In a 2013 TED Talk given by Rita Pearson, she says, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” In thinking about my experience as a student and now an educator, I have discovered that building relationships has a profound impact on my teaching philosophy. As I reflect on my experience as a teacher, I have noted that my students learn best when they are in a positive class environment, where they can make connections, not just with me, but with the content in which they are learning. To reflect on my own experience as a student, I found that most of my learning happened when I was able to make connections to my teacher and what I was learning.

 

To me, teaching is all about building relationships. Once students have a strong relationship with their teacher, they will be able to listen and learn from them. I think that building relationships requires that teachers get to know students and their families, for accountability and respect between both the teacher and student. Once a teacher has a strong relationship with the student, the teacher can easily engage the student with context that they are familiar with. With context that the student in familiar with, a teacher can create a classroom environment that meets the student needs and activates background knowledge. This also helps students to make connections to texts, forcing them to discuss and critically think about the content they are learning, without even knowing. My teaching philosophy is making connections with students to build relationships and engagement in a positive classroom environment.

 

My mission is to get my students to become lifelong learners. Learners who constantly ask questions when they do not understand, can participate in discussions, and can research to prepare evidence or to always have reasoning behind doing. My mission is to get the students to use the skills that they have learned thus far and apply them to real world situations such as college and career preparation. To get students to become lifelong learners, it is important that I provide them with the following on a consistent basis:

 

• Have the students develop and initiate questions to answer and discuss during class.

• Provide students multiple opportunities to analyze and synthesize researched information to build conclusions and problem solve.

• Give the students the opportunity to practice. When content is given, the students need the time to communicate what they have learned and apply it to real life situations.

• Instead of lecturing and talking at the students, it is important to facilitate and make learning student centered.

• Engaging students in content that is rigorous and meaningful to them.

• Always give students a purpose for what they are doing.

 

Over time, my philosophy of teaching has changed. I always thought that maybe my expectations for students were too high because they were not meeting the end goal I had set for them. Giving the students the above tasks helps them to be lifelong learners, and though it does not happen overnight, with continued practice, it can help them develop the skills desired.

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In thinking about my student taking ownership or their work and becoming lifelong learners, I realized the importance of goal setting. In reflecting on my own work, I saw that students provide their best work when they can actually see what they need to do to get where they want to go. For example, providing immediate feedback for assessments has really pushed my students to work harder on certain areas where they struggle. Instead of just grading student work, I felt it is important to give students back their work with targeted feedback, that asks clarifying questions that gets them to not only see what they did wrong, but what they need to do to improve. Providing purposeful feedback is helpful for the students and provides teachers with desired outcomes.

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With purposeful feedback, students will be able to effectively set new goals for themselves. With this, students can connect to what they are learning and be able to challenge themselves to do better, but this only works if the students have consistent practice of a skill. To get the students to take ownership of their work, teachers must help them to set high expectations for themselves through goal setting. When students set goals, they understand the purpose of what they are doing, which should ultimately be every teacher's goal. 

 

At the end of my course, I would like for my students to be critical and independent thinkers and learners. I want my students to become advocates for themselves.  I want  them  to go after  everything  they  desire  and have  the  will  to look for  resources  even when  it  seems  like  there  are none.  I want my students to seek out opportunities and understand that we and can be resourceful. If  I get my  students to advocate  for  themselves and set goals on their own, I think  that  it  would  prepare them  for  life  outside  of school.  I want  them  to be able to apply  the  skills  they  have  learned in  my  class  to real  life.

 

Just like anything in life, experience is the best teacher, my teaching philosophy requires that teachers meet students where they are to figure out how to best serve them. Learning will happen when students feel comfortable to communicate and engage in content that intrigues them. It is up to the teacher to build strong relationships with the students to engage, make connections, and become lifelong learners.

 

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