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RUNNING HEAD: PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
Amanda B. Garber
Pennsylvania State Berks University
ECE 451
Teaching Philosophy Statement
16 October 2015
Today’s classrooms are filled with diverse students who require a variety of developmental and learning theories to be incorporated within everyday lessons. Consisting of the behaviorist, cognitive, humanistic, maturation, multiple intelligences, psychoanalytic, and sociocultural, the developmental theories offer different approaches in regards to how adolescents flourish overtime. Although some theories are more accurate than others, theorists continue to question many of the findings and principles in relation to such theories. After evaluating the opinions and findings of specific theorists, I was able to determine which ideas, methods, and concepts I agreed with. In response, I sculpted my personal, teaching philosophy. Including the roots of Piaget, Gardner, and Kohlberg, it exemplifies that teachers must utilize multiple approaches and repetition while teaching a single topic. In doing so, my instructional tactics will be catered towards the majority of students’ needs.I feel I can identify such needs by referring to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development. Referencing the behavioral and cognitivist theories will enable me to see which level and behaviors correspond to the traits each student exhibits. Each level provides a distinct set of characteristics. By using such traits, I will be able to uncover and accommodate for each individual’s needs, ultimately providing a unique and developmentally appropriate learning approach for all students.Today’s learners deserve to be placed within a learning environment that incorporates the theories of Cognitive Development, Moral Development, and Multiple Intelligences and encourages students to flourish at their own paces.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development provides a series of developmental stages in which a person goes through over the course of a lifetime. Beginning with sensorimotor and ending with formal operational, his ideas were deemed to be rather accurate, except for the fact that people may not exhibit each stage at the age Piaget had suggested. This is due to the fact that each individual develops and learns at his or her own pace. Keeping this in mind, I will refer to his stages of development while working with children. More specifically, when creating and carrying out lesson plans, I will remember to refer to the pre-operational stage because it pertains to the grade level I will be teaching. However, I will keep in mind that all students grow developmentally and academically at their own paces. Therefore, if a student does not exhibit a particular skill, such as sharing with others, I will model how I share knowledge, materials, and songs with my students on a daily basis. Furthermore, I will have learners share with one another daily and ask them how it feels when someone shares objects or knowledge with them. In response, students will be able to master or further refine their sharing skills and will be more susceptible to learn this behavior. Despite behaviors, youngsters at the pre-operational level, typically ages two to seven, obtain language and content knowledge rather quickly (Browne & Gordon, 2014, pg. 105). Considering adolescents are capable of retaining new language and content, I will use a broad vocabulary when communicating with my students.
Vocabulary is an essential part of learning for every child because it aids people communicating with others and comprehending their thoughts. In order to enhance classroom communication, I will introduce the class to a new word each day, state it in a sentence, and utilize it throughout the year. Hearing vocabulary words within everyday interactions is rather beneficial: “When children hear words in real-life, authentic contexts, they are able to acquire language naturally and build vocabulary in meaningful and purposeful ways” (Luongo-Orlando, 2010, pg. 40). Luongo-Orlando emphasizes the importance of exposing children to new vocabulary words in a natural setting. It promotes discoveries of the context, the part of speech, and the pronunciation of unfamiliar words for youngsters. Therefore, I will use unfamiliar words when speaking to my students and have them experiment with the words. In order to pique their interests, I will create an ABC word wall and place images next to the appropriate word. This arrangement offers an array of words that readers may refer to for each letter. It also helps students better understand letter sounds because they can identify the image (Johnson, Rutledge, & Wingate, 2014, pg. 54). I feel students should be able to recognize the words in different settings. So, I will write the new words on flashcards and place them throughout the room. This layout will expose students to new words multiple times throughout the day. As a result, they may try to read, spell, and interpret the new word, ultimately making it a part of their everyday vocabularies. As a child, my parents wrote sight words on flashcards and taped them to kitchen cabinets. I specifically remember sounding out each, individual letter of a particular word and eventually pronouncing the word. My parents then introduced me to the meaning of the word, and as a result, I was able to use it in a sentence. I found this activity to be fun because I viewed the words at my own pace and did not realize I was actually learning. By incorporating the same tactic my parents used within the house, I will be able to meet the needs of multiple individuals. Although this tactic primarily applies to visual learners, it could also apply to auditory, kinesthetic, and musical depending on the teacher’s approach.Keeping all adolescents’ needs in mind, I will make up a song or chant stating the class’s sight words. As a result, learners who exhibit the musical intelligence will be likely to be engaged due to therhythm and singing. Furthermore, auditory and kinesthetic learners could benefit from a word wall if I recite the words and have my students repeat the words while physically moving. This is because my class will have the opportunity to actually hear a word and dance while listening. Concepts, such as the one mentioned above, will be taught in a variety of ways within my classroom.
Educators are required to meet the needs of each, individual learner. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences offers vital tactics that promote individual growth. His theory is based on the idea that there is not a universal form of intelligence in all students and, as a result, concludes that many different learning styles and abilities are found within people (Cooper&Ryan, 2013, p. 68). I plan to apply this theory and incorporate a wide variety of learning styles into my teaching methods. For example, when teaching students their times tables, I could take my class outside and have them count the number of trees and rows of trees they see within the schoolyard. I could then ask students how many trees the schoolyard has. Learners who prefer the naturalistic intelligence will be able to enhance their multiplication skills because they are surrounded by nature and counting trees. Similarly, visual learners could benefit from a nature walk because they can physically view the number of trees within the problem. I can also apply multiple teaching approaches when students are learning their multiplication facts.
While introducing learners to times tables, I will have them listen to and sing along to songs regarding times tables. By using this method, students who possess a high level of musical and visual intelligences will be able to learn their times tables because they are reading, listening to, and singing their times tables. It encourages many to follow a particular rhyme, rhythm, and beat, which are essential topics for musical learners to work with. This lesson could also meet the needs of bodily kinesthetic learners by incorporating a times tables’ dance that corresponds to the song. Such movement will peak the interests of kinesthetic learners because they will be active. In order to cater to the needs of more kinesthetic learners, I will allow them to play a basketball game where students try to shoot a stress ball into a trashcan after completing a certain number of multiplication problems. I currently use this activity with an unmotivated student I am tutoring. He is struggling with multiplication facts, so I create problems involving the number of shots he made and missed. For example, if he made three shots and missed six, the problem would be three times six. By incorporating this activity, I noticed the student was more motivated to learn. He was also able to remember some of his times tables from playing the game. This was probably because he enjoys playing basketball and likes hands-on activities. Overall, utilizing Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences within the curriculum permits teachers to help even the most unmotivated students to excel.
A particular study provides another prime example of how incorporating multiple intelligences within lessons helps all students achieve. Lynn Helding, a highly decorated singer, relates each intelligence to music, noting the role they play in one’s overall musical talent. Furthermore, she demonstrates that students have differing strengths, and as a result, each approach should be taken into consideration in order to give all an equal opportunity to learn (Helding, 2010, pg. 324-325). By utilizing different angles to approach singing, students are able to hone their skills, contributing to their overall success in their chosen learning environment. This same concept can be applied to any subject area. Giving students a variety of solutions to the same problem allows them to grasp a more firm understanding of the topic at hand.Methods, such as the one mentioned above, show how music and singing can influence students’ learning abilities. While in my classroom, I will make sure to use singing and music as a medium for learning. Each day, I will sing songs that express what types of behaviors and skills I want students to utilize within the room. By using a catchy tune, students will be able to pick up on the rules and topics and may even sing along. Furthermore, I will provide videos and images in relation to the topic at hand. For example, if the class is learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly, I will physically draw images of the various stages a butterfly encounters. In doing so, visual learners will be able to see each stage from my drawing, and as a result, will be more likely to remember the lifecycle. Similarly, I will show the class a video of the butterfly’s lifecycle. This will apply to the auditory learners because they can hear and see someone talk about the different stages. Overall, I will teach topics in multiple ways and use play as a medium in order to help all students excel.
Play serves as an exceptional learning tool for young children. Unfortunately, some members of society fail to recognize all of the benefits play has to offer. A superintendent questioned a kindergarten teacher’s knowledge of children singing in school: “Likewise, another teacher detailed how she “had the kids on the floor in a circle and they were singing “Farmer in the Dell.” The superintendent walked by and said, “You are going to stop singing and start teaching, right? ”(Lynch, 2015,pg. 357) Lynch provides a prime example of how lessons that intertwine singing and playing can help children develop oral language skills. As learners experiment with initial and final word sounds, they are encouraged to think creatively. I feel students require play to be incorporated within the everyday curriculum. When opportunities for play arise, students’ avid imaginations are used and create opportunities for meaningful learning.However, teachers must act as a facilitator in order for such learning to occur. Vivian Paley’s novel “A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play” provides a prime example of this. As an educator, Mrs. Ruparel-Sen encourages Vijay, one of her students, to act out his story at the story-telling table. After she asks him what role he will carry out, he decides to be the plane even though it crashed into the Westin tall building. As a result of his story and the teacher’s questioning, Kostos, another student, was able to connect with Viajay and continue his fable. This is because he is from Greece and has relatives fly to America and stay in hotels (Paley, 2004, pg. 5-6). Acting as a facilitator for students’ play is rather simple. By questioning learners about their stories, teachers are able to pique learners’ interests, ultimately allowing them to join in. When teachers act as facilitators, students engage with one another and may uncover cultural similarities and differences, as did Vijay and Kostos. Therefore, I will remember to foster student’s learning while they are playing and help classmates make connections with one another. In order for such connections to be made, students must be aware of the different races, ethnicities, and traditions that are relevant to society. Keeping this in mind, I will read books on diversity, have students complete a project exemplifying their own culture and share it with the class, and construct a classroom garden. Such activities will promote peer acceptance and interaction, ultimately influencing youngsters to feel welcome within the classroom. Unfortunately, not all students exhibit proper behaviors at school. The Theory of Moral Development is an excellent method to utilize, on account of one must exhibit proper behaviors.
Classified as a learning theory, Kohlberg’s theory is composed of three hierarchical stages, meaning a person moves forward one stage at a time and a stage may not be skipped (Browne & Gordon, 2014, pg. 125). Such movement occurs in response to children individually recognizing contradictions in their own beliefs (Browne & Gordon, 2014, pg. 125). Despite the fact that adolescents may learn from their own behaviors, some feel this theory is debatable on account of it focuses more on moral thought and very little on moral behavior. Furthermore, the tactics do not abide by the rules within all cultures (Browne & Gordon, 2014, pg. 125). Although Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development may not suite each individual’s needs, I feel it has potential to help all children learn to exhibit proper behaviors. This theory enables children to learn from their own mistakes. Students are able to gain a sense of independence. I feel young learners are more susceptible to remember appropriate behaviors because no one scolds or informs them about how to act. Instead, they simply modify their behaviors in order to seek an adult’s approval, abide by the law, and interpret the social contract and universal ethical principles (Browne & Gordon, 2014, pg. 125). In order to help my students achieve the conventional and post-conventional stages of his theory, I will provide visual and verbal cues for my students in regards to behaviors. For example, when my students are too loud, I will flicker the light switch, shake a maraca, utilize the saying “One, two, three, eyes on me,” or clap my hands. Each tactic serves as quick way to re-direct students’ attentions to the task without having to inform them. It is also relevant to learners of all backgrounds because they can physically see the cue. I will model and practice such strategies on a daily basis with the class. As a result, students whose primary language is not English may benefit from such instruction because they will learn to recognize the cues. Education needs teachers who are responsive and understanding of all students’ needs.
Today’s children offer a variety of attributes that are beneficial to society. Teachers are required to meet the needs of all students to the fullest extent possible. Unfortunately, not all educators possess the skills to do so.I want to become a teacher to make sure children are given meaningful learning experiences. My ultimate goal is to inspire young students to develop a passion for learning and to follow their dreams. In order to ensure each student is engaged in meaningful learning, I will incorporate the works of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, and Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development in my classroom. Utilizing such theories will help me provide a balance of nurture, content, and creativity. I feel children must learn from their own mistakes with little guidance. As an educator, I will set clear expectations and rules for students to follow. If rules are not followed, students will be required to move their clips down on the behavior chart. Furthermore, I will incorporate play and multiple intelligences on a daily basis. Using multiple approaches to teaching a single topic will help all students grasp material. Similarly, I will provide plenty of opportunities for children to play while learning. More specifically, I will implement both free and structured play to enhance adolescents’ oral language skills. This way, I will expose children to experiences that will be useful in the future. I will also refer to the pre-operational stage of Piaget’s theory and remember that my students are developing memory, imagination, and language skills. So, I will make sure to use dialect that all students can understand and provide tasks that are challenging. Tasks, such as those mentioned above, will help my students develop memory, imagination, and language skills. Therefore, I feel it is important to use such dialect and refer to the pre-operational stage. Overall, adolescents deserve to be placed in a positive environment that encourages everyone to participate, make mistakes, and flourish.