My Learning Philosophy

Learning Philosophy: Building on Your Manifesto

A learning philosophy does not have to be complex, it can be very simple. The philosophy needs to start however with a outline of the most important parts that make it up. A learning philosophy should start with safety/security, relationships, engagement, education, and analysis.

Safety/Security

Safety has become paramount in the past few months. Creating a safe environment for students, teachers, and administration is going to become the priority for the school system for the next ten years. My first priority will become to create a safe environment where student, teacher, and administrators will come to an inclusive classroom.

Having a safe classroom will start with a regress cleaning schedule by not only the maintenance in the building but also the teachers in the classroom. Hand Sanitizer, tissues, and hand washing should be encouraged. Technology should be cleaned and maintained better then in years past. Students and Teachers should minimize touching commonly touched areas to prevent the spread of germs.

Having a safe classroom should not just be about cleaning. Classroom Management is imperative for classroom safety. When classrooms are not disciplined, students can create a dangerous environment for other students and the teacher. Discipline starts with the teacher, but is the responsibility for all the students in the class. The best way to go about this is through meaningful relationships and mutual respect. These things happen over a course of time.

Using technology to add to the classroom management is an effective way to turn the classroom environment into a more student centered. Classdojo is a great way for students to interact with technology through a points system. I use this to create a way for students to earn points and use points through behaviors. Students being involved in the day to day behaviors supervised by a teacher is a great way for students to begin to understand how to interact in the classroom environment.

Safety is becoming one of the most important parts of the new classroom environment. Students and Teachers will work together to create an autonomous environment for everyone.

Relationships

Relationships is one of the most important parts of being a human. Through the recent Covid-19 crisis, we as a society, understand how important relationships are and will continue to be as we come back together in the next few months. A good relationship for students can be the difference between life and death. If a teacher has a meaningful relationship with a student, that student will do more work, care about the content, and be open to new forms of learning.

Relationships start with the initial meeting. I have found that a firm, but fair approach is a good way to begin relationships with students. An aggressive beginning that really sets rules for the class to go by. The fair comes in when the teacher deals with discipline. Student conferencing is a great way to discuss behaviors with a student in a one on one atmosphere where the student and the teacher can discuss proactive ways to correct the behavior.

Relationships build over the course of the year making the end of the year easier to manage. A teacher will have a relationship model for each student. This model will go up and down like the stock market does if you were following stocks. A teacher disciplines a student the model falls depending on the severity of the student’s actions and the teacher’s reaction. A teacher builds a relationship by getting to know the student, being involved in activities, and showing love through time and encouragement. A teacher does not need for all students to be at maximum relationship status to be an effective teacher.

Building relationships is important for the culture of the classroom. Students play a big role in this particular area of concern. If a teacher does not focus on relationships, students will feel separated from the learning and will be less likely to do the work.

Engagement

Student Engagement is important in the classroom. Engaging students in new and innovative ways is the greatest challenge I have as a teacher. To get a freshman student to stand up and dance with a cartoon is a large challenge. For a teacher to be a student-centered teacher, they have to engage the student on a daily basis.

Engaging students starts with the meaningful relationship. Then there is some student involvement that is needed to be effective in this area. In high school, students tend to not be excited about really anything, and what excites one student may not interest the other 15 to 20 in the class. Technology engagement is easy when the resources are provided by the district and everything is working the way it was intended.

Education

Educating the students is not as important as the previous factors, because if you are keeping thins safe, building relationships, and engaging students learning will happen. The most important thing about educating students is to have a great plan for everyday.

Planning is what pushes education to the next level. I believe having a warmup in every single subject is vital to beginning the learning process. The first five minutes of class should be used to review material that students already know. Then, the lesson should come using innovative ways to engage students in activities that help them understand the concept. A wrap-up should then be worked on where students discuss what they learned and how it can be applied to the real world.

Analysis

It is good to test students to see how effective the education is going. Testing can be in many different formats. A great way is informative assessments where there is less pressure on getting the correct answer and thinking through the problem with others. When my student enter the workforce, they will be able to work in a group to come up with a common goal. Formative testing is important as well, because many jobs require you to pass a certification on your own. Analysis becomes important in this way. A teacher must take this information and look at it from a group setting. What do I need to reteach? Where are the students at? How can I motivate the under performers?

Conclusion

In conclusion, students, teachers, and administrators need to have a safe environment, build relationships, engage that environment, educate themselves, and analyze their performance. Eventually learning will be the responsibility of the learner and not just the teacher.