My Teaching Philosophy

In my position as a secondary educator, my philosophy of education is one that supports all modes of learning. As a teacher it is my responsibility and objective to identify, respond too and critically reflect on my students learning as well as the quality and effectiveness of the learning environment I create within my classroom.

I believe that teaching and learning relate to one another. In the classroom both teaching and learning are of equal importance, one cannot occur without the other. In my own teaching I view the collaboration and relationship between teacher and student as imperative in creating a learning environment that provides the best opportunities for all students. In developing this belief reference to the ideas of Bandura (1977) and the concept of self-efficacy have had a direct impact on my own approaches and views of education. In understanding the concepts introduced by Bandura and applying them to my own educational practice, the students and learning environments I create are all heavily impacted based on my own internal motivation, judgement and level of “teaching self-efficacy” (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). With teaching in the 21^st century being a constantly adaptive and demanding career, the development of a high teaching efficacy is essential in the development of my professional practice and for the betterment of my students overall learning. In supporting this development of teaching self-efficacy, maintaining a positive educational perspective, implementing reflective practice and seeking strong mentoring from experienced teachers are all factors which I will draw from in order to not only benefit my own practice but as research indicates, teachers with high levels of self-efficacy are less likely to refer struggling students for evaluation rather attempting to provide their own attempts at supporting such students (Soodak & Podell, 1993).

I believe that these ideas are essential in order to not only develop my own professional practice but more importantly in understanding and applying such ideas, the belief in my own teaching self-efficacy directly impacts and supports the development of my students overall learning.

Adopting new perspectives and practices in order to support a diverse and inclusive classroom is a factor which contributes to the quality of teaching and learning that occurs within my classroom. As a teacher I am strongly convinced that a diverse and inclusive learning environment not only supports learning and development of learners with special needs but also dramatically improves the quality of education for all students (O’Donnell & Dobozy, 2016).

In my own teaching practice, I aim to incorporate a range of ideas, frameworks and approaches in order to support a diverse and inclusive learning environment. One framework that I strongly believe supports my own teaching is the use of collaborative learning and the support of “Class wide peer tutoring” (Wallace & McCullum, 2009). Using the framework allows for myself as a teacher to address and support the multiple challenges that may occur in a diverse classroom. Emphasising a collaborative approach to learning allows for students who are either less skilled, have learning difficulties or those EAL/D students to be provided with an accessible and supportive approach to their learning (Wallace & McCullum, 2009).

In my own teaching, these ideas would be put into practice in a variety of ways including group work, collaborative projects and peer assisted learning workshops all of which would be randomly (or selectively) grouped. In my own approach to collective teaching, students are given the platform for improvement in their basic academic skills but also social skills and an opportunity to reduce stereotyping or differences that can be present in a classroom that does not support diversity (ACARA, 2018). My students are grouped with peers they normally would not work with for both academic and social benefits, further support measures such as personalised planning and lesson adjustments will also assist in developing my practice to support a diverse and inclusive classroom.

Using technology throughout my own education, highlighted the potential benefits and applications toward my own teaching practice. While in my own educational experience technology was used as another method of getting students writing notes or seemingly creating an uninspiring, cookie cutter PowerPoint presentation technology seemed as a gimmick in the classroom rather than an innovation. In my own teaching however I view the use of technology within the classroom today as extremely important and to some extent essential in providing the most effective and engaging classroom for my students learning.

Through my own teaching practice, adapting and incorporating new and engaging strategies to enhance the presence of technology in the classroom such as the SAMR and TPACK models have had a direct impact on my own teaching pedagogy (Mishra & Koehler, 2009). Using such models not only provides further guidance as a teacher how I can improve the use of ICT in my classroom beyond the “powerpoint presentation”. For such reasons I strongly believe that an emphasis should be placed on incorporating technology for the benefits of student engagement, attention as well as provide a relatable medium for students to demonstrate their learning (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013).

 In using technology, I also believe that teachers including myself should focus on using technology for valuable means rather than just using “tech for tech’s sake” (Walsh, 2015). In my own professional experience technology should be integrated into the teachers already established pedagogy, enhancing and innovating their teaching approach rather than replacing it. Technology can be used in a multitude of ways to not only enhance learning but furthermore cater for diversity and again support students with learning difficulties accommodating for an inclusive and accessible learning environment.

Through a focus on providing a diverse and inclusive learning environment, using a range of pedagogical practices and learning strategies and constantly adapting and integrating contemporary ICT frameworks within my teaching, I believe that I will be able to adapt and provide an effective, engaging and most importantly supportive education to all of my students. I aim to provide engaging and innovative approaches to my teaching however will not limit myself to the ideas and mentorship of others in order to develop my own professional practice. In using these practices, I am confident that as a graduate teacher that my students will be supported, catered for and made the primary objective of my career. While my own career progression and development is essential in growing as a teacher, my philosophy aims to put my students first, teaching skills beyond syllabus content and providing the most effective and relatable learning environment that caters to the vast range of students I will encounter.