I am happy to be hopping along with Whitney from With Love From Texas today to share with you my beliefs of education. I feel this time of year is always the perfect time to reflect on my philosophy of education, in order to prepare me for the beginning of each school year and get me back into a educational mindset after being off all summer!
My philosophy of education is
to teach not only the knowledge that students need to know but also instill in
them qualities that will help them be successful throughout their lifetime. Through providing engaging activities where
students can self-discover and work with other students I believe that they
will increase their own understanding of content. I believe it is very important for students
to have multiple opportunities to explore and learn lifelong skills such as
communication, collaboration, and problem solving.
In my classroom I like to use
Kagan Cooperative learning structures and techniques. I use Kagan procedures to set up table groups
in my classroom. I do this by looking at
students reading, writing, and math abilities and then grouping them so that
students have the opportunity to work with other learners. Once teams are set up in my classroom we
often do many structures that involved students working with partners or table
teams. One of my favorite Kagan
structures is ‘Quiz-Quiz-Trade’ because it allows students the opportunity to
communicate with other students while actively reviewing content.
I also use a Responsive
Classroom approach in my classroom. With
Responsive Classroom we have daily morning meetings where students practice
greeting others, sharing, and listening.
It is an important part of our day because it sets the tone in our
classroom that we will respect others and treat others the way we want to be
treated. I like using Responsive
Classroom because I have learned to use reinforcing, reminding, and redirecting
language to keep my students on task and focused. Students also take breaks in our classroom
and we discuss ways to regain control of our bodies through taking deep
breaths, counting to ten and reflection.
These are all skills that will help them through conflict resolution as
they grow into adults.
When reflecting on my philosophy of education I am reminded of a quote by
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Intelligence
plus character-that is the goal of true education.” I believe this to be true because I see
education as an opportunity to develop one’s own self through practicing and
obtaining skills that will help them through life. I believe it is important for me to
demonstrate my passion for learning and encourage my students to be lifelong
learners as well.
Thank you for hopping along to read about my educational beliefs! To continue the hop visit Whitney from With Love From Texas!
