Jenna Stewart

Instructional Learning Processes

February 26th, 2019
The Artist: My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is like creating artwork. Students are masterpieces, and teachers are the artists
who use several methods to mold these students into beautiful and unique lifelong learners. The
creation of artwork requires passion, and creativity just like teaching does. The teacher is truly an
artist as students are the masterpieces. Teachers have the ability to sculpt the future.

Purpose of Education
I believe the primary purpose of education is to facilitate and encourage student’s ability
to think and learn about their world. I believe that the purpose of education is to provide
students with a positive environment that allows that to develop socially, emotionally,
physically, and intellectually. I believe that the overall education should encourage laughter and
joy within the students. I believe that good teacher-student relationships are critical to provide a
positive learning environment and helps prompt success. I believe equity plays a major role in
the learning environment. I believe in providing each student what they need to be successful in
the education system. I believe students should be taught to embrace their uniqueness which
allows for students to develop a sense of themselves.

Teaching Goals
I believe good teaching is providing students with the necessary tools and skills to
become unique members of society, such as being open-minded, creative, flexible, critical-
thinkers and problem-solvers. I believe involving students in their community will help them
develop an appreciation for our world. I believe by developing lessons that incorporate these
skills and attitudes, students will use them within other aspects of their lives. I believe a good
learning environment should be flexible, differentiated and creative.
I believe that good teaching incorporates 21st century learning and providing a
differentiated classroom will encompass critical thinking, problem solving and will give students
the opportunities needed for growth and development. Implementing opportunities for students
to share their ideas and experiences as well as meeting curriculum requirements is important. I
hope to incorporate the curriculum outcomes in a creative, thought-provoking way for students to
develop essential life skills as well as reaching academic goals. I believe that students should be
aware of why they are learning what they are and how that learning is incorporated in everyday
life. I believe that students retain information more when they are associated with memories and
experiences. This is what I hope to provide with my classroom for my students through creativity
and interactive, hands-on learning. The memorable moments I hope to elicit will be through
lessons that involve outdoor classrooms, artistic expression, kinesthetic learning, and involving
student lead projects where applicable. I hope to learn from my students as much as they learn
from me. I want to make a positive impact on students and their futures.
I believe that good teaching is student-centered and this will guide my pedagogy. I
believe good teaching incorporates each students’ originalities and interests within an inclusive
classroom environment. Each student should have equal opportunities regardless of biases such
as race, gender, or class. We live in such a diverse society that it is important to teach students
life skills such as being open-minded and accepting to others. Grouping is extremely important at
this stage; students should be able to work with a range of peers and not be judgemental due to
biases.
I believe that extra-curricular activities help students flourish within their educational
environment and lead to student success. I believe that activities, clubs, sports and hobbies allow
for students to develop outside the classroom. Students are able to develop skills such as;
cooperation, team-work, and motivation. Through these activities’ students are also able to
develop relationships with peers and coaches. Relationships improve students’ academic
and social achievements drastically. Though my own experiences I was able to develop these
relationships and they have had a huge impact on my successes. I hope to provide those same
relationships with my own students within the classroom and through extra-curricular activities.

Classroom Management
To facilitate a good learning environment, classroom management is a crucial
component. The physical environment should be accessible to all students and it should be
organized in a way that each student is able to view the instructional area. I believe having
labeled and organized materials will improve classroom functionality. I believe the classroom
environment should foster a collaborative layout and encourage peer oral language skills. This
gives students an opportunity to improve listening, respect for others, encourages reflection, and
it builds knowledge through various perspectives. As mentioned above I believe greatly on
equity within the learning environment. Student’s individual needs should be met within the
classroom so that they can flourish developmentally.

Assessment
A fundamental part of education is assessment. I believe that formative assessment
should be incorporated daily because it helps the teacher identify each student’s comprehension
regarding the lesson. Monitoring and checking for understanding is fundamental because it will
help with understanding each student’s needs. As said earlier each student brings a unique
component to the classroom and incorporating that with a diverse range of assessment strategies
is valuable for students and teachers. I also believe that providing students with some choice for
assignments will increase the students motivation and help make learning more meaningful. This
is essential for differentiated learning and the different learning styles such as, visual, auditory,
reading and writing and kinesthetic. I believe assessment should be sensitive to student strengths
and limitations. Each student should feel as though they are successful in their learning. This can
be providing options that integrate kinesthetic, artistic, reading and writing skills.
One of my favorite ideas for assessment is journaling. Students are able to track their own
progress with lessons and it helps the teacher keep track of what went well and what students
didn’t learn from the lesson. In order to improve teacher performance, I believe that self-
reflection for each lesson is necessary. Self-reflection allows the teacher to see if specific
concepts are being met for every student. The most effective method to improve your students’
success is by improving your skills as a teacher.

I believe through education students are able to become masterpieces and also become
unique learners and citizens within our society. I believe that teachers truly have the ability to
sculpt the future.
“Education is improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better
than you found it”. – Marian Wright Edelman