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Philosophy of Education Statement

Three years ago I took the leap from teaching science to all ages at a zoological facility to

beginning my career as a teacher in Elementary and Middle School classrooms. I began studying

formal education practices and I wrote this philosophy of education shortly after beginning this

journey. This is still an accurate representation of my beliefs, though they have grown and

evolved into so much more.

My most important belief, and one that I will always advocate for, is that every student

deserves the right to an education that is appropriate for their needs. This requires me to get to

know my students well and teach inclusive lessons by being able to differentiate effectively. Just

as I stated in my original statement, “differentiated instruction is also based on Lev Vygotsky’s

concept of the zone of proximal development and benefits learners at all levels to work at their

appropriate level,” (Morgan, 2014). Differentiated instructions benefits every student, whether

they have learning deficits or are ahead of their peers. “If learners become frustrated because the

content is too difficult, they release too much noradrenalin, which leads to withdrawal or

inappropriate conduct. Instruction below the level of student readiness is also detrimental; when

pupils are instructed in this manner, fewer chemicals are released, a practice leading many

above-average learners to a less stimulating classroom environment, (Morgan, 2014). Each group

of students I teach will be filled with a variety of learning styles and needs that I will fulfill

through instruction that is differentiated.

Assessments should also be differentiated, and formative assessment must be utilized

throughout each lesson. “With formative assessment, the teacher would have benchmarks to

indicate how well a student was progressing and would feed back to the student the skills and

knowledge that had been demonstrated and what tasks still needed to be accomplished to
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successfully reached indicated benchmarks,” (Jett, 2009). By assessing students as they learn, I

can better guide my instruction and create more effective lessons. Further, “Formative

assessment has been shown to be a most effective instructional strategy when purposefully

utilized by teachers and results in significant and observable growth in student learning,” (Jett,

2009). By decisively including formative assessments into each lesson, I am able to give students

the skills they need to reach and go beyond their learning goals.

Just as I emphasized previously, understanding and implementing developmentally

appropriate learning activities is vital to an effective classroom. When studying Preschool and

Kindergarten aged students Alford, Rollins, Padron, and Waxman (2016) found “that students

taught by teachers rated as having a higher developmentally appropriate instructional practices

(DAIP) scores were more likely to be on-task and less likely to be off-task; and (b) students

taught by teachers with a higher DAIP score were more likely to be working kinesthetically,

answering teacher-posed questions, and freely exploring.” Children that are more engaged are

more likely to succeed, therefore using developmentally appropriate practices is vital to every

student’s success.

Over the last few years I have learned that children are more engaged and more

successful when lessons are hands-on and inquiry-based. Plourde (2008) concluded that “4th-

grade students participating in the inquiry-based, hands-on math instruction alone group posttest

scores were statistically significantly greater than students who participated in the combination

instruction group among all four subtests.” This instruction type allows students to guide their

own learning, promoting their engagement by giving each child a personal interest in each lesson

and unit activity.

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The above-referenced philosophy statement made it clear that I find Social Emotional

Learning to be an important aspect of elementary education, and through experiences in several

grades this belief has only been solidified. “A meta-analysis including 213 rigorous studies and

over 270,000 students demonstrated that students who received SEL programs performed better

than students who did not,” because students “become increasingly able to take the perspective

of others, to understand when and why others might feel different emotions, and apply problem-

solving strategies,” (Dusenbury & Weissberg, 2017). Students feel better and treat others better

when they are given the appropriate tools to manage their emotions and self-control.

I have grown a lot in the past few years. Continue reading to hear more details on my

beliefs regarding effective educational practices, including artifacts of my teaching.

References

Alford, B.L., Rollins, K.B., Padron, Y.N., & Waxman, H.C. (2016). Using systematic classroom

observation to explore student engagement as a function of teachers’ developmentally

appropriate instructional practices (DAIP) in ethnical pre-kindergarten through second-

grade classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44:6, 623-635. Retrieved from

EBSCOHost.

Dusenbury, L. & Weissberg, R.P. (2017). Social emotional learning in elementary school:

Preparation for success. Education Digest, 83:1, 36-43. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Jett, P. M. (2009). Teachers valuation and implementation of formative assessment strategies in

elementary science classrooms (Order No. 3370032). Available from Education

Database. (304916471). Retrieved from

https://egan.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/docview/304916471?accountid=44766
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Morgan, H. (2014). Maximizing student success with differentiated learning. The Clearing

House, 87:1, 34-38. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Plourde, J. D. (2008). The effect of inquiry-based, hands-on math instruction utilized in

combination with web-based, computer-assisted math instruction on 4th-grade students'

outcomes (Order No. 3324659). Available from Education Database. (304817666).

Retrieved from https://egan.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/docview/304817666?accountid=44766