Running Head: FINAL 1

Personal Philosophy of Education

Andrew Smith
EDU 382
Instructor Kelley
September 24, 2014
Personal Philosophy of Education 2
Personal Philosophy of Education
As teachers, our goal is to help educate young minds. To do this, first, we must learn
about how people learn, but knowing how a student learns is only half of the equation. We must
also learn different strategies and techniques so that we can effectively teach our students.
Students learn in a variety of ways, and not all students will learn the same way. There are
different preferred methods of learning (visual, auditory, read/write, kinesthetic) (Fleming, n.d.),
as well as different areas of intelligence (visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, and logical-mathematical) (Lane, n.d.). Some students
will also need extra help and guidance, while others will be able to excel on their own. In
essence, we must understand our students and their needs to effectively teach them.
To know how to teach, we must know how to learn. There are different aspects of
learning we must understand. We must understand that our students are still developing, which
means their brains are, as well. Different areas of the brain develop at different rates, and these
areas develop differently in different people. This is why some students may be able to grasp
some concepts right away, while others in the same class, and the same age, will need extra
guidance to understand the concept. Because all students are different, to teach them
successfully we must learn about them, their background, their prior knowledge, their interests,
and etcetera. Using this knowledge, we can tailor our lessons and can create effective learning
groups when we incorporate group projects. Knowing that all students will learn differently and
have different interests, we must differentiate activities and create personalized learning
experiences that will engage our students. Engaged and interested learners make the best
students.
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In this course, we learned that all students are different, and that we as teachers must
learn about these differences so that we can teach them as effectively as possible. Our students
enter our classroom with a wide range of knowledge, abilities, and sometimes even disabilities,
like a learning disability, hearing loss, or visual impairment. We may even have students in our
classes that do not speak English, or have a limited English vocabulary. To effectively teach all
of these students, we must differentiate instruction, resources, and materials, that way no matter
the challenges, we can help our students to be successful. In most cases, if we have a student
with a disability or limited English, we will have an aide in the class to help out, but we should
learn how to help these students on our own. Either way, what we must understand is the
learning process, that way we can help all of our students succeed. When we understand this
process, we can become better teachers, and we can teach this process to our students, helping
them to become life-long, self-directed learners.
Before we can make effective learners out of our students, we must create an effective
learning environment. All of our best intentions and hard work will not matter much if we do
not provide this effective learning environment for our students. To do this, we must limit
distractions and provide an engaging learning environment that takes student interest and
abilities into consideration. Once we have an effective learning environment, we must create
effective lesson plans. For these lessons plans to be effective there are some considerations that
must be taken into account. The first is the why of the lesson, as in why are we teaching this and
why our students should care about the lesson and information being taught. The second is to set
clear expectations, which includes what they should be learning, and what they can do with that
knowledge. However, our expectations are not just for the learning, but for behavior as well. To
maintain an effective learning environment, we must have a classroom management plan. This
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way, the students are well aware of appropriate and inappropriate classroom behavior, plus the
consequences that will be implemented for inappropriate behavior. A classroom contract is a
great way to keep students aware of these expectations.
From our text we learned that to help create effective learners, as well as effective
activities to help our students learn, we must continually assess our students knowledge and our
own instruction. Assessment is one of the most important parts of learning. If a student does not
understand a concept or idea, which is a building block to further learning, then the students
future learning will be affected. Teachers have a wide range of assessments they can use for
examining student knowledge, and they should use a variety of them when checking student
progress. Because students have their own preferred learning styles and areas of intelligence, we
should allow them to show their knowledge and understanding in different ways, thus using
multiple methods of assessment. As mentioned, instruction also needs to be assessed. If a group
of students does not comprehend or understand the lesson, then the lesson should be assessed and
redesigned so that all of the students will have a better understanding of the material being
covered. It is the teachers job to educate their students and if they are using ineffective
instruction, then the teacher is not doing their job. It is important to keep in mind that
assessment needs to be balanced, have a purpose, and remain neutral. This is the key finding out
what our students know and can do, and to develop better lessons and activities.
As educators, in order to be successful teachers, we must understand educational policies
and adapt to reforms. These policies and reforms are created in order to help create the most
effective schools, to ensure that the teachers are properly trained and able to effectively educate
their students, and to make sure that all students have an equal opportunity for success.
However, there are many types of schools, and some of these schools do not have to follow the
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same strict guidelines set by the policies and reforms created by the government. Within public
education, there are different types of schools, such traditional public schools, charter schools,
and independent study, which all adhere to these policies, and then, there are the private schools,
that have their own policies and standards (California Department of Education, n.d.). These
options of school choice are important because some of these schools are specifically designed to
work towards specific goals or approach learning in a different way that may work better for
some students.
In conclusion, we, as teachers, have a lot of work to do to become successful teachers and
help our students to become successful learners. However, this is our responsibility as teachers,
and we should do all we can to help our students succeed. It is the duty of the teacher to be as
prepared as possible to teach the wide range of students they will encounter in our classrooms.
This is why teachers should never stop learning all they can about the learning process,
alternative methods of instruction, and how to make their lessons as engaging as possible. With
this knowledge, teachers can help any student that comes their way. As teachers, it should not
only be our goal to help our students to be successful, but our schools and districts as well, by
trying to instill positive change.


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References
California Department of Education. (n.d.). Private schools frequently asked questions. Retrieved
September 30, 2013, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/psfaq.asp#a2
Fleming, N. (n.d.). The VARK modalities. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=categories
Kajitani, A., Lehew, E., Lopez, D., Wahab, N., & Walton, N. (2012).The final step: A capstone
in education. A. Shean (Ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Lane, C. (n.d.). Gardner's multiple intelligences. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from
http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html