Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT DRAFT:

My teaching philosophy is based on my belief that learning should be a
student centred experience and children should therefore be treated as
equal partners in all learning experiences alongside their educators. My
aim as an educator is to positively contribute to and help educate the
future generations of our society in a safe, equal and supportive
environment in hope to motivate children to grow and learn the best that
they can.
I understand the importance of recognising children as global and active
citizens. Children have the right to actively participate in their
communities and should therefore be capable to take on responsibilities
towards nature as well as humanity. Children should be exposed to what is
happening in the world. Exposing children to authentic issues that are
occurring outside of the classroom can help encourage them to make a
positive impact on what they personally believe in and value. I trust that
all children have unique qualities and strengths from the moment that
they come into the world and should thus be recognised and valued now
rather than solely preparing for their future.
I have a goal to ensure that all children are treated with respect and are
exposed to equal opportunities throughout their childhood. I understand
that many diverse factors such as but not limited to culture, gender,
ability, family structure, religion and economic status can impact many
childrens involvement or understanding in the classroom. However, I aim
to recognise these differences and take advantage of them whilst planning
learning experiences to assure that all lessons are relevant and relatable
for all the children in my classroom in hope to fulfil student engagement.
In addition to this, I intend to make sure that all children are not
discriminated against on the basis of their differences. Alternatively, I will
encourage these differences in order to create a safe and happy
environment for the children to grow and learn in.
I acknowledge that I must continually develop my understanding as an
educator and a member of the community too. I ensure that I will critically
1 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

reflect on all of my own and other professional works to help inform new
understandings about teaching and education. I aim to incorporate
modern technology into learning experiences to help assist learning.
Furthermore, I aim to continually develop my own understandings on the
use of technology so that I am not limiting childrens opportunities for
learning and development but instead, creating many alternative
interactive and engaging experiences in the classroom. I pledge to always
research theory and studies conducted to help inform new understandings
of education whilst developing my own theories. Personal development is
an essential part to teaching and I assure that I will constantly reflect and
modernise my own teaching ideology.
Word count: 476

2 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

RESEARCH ESSAY:
Behind every passionate educator is a teaching philosophy that guides
oneself to be true to what they really value as a devoted teacher. A
teaching philosophy or statement is a unique piece of work that should
reflect what the individual believes to be vital when it comes to teaching
and education whilst determining what they truly advocate for when
supporting all children through their steps towards learning and
development. However, a teaching philosophy is not something that is
developed overnight. In fact, it is a piece of work that is never concrete
and complete. Whilst the piece should be honest and true to ones core
values, it should constantly be reflected upon and evolved through the
development of expertise. It is crucial for an educator to continuously
modernise their understandings of concepts related to education through
constant research and partaking in reflective experiences, therefore, their
philosophy should reflect these newly discovered understandings. This
piece will research some key ideas that educators could consider when
developing or updating a teaching philosophy.
As an educator it is essential to acknowledge that children do not begin
their lives at school, but instead, have grown and developed physically
and cognitively at home with their families for a number of years before
attending school. This signifies that the childs families should have an indepth understanding of how their child learns and what their strengths
and interests are as an individual. Developing strong and meaningful
partnerships with all childrens families/carers is a key aspect to giving the
children the best opportunity to further develop at school. Whilst there
has been many discussions regarding the ambiguity of the different roles
3 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

that the educator and the families are supposed to have to help support
the childs learning, Bassler, Brissie and Hoover-Dempsey (1987)
articulate that families and educators must engage in frequent
communication about the child involved to ensure that the child is
benefiting the best that they can as a student. Therefore, there should not
be any discussion regarding the roles that are played by each party, but
instead, they should be treated as equal partners with the same goal and
shared responsibility to always act in the best interest of the child. In
addition to the vital parent-teacher partnerships, an educator must ensure
that they are creating and maintaining partnerships with their colleagues.
Haertel and Wang (n.d) discusses the importance of developing positive
collegiality and thus the improved relationships between teachers as this
collaborative practice can improve the learning environment for everyone
involved. By having peer partnerships, educators can clarify new ideas,
peer review each others work and report back to each other. By doing
this, not only will the educators benefit greatly and become more
confident with what they are teaching, but the children will also show
beneficial signs of learning as they will be exposed to learning experiences
that are thoughtful, organised and well structured. Therefore, a key idea
that educators should strongly value as professionals is to ensure that
they go out of their way to develop relationships such as these in a
respectful, meaningful and sustained manner so that children are given
the best opportunity to reach their full potential as learners.
A key role that an educator must take on as a professional is the act of
gathering and collecting evidence of teaching practices that went well and
not so well. This personal development is essential so that reflective
practices can occur with the hope of bettering ones teaching approaches
in the classroom. According to HammersleyFletcher & Orsmond (2005),
self-reflection leads to self-knowledge and this knowledge is fundamental
to the ongoing professional development of an educator. This type of
approach to the profession plays an imperative role in creating learning
environments that are well structured, engaging and relevant to the
students in that specific classroom. Korthagen and Wubbels (1990)
4 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

suggested that reflective teachers are increasingly open to innovation and

additionally are more likely to develop strong, lasting relationships with
both colleagues and children. Therefore, by adopting this ongoing
approach of reflective teaching, educators are likely to experience various
positive outcomes in the classroom to help achieve that desired goal of
always doing what is best for the children and their learning experiences
as students.
Research has shown that collaborative learning should be used throughout
most learning experiences in the classroom. This idea can be better
described as the social constructivist theory developed by the late Russian
theorist Vygotsky. Children who work collaboratively with each other as
well as with the teacher, learn to take responsibility for their learning and
become empowered by taking control. An educator that utilises this
theory or builds a classroom where student collaboration is prominent
helps to develop effective and interactive learning environments (Kalina &
Powell, 2009). A learning environment that encourages students to
collaborate and share ideas supports the children by giving them a deeper
understanding as they are able to discuss, clarify and debate the ideas
that are being presented to them. Kalina and Powell (2009) indicates that
some teachers think that children that talk during class can have
detrimental effects to learning in the classroom , however, they ensure
that whilst off topic chatter should be avoided, teachers can still promote
dialogue so that the children can critically reflect, thus allowing them to
create personal meaning to the ideas. Therefore, this research proves
that collaborative learning or the social constructivist theory can hold
many beneficial opportunities for students who experience it. It should be
strong contender when considering what to include in their teaching
philosophy as it not only encourages them to be engaged and interactive
learners but peer interaction also prepares them for the world beyond the
classroom.
A teaching approach that some educators are feeling increasingly
passionate about is the notion of outdoor learning. Whilst it is commonly
5 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

discussed in the early childhood sector of education, some say that there
is no age limit for the benefits of outdoor learning to occur. According to
Joyce (2012), outdoor learning enables all children to have greater
freedom in a healthier environment, to learn, to manage risks and
problem solve in a meaningful way. Although, it is important for educators
to acknowledge that there is a time and a place for outdoor learning to
occur. The combination of both indoor and outdoor learning should be
what is desired by educators so that children can take advantage of what
both of these environments have to offer. Humberstone and Stan (2011)
agrees that we should not argue that all outdoor learning experiences are
beneficial. The outcome of the experience is highly dependent on the
ways in which the teacher interacts with the pupils, however,
Humberstone and Stan (2011) suggests that if educators further their own
personal understanding on outdoors learning, they can ensure that the
interactions and engagement from the children are relevant and reflective
on the topic that is being explored.
In conclusion, to be an effective educator, one must ensure that they
research the many ideologies that theorists and their peers discuss to help
inform their own understanding on what they value to be important in
their teaching philosophy. Having a teaching philosophy is not a matter of
writing the piece and finishing the piece but in fact, developing a piece
and being open to new ideas and improvements so that one can
modernise their core values and beliefs. By doing this, educators can aim
to ensure that they passionately practice what they preach, always
keeping the best interest of the children in mind whilst they learn and
grow as individuals.
Word count: 1,256

6 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

Final Teaching Philosophy:

My teaching philosophy is based on my belief that learning should be a
student centred experience and children should therefore be treated as
equal partners in all learning experiences alongside their educators. My
aim as an educator is to positively contribute to and help educate the
future generations of our society in a safe, equal and supportive
7 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

environment in hope to motivate children to grow and learn the best that
they can.
I understand the importance of recognising children as global and active
citizens. Children have the right to actively participate in their
communities and should therefore be capable to take on responsibilities
towards nature as well as humanity. Children should be exposed to what is
happening in the world. Exposing children to authentic issues that are
occurring outside of the classroom can help encourage them to make a
positive impact on what they personally believe in and value. I wish to
incorporate the combination of indoor and outdoor learning so that
children can experience what both learning environments have to offer
through interactions with the world around them. I trust that all children
have unique qualities and strengths from the moment that they come into
the world and should thus be recognised and valued now rather than
solely preparing for their future.
I have a goal to ensure that all children are treated with respect and are
exposed to equal opportunities throughout their childhood. I understand
that many diverse factors such as but not limited to culture, gender,
ability, family structure, religion and economic status can impact many
childrens involvement or understanding in the classroom. However, I aim
to recognise these differences and take advantage of them whilst planning
learning experiences to assure that all lessons are relevant and relatable
for all the children in my classroom in hope to fulfil student engagement.
In addition to this, I intend to make sure that all children are not
discriminated against on the basis of their differences. Alternatively, I will
encourage these differences in order to create a safe and happy
environment for the children to grow and learn in. I wish to support
learning through interactive and collaborative experiences adopting
theorists Vygotskys notion of the social constructivist theory, thus
promoting problem solving and critical thinking skills in collaboration with
their peers as well as myself.

8 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

I acknowledge that I must continually develop my understanding as an

educator and a member of the community too. I ensure that I will critically
reflect on all of my own and other professional works to help inform new
understandings about teaching and education. I aim to incorporate
modern technology into learning experiences to help assist student
learning. I pledge to always research theory and studies conducted to help
inform new understandings of education whilst developing my own
theories. Personal development is an essential part to teaching and I
assure that I will constantly reflect and modernise my own teaching
ideology. I ensure that I will gather and collect evidence from teaching
experiences so that I can improve my teaching practices throughout my
professional career.
I recognise the responsibility I have as an educator to build many strong
and meaningful relationships with my colleagues, my mentors, the
children and their families as well as with the wider community. By
building these relationships I know that I will be creating endless
opportunities for children to reach their full potential as a member of their
community. I know that by having these partnerships, we can
communicate effectively as a team with the goal of supporting and acting
in the best interest of the children.
I know that if all of the children in my classroom leave school at the end of
the day having felt included, involved and excited to learn, I will go home
with a smile on my face knowing that I could make a positive impact on
those childrens lives.
Word Count: 646

9 | Page

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

Critical reflection:
Through reflection of the peer feedback comments and my research on
educational studies and journals, I found that I was able to further develop
my initial teaching philosophy through the understanding of various new
concepts. , Bassler, Brissie and Hoover-Dempsey (1987) reminded me of
an essential role that educators must take on as professionals, and that is
to develop meaningful partnerships with colleagues, students and the
students families. In addition to this, HammersleyFletcher & Orsmond
(2005), ensured that the collection of evidence from my teaching
implementation in the classroom is an essential part to becoming a
reflective teacher. By adopting this notion, I will be able to deepen my
personal understanding of teaching approaches whilst having the
opportunity to reflect on my own approaches to find what works, what
does not and why. Kalina & Powell (2009) referred to the idea of
collaboration in the classroom, therefore prompting the idea of Vygotskys
theory of adopting a social constructivist approach to learning . This idea
really resinated with me so I did not hesitate to incorporate this into my
final teaching philosophy piece as well. Lastly, an idea that I previously
felt strongly about when studying early childhood education was the
notion of outdoor learning. However, Joyce (2012) enlightened my
thinking by stating that outdoor learning can be very beneficial for
children of all ages as it encourages many different learning opportunities
and outcomes for children whilst being connected with nature and the
world around them. I am pleased with my final piece of my teaching
philosophy however I am aware that this piece will be continuously
improved as my ideas evolve through the many experiences and ideas
that I will be exposed to throughout my professional teaching career.
Word Count: 288
10 | P a g e

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

References:
Bassler, O., Brissie, J., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. (1987). Parent Involvement:
Contributions of teacher efficacy, school socioeconomic status, and other
school

characteristics. American Educational Research Journal, 24(3),

417435. Retrieved

from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1163118

Haertel, G., & Wang, M. Teacher relationships. A Digest of Research from

the Laboratory for

Student Success, 309. Retrieved from

http://msan.wceruw.org/documents/resources_for_educators/Relationships
/Teach

er%20Relationships.pdf

HammersleyFletcher, L., & Orsmond, P. (2005). Reflecting on reflective

practices within
213-224.

peer observation. Studies in Higher Education, 30(2),

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075070500043358

Humberstone, B., & Stan, I. (2011). Outdoor learning: primary pupils'

experiences and teachers' interaction in outdoor
learning. Education, 39(5), 529-540.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2010.487837
Joyce, R. (2012). Outdoor Learning : Past and Present. Maidenhead, GBR:
Open University Press. Retrieved from
http://www.ebrary.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au
Kalina, J., & Powell, C. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism:
developing tools for an effective classroom. Education, 130(2).

11 | P a g e

Alexandra Blake S00152997

AT1

Korthagen, J., & Wubbels, T. (1990). The effects of a pre-service teacher

education program

for the preparation of reflective teachers. Journal

of Education for Teaching, 16(1),

12 | P a g e

2943