Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

Irma de la Pena

SCED 3311

Teaching Philosophy

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

Teachers have the privilege and responsibility of shaping the future one child at a time,

thus I believe that teaching is a profession one needs to be passionate of. In today’s day and age,

with technology being the driving force of most aspects of our lives and the new connected

globalized world, I believe learning has never been more important. Students from the 21st

Century need to be more well-rounded than ever, and teachers have the responsibility to be a

facilitator for students in all areas. Although, the students’ necessity to learn is a clear objective,

I believe it is just as important to incorporate technology to the classroom and tasks appropriate

to this generation’s needs. This is a challenging job, which is why I believe teaching needs to be

something one is passionate for, and not just a job. I want to be a teacher because I want to

challenge myself every day for others, I want to learn from my students throughout my teaching

career and grow as a person, and hopefully allow my students to grow as well. My teaching

philosophy is that all students are unique and they all have the right to learn in a safe

environment that challenges them regardless of their differences. Thus, I will strive to know my

students and put their specific needs first to make sure they are given the tools in the classroom

to reach their full potential. I hope as a teacher to learn through my students and keep an open

mind always, to have them be the driving force in the everyday classroom and to make each

student feel important. I hope that as my students grow and change, I will do so with them, as

well as incorporate technology and the necessary tasks to allow them to learn how they need to

and how it is best in the digital age.

This learning philosophy aligns with learning theories in the book Focus by Mike

Schmoker. According to Mike Schmoker, “profound impact will come from all teachers applying

them consistently and reasonably well,” (Schmoker, 2011). Meaning that our ideas do not need

to be groundbreaking, but rather be constant and well applied. The learning goals I have for my

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

students is first and foremost, to be able to think critically about the skills they are learning.

During observations, I found that teachers for the most part did not struggle to get the students to

solve problems or find answers. Usually when given a proper example, that was enough to get

them started and with guidance along the way they could figure it out. However, the students

usually had a harder time understanding what they were doing and why they were doing it, that

way scaffolding learning can happen, scaffolding means progressive learning. Also, to allow my

students to reach their full potential, I will strive to create a healthy and safe learning

environment.

During an observation in which I walked in a few minutes before the first period, I

noticed the teacher was calling parents, this immediately caught my attention; it was to my

surprise that he started the day by calling the parents of certain students to congratulate them. He

would mention specific things such as, “your daughter has turned in her homework all week and

it has been outstanding,” or “your son received an A on his exam last week.” The students would

most likely not know the teacher had called home until the end of the day, however I can only

imagine the great weekend they were going to have thanks to that teacher, which ultimately

would motivate them to work hard in class. I believe rewarding students is important, by

showcasing good behavior the teacher can create a positive learning environment instead of a

hostile one. I also believe, it is important to congratulate students on desired behaviors right then

and there, since every student is different and they need to know their individual growth is

important. This aligns with the learning theory in The Fundamental Five by Sean Cain and Mike

Laird, this is called “Recognize and Reinforce.” According to Sean Cain and Mike Laird,

“[words] make it possible for students to exceed their own internal limits,” (Cain & Laird, 2011).

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

I also feel that creating a little routine is important for classroom management, thus

students know what to expect from the class. During an observation, I noticed a Math teacher

had her students do journals of practice problems and those were always the homework. That

way she did not waste time explaining the homework every day and still ensured that her

students reviewed the material; I would like to incorporate something similar adding technology

such as Google Classroom. However, always keeping in mind to change things up in the

classroom, to avoid students getting bored.

My assessment and evaluation goals for my students are that they get the grade they work

for. As a Secondary Education teacher, my students will most likely have to prepare for state

exams, as well as other exams. I do believe exams are useful and I will incorporate them to my

grading system. During an observation, a teacher was preparing her students for the AP Calculus

exam. She incorporated moving quizzes, students going around the classroom to answer

questions on index cards, to help students memorize and for homework she would give students

questions from topics that were most likely to come up on the test. Then, they would discuss the

answers together as a class and exercise their critical thinking skills. By the time the students

took the exam they were already familiar with the material and the “what if’s.” I would like to

take that teacher’s practice as an inspiration and incorporate test preparation into every day

lesson, instead of only before the exam.

However, I would also like to have my students do hands on activities and group projects

to further their understanding, and have that be a significant part of their grade. I want my

students to know, hard work translates to their report card and that they should be proud of their

advancements and not just a number. My goals, as an aspiring educator and a lifelong learner are

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

to first design my lessons based on my student’s learning styles and provide opportunities for

active learning.

To improve my teaching and student learning, I want to make sure I always know where

my students are performing academically, I will use formative assessment in every lesson to

know where I need address gaps and reinforce content my students still need to master. I want to

be a teacher that is available before and after school, in case my students need help. I believe a

big part of the students’ success is parental involvement. In Secondary Education, this can

sometimes be a challenge. During an observation, a teacher told me not all the parents attend the

parent meetings. I hope that, with help of the administration, in my future school I can use

technology to keep the parents involved. I would like to communicate with parents through a

website, or an education app. Usually, the schools have “Power Parent,” a portal that lets the

parents know if their child received a grade lower than their expectation, parents have the option

of getting an email or a text message. I would like to not only talk about grades with the parents,

but also show them the projects their children are doing or let them know if students will be

having a big test on that week, so parents can be part of their child’s education.

To do this, I would like to take advantage of as many opportunities I come across in the

future, to improve my teaching and to improve for my students, whether that be workshops,

books, conventions, courses, etc. Additionally, I would learn from my colleagues, how they run

their classrooms, and what techniques they use. Conversely, I would share with them every time

I find a dynamic strategy and do my best to create a collaborative work environment. I believe

another big part in improving as a teacher, is creating effective collegial relationships. Something

I noticed during observations, is that teachers work together all the time; one teacher would walk

to another teacher’s classroom before class started, to discuss a certain topic they were covering

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

that day, or how to prepare for an assessment, etc. I understand that as a new teacher it might be

hard at first, but I hope to learn as much as I can from my future colleagues, and with time be

able to contribute as well. No teacher knows it all no matter how long they have been teachers,

thus I’m excited to learn from others that are more experienced and to share as well.

To conclude, learning happens when students are engaged in lessons made specifically

for them and teachers can engage students by creating a safe learning environment, having

activities in which they must think critically and rewarding students for their improvements.

Have them do many hands-on activities in which they can independently work on their learned

skills. My focus to ensure student learning is to assess students often in the classroom to know

where their strengths and weaknesses are, and to involve the parents to the best of my abilities. I

believe the most important ingredient for teaching is collaborative learning, whether that be in

the classroom among the students to let them work with each other or myself with my

colleagues. It is important to do as much as we can to help students, share our knowledge and

learn from each other. Overall, my teaching philosophy is that all students are unique and they

have the right to learn in a safe learning environment that challenges them. I will strive to know

my students and provide them with the necessary tools to reach their full potential. I will strive to

learn from my students and have an open mind always. I hope that as my students grow and I

change, I will grow with them. I strive to be a life-long learner and to treat teaching as my dream

career and not just a job.

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 Teaching Philosophy | De La Pena, Irma V

REFERENCES

Cain, S., & Laird, M. (2011). The fundamental 5: The formula for quality instruction.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Schmoker, M. J. (2011). Focus: Elevating the essentials to radically improve student learning.

Alexandria, VA: ASCD.