Individual philosophy analysis.

Having a student centred classroom means allowing the children to have an input into their learning. It
is the way the teacher approaches their students and the potential they see in them. The teacher puts
the student first, finding out who they are as individuals and developing this. The student centred
approach has an emphasis on personal authenticity, meaningful understanding and the importance of
children being able to develop a strong sense of themselves through their education (Doddington &
Hilton, 2012, p.56). The student centred approach sees the student as a whole child meaning the
child comes into the classroom with their own sets of skills, and knowledge.

There is a focus on the childs future in a child centred classroom, however this focus is not
emphasised, but rather focus on the child at present to build their skills towards a future. Doddington
& Hilton (2012) support this by stating that the grown adult can only be secure and act authentically
if during that period of early childhood, the child is allowed space, opportunity and time to develop
his or her own pattern of consciousness (p.55). Therefore, in a student centred classroom, the teacher
should be allowing the students the freedom to explore the content in their own way. Agrahari (2016),
supports the student centred approach as he states that this approach encourages students to play an
active role in their learning[and] empowers students to build up their knowledge and enables them
to think critically (p. 133). As they build up their knowledge they build upon their skills which will
push them further to achieving their full potential. Having a students centred classroom the teacher is
essentially placing an emphasis on developing creative and thinking minds (Angrahari, 2016, p
138), which links in with encouraging a growth mindset in the classroom.

With these skills the students are also able to work in groups and solve problems as a collective.
Studies have shown that teachers have seen the benefits of mixed ability groupings in the classroom.
Elbaum, Moody & Schumm (1999) state that lower ability students can learn from higher ability
students and all students will benefit from working cooperatively (p.61). This strategy helps to build
on the students skills to work with others, and build off each other. This strategy is not only beneficial
for their academic skills but also their social skills. Elbaum, Moody & Schumm (1999) explain that
some students of higher ability levels may become frustrated with their peers who are of lower ability,
and feel discouraged with their own work. With guidance from their teacher the students social skills
developed to work through these frustrations are enhanced. Same ability grouping can be just as
beneficial to the students as mixed ability grouping, as this can allow the teacher to give extra support
to the students who may need it which allows them to gain a better understanding of the content. As
Bates (2016) explains that having a growth mindset in the classroom can help children thrive in their
studies and encouraging positive phrases in the classroom, such as not yet rather than I cant,
helps children to think that even though they may not be able to complete a task now does not mean
they will not be able to later, and they should not give up. Children with a growth mindset are more
open to accepting challenges and achieving (Bates, 2016, p. 30), therefore the students become more
resilient individuals, whose skills are being enhanced for their future.

As there are always many different levels of ability in the classroom, the teacher will need to be
flexible with how they approach their teaching styles, and cater to the individual students. Teachers
need to be able to differentiate their teaching according to the abilities of the students where
appropriate. As Levy (2008) explains that differentiating the teaching instruction in the classroom
will help teachers meet each child where they are when they enter class and move them forward as
far as possible on their educational path (p. 162), which is essentially the overall aim of being a
teacher, to move the children forward to achieve their potential. Furthermore, differentiated
instruction helps the students gain a deeper level of understanding as they experience the content
being taught differently providing them with a holistic view of the new knowledge (Roy, Guay, &
Valois, 2013), as each ability group works on a task differently they can then come together and share
their ways of thinking, therefore learning from each other. When differentiating instruction teachers
are able to vary the content depending on the student, which allows the students to progress at their
own pace and ability (Levy, 2008).