The Chinese characters represent the word “learning.”
The first character means to study. It is composed of two parts: a symbol that means “to accumulate knowledge” above a symbol for a child in a doorway. The second character means to practice constantly, and it shows a bird developing the ability to leave the nest. The upper symbol represents flying; the lower symbol, youth. For the Eastern mind, learning is on-going. “Study” and “practice constantly” together, suggest that learning should mean: “mastery of the way of self-improvement”. |
My Teaching Philosophy
My Goals
I aspire to develop an inclusive learning community delivering high quality instruction and a supportive culture for all students. Promoting student success is the focus of my teaching philosophy. I direct my practice with the following goals;
My Beliefs
I believe many students embarking on an education in mathematics feel that there is something wrong with them, if they do not understand how to do a particular problem after their teacher explains the procedure. I am afraid that collectively as a society, we have little patience for those who are not quick to understand and respond in a manner that we have instructed them. My first priority is to establish a respect for all students regardless of their incoming ability, experience and adaptability. I want to make it clear that real learning takes time and is challenging, but through persistence, effort and self-awareness, growth (i.e., development of new skills and deeper understanding) must occur.
My intention as a teacher is to encourage and support the development of student thinking through decision making and analysis. I do not believe that mathematics is merely a set of rules and procedures that one must either memorize or refer to one’s notes. Math is a rich language with extensive terminology and symbolic representations, along with formalized rules and specific problem solving methodologies. As I explain a procedure I make an effort to de-emphasize showing how to do a problem instead focus on problem analysis and understanding what is meant to solve a problem, what does it mean and can we check if our answer is reasonable and/or correct. The ultimate aim of my instructional practice is to build lasting conceptual and procedural understanding and knowledge that will continue to serve my students as a foundation in their future studies and life endeavors.
General View on Teaching and Learning in Academic Environment
Teaching is an ever-evolving practice, as one gains a greater understanding and insight into the nature of student learning, identification of pedagogical improvements becomes increasingly evident and teaching innovation naturally develops. Respecting and appreciating each student as an individual, requires a richness of instructional strategies and a commitment to continuing the evaluation and adaptation of new techniques. Equally important is developing an awareness of student understanding through observation, questioning and other evaluation techniques. A classroom atmosphere that maximizes the student’s opportunity and motivation to learn has the attributes of a cooperative learning community; respectfulness, stimulation, inquisitiveness, engagement, collaboration, and accountability. This classroom should provide a safe learning environment where a student feels comfortable and supported in their efforts, not fearing to ask questions and open themselves up to the learning process.
Building Connections
A meaningful student-teacher relationship improves the level and frequency of communication and student participation. Effective teaching starts with putting yourself in the place of the student, taking an interest in developing a better understanding of each student’s goals, interests, background, and perspective from a mathematics, as well as, personal level. Developing student interest and relating mathematics to the student depends upon this knowledge. Relating math topics to practical applications, contemporary student issues or student imagination strengthens the perceived value of mathematics, a major component of improving student interest. The teacher also plays a critical role designing activities, discussions, and applications that help the student construct their own conceptual bridges connecting the current lesson to their prior understanding and experience.
Participatory Classroom Dynamics
Every class contains a tremendous opportunity for learning to occur and therefore must be used wisely and productively, with the whole student population taken into account. My primary guiding principle is to have students actively participate in class. One of the most critical, and often overlooked, components of learning is talking with others about what you have learned or are in the process of learning. Engaging students in well- structured and content-rich collaborative classroom assignments encourages students to discuss and participate in mathematics. Another benefit of these types of activities is their cooperative nature, where enduring moments of teaching and learning occur on the peer-to-peer level. Through group activities, a meaningful learning community can take shape where each participant experiences the value of contributing to each other’s successes and discovers an intrinsic motivation to continue playing an active role in the classroom.
Evaluation of Student Performance
I strive to monitor student performance on a continual basis. I acknowledge it somewhat impossible to know where each student is “in the learning process,” but I make a conscious effort every day to observe each student’s work in class. I am afforded this possibility due to my class sizes and the structure of my class. I have a general policy to have students engaged in problem solving no less than ½ of the allotted class time.
My Goals
I aspire to develop an inclusive learning community delivering high quality instruction and a supportive culture for all students. Promoting student success is the focus of my teaching philosophy. I direct my practice with the following goals;
- engage students in doing and discussing math
- frequent student assessment with feedback and adjustment of instruction
- create an inclusive classroom with a sense of belonging to a community of learners
- promote that math ability is a developed skill and all are capable of learning math
- motivate students to utilize the college’s support structures
- demonstrate the value and utility of mathematics
My Beliefs
I believe many students embarking on an education in mathematics feel that there is something wrong with them, if they do not understand how to do a particular problem after their teacher explains the procedure. I am afraid that collectively as a society, we have little patience for those who are not quick to understand and respond in a manner that we have instructed them. My first priority is to establish a respect for all students regardless of their incoming ability, experience and adaptability. I want to make it clear that real learning takes time and is challenging, but through persistence, effort and self-awareness, growth (i.e., development of new skills and deeper understanding) must occur.
My intention as a teacher is to encourage and support the development of student thinking through decision making and analysis. I do not believe that mathematics is merely a set of rules and procedures that one must either memorize or refer to one’s notes. Math is a rich language with extensive terminology and symbolic representations, along with formalized rules and specific problem solving methodologies. As I explain a procedure I make an effort to de-emphasize showing how to do a problem instead focus on problem analysis and understanding what is meant to solve a problem, what does it mean and can we check if our answer is reasonable and/or correct. The ultimate aim of my instructional practice is to build lasting conceptual and procedural understanding and knowledge that will continue to serve my students as a foundation in their future studies and life endeavors.
General View on Teaching and Learning in Academic Environment
Teaching is an ever-evolving practice, as one gains a greater understanding and insight into the nature of student learning, identification of pedagogical improvements becomes increasingly evident and teaching innovation naturally develops. Respecting and appreciating each student as an individual, requires a richness of instructional strategies and a commitment to continuing the evaluation and adaptation of new techniques. Equally important is developing an awareness of student understanding through observation, questioning and other evaluation techniques. A classroom atmosphere that maximizes the student’s opportunity and motivation to learn has the attributes of a cooperative learning community; respectfulness, stimulation, inquisitiveness, engagement, collaboration, and accountability. This classroom should provide a safe learning environment where a student feels comfortable and supported in their efforts, not fearing to ask questions and open themselves up to the learning process.
Building Connections
A meaningful student-teacher relationship improves the level and frequency of communication and student participation. Effective teaching starts with putting yourself in the place of the student, taking an interest in developing a better understanding of each student’s goals, interests, background, and perspective from a mathematics, as well as, personal level. Developing student interest and relating mathematics to the student depends upon this knowledge. Relating math topics to practical applications, contemporary student issues or student imagination strengthens the perceived value of mathematics, a major component of improving student interest. The teacher also plays a critical role designing activities, discussions, and applications that help the student construct their own conceptual bridges connecting the current lesson to their prior understanding and experience.
Participatory Classroom Dynamics
Every class contains a tremendous opportunity for learning to occur and therefore must be used wisely and productively, with the whole student population taken into account. My primary guiding principle is to have students actively participate in class. One of the most critical, and often overlooked, components of learning is talking with others about what you have learned or are in the process of learning. Engaging students in well- structured and content-rich collaborative classroom assignments encourages students to discuss and participate in mathematics. Another benefit of these types of activities is their cooperative nature, where enduring moments of teaching and learning occur on the peer-to-peer level. Through group activities, a meaningful learning community can take shape where each participant experiences the value of contributing to each other’s successes and discovers an intrinsic motivation to continue playing an active role in the classroom.
Evaluation of Student Performance
I strive to monitor student performance on a continual basis. I acknowledge it somewhat impossible to know where each student is “in the learning process,” but I make a conscious effort every day to observe each student’s work in class. I am afforded this possibility due to my class sizes and the structure of my class. I have a general policy to have students engaged in problem solving no less than ½ of the allotted class time.