Pedagogical Philosophy

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Amy Bjornson Pedagogical Philosophy Personal Philosophy My job as a future educator is to reach all students in ways that they can grow and become more independent, which will be done through the teaching of the curriculum as well as the morals and values of the Christian faith. This also involves a deep respect for all people as brothers and sisters in Christ. I want my students to enjoy learning in a safe, enlightening, and invigorating classroom. I will try to implement all these tasks by arranging the classroom and managing it, differentiating my teaching styles to meet the needs of my individual students, implementing curricula pedagogy, assessing my students, and relating the school environment to my home environment. Classroom Organization and Management For my classroom, I would like to organize the desks into a horseshoe arrangement, because it would allow me to have better access to my students (Kronowitz, 2008). Some more reasons why I like this arrangement are; it is more open, all students can see me, and they can have a sense of community by seeing each other. This idea may change, depending on how effective this arrangement is for a classroom with students of certain ages. I would like to have my students make name plates to put on their desks; this way it is more personal, and it allows for creativity and easier identification of who is absent (Kronowitz, 2008). Preferably, I would like to have my students wear nametags for the first week of school, so I can learn their names faster. Depending on the age of my students, the nametags can vary in style. As far as the seating arrangement goes, I would “Allow free choice” until the end of the first week; then I would mix students up as necessary (due to behavior and/or special needs) (Kronowitz, 2008). Depending on whether or not my students have food allergies, and if adaptations can be made, I would like to give them each a “Survival Kit” like the one described by Kronowitz (2008). They could keep these in their desks to remind them to stay calm in stressful situations and that it is important to take care of their health. For class rules, I would like to have something like “We are a family” as the encompassing idea of rules, kind of like in the Ron Clark Story, (Haines), and then the students would make up the rest together (Kronowitz, 2008). Unlike the movie, I could alter focal idea to “We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, so we are all members of God’s family.” Maybe I would have my students imagine what a class without rules would look like, and list the pros and cons of each before we make the list of rules. We could also play a game in which we would make silly rules and discuss how they would or would not be fair. The rules can then be made into a colorful, creative poster to put on the wall, kind of like the lists on page 79. I would like to use the “classroom artifacts” to send the rules home to parents. Preferably, our rule list won’t be more than five rules. Rules will be self-monitored by the students – they will tell me what rule they broke. The decoration of the classroom may be made up of clean yard sale and/or thrift store items (Kronowitz,

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2008), colorful walls, and/or colorful posters to cover up white walls, bulletin boards for “Star of the Week” and “Student Helpers”, and maybe even pictures of students and their families. I would also like to have bulletin boards that have lists of assignments, classroom and school rules/standards, “Inspirational sayings”, and “Motivational posters”. I really enjoy the Blueprint on page 91, but I doubt my classroom will be that big. No matter the size of the classroom, it can be made into a colorful and comfortable learning environment. For the classroom environment, I would like to have special places for students (like various learning stations), my teacher space, and cubbies and desks for my students to store supplies and/or backpacks. I would definitely want to have a classroom pet or pets (Kronowitz, 2008). I would check what kind of animal allergies students have, if any, and let the students have a say in what kind of pet we get. The pet could be part of a biology area or something (studying the life of the pet) and/or learning about responsibility. I would like to have nice bathroom passes (one for boys, and one for girls) that are easily accessible and have the bathroom rules posted on the wall above them (Kronowitz, 2008). Along with these, placards would be available for the students to place on their desks to let me know where they are when they are outside the classroom. I would also like to teach them the ASL (American Sign Language) sign for bathroom, so they can motion to me quietly without disturbing the class and/or becoming embarrassed. Differentiation for All Learners There are many ways of reaching the diversity of students: one involves the implementation of lesson plans that utilize Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. These intelligences include: “visual spatial, verbal/linguistic, mathematical/logical, bodily/kinesthetic, musical/rhythmic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist” (Kronowitz, 2008). Implementation can be carried out in many ways: by teaching core knowledge to the class, assessing the needs of each individual, and changing the components of instruction (“input”, “process”, and the “product”). Teachers can use the “Differentiating Instruction Planning Form” found on page 297 to keep track of the specific content (input), teaching strategies (process), and the multiple intelligence area used for each student. For individuals with learning difficulties, teachers can and should teach to the student’s strengths and apply any other accommodations to their teaching style. Students who are at higher achievement levels need to be accommodated for as well (Kronowitz, 2008); it is important that they maintain interest in learning, and that their abilities aren’t stifled and/or restricted by those around them. Whatever the needs of an individual, he/she needs to be taught and be able to comprehend the material. This entails: helping to remedy behavioral problems, encouraging growth in the face of disabilities, and using different teaching methods depending on his/her level in Bloom’s Taxonomy (Kronowitz, 2008). It can also include helping students learn English and/or adapt to the differences in culture, etc. Each student is unique and should not be compared with other students. Every individual should be praised for his/her abilities and helped to rise above any difficulties. The teachers’ job is tremendous, but it comes with many rewards, including the advancement and growth of their students.

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Curricular Pedagogy No matter what the curriculum is, there are certain things I will need to keep in mind throughout my teaching career. Implementing the standards is crucial in any classroom, and there are many resources for doing this. If I don’t have a say in choosing the textbook, I can use the parts I like and use the rest as a secondary source. As long as I teach the same areas that students are required to learn in that year and use the proper standards, I can use creative ways of teaching different from what is found in the textbook. This can motivate both my students and me. Planning is an important part of implementing the curriculum. Planning ahead (Kronowitz, 2008) will not only give me a general time frame for teaching specific things, but also allow for flexibility in case the students aren’t grasping the material. Mapping out “month-by-month” is an excellent way to get my ideas in order. I think it is amazing to have so many resources available to me: other teachers, curriculum, library books, online articles, family and friends, and everybody else who can help shape me into a great teacher. One of the things I have started to do is buy things for my future classroom, which my parents do as well. When we see things at thrift stores that would be great for the classroom (like flashcards, fake money for counting, etc.), we buy it. My closet is accumulating quite a bit of materials to become a library/resource center for my future classroom. Learner Assessment Among the three categories of assessment (“norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and performance-based or authentic”) I would probably only want to carry out the performance-based or authentic assessment (Kronowitz, 2008). This is because it allows the students to perform “real-world tasks” and it scores their results with a rubric of “proficiency levels”, instead of a comparison with other students (p. 317). The authentic assessment involves the following steps: 1) “Identify what you are assessing”, 2) “Decide what activity will provide context for assessment”, 3) “Define the criteria and let the students in on them” 4) “Create a rubric”, and 5) “Provide feedback”. I think these steps are crucial for keeping a detailed record of each student’s abilities. If I have a clear idea of my objectives and base assessment on specific standards and benchmarks, I can help the students understand why they are learning the material. If I engage the students in exciting learning activities, they will have a desire to learn the material. For creating a rubric, I would like to try using a tool that is mentioned in The Teacher’s Guide to Success. The website generates rubrics at no cost: www.teachnology.com (Worksheets…). Then I can use a detailed rubric to record clear results on the progress of each student. If I provide feedback to students as soon as possible then they can see what they did right, and what they can improve. (Kronowitz, 2008) Authentic Assessment is individualized, which I think is extremely important for the measurement of an individual’s abilities and weaknesses, because it allows me to figure out how to teach him or her best. Keeping these records for the students’ future teachers can make assessment easier for those teachers, allow for more teaching time, and make the learning experiences for the student extremely beneficial. Although it may be more work for educators, I think this is the only assessment that should be used for grading, because it doesn’t compare

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students with each other, but with set standards for all students. It also can motivate the student to “beat his/her own score” (Kronowitz, 2008). This form of assessment can greatly boost the self-esteem and independence of students, because they will learn to judge themselves against their own standards. It will also help them to accept themselves for their own abilities and weaknesses, instead of comparing with the abilities of their classmates. Home-School Connection I hope the connection between home and my teaching career will be balanced. Some of the things I can do to accomplish this balance are: make a commitment to keep my life balanced, get my priorities set, schedule time for these priorities, “make to-do lists, overcome obstacles, and get rid of clutter and organize…” my workspace (Kronowitz, 2008). I think these are essential in the balancing process. Time management is imperative, because there are many things to accomplish, and there is a limited amount of time to do it all. If I don’t set my priorities, and balance my life, I will be burnt out and won’t be able to be my best self. I make to-do lists already, but I especially need to work on overcoming the obstacles mentioned on page 374: “Perfectionism, procrastination, indecisiveness, and interruptions” (Kronowitz, 2008). If I can overcome these obstacles in a timely manner, then my life will become much easier. I am a living example of how these obstacles become problematic. Perfectionism is good to an extent, but it can be very debilitating. It is good to be thorough and do an amazing job, but this becomes a problem when it consumes excessive amounts of time and energy. Sometimes I spend too much time being caught up in the details, trying to make something perfect. For the most part, I have learned how to live with procrastination, but I struggle with overcoming the habit. Indecisiveness takes up time as well; I don’t need to have a “perfect lesson” nor do I constantly need to make up my own lessons, but I still want to pick the “perfect topic”. I can be very indecisive for which type of lesson I would like to do. In addition, interruptions are often distracting for me, and I need to be able to work alone in a quite area to focus on my studies. Being able to overcome obstacles and maintain realistic goals and attitudes may be very difficult at times, but it is still an essential and obtainable goal. God is in control and He will help me stay focused on the important things without going overboard, and He will provide me with many people and resources to help balance my life. Personal Implementation I will probably implement my personal philosophy in the classroom by engaging students in various areas of learning as well as encouraging them to respect themselves and others. As I said before, I would like to have my students participate in the rule-making process, help decide what topics they will learn about, and take part in various classroom responsibilities. I would also like them to have a say in what kind of class pet we would get. These things can show students that they are valuable members of the classroom and that learning can be very fun.

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Evaluation of Positive Climate My implementation of my personal philosophy would have many aspects that create a positive classroom climate, where students are treated with respect, concern, and where individual differences are appreciated. I would do this by making my classroom environment a safe, comfortable, and fun learning community. Some examples are, I could use special ways of sharing in the morning to allow students to center themselves and prepare for a day of learning, allow the students to participate in games and activities together to develop a sense of community, and have fun in a structured way. In my classroom, students would know and appreciate the rules and respect and care for each other like a family. Students would learn about how to communicate in positive ways, even while dealing with conflict. School is not only about academics; it is also about learning how to communicate and participate as a member of society. I want my students to learn in ways that will help them achieve higher levels of success and build their self-esteem. Even though each student is one individual, every one of them can make an important impact on the world. For a system of classroom management that implements the conceptual framework, I like Ellen Kronowitz’s “Unit Planning Worksheet” which has a central topic or idea, and a web surrounding the topic (Kronowitz, 2008). She has the basic standards for the grade level listed, and the topic is surrounded by different subject areas in order to make connections, and therefore implement multiple facets of a curriculum’s core subjects. However, I might include more subjects like social studies, physical education, and theatre, etc. This would provide many different ways of learning about a particular topic, while including numerous standards for the particular grade level. My job as a future teacher is to educate all my students in ways that they can grow and become more independent. I will do this by teaching the curriculum as well as the morals and values of the Christian faith, which involve a deep respect for all people as brothers and sisters in Christ. I want my students to feel comfortable and safe so they can become engaged in the learning process, as well as being enlightened and invigorated in the classroom. I will try to implement all these tasks by arranging the classroom and managing it, differentiating my teaching styles to meet the needs of my individual students, implementing curricula pedagogy, assessing my students, and relating the school environment to my home environment.

Works Cited Haines, R. (Director). (2006). The Ron Clark Story [Motion Picture]. USA: Turner Network Television (TNT). Kronowitz, E.L. (2008). The Teacher’s Guide to Success. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Worksheets, Lesson Plans, Teaching Tips, Teacher Resources, and Rubrics from TeAch-nology.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://teachnology.com