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When I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the education field, my main motivation
was just to work with children. I enjoyed being around children and seeing their minds working
as they discovered new things about themselves and around them. I loved seeing the “a-ha”
moments. Once I began the track of getting my degree and becoming licensed, I learned that
education was about so much more than that and the different approaches to teaching. After the
experience I’ve had with the observations and the knowledge I have gained through my
education classes, I have come to find that my personal philosophy of teaching is more student
based than teacher based. I believe that all of the students I will teach throughout my career will
be different and have different learning styles. I believe that it is my responsibility to meet the
needs of each student and adapt my teaching to best suit each individual. I want to provide a safe
environment for my students where they feel free to be express themselves and learn from each
other, as well as learn from their different experiences. I will always encourage my children to
push themselves and take risks, expressing to them that mistakes are just another opportunity to
try again and learn. I want to challenge my students in order to help them grow academically, as
well as emotionally. As a teacher, I also want to grow, recognizing how important it is to adapt
and change. I will have an open mind and learn from my students, as well as my colleagues and
other professionals. I believe there will always be more for me to learn and new ways to grow.
There are a few different teaching philosophies that are student centered, each having
different approaches to things such as discipline, classroom organization, and teaching styles, but
they all have the student as their main focus. The three student-centered philosophies are
progressivism, humanism, and constructivism. When I conducted deeper research about the
style, instead of being limited to one philosophy. For example, I believe the discipline style I
want to have in my classroom would be considered part of a constructivism approach. I also plan
on following the humanistic approach in regards to the learning focus of my students. I want to
carry each of these aspects into my classroom with the goal of best needing all of my students’
needs and giving them the greatest opportunity to learn and reach their full potential.
want to establish a sense of importance and respect for my students. After discussing classroom
management with other teachers, I believe that students should have a part in developing the
rules of a classroom. When the students come up with their own rules, they know the value of
that rule. I want to have open discussions of why they think something should be a rule, while
also discussing the consequences that would happen if rules weren’t followed. This allows for
expectations to be set, but the children having a say in them. I believe this would cause students
to be more mindful of their actions and how it would affect them and their fellow classmates.
While this approach mainly comes from a progressivism approach, I also want to use part of the
humanism approach to discipline in my classroom. While giving the students the freedom to
come up with their own rules and consequences, I also want to encourage my students to carry
out the discipline within each other, while only giving my opinion as a guide when needed. By
doing this, I am giving my students responsibility and encouraging them to resolve conflict
between themselves.
As a teacher, I recognize that all of my students will be different and some of those
difference will be in their learning style, backgrounds, points of view, etc. Each of these
differences make us who we are. With that being said, I will encourage my students to be
respectful of each other’s differences. I want to acknowledge that all of my students are different
Makayla Davis Personal Teaching Philosophy
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while teaching my students that were all a family in the classroom and all have the same goal,
reaching our full potential. By having a classroom climate where all students are respected, I
believe students will feel welcome to ask questions and share their opinions, knowing that the
classroom is a safe place for them to grow and be themselves. By creating this environment, I
want my students to feel comfortable in trying new things and having discussions about what
they are learning, while also being able to voice their needs. This approach mainly comes from
With regards to my teaching style, I would say I lean towards a humanistic approach.
from my clinical experiences and discussions with other teachers, I have come to the conclusion
that students will be engaged at the highest level when the lesson is interesting to them in some
way. In order to know what interest my students, I would have to get to know them beyond
surface level and really get to know my students. By doing this, not only am I figuring out the
best way to teach to my students, but I also hope to show my students that I value who they are
and want to help them reach their full potential. While I know not everything I teach at the basic
level is going to be interesting to my students, I plan on changing the context and delivery of my
are interested in. My reasoning for taking the humanistic approach to my teaching still comes
from my own experiences in the classroom. As I entered into high school and was able to
recognize it, I noticed myself withdrawing in classes that I considered “boring.” The classes
weren’t necessarily challenging, but it was challenging for me to find motivation to pay attention
and sometimes even complete assignments. As a future educator, I do not want to be responsible
for students not enjoying learning. I believe it is my responsibly to keep students interested and
engaged.
Makayla Davis Personal Teaching Philosophy
TLED 315 December 4, 2019
approach to classroom organization. This approach places students in groups within the
classroom, encouraging discussion and collaboration. During my observations, I was able to sit
in on a lesson in math where the teacher asked questions and, instead of calling on one student
for the answer, she told them to turn and share with their neighbor first. By doing this, she was
keeping all of the students engaged, and she was giving students to talk about their answer and
hear answered that may be different then their own. Not wrong, just different. Another benefit of
grouping students for classroom instruction is that sometimes students do not fully grasp a
concept when you are teaching. While you should always adapt your lesson to best suit each
student’s needs, sometimes they will still struggle with a concept, even after accommodations. I
have seen students finally understand an idea, only after hearing another student explain the
same thing. By grouping students together in seating, you are encouraging collaboration, which
educator. There are many aspects of a classroom that I never thought about on a deeper level,
that I did think would have an impact on students. Now, not only am I seeing these things, I am
learning how I would approach a situation and how I would handle it. While I don’t want to put
myself in a box and label my teaching as one specific philosophy, I have noticed that the
students to feel safe, comfortable, and important, in hopes that I will be able to help them on
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