Nick

Philosophy of Education

=== It is the responsibility of a teacher to prepare their students for success in the modern world. A teacher is tasked not only with providing students with information regarding the subject they are teaching, but also to help the students to become critical thinkers. Education is not only facts, dates, numbers and names, but the ability to pull outside information into a topic, analyze it, view it from multiple viewpoints and use it to form an opinion or solution. It is a teacher's job to help students develop all of these skills and to encourage them in the developmental process. ===

=== As a teacher, I plan on challenging my students in ways that help them to become more prepared for the future that awaits them. I hope to give them the tools necessary to their success and to always show confidence in them as they embark on their journey. I promise that they will leave the classroom more aware of their world and with the ability to look at the important issues of our time and develop strategies to tackle them. ===

__ Framework __

====Reading - Reading about new trends and educational strategies could help to introduce new and effective ways to reach the students. Although not all new strategies will be a perfect fit, it certainly wouldn't hurt to learn about them and try them out.==== ====Professional Development Workshops - Attending workshops, especially those teaching new classroom technology, would be a great way to improve as a teacher. It is important to keep up on new techniques and technologies and to employ them if they are useful. Attending professional development workshops would allow for a good way to be properly trained in the application of new strategies and technologies.==== || ===Assessment - It is important to always be assessing the students and their growth. It is important to assess students often and through different methods such as homework assignments, test/quizzes, presentations and written assignments. It will be much easier to reach a struggling student if their problem is discovered at an early stage. Assessment also involves knowing your students, how they learn and how best to reach them as learners.=== Differentiation - Differentiating assessments (product) is an effective strategy in assessing students. One possible method of differentiating is to give students a worksheet with problems of varying difficulties. Some students may not be able to do all problems, while others may be able to do all problems. Often times, students will attempt to do as many problems as they can to prove to themselves and others that they are able to do them. Formative Assessment - It is important to use formative assessments often. This will allow for students who are having trouble with a certain topic to be identified and helped. I find a "ticket out the door" to be a very effective and quick method for assessing students. Summative Assessment - I feel it is important to create summative assessments that reach different types of learners. This may include having a unit test with both multiple choice and essay sections. It could also involve students who are artistically inclined creating posters or paintings about the subject and then explaining and interpreting them to the class. I also find RAFT assignments to be both engaging and interesting for students. It allows students to take on different perspectives and demonstrate their knowledge through styles that they prefer. ||
 * ===Professional Growth - Professional Growth is an important aspect for any teacher. It is necessary to always gain new ideas, learn and employ new strategies, learn and employ new technologies and of course grow as a professional. A teacher should always be growing and improving as a professional, this will not only benefit the educator, but the learners as well.===
 * ===Knowing my students - I think a key component of effective teaching comes from knowing students and being able to effectively reach them through a knowledge of their interests and abilities.===

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In School - Knowing students in school involves knowing their academic strengths and weaknesses and helping them to use their strengths to the best of their abilities, while simultaneously helping them to improve upon their weaknesses. This will also help in planning for different types of differentiation.===== Out of School - Knowing students out of school involves knowing what their interests are, what out of school activities they participate in and what their family life is like. Knowing these factors will lead to a better teacher/student relationship and increased understanding between the two. It could be a nice gesture to attend school sporting events in which students from class are participating. || ===Strategy/Teaching style - I think it is important to be able to be flexible in this category. What works for one class may not work for other classes. Teaching style and strategy is something that I feel will develop over time.===

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Discussion/Argument Formation - It is important that students are able to discuss the information they have aquired and that they are able to form opinions and back them up with fact. This aspect becomes especially important when discussing issues that are current problems or are somewhat controversial. Discussion and argument formation will allow students to develop their critical thinking skills.====== Concept formation - I have found the concept formation lesson style to be interesting and effective. I would hope to impement this into my classroom. I think it is somewhat interesting to students, as it is somewhat like uncovering a mystery term. This is a teaching technique I could use when presenting an important concept, as it is more likely that students will remember it if they are able to form the concept on their own. Storytelling - Incorporating storytelling into lessons is another strategy which could prove to be effective. Finding a way to link a story to the content would be a great way to make a memorable lesson for the students. || Respect - Another foundation of a successful classroom is one that centers on respect. It is important to create an environment where students respect each other's thoughts and opinions, as well as the thoughts, opinions and classroom rules. Use of humor - I feel there is a definite place for humor in the classroom. Humor can have a positive effect on the classroom in a number of ways. Students tend to be more relaxed and comfortable in a classroom in which humor is used. The teacher does not have to be the only source of humor, they can also allow students to bring humor into the classroom. Grouping - When grouping students for group work, it will be important to find different ways to group the students. I could group them randomly, by interest, by readiness or learning profile. This would let students to work in a variety of different group situations, better know and understand their classmates and have different learning experiences as a class. Clear Rules and Classroom Norms - Establishing clear classroom rules and norms will allow for a classroom where students know what they can and cannot do. They will understand the consequences for their actions and there will be no confusion between what is and is not acceptable. This will help to improve discipline and reduce the amount of time that needs to be taken to deal with classroom problems. || ===Instruction/Information - An important aspect of my framework is instruction and information. In order for students to be able to form valid opinions they will need information to back it up. It is important for students to gain knowledge about the topics they will be discussing and this can be done through instruction. It is impotant to find interesting ways to provide instruction so students are engaged.=== Differentiation - It is important to remember to make differentiation a part of instruction and information. Differentiation in instruction/information can occur through the process or the content. This may mean presenting the information to the students in a number of different ways that target different styles of learners, or focusing heavily on content that corresponds with student interests. Student Driven - When students are provided with opportunities to discover information on their own, they are more likely to remember it. This may involve more student research with some scaffolding, such as worksheets guiding their research. || == I chose a building under construction as my image, because I feel it is a great symbol of my framework. My foundation has a strong base for my classroom on the bottom, while the top focuses on improvements and future growth. The building under construction also has a strong base, with growth occurring at the top. ==
 * ===Positive Classroom Environment - One of the foundation pieces of a successful classroom is a positive classroom environment. A positive classroom environment means that the classroom is a place students want to be and feel comfortable. Such an environment should foster learning and success.===

= Modifications = I have added a number of new sub-categories to my existing categories which help to better define them. I have specifically had a greater focus on differentiation in the classroom. I have also removed my category of respect and instead made it a sub-category of a positive classroom environment. I have added a new category in place of respect, which is knowing my students. I think this is a key component to being a successful teacher and forging a stong student-teacher relationship.



__QUOTES__
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” ― Phil Collins

“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”

― Aristotle

“A child who is protected from all controversial ideas is as vulnerable as a child who is protected from every germ. The infection, when it comes- and it will come- may overwhelm the system, be it the immune system or the belief system.”

― Jane Smiley

“The biggest challenge facing the great teachers and communicators of history is not to teach history itself, nor even the lessons of history, but why history matters. How to ignite the first spark of the will o'the wisp, the Jack o'lantern, the ignis fatuus [foolish fire] beloved of poets, which lights up one source of history and then another, zigzagging across the marsh, connecting and linking and writing bright words across the dark face of the present. There's no phrase I can come up with that will encapsulate in a winning sound-bite why history matters. We know that history matters, we know that it is thrilling, absorbing, fascinating, delightful and infuriating, that it is life." ― Stephen Fry, Making History

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.”

― Stephen King, 11/22/63