My Educational Philosophy
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Grand Canyon University *
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150
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Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by brittaniewaldrop
My Educational Philosophy
Aaron L Snell III
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
ECE-150: Early Childhood Foundations and the Teaching Profession
Dr. Oliver
April 30, 2023
I believe that children learn best when they are able to interact and engage with their peers in the classroom. Group projects, learning centers/stations, and “carpet time” or other group lessons where the material is discussed in an open forum. I believe that a child’s knowledge and interactions are defined through their social interactions. Interacting with family, teachers, and their peers. (Bates, 2019) All in all, I am a social constructivist. I think that students
learn best working in groups as a part of a knowledge community. When I first started substituting, I fell in love with the idea of “centers” or “stations” where the kids rotate as groups, performing group learning activities.(
Overview of Learning Theories | GSI Teaching & Resource
Center
, n.d.)
My teaching style is very social. I feel that children learn best when they are able to openly ask questions and discuss the subject matter being taught. It prevents students from acting
as if they know the material while being completely oblivious. This open question and answer style does include me asking them questions, in a pseudo-socratic method. As for the use of technology in early childhood classrooms, I feel it needs to be limited in scope. Young, growing minds do not need to be glued to a screen for hours on end. I would limit it to certain district approved learning sites such as Amplify, Waggle, etc. Though seeing as I grew up learning in an analog classroom, I feel that group work, worksheets, and group lessons/carpet time are the primary and best means of educating children at the early childhood/elementary level.
Guiding Children’s behavior, a difficult task at times. I believe the best way to guide a child’s behavior is through positive reinforcement. Reward the children who are following classroom rules and verbal directives while letting those who are not know that if they do follow the rules and directions they can be rewarded as well. This needs to be done without any sort of discouragement though so they do not feel as though they will not be able to earn it. On the other
hand, certain behaviors(physical violence, bullying, vulgar or profane language) needs to be dealt with using reasonable punishment. I have found while subbing that walking during recess for a certain number of laps or a certain amount of time is quite effective and a popular option among teachers in my district.
To create a warm and welcoming environment in my classroom, I will decorate my room with posters and other things that the children can relate to. One of the main things I am gonig to do for my room is make my own alphabet letters to put over my whiteboard. They will show a Pokémon for each letter. I have also considered making charts of base 10 blocks that look like minecraft blocks. Motivational posters that feature cats and other animals will be a great addition
too.
To collaborate with families and the community I plan to make use of apps such as Class Dojo. It is an amazing way to keep in touch with the children’s parents, and it can also be used for classroom management too with it’s point system. I will also make a class website allowing for parents and members of the community to connect with me to help guide the growth and development of the kids in my class.
Finally, to ensure my classroom is an inclusive learning environment, I will make use of as many resources I can find. I will reach out to the families of my students of different cultures and backgrounds and ask their advice for being inclusive of their cultures. I also plan to include small culture units during the various cultural awareness months, if it is allowed by the district and school I teach for.
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References
Bates, B. (2019). Learning Theories Simplified: . . .and how to apply them to teaching
. SAGE Publications Limited.
Overview of Learning Theories | GSI Teaching & Resource Center
. (n.d.). https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/learning-overview/