TeachingPhilosophy

CarolineJoseph
NationalLouisUniversity

Teaching Philosophy

2
Winter2016

Preparing my middle school students for high school, has taught

me a lot about my students as individuals and learners. Furthermore,
within the context of teaching science, it has shown me the students
ability to practice critical thinking skills within the classroom
community. In order to engage middle school students in a time where
technology continues to pivot and grow has proven to be challenging in
a variety of ways. My teaching philosophy has altered because of this
and propels my belief that in order for students to stay intrinsically
motivated they must be able to take ownership over their learning.
This happens in my classroom through inquiry and exploration
processes that provide a version of entertainment that can compete
with the types of entertainment that provide engagement outside of
school.
P. Theroux states:
In my experience... achievement depends on willingness to
accept a challenge, take risks, make errors and the belief that
one has the control over the outcomes. Achievement is hindered
by perfectionism, fear of failure, and the belief that control, credit
and/or blame belong to someone else. (Theroux, 1994)
I want to instill this creed in all my children the ideology of having a
growth mindset. This is something that all people at some point

Teaching Philosophy

struggle withhaving a fixed versus growth mindset. A growth

mindset is defined as a mindset where, people believe that their most
basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work
brains and talent are just the starting point. (creative b'stro, 2010) By
having a fixed mindset, where students may believe that they are as
capable or talented as they will ever be, can shut them down to the
possibility of learning before the learning process can even begin. By
telling my students that it is okay to fail, as long as they are going
through the thought processes and gaining thinking skills, has helped
my students realize that through their failures they have been able to
gain their successes. This especially rings true in a science classroom,
where trial and error is the foundation of any science experiment.
Therefore, in order for me to be able to practice and implement a
growth mindset classroom, students must have an authentic learning
experience. Once they are able to connect the value of the material
they are learning with their culture, upbringing, or a real-life
experience, they immediately see the need to invest in and believe in
the learning of that particular lesson. If what the students are learning
holds no value as it pertains to the society around them, than the
content will fall flat.
One way that Ive provided these authentic learning experiences,
in order to promote a growth mindset, has been through problembased learning activities. Problem-based learning activities or units

Teaching Philosophy

propose a real-world question to the students, which urges them to try

and solve a larger problem. It allows for higher order thinking on
Blooms Taxonomy, which has been proven to be a larger selfmotivation tool than incentive programs, since the goal is for an
internal feeling of satisfaction that comes with finding the answer
rather than gaining an object with temporary value.
It has become clear during these beginning years of my teaching
career that students want to be challenged, but want to also know that
they are not thrown into a pool expecting to swim for the first time. I
think this is what problem-based learning activities provide. They
provide an opportunity for differentiation where students are able to
achieve the goal or objective at varying degrees. It also provides
students truly unique pathways to arrive at a solution.
Students are constantly changing as individuals, but also within
the educational context. There is a constant need to explain why
something is important or valuable for a student rather then just
expect them to follow orders blindly. This curiosity and questioning
mind that has grown out of a result of a constantly changing
technology culture must force us as teachers to take new approaches
in our careers as well. For example, more teachers need to start
viewing students as people instead of children. Yes, age and
experience wise they lack what (most) adults have, but they still hold a
strong individual perspective and self-concept. No matter how

Teaching Philosophy

malleable and changing students views are, they want what anyone
wants: a chance to be heard and taken seriously.
This is why although Ive enjoyed using real-world scenarios and
problem-based learning in my classroom; Ive also come to realize that
this may not always be the best method of instruction. There is no
such thing as a best method of instruction. Rather, there is a best
method for a given topic, for a given child on any given day. Even dayto-day this may change, because of a students attitude or experiences
that day. We cannot teach under assumptions, but rather one
assumption: we must constantly check what is best for the student.
Over the course of this year, Ive come to realize that my teaching
philosophy must be an attitude not only towards whats best for my
students, but what is also best for my own personal growth. If I am not
constantly trying to improve my instructional methods, stay up-to date
on technology, and strive to learn from my students, then I would
have failed my students.

Teaching Philosophy

References

creative b'stro. (2010, March 8). What is Mindset. Retrieved March 6,

2016, from MINDSET: http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/
Neill, A. S. (2013). The Educational Foundations: An Anthology of
Critical Readings (3 ed.). (A. S. Canestrari, & B. A. Marlowe, Eds.)
Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Teaching Philosophy
Theroux, P. (1994, January 2). Intrinsic Motivation. Retrieved March 8,
2016, from Davidson Institute for Talent Development:
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10648.aspx