Teaching Philosophy and Classroom Management Plan by Zoe Taylor

Part 1:Teaching Philosophy

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-08 17:08:47 UTC

Motivation

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-09 21:13:08 UTC

I have always enjoyed working with kids in a variety of contexts since the time that I was in high school. The first job that I had working with kids was as a club volleyball coach. I enjoyed this experience so much and loved seeing my players grow and being an influential figure in their learning experiences. Throughout high school I also tutored and babysit to work with children in different contexts. After I graduated high school I worked as a team leader at a camp called Galileo and this solidified my passion for becoming a teacher. I really enjoyed teaching mini lessons and seeing how creative my campers were. The moments where I saw them be brilliant and use their voice was so special and I wanted to continue creating a space for children to be able to do that. I pursued my Human Development major and a minor in education in college since I knew my passion was teaching. My motivation for becoming a teacher is my passion for giving a space for children to be creative and learn how to learn from their mistakes. School should be a safe place where they can be allowed to do that.

Statement

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-10 00:22:47 UTC

I believe that mistakes are an integral part of learning and that students need to embrace mistakes in order to learn from them. As a teacher I believe I should create a safe space where students can take risks and find what they are passionate about. I also believe teachers should teach students problem solving and social skills that will be applicable in their lives. I also believe learning can't happen when only one viewpoint or narrative is being taught. Teachers have the responsibility to present a diverse range of media that teaches students about other cultures and experiences.

Rationale

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 22:11:59 UTC

I believe that growth mindset is very beneficial for students and will help them learn more. Fixed mindset can be very harmful for students and make them believe that their abilities are fixed no matter how much effort they put into their work. Research studies have show that our brains can grow and adapt when we are critically engaging with material and being challenged. (Boaler et Dweck, 2016)I believe that as a teacher it is my responsibility to teach growth mindset because it will benefit my students and the learning of concepts rather than memorization. This belief will influence the way that I plan lessons because I will focus on multiple entry and exit questions, allowing students to engage in productive struggle, and framing mistakes as learning opportunities rather than penalties. This belief will also impact the way I assess students as I will be looking for understanding of the process rather than just being able to get the right answer. This will impact the way that I support students because I will let them engage in productive struggle rather than giving them assistance right away if they are struggling with a problem.

I think placing a strong emphasis on a multicultural education greatly benefits children. I think that it fosters acceptance as well as helps them engage in critical thinking. It also helps all students see themselves in the curriculum and feel included. I will specifically be implementing this in my classroom through the lessons, media, and literature that I present in class. I will work within the standards then choose literature and media that can open up conversations about different cultures and experiences. I will also build strong student relationships and put an emphasis on learning from my students. I will also provide opportunities for identity exploration and sharing within our classroom community.

Impact

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I believe that growth mindset will positively affect student academic outcomes as well as self esteem. Growth mindset takes the pressure off of getting the problem right quickly and/or on the first try. Students will feel less stressed knowing that mistakes are normal and that productive struggle is essential to learning. When students are afraid of mistakes they don't challenge themselves and they do what they know is easy which doesn't help them learn. Growth mindset promotes students trying new things and gaining a deeper understanding of the concepts that they are working with.

Multicultural education has many positive impacts and will promote a more inclusive space for all of my future students. This philosophy will impact instruction because the content will be very diverse and will lend itself to opening up a lot of conversations about diverse experiences. This will make students feel more included because they will see themselves in the curriculum and will learn about other experiences. It will also help them to understand certain events and history from multiple perspectives.

Role of Parents/Caregivers

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I believe that parents and caregivers play an important part in the classroom. I believe parents' input should be taken into account when supporting their child. Parents know their children the best and as teachers we should be acting as a team with the parents to support their student. Parents should help bring the home school connection by allowing their child to read and engage in critical thinking in activities at home. Parents should communicate with the teacher about any special circumstances that are affecting their child. I will implement a system where if they send me a handle with care card I will know that their child is going through something that day and to be mindful of that. They will not have to tell me what the specific situation is.

Role of Administration

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 22:54:04 UTC

I believe that administrators should be there to support and back up teachers. If teachers need support they should feel comfortable going to administrators knowing that they will provide it. The administration should also provide opportunities for collaboration between teachers so they can swap ideas and help each other. There should also be a lot of opportunities for professional development. Lastly, administrators should be clearly communicating with the whole school community and keeping the communication strong.

Role of Students

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 22:56:58 UTC

Students should come to school ready to learn and engage in lessons. Students should be kind and respectful to others in the school and classroom community. Students should share their ideas as well as listen to others in there class.

Role of Teachers

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 23:09:50 UTC

Teachers are responsible for making every child in the classroom feel safe and included. Teachers are responsible for making a flexible learning environment that allows all students to learn. Teachers are responsible for helping students learn and guiding them through the process. Teachers are responsible for assessing students throughout the year to make adjustments to their instruction to better support individual students. Teachers should introduce students to a variety of different cultures and experiences to create a more equitable environment.

Part II: Classroom Management Plan

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 23:35:08 UTC

Classroom Community

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-15 23:56:13 UTC

One practice I will be implementing in my classroom is doing "Morning News" during attendance. Each morning I will have all my students meet on the carpet. I will go through the class list and say good morning to all my students along with asking them if they have any news that day. They can share something fun that they will do or have done during this time. They can also say that they don't have any news for the morning. This gives students an opportunity to share something with the class and gives me an opportunity to say good morning to them individually.

One way I would like to build community is by following the news activity with a morning meeting. During these morning meetings we will talk about what is happening for the day and anything that needs to be discussed will be discussed. This allows us to come together as a community before moving on to lessons. I want to foster an inclusive community by teaching my students about a variety of experiences and cultures so they can be educated. I want to affirm all my students' identities by delivering lessons with a diverse set of media and literature embedded.

One thing that is very important in building relationships with students is prioritizing relationships with the most difficult students. "A positive relationship doesn't always mean an easy one. Intimacy is the result of commitment and work." (Casseta et Sawyer, 2015, p.13) It can be easier sometimes to make relationships with the "well behaved" students. It is important though to make an active effort to form relationships with all of your students. You shouldn't have any students who you only speak to when redirecting behavior.

Classroom Agreements/Expectations

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 00:30:39 UTC

I want to establish my expectations as a class and allow it to be a discussion where students can give their input. Co creating expectations can allow students to think about what they want their learning environment to be like. I would like to center the expectation talk around how we can be safe, respectful, and inclusive in the classroom. I believe these three things are the most important in creating an optimal learning environment. Inclusion is important to make all students feel like a part of the classroom community. Safety is important for all the students' well being. Respect is a pivotal thing that helps all students be kind to each other and set boundaries for themselves.

Then, once I hear all the students ideas I will consolidate them into a shorter list by merging the ones that cover similar things. I will put the expectation list we create as a class on a piece of poster paper and have it hanging in my classroom so students can refer back to it.

I will also have a system for what to do when individual students do not follow expectations. The first time they get a reminder from the teacher. The second time they are moved away from the person or thing that is distracting them. The third time is an outside break or call home to their parents.

Classroom Procedures and Routines

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"Nothing that happens in a classroom is too small or insignificant for a carefully planned procedure" (Casetta et Sawyer, 2015, p.42)

Procedure #1: Coming into the Classroom in the Morning

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At the beginning of the school year I will introduce how students will come into the classroom in the morning by talking about it and then practicing it. I will tell them that when I pick them up from the playground in the morning they should get into a 2-1-0 line at our line up spot. This means two shoulders facing forward, one line, and zero voices. Once they show me that they are ready I will walk them to our classroom. When we get to our classroom they will put their bags down and quietly sit on the carpet. They show me that they are ready for "Morning News" by being quiet and sitting on the carpet.

We will role play this immediately after introducing it. I will take them out to the playground and have them practice. If they do not meet the expectations for the procedure we will practice that step again immediately after.

Students will know they are successful when they quietly walk in a 2-1-0 line from the playground to our classroom and then quietly take a spot on the carpet. I will say things like "thank you for a quiet line" or "thank you for showing me that you are ready to start" to also let students know when they are successful.

Procedure #2 What to do if you have a Question

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 01:14:59 UTC

I will introduce the "Ask 3 Before Me" procedure at the beginning of the year. Sometimes students miss a part of the directions or will be confused on what they are meant to do or where something should be turned in. To avoid having to answer so many questions when I have limited time I will instate an "Ask 3 before Me" policy. This policy will entail students seeking the answer in 3 ways before they ask the teacher.

1.They will think about the question themselves and see if they can answer the question.
2.They will look around the class and see if they can find the information around the classroom.
3.They will ask a peer if they know the answer to the question.

I will explicitly introduce this concept to students and let them know the process as well as which questions to use this for and when they can raise their hand and ask me. I will tell students that if they have questions about where things go, directions, and what to do they should use the "Ask 3 before Me" method.

Students will know they are successful when they only ask the teacher these types of questions when they have gone through the steps of this method. I will give shoutouts to students using these methods throughout the year to reinforce the behavior.

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Procedure #3 Independent Work Time

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 01:27:24 UTC

After the first week or two of school I will introduce independent work time. It is important for students to grapple with concepts in a variety of different settings such as whole group, small group, and individual. Individual work time is a time where they can think and complete work on their own. I will explicitly introduce what I expect by telling students what the time should look like, sound like, and feel like. I will tell them that this time should sound silent and voices should be off. I will tell them I understand if you need to whisper to read a book if that's how you need to learn, but it should be a whisper that the people around you can't hear. I will then demonstrate what that looks like. I know some students with learning differences may have a difficult time reading without this so I want it to be introduced if they need it. I will tell them that it should look like all students independently working on their assignment and it should feel calm. We will practice this procedure by building stamina for independent work. Right after I introduce all of this we will go into a silent read to self for 15 minutes and we will build on that everyday. Students will know that they are successful if it is quiet during independent work time and everyone is working on their assignments. I will tell them when they do a good job as well and congratulate them as they build stamina.

Part III: Educational Technology Integration

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 01:59:14 UTC

Technology as a Support

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 02:06:49 UTC

There are so many ways that new technology can be used in the classroom to support a wide variety of learners. For example, there is a microphone that you can wear around your neck that will project your voice into a students' implant when connected if you have any students who are hard of hearing. There is also assistive technology that can allow text to speech translation or speech to text translation which can help learners with dyslexia. Technology opens up so many doors to support our learners that may not have been possible otherwise.

It can also allow you to implement Universal Design for Learning in your classroom. You can use technology to provide multiple means of engagement and representation. A few ways you can use technology to provide multiple means of engagement in the classroom are presenting information to students on a powerpoint with writing as well as visuals, educational videos, and using things like kahoot to practice information. A few ways you can use technology to provide multiple means of representation are by letting students use speech to text to complete assignments, letting students create videos on flip grid to discuss course concepts, and creating digital brochures to show knowledge of course content.

Technology for Exploring

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 02:11:43 UTC

The Internet is a great place for students to look up any information about a topic that they are interested in. It gives you the opportunity to do things like expert projects where they can pick something they are passionate about and then research that and present to the class. It has a variety of different data bases that students could look up information from. It allows them to explore whatever they want to.

It can open up opportunities that may not have been there before. There are a lot of online data bases where students can read books that they may not be able to read. There are only so many books in the classroom and the Internet can help them have access to more.

Technology is Everywhere

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 02:19:17 UTC

Most children are being exposed to technology at home and if not at home then they will be exposed in the future. I think it is important to teach them computer skills in class and how they can use the technology responsibly. This will help prepare them for the future and help advance their skills. They should be learning things like how to cite sources in upper elementary and how to tell if a source is credible or not.

My View on Technology

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 02:22:18 UTC

I think technology can open so many doors and can be an amazing tool when used safely and responsibly. We are moving into a digital world and must adjust our practices accordingly. Students should not have free rein on using technology, but when used at specific times technology can add a lot to lessons. I also think it is amazing how technology has been adapted to help students with special needs with things like assistive technology.

References

zptaylor1 — 2023-09-16 02:35:49 UTC

Cassetta, G., et Sawyer, B. (2019). Classroom Management Matters: The social-emotional learning approach children deserve. Langara College.

Boaler, J. et Dweck, C. (2016). Mathematical Mindsets. Jose Bass Wiley.

Powerschool. (2022). The TPACK Framework Explained (With Classroom Examples). Powerschool.com. https://www.powerschool.com/blog/the-tpack-framework-explained-with-classroom-examples/

Technology to Meet Learning Goals (TPACK Framework)

zptaylor1 — 2024-05-23 21:19:06 UTC

The TPACK framework can be very helpful in finding the best way to use technology to help your students meet their learning goals. The TPACK framework focused on the way that content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. Looking at where these forms of knowledge intersect can help you have a successful lesson.

1.Pedagogical Knowledge: understanding the best practices for teaching and what works with you specific students' needs

2.Technological Knowledge: knowing how technology and digital tools can transform the way that you deliver course content to students

3.Technological Pedagogical Knowledge: understanding how the technology that you have available to you can help you help your students meet their learning goals (Powerschool, 2022)

This framework can be very helpful when reflecting on how you can use technology to help students meet their learning goals.