Macias - Statement Of Teaching Philosophy

Luis Miguel Macías

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STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY As a Spanish teacher, my ultimate goal is to provide my students with a new way of understanding reality. The linguistic systems of different languages partially shape the way reality is viewed. People, places, objects, and actions are all communicated through unique ways in which they gain a particular meaning. Being able to broaden my students’ minds so that they can understand and participate in this notion is the foundation of my teaching philosophy. I wish to help them find new ways of expressing themselves and understanding others’ points of view through the acquisition of a second language. Nevertheless, achieving this is not an easy task. Respect, organization, consistency, patience, and technology are the five main values I consider necessary for a successful teaching and learning environment. It is also these five core values that I expect my students to learn, along with the Spanish language, when they walk out of my classroom. A LEARNING COMMUNITY OF RESPECT Any good relationship begins with respect. The minute my students enter my classroom, I expect them to walk in with the comfort of knowing that they are in a safe supportive space. I want them to feel that the class is a community where everybody is safe to express their thoughts and doubts. At the same time, students should be aware that, as a community, they can ask their peers and their teacher for help if any questions or doubts arise. Without a sense of community and respect, it is difficult to maintain order and consistency in the learning space, but even more importantly, it is difficult for students to learn. ORGANIZED SPACE AND TIME It is essential to organize the classroom space as well as the time used during the lesson time. By maintaining an organized and clean space, energy and focus can be directed to the material. Seating arrangements in groups of four allow for a student-centered learning environment to flourish. The collaborative setting not only creates a sense of teamwork while completing activities, but it also helps promote a safe learning environment where students feel secure to ask their peers for help. Likewise, organizing class time is essential. Time organization concerns establishing routines in the classroom and lesson planning. Routines for students at the beginning of class, as simple as sitting in one’s desk and having one’s textbook and notebook out, are essential to keep the learning experience flowing. Clear classroom norms are also paramount for a successful learning space. I ensure clarity while establishing these so that my students are always aware of what is expected from them. Time management and clear norms lead to an efficient use of classroom time and allows greater time for learning. Lesson planning is the second most important way I maintain an organized classroom. Since each class tends to have its own energy, whether it be in elementary, middle, high, or higher education, being able to tailor language class activities to the need of each group also allows me to create an environment that ensures the retention of the material being learned while the students have an enjoyable time learning. By studying my different classes, I can better

Luis Miguel Macías

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determine what kind of activities work best while advancing the curriculum at an equal pace. While teaching in Spain, I would often apply this customization with my fifth-grade students. With one class being a high-energy group, I would limit the time allocated to high-energy activities that required singing and dancing. Another group I would teach in the late afternoon had a lower energy level, so I would try to include more activities that required students to move around. With a finite amount of class time, understanding the students’ limitations and needs allows me to tailor my lesson plans to ensure my students profit from their class time. CONSISTENCY I am convinced that being consistent with the routines and following through with the established norms and consequences established at the beginning of the year is an important way of ensuring the success of the organized classroom. Consistency is also important to the actual process of second language instruction and acquisition. Effective language teaching requires both the instructor and the students to remain in the target language as much as possible in order to enhance the learning experience. This usually prove challenging at the beginning of the course, but the organization of the classroom’s time and space helps both students overcome this and achieve the learning goals. Collaborative learning sitting arrangements help maintain consistency in communicating through the target language. PATIENCE, POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND MOTIVATION Learning a second language is a long, slow and complicated process since it opens a new line of thinking and it is important to constantly remember this. Nothing hinders learning more than an impatient teacher. I seek to create a comfortable learning environment where students are not afraid to make mistakes and feel safe enough to open up with regards to doubts and problems understanding concepts. As a third-grade student, nothing would discourage me from learning math more than the impatience of my teachers and my parents. As a teacher, I want my students experience to be the opposite. I want them to know that learning is not a race, but a rich journey where one advances at a different pace while enriching oneself with the knowledge gained. I am determined to ensure this is the case for all of my students despite whatever background they may come from. During my time working as an English Teacher in Madrid, I learned how my students’ economic, ethnic, racial and gender differences can become an obstacle to learning. Many of the issues my students were dealing with were reflected in their work and participation in class. Patience and empathy are crucial to helping students succeed and feel supported. Positive reinforcement, along with patience and empathy also goes a long way when it comes to motivating students. I always highlight the positive things I see in the classroom while encouraging others to do the same and the results during my seven years have always produced engaged students. Along with positive reinforcement, I have found that encouraging my students to draw on their previous knowledge gives them a sense of security while communicating. This technique is quite motivating since they realize that they are capable of much more than they think! Allowing students to make their own connections in the classroom during activities is another way of motivating them to enjoy since it leads them to start down a path of inquiry on

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their own as I guide them. Not only does this make learning for students more enjoyable, but it also promotes the student-centered learning environment I wish to achieve. Linking the language class to current and historical cultural references has also proven to be highly effective towards teaching students. Given the vastness and diversity of the Spanish speaking world, I have learned that bringing authentic materials into the classroom, such as newspapers, music, television, pop-culture and even food, is a fantastic way of captivating my students. Intrigued by the many different cultures of the world’s Hispanic population, students become motivated to learn Spanish as they link the course material with contexts outside of school. TECHNOLOGY Technology allows me to create a multidisciplinary learning experience, so students can immerse themselves in, not only the Spanish language, but also in the diverse Hispanic cultures that exist around the world. By responsibly using smart-phones, tablets and laptops in the classroom, students can have access to authentic reading and listening materials. While completing my M.A. in Spanish Language Education, I developed a website that implements the use of “web quests” in which I provide students certain links to find certain material on which they are later asked follow-up questions. Another website I developed gives students access to current news from the Hispanic world in articles I have adapted to their reading level. The use of this website was a success with my classes while teaching Spanish at the University of Oklahoma as students expressed their preference for real news over some of the more uninteresting material in their text book. The use of software such as skype is another resource I like to use in class as it allows me to invite special guests from abroad with different professions whom students can communicate with. The guests are aware of certain vocabulary, grammatical formulas and phrases they should use. By using technology, my students can immediately see the advantages of learning a second language. 5 CORE VALUES My personal approach to pedagogy and classroom management revolves around these core values. Respect warrants my class the safe and nurturing environment needed to learn. Organization makes the classroom efficient in every sense of the word. Consistency of second language communication and enforcement of the classroom norms ensures that my students’ learning goals are achieved. Patience allows me to motivate my students while meeting the needs of each individual student with positive reinforcement. Technology helps my teaching adapt to the way students learn in 2019 by integrating different types of authentic multimedia resources. By combining these values, my Spanish classes develop a sense of community, friendship and an interest in learning. This is how I can provide students with a new way of understanding the reality they participate in, the community they form a part of and the advantages of expressing oneself in more than one language.