Philosophy of teaching paper - Assignment Example

The appreciation of individual Since being a myself I’ve never liked strict limits between studying disciplines, as I’ve also never liked strict definitions between teacher’s and student’s duties. The reason of this dislike have come to me recently, when I’ve found that most interesting breakouts on my professional field I’ve made during individual critical reflections and self-teaching. Thus, now I generally see my duty as a teacher in helping each student to reveal his/ her own unique potential, and in establishing among students a habit of a self-teaching.

With a view of these goals I can define three fundamental statements which I usually apply in a classroom. Thus, firstly I found necessary to provide students with the most basic knowledge, which later they may need to explore a professional field by themselves. I make students learn and understand a wide range of notions, theories and strategies which are commonly considered as classical and also are most commonly implied in professional practice. Despite that it’s a very traditional methodic of teaching, I’m not trying to impose a traditional way of thinking during my lectures.

Oppositely, I constantly reveal the strong and the weak sides of every classical concept I’m talking about, and in this way with my own example, I impose the tradition of a critical thinking among student. I encourage questions during lectures and group discussions during seminars, appreciating a new development above a traditional point of view. What defines this new development is a unique impact each student can make on a professional field. Every human being has a unique circle of interests, unique experience and unique environment which make him/ her think the way he/ she thinks.

Thus secondly, despite a common lecture material and group dissuasions I provide during my lessons, I encourage students on individual exploration of every topic. There is never a strict limitation on homework assignments and/ or topic limitations on individual projects, and I appreciate the most creative and unexpected cross-topics and/ or cross-field connections students are able to make within the assignment. The only criteria I expect is a practical involving, because “scientific breakthroughs also come from trying to solve a practical problem” (Shuell).

Thus, I encourage students to make connections between a topic and their day-to-day life experiences and “take advantages of all resources available in the environment” (Shuell).Yet the more individual and more surprising a point of view is, the more it needs to be a well-reasoned. Thus, thirdly I challenge students to defend and critically think on their own individual opinions. I widely argue their points of view by challenging students to impose me their way of thinking and/ or to persuade other student during lesson discussions.

Despite that it’s important to be able of reasoning own point of view, a self-critique seems also important for a self-teaching. Thus, despite challenging strange points of view, I teach students to challenge their own ideas and look for the strong and the weak sides of their every work. I may conclude that the described philosophy of teaching also gives me an opportunity for a self-teaching and self-improvement. Often when my students are engaged in topic discussions or mutual persuasions, I imply a critical listening and come up with some new ideas on a topic or get a new angle on a problem.

In this way a strict definition between teacher’s and student’s duties is bridged. I teach them, they teach me. Work CitedShuell, T. “Theories of Learning”. Education.com. 19 Jul. 2013. Web. 27 March. 2015.