Educational Philosophy

Alison Cook

Developing a personal educational philosophy takes a lot of thought and self-reflection in order
to clarify ones core values and beliefs, and how to transfer those to the classroom environment. It is
also important to know ones own strengths and challenges in order to grow and become a more
effective teacher for the diverse group of student learners found in classrooms today. When I think about
the important values in my life, three stand out as the ideas that I try to live by. First, it is crucial to be
reliable and responsible, and to follow through with what I say. Consistency is a key component of
managing an effective classroom. Second, it is important to have a positive attitude with both students
and colleagues. Being empathetic, open-minded and respectful of all people is crucial to maintaining a
sense of community within the classroom and a sense of teamwork with fellow staff members. My third
core value is that its important to be flexible and willing to adjust to change as needed. Different
classes have different personalities and skills levels and lessons dont always go as planned. It is
important to maintain composure and be flexible to adjust to these variations and still deliver cohesive
lessons that engage students interests.
There are also some core beliefs I have about adolescents. First, it is important to remember that
all students are coping with multiple issues in their lives - school, friends, home, hormones, activities
and sometimes even jobs. Skilled teachers are sensitive to the lives of their students and the issues they
are dealing with inside and outside of school. Learning about ones students, and showing you care
about them as individuals, helps build trust and rapport. It is also important to remember that students in
middle school are still developing their brains and their decision-making capabilities. Teachers must
provide them with guidance and coaching during this time in proper behavior, school rules and social
norms to help them navigate the confusing aspects of school expectations and shifting social situations.
Lastly, I strongly believe that all students have something to contribute, and strengths that they bring to
the classroom. All students can learn and no student is inherently bad if they misbehave. Acting out
is usually a sign that a student is trying to communicate a need for someone to listen and provide them
with guidance and support.
I am choosing to pursue teaching middle school Life Science because I am passionate about the
field of Biology and Conservation, and the topics that middle school Life Science covers. We have a
responsibility to the natural world to take care of our resources and our planet. I want to impart this idea
of service and conservation to my future students. I also want my students to be aware that there is
diversity in our world, that we share this planet with thousands of plants and animals. I want to teach
my students about other forms of life that share our planet, and to help them develop respect and
compassion for other living beings. I hope to foster a feeling of safety and community amongst my
students. I want every student to feel welcomed and have a sense of belonging, and to know that their
voice will be heard, valued and respected.
There are ethical responsibilities and professional obligations that my students deserve. The
number one priority I have as a teacher is to provide a safe learning environment for all my students.
Students must feel physically safe inside the classroom, as well as feeling it is a safe space to share
ideas, questions, and concerns. It is also important for a teacher to provide a supportive and accepting

environment for all opinions and voices. It is my responsibility to make sure my students are taught
how to respect themselves, respect each other, and behave in academically and socially appropriate
ways. The teacher must also provide an equitable learning environment for all students. Content must
be accessible to everyone so they all have an equal opportunity to learn and experience success in the
classroom. This makes content and knowledge available to everyone and helps build self-confidence as
students experience success and dont shy away from new challenges but learn to embrace them instead.
Lastly, another important responsibility is to set clear classroom rules and be consistent in enforcing
them. Having clear classroom rules keeps the students and teacher on the same page and being
consistent in enforcement lets the students feel comfortable in knowing what will happen in the
classroom and what the consequences of certain actions will be. This provides the students with a stable
and reliable environment that they can count on and navigate more successfully.
There are several teaching strategies I have observed that I think are especially effective for
teaching Life Science content. First, is the idea of I Do, We Do, You Do where the teacher first
demonstrates a new idea or skill, then the students and teacher practice together, and finally the students
try it on their own. This is an excellent way to scaffold science material that breaks new ideas and skills
into steps for students to take on one at a time. Another strategy I would utilize is group lab work. This
provides students with the opportunity to collaborate with their peers and explore new skills and content
together. This strategy, along with another strategy called Think-Pair-Share, allows students to consult
their partners and helps take some of the pressure off for coming up with the correct answer on their
own. It also allows students to brainstorm more ideas and answers than they may have come up with
alone. This broadens critical-thinking and discussion skills, and provides important lessons in listening,
respect and teamwork.
I have learned about current teaching pedagogy, through Dominicans Teacher Education
Program, that have influenced the teaching practices and philosophy that I am formulating. Within the
developmental realm I have learned that during the middle school years students cognitive development
is maturing quickly as they acquire improved critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Therefore, it
is important for a teacher to guide her students in critical-thinking exercises and problem-solving
activities to help students further develop these skills. One great way to do this is to provide students
with opportunities to discuss the ideas they are learning with partners and the class as a whole.
Classroom discussions can help the critical thinking process by breaking ideas down and brainstorming
solutions and new ideas. A teacher can also help to foster critical-thinking and problem-solving skills by
providing students with project-based assignments where students have to use their creativity on projects
designed to apply what they have learned into novel situations. Socially, during the middle school years,
theory suggests that students are forming significant peer groups and conforming to group standards. As
a teacher I can help my students navigate these social interactions by providing opportunities for social
interaction, and scaffolding for positive interactions. I will do this by offering my students ample
opportunities to interact with their classmates in partner work, group work and in full class discussions.
Providing these opportunities helps fulfill students desire for socializing within an academic setting and
helps them to engage better with the material. Specifically, I will allow my students numerous ThinkPair-Share opportunities, warm-ups and wrap-ups that encourage full class discussion and lab activities
where students get to work in groups. Lastly, it is important for student development that teachers help

students understand the connections between lesson content and life outside of school, with a particular
connection to the students own individual lives. This helps bring the content to the students
developmental level and helps them engage with the content more thoroughly when they see how ideas
and content can relate to their everyday lives outside the classroom.
A linguistic theory I have learned about will also influence my teaching practices. Stephen
Krashen wrote about the importance of the affective domain and providing comprehensible input, to
help students learn new language. When writing about the affective domain Krashen said, . . . the
learners emotional state is like a filter that affects acquisition of information. The ideal setting for
acquisition of new knowledge is low anxiety, high self-confidence and high motivation. I find this
theory very informative. A safe learning environment will help lower any anxiety students might have. I
also believe, based on this theory, that I can encourage my students self-confidence by guiding them in
their lessons so they have a better chance of experiencing success. It is also critical to plan engaging
lessons using auditory, visual and hands-on techniques that pique student interest and help maintain their
motivation. Using multiple modalities during lessons also plays to Krashens theory of comprehensible
input. Different students learn best in different ways so a teacher must utilize multiple teaching
techniques in every lesson to ensure that the information is comprehensible to every student in the class.
When I think of myself as a new teacher entering my own classroom for the first time, I see some
strengths that I will bring with me, and also some challenges and areas for growth. I have a very caring
demeanor but am also firm and consistent. These strengths will help me relate to my students on a
personal level and also help me manage my classroom on a professional level. Another strength I will
bring with me is that I am outgoing and comfortable speaking in public, in front of a room. This allows
me to be more flexible and adjust pacing and content as needed to help get ideas across to my students in
the best way possible. I am also very passionate about science and the natural world which will help
engage my students with the material and get them excited about science too. A final strength that I will
bring to my classroom is that I am very organized and detail-oriented which will help me plan clear and
concise lessons and help me keep on top of grading and other paperwork demands. There are also
challenging areas that I will face as a new teacher. I think it will take some practice to become adept at
explaining material at the students level. I am mostly familiar with biology content from the university
level so adjusting the content to make sense to middle schoolers will take some creativity and flexibility
on my part. From my experience student teaching I also found it challenging to manage an entire
classroom at once, as opposed to individual students or small groups. Ive struggled with getting and
keeping students attention. I am working on this by creating classroom protocols for getting the
attention of the class through the use of an auditory signal, and the use of a visual signal, the raising of
hands which signals to become quiet and face forward. So far I have found the use of these two
strategies simultaneously to be very effective at getting, and keeping, class attention. I plan to continue
to use this strategy in my own future classroom.
Active participation is a crucial part of engaging with the students and staff, and being a
committed part of the school community. The educational beliefs that I hold are constantly evolving as I
learn more about the teaching profession and gain more experience in the classroom. I believe the
educational beliefs and philosophies laid out in this paper are a good jumping off point to help guide my
teaching practice in the best way possible as a new teacher just embarking on this exciting journey.