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My Philosophy of Teaching Statement

I once read on a college classroom wall that “A student is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled”.  That quote has stuck with me ever since.  My goal as a teacher is not to give my students all the information possible and then let them sort through it and recall the information, as they need it.  They are more like a fire.  Some student’s flames unfortunately are merely a spark, while others are ablaze.  As a teacher, my philosophy is to keep that fire burning hot.  Through being a volunteer firefighter, I know fire needs three things: oxygen, heat, and fuel.  The fuel is the information, and students can find that anywhere these days.  Heat is the student’s ability, which I believe all students have.  Oxygen is the skilled teacher.  I need to give them the words of encouragement, the comfort to continue, the recognition of their accomplishments, support during their failures, and the guidance to go in the right direction.  I also need to make sure they are getting the best fuel, and making use of their heat.

Teaching should always strive to move beyond the simple facts and knowledge or even the training of skills.  Instead we as teachers have the responsibility of serving as a guide and mentor to those on an intellectual journey, opening and broadening curious minds by exposing them to new thoughts and ideas.  Too often students simply regurgitate what they have memorized and in my teaching I strive for an understanding so they can not only know it, but also expand upon it.  My goal is to develop student knowledge of the subject that is rich in connections and deep in understanding.

My typical class period consists of a set of “Welcome Work” (five-minutes of basic skills problems), going over homework, giving the students a new problem to work on in groups of 3-4, presenting group answers, determining the right answers, finding the best method, and presenting a new similar problem to be solved individually.  The reason behind doing the “Welcome Work” is to refresh their memory and get them focused on the subject at the beginning of class.  I always go over homework with the students so they can find different ways of solving problems, and learn from their mistakes.  I give them a problem to work on in groups to initiate problem solving and discussion.  Then we go over the different groups answers as a class to find different ways of solving a problem, determine if they are right, and choose which one is the best to use to solve the problem.  Finally I present a new problem for homework that is similar to what we did in class to insure that they understand it as individuals.

I believe in a primarily constructivist approach to teaching.  I believe the subject should be taught primarily through self-discovery and understanding with a little memorization; solving problems more than practicing basic facts; assisting instead of always leading; and hands-on rather than constant book work.

I also believe that every student can learn, the hard part is where to and how much oxygen to give.  If you blow too hard on a small flame it will go out.  If you blow from the wrong direction, you may extinguish their future.  In order to be a great teacher you need to be able to present information in a variety of different ways, but also know the student and how much pressure they can endure.  This gives the student many options to grasp the topic, while also building up their comfort in me as a teacher.  I also have to be an excellent observer.  Like watching a fire, I need to observe the student in class for comfort, understanding, and interest, as well as their work.  If I don’t observe all of these, I may lose control of the fire.

One thing that I have found to make all of this much easier is the use of technology.  It is another communication tool using e-mail, Internet pages, and web quests to communicate to the students.  It is a presentation tool for the students through PowerPoint and Internet Pages.  It is a communication tool for the speech impaired, a thesaurus and spell checker for the writer, a data keeper for the scientist, a graphing tool for the mathematician, a canvas for the artist, and a drawing board for the architect.  It is a tool for so many people that I believe is being taught incorrectly in so many situations.  Too often programs get taught, but without meaning or understanding.  Give them a purpose and soon the student will be the teacher.  We need to use the computer not only as fuel, but also as oxygen.  Not only is it a source of information, but the information also has to be evaluated.  It should be used as oxygen for improving the student’s abilities in other areas.  Technology should be used to improve their weaknesses, and to excel their strengths.  I don’t teach software, I teach math and use software as a source of oxygen.  

My goal is to get my students to burn brightly with a purpose.  I give them oxygen while gauging their fuel and maintaining their heat.

 

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