Main Aspects of Teaching Philosophy - Coursework Example

RUNNING HEAD: Teaching Philosophy Teaching Philosophy: An exploration of the professional educator in a middle years context BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION HERE YOUR TUTOR HERE DATE HERE Teaching Philosophy Introduction Teaching students in their middle years requires a competent educator able to provide flexibility in the classroom and also professionalism when dealing with socio-cultural issues at the same time as attempting to develop an appropriate curriculum for student learning. This suggests, as a classroom professional, the teacher must learn to work within a system of leadership, apply socio-cultural lessons to dealing with student scenarios, and also balance creative learning with legal and leadership expectations as part of a performance management process. Much more than just a teacher to students, the educator must motivate the students and themselves in order to improve learning. The appropriate teaching philosophy is to remain flexible to change and use personal learnings in multi-adaptable situations as an educational professional in today’s classrooms. The role in this philosophy A school is operated much like a business, with some form of superior executive hierarchy and a variety of administrative and support roles which are inter-dependent on one another to facilitate student learning and the exchange of classroom knowledge. With this in mind, a professional educator with the right philosophy will view the children as stakeholders, whereby their personal assessments of the curriculum and teacher competence will likely impact learning and long-term retention of course materials. One recent study in middle school social studies courses identified that many social studies teachers, in this age category, are out of touch with the newest and latest themes and concepts in social learning (Vontz, Franke, Burenheide and Bietau, 2007). Essentially what the authors are saying is that the teacher is not keeping well-versed with recent social trends and is therefore unable to provide adequate teaching since they are using outdated or no-longer-relevant information. This all points to the need for the teacher, as somewhat of a business professional, to be proactive in understanding the recent theories and concepts in order to provide a more balanced curriculum. Much like a business strategist scans the external environment for competitive threats, the self-developing teacher looks for opportunities to keep up with important student-related social concepts. Student assessment of their teaching ability and performance, as previously mentioned, also involves recognising that their talents and contribution toward learning are being assessed by senior leadership under a performance management system. Some of the common criteria teachers are measured by include the ability to encourage group engagement, build strong professional relationships, and support positive change in the educational environment (Ovando and Ramirez, 2007). When dealing with middle year students, change is likely going to be a common scenario, especially if teaching materials are redesigned and the teacher expected to conform to these guidelines. This means they must not be argumentative against the change, but work as a team-based professional to ensure that students are exposed to the new classroom materials. Having the right teaching philosophy then would involve working within an environment which interacts as a whole system or administrative machine. For example, principals build support for the organisation through instructional support and data analysis (Greer, 2003). These are then resourced to the teacher who, in turn, teaches the student the new concepts. As the teacher is being constantly assessed for performance, they must adopt a collaborative, team-focused environment which is flexible to on-demand curriculum changes or other administrative-level changes to how the classroom contributes to the whole of the school. Knowing that the middle years students are assessing performance at the same time, as stakeholders in the school, also requires a professional educator who can motivate themselves as a leader in multiple professional roles. Motivation for teaching these students is so highly important as job satisfaction is closely linked to teacher retention, or their likelihood to remain with a job (Shann, 1998). The teacher must be motivated not only by their relationships with other teachers or the administrative support teams, but also be self-motivated to provide excellence in student teaching. If there is a problem with a situation, the professional educator contacts leadership to discuss collegial support issues and does not let this lack of self-satisfaction impact student learning. Shann again acknowledges that school administration must redevelop teacher job satisfaction before they will commit to the school and its long-term goals. However, it is up to the teacher to identify these issues and bring them to the appropriate attention, as the professional, to enhance student needs and motivate change. Outside of the internal administrative issues, the professional with the correct philosophy will understand that certain socio-cultural issues will arise in the middle years environment, such as the emergence of gay and lesbian students. A competent professional will “teach tolerance and respect” (Paglia, 1999, p.1). There are likely going to be in-class scenarios where the students are bullying another for having opposite-gender personality characteristics as part of social stereotyping in these age groups. A professional who is both flexible and well-educated in a multitude of domains will understand how to combat these incidents using psychology and intuition about the group based on personal experience with these students. A teacher with this multi-adaptive personality will also recognise that social issues, such as the home environment or peer relationships, will greatly impact student grades and engagement levels (Bowen, Rose, Powers and Glennie, 2008). A teacher must be, as the professional, able to provide small-scale counseling support in the event it might be needed or simply understand how to motivate students by reading their body language or other verbal cues. This professional is limited by their authority in most schools, however they must use in-class techniques and professional learnings to recognise where problems exist and work to secure their solutions as part of the children-as-stakeholders philosophy. Many teachers who teach the middle years group feel that they spend too much time in non-guidance activities and responding to various crises (Kolodinsky, Draves, Schroder, Lindsey and Zletev, 2009). The nature of the different crises would likely vary based on the school environment, however from the teachers’ perspectives, this might have to do with legislation which interrupts classroom activities or data systems failures which prevent the distribution of assignment materials. Two education professionals offer that schools which fail to meet yearly progress goals are subject to school closures or severe sanctions (Freeman and Crawford, 2008). These are significant pressures being placed on the professional teacher which likely contributes to why they are not motivated if they feel their activities are being micro-managed. All of this suggests that the teacher, as the organisational professional, must recognise that performance is being measured by others throughout routine interactions and simply adapt to these difficulties. The receipt of student learning is paramount over teacher objection to spontaneous or unexpected situations in the classroom. It is about self-discipline and the ability to recognise personal limitations and strengths. Cobb, Grasalfi and Hodge (2009) identify different normative identities and personal identities which middle years students develop in mathematics classrooms. The authors further go on to describe the process of empirical analysis to measure these student habits in learning. Though this study was conducted specifically on math students, it points toward the growing sophistication of measurement tools being used to determine whether students are learning or adapting to different teaching styles. It also speaks toward a teacher who is instrumental in helping to shape the self-perceptions and self-identities of students based on how they interact with students and how they present the curriculum materials. What this points to is an instructor who maintains the ability to impact not only the cognitive learning of students but also the emotional. Therefore, the teacher should ask themselves what actually constitutes effective learning, assess how students are developing in the midst of the coursework, and then use modern research tools to identify trends in student learning. As part of the multi-flexible teacher philosophy, professionalism in the contemporary school environment is a self-analytical and environmental-analytical instructor. Theriot and Tice (2009) offer that teacher education is much more than training, it is a very complicated system of learning which takes place over time. The professional instructor, especially for middle years students where emotional and cognitive development is maturing, must consider issues more than just the delivery of curriculum materials. This is a period where students are developing identities based on comparison with other peers and are developing some of the most important social lessons which they will take into adulthood. As the educational professional, it would seem that an instructor with the correct philosophy would contribute to this development and also be sensitive to individual student beliefs and values. There is little training which can be provided to give a teacher scenarios on how to handle each unique classroom situation, therefore learning is a process through experience, however the professional teacher makes notes of these learnings and applies them to future situations with middle years students. Finally, the professional instructor with the multi-adaptable philosophy of team-based environments must consider the allocation of resources. The availability of school-purchased curriculum materials will likely differ based on the unique size and scope of the learning environment. However, the flexible teacher, who might be working in a school where resources are limited by funding problems, would understand how to procure information, which fits within governmental mandates, to assist in student learning. Learning is also about letting the teacher be flexible with teaching materials and the procurement of resources is a number one priority to ensure students of this age group are well-prepared. For instance, if the curriculum involved a sociology lesson, the teacher may wish to prepare additional props or visuals to assist in the learning process which are not provided by the school. Flexibility, as the professional, is not only about adjusting to change but making changes which actually make a difference in student learning and comprehension. Conclusion Viewing the children as stakeholders is only going to improve the total performance of the teacher as they will recognise that assessment does not only come from leadership but from within the classroom. Children in middle years age brackets are growing more sophisticated in their ability to analyse information and also to communicate their assessments. Depending on the specific performance management system in place at each school to measure teacher performance, the school may consider the input of students as stakeholders and therefore the teacher must be dedicated to succeed. The entire educational environment works together much like a machine with all parts relying on one another to facilitate the process of student learning. The professional educator, with the multi-flexible philosophy of student learning, works with a team-based mentality and aligns curriculum with students’ needs and the needs of administration. During these change processes the professional teacher makes appropriate adjustments and supports the change. This might also provide students with a better self-perception of the school and the teacher by making crisis changes less-transparent to students. Showing organisational unity between different leadership divisions is likely going to create a more comfortable environment for the students as well. All of the evidence provided points toward a teacher who must be proactive and sensitive to the cultural scenarios which are going to occur in each classroom. A basic understanding of human psychology as well as theories of social interaction in the middle years student groups should be on the agenda of each professional teacher. Keeping current with modern thinking about student-related subjects will also further enhance the image of the professional educator and likely provide reward and motivation in the process. The analytically-minded professional teacher will assess the student environment, review curriculum guidelines mandated by leadership, adjust their behaviours accordingly, and provide students with the excellence of learning they deserve to be prepared as well-rounded adults. References Vontz, T., Franke, J., Burenheide, B. and Bietau, L. (2007). “Building bridges in social studies education: Professional development school partnerships”. 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(accessed April 15 2009). Kolodinsky, P., Draves, P., Schroder, V., Lindsey, C. and Zlatev, M. (2009). “Reported Levels of Satisfaction and Frustration by Arizona School Counselors: A Desire for Greater Connections with Students in a Data-Driven Era”. Professional School Counseling. Alexandria. 12(3), pp.193-200. IBI/INFORM Global. (accessed April 14, 2009). Ovando, M. and Ramirez, A. (2007). “Principals’ instructional leadership within a teacher performance appraisal system, enhancing students’ academic success”. The Journal of Personal Evaluative Education. 20(85), p.87. IBI/INFORM Global. (accessed April 14 2009). Paglia, Camille. (1999). “It wasn’t Romeo and Julian”. Wall Street Journal. NY, NY. 22 February 1999. www.wsj.com. (accessed April 16, 2009). Shann, Mary H. (1998). “Professional commitment and satisfaction among teachers in urban middle schools”. The Journal of Educational Research. Bloomington. 92(2), pp.67-74. Theriot, Shirley and Tice, Kathleen C. (2009). “Teachers’ knowledge development and change: Untangling beliefs and practices”. Literacy Research and Instruction, Coral Gables. 48(1), pp.65-76. IBI/INFORM Global. (accessed April 14, 2009). Read More