing as a medium. 

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     In the same way that I am constantly growing and changing in my profession, I want to help my students grow in English Language Arts so they may see themselves as readers and writers. Educational researcher Carol Dweck asserts that cultivating a growth-mindset aids students in being open to develop their intellectual abilities through trying new strategies and seeking help from others when they are stuck. This not only emphasizes the need for collaboration, but also highlights that being open to growth is integral to becoming a more developed reader and writer. I intend to not only pinpoint students’ areas for growth in reading and writing to develop their abilities, but to also foster in them a positive perception of their abilities so they may see themselves as ever-evolving scholars.