Meghan Meyers

Educational Philosophy

The way people act in any given situation is not simply a random response but through

observations theorists have found patterns that offer some explanation as to why people respond

the way they do. Theorist and psychologists have closely studied how the human person

interacts with the world. Educators teach to get desired information across to the student.

Knowing how a person will respond to instruction and receive the information is crucial

knowledge if one wants to be a good teacher. This is why it is important to understand how

people work, learn, perceive, respond, and develop when entering into the field of education.

I have been in many elementary classrooms and have been intrigued why students do

things the way they do, choose a certain thing over another, and respond to different types of

discipline/praise and not others. After studying psychology this semester, so many of these

questions have been answered. I dislike walking into a classroom and feeling like the teacher is

wasting the students’ time because they are disorganized, dose not fully understanding the

content he or she is supposed to teach, or by lacking in a clear desired outcome. As a future

teacher I will never incorporate “time wasters” into my curriculum. I have learned that by

having frequent, beneficial, assessments, I will be able to see if my instruction is getting across

to my students correctly and if they are retaining what is being taught. I hope to embody good

teacher efficacy by having well planned lessons with an outcome in mind and an appropriate

assessment to follow so that my efforts will reflect students’ ability to demonstrate what they

have learned. Succeeding in school is not completely on the student or on the teacher but a

healthy balance and shared responsibility between teachers, students, faculty, and parents.
 When I am a teacher, I never want to become complacent in my job; even when I have

years worth of lesson plans made and resources galore. I hope to always practice critical

thinking and continually reach outside my comfort zone so that I can find the best educational

practices. An example of this teacher compliancy could be when teachers do not educated

themselves in new technologies and therefore neglect to integrate them into their classroom

curriculum. To make sure I am always keeping a high level of intentionality in my teaching and

educational practices, I will look to research based data for helpful guidance.

As one ages, their reasoning and rational changes and becomes more informed. A child’s

reasoning and rational is very different from that of an adults because it is not fully developed.

Because of this, it is extremely important that teachers look at instruction from the child’s point

of view. Theorist Piaget outlines this in his stages of development; these stages of development

are: sensorimotor (birth-two years), preoperational (two to seven years), concrete operational

(seven to eleven years), and formal operational (eleven years to adulthood). Knowing what

developmental stage the students are in will be beneficial for the teacher. Children change a

substantial amount during childhood therefore, teaching second grade will be drastically different

from teaching third grade because even in such a short time span the child will have changed,

grown, and matured. As soon as I know what grade I am going to teach, I will do significant

research on that age group so I can know where my students are at developmentally, socially,

and cognitively. I will most likely try to implement more of Vygotsky’s developmental theory

rather than Piaget’s since they seem to be easier to incorporate into the curriculum. I plan to use

strategies like scaffolding, cooperative learning, and some form of meditation. Vygotsky’s

practices seem to be relatively easy to bring into the every day classroom and that they would be

helpful if the school I am at uses Common Core Standards or Success For All lesson plans.
 Many theorists also touch on moral development. Moral development is not just for

parochial schools but is taught in all schools because it is what tells people how to act in social

situations. I would encourage good moral behavior in my classroom by having my students help

construct the classroom rules on the first day and what the consequences will be if a rule is

broken. This idea is taken from autonomous morality as opposed to heteronomous morality.

Another idea for teaching students good moral behavior would be to have them act out short

skits, for their classmates, that they write outlining what good moral behavior looks like. This

may also be a good way to teach students about emotional development. Young students are

often learning how to appropriately deal with emotions thus having them act out, play though, or

discuss scenarios that warrant a variety of emotions could be valuable.

I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of students in my field

experience classrooms. It is important to keep in mind when teaching a diverse group of

students that diverse students need diverse instruction. Each child is a unique individual that

learns in his or her own way. Diversifying instruction will ensure all students are able to receive

the best possible education. During my experience in the schools, I have learned from that not

all students will come from families that support their child’s education. I would hope to have

parent involvement and open communication with all involved in my student’s learning but if

that is not the case, I will work hard to insure that my students know that they are responsible for

their learning and I am part of their support team. Setting students up with free tutors from the

school, morning/afternoon programs, and/or one-on-one teacher to student time are a few ways I

can support in student success with minimal parent involvement. Another issue I could foresee

arising in a diverse classroom could be lack of respect among the students. Saying these like

“people like me…” or “because you are (any particular race)…” will never be tolerated in my
classroom. Providing games and activities that aid students in building trust in their peers will

precede mutual respect. This way of thinking can go as far as extending to gender biases;

students will always be treated justly and no favoritism will be shown. Students should always

feel confident, respected, and safe in my classroom.

I have noticed that some teachers walk into the classroom, read a scripted teaching

manual, and hand out a worksheet or assessment. This method of teaching is not stimulating for

the student. As mentioned earlier, the teacher must identify the needs of his or her students

before the instruction takes place. If the desired outcome is for a student to preform well on a

test, the teacher must first understand how the student is going to retain the information using the

information-processing theory. In brief, the information-processing model has three main

components: the sensory register, the working memory, and the long-term memory. If a teacher

is teaching for the test they are subconsciously forcing students to put information in their

working (short term) memory. I would like my students to become life long learners and retain

the valuable information; I will do this by teaching using a wide variety of activities like hands

on and/or sensory stimulating. Similarly, I would like to use more student directed learning and

whole-class discussion rather than direct instruction. I have noticed that children are highly

stimulated today, especially with technology, and it is changing the way they learn. Students

cannot simply sit in a desk and listen to the teacher rather they need to be engaged. Having these

hands on activities, whole-group discussion, and active learning lessons will take students

education to the next level.

I like to reflect on my time as a student and the teaching strategies my teachers used. I

did not like elementary school, which is one reason I am so motivated to make sure my students

do not feel the same way I did. From a child’s first day of school, they need to be set up for
success; this is why it is crucial to have great teachers in the early years of school (kindergarten,

first, second, and third grade)! Having motivated teachers will produce students who take

responsibility for their learning and show up with a positive attitude. To have a better

understanding of how to do this, one should look at some theories of motivation. Knowing how

to encourage students is important. I do not want to give general affirmations/praise but direct

feedback and invites the student to dig deeper and pushes them to discover more.