For an academic version of my Teaching Philosophy, please click here.
My Role as an Educator
My role as an educator is to engage students by providing materials, content, and examples that will excite and amaze them.
- In a science classroom this could look like beginning each class with a ‘magic’ experiment, such as pouring a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate onto a plate and observing it crystallize instantly;
- In an art classroom this could be showing videos of 3D painters having their art come to life;
- In a language arts classroom it could be delighting the students in having them debate on how to pronounce ‘ghoti’ (pronounced: fish).
Each and every day these demonstrations should be done because I believe it is the little things that go a long way when it comes to inspiring students and keeping them engaged.
Because learning happens only when students are motivated to do so, my role is to have students develop the skills to self-motivate by using their own sense of curiosity for information and understanding. In my classroom this would look like students trying out experiments for themselves, and attempting to discover the ‘why’ on their own before having a class discussion on the theory behind it. It is up to me as a teacher to learn about my students in order to be able to find out what interests and intrigues them to keep the course content relevant to their lives. The purpose of this is for me to encourage the curiosity in each of my students, to amaze and fascinate them with the subject material and to show students that it is okay, and encouraged, to ask why, in order to prepare them for their future lives.
My passion for teaching arises out of my love for discovery. I love to make connections and to unearth something which was not evident before.
Motivation and Methods
I was raised in a very large joined family with nine brothers and sisters all together. Having to interact so personally with many strong personalities on a day-to-day basis taught me tolerance, understanding and, most importantly, compassion. Although we all shared the same family life, each one of us had our own private and school lives which affected us deeply. It taught me that it’s okay to give someone a break when they need it, and to give tough love when they don’t. I learned it’s important to step in and give a helping hand when someone is utterly lost, and to only give a slight nudge when they’re able but afraid to try new things. The same sentiment will be applied to my students. I will do everything I can to help them out when they are in need, while still allowing them to figure things out on their own. I believe it is important to learn how to be self-sufficient while still being able to accept help when you need it.
This is what I wish for my students to leave my classroom with: a strong belief in themselves and a willingness to accept help from others.
Self-discovery happens every day through teaching and learning. I believe that teaching and learning are a conversation, an open dialogue between the teacher and the student, not simply a teacher lecturing and the student absorbing the material silently. The teacher’s role is to offer knowledge, or the how to’s and the learner’s role is to offer the but why nots, the how comes and the what if we’s. This method allows for both the teacher and the learner to have a certain element of flexibility not present in other teaching styles, where they can temporarily switch roles in order to gain a better understanding of the material. Learning is a very personal but also a very social experience; both teacher and student gain something to learn about themselves and about the material from every interaction.
Media and Technology
Media and technology could be used to share the learning of my students with one another by creating a class website or Facebook page for them to share their lab result findings and images of their projects. This would allow for a larger learning community and also as a source for help when they are struggling with homework. A great way to keep students engaged and motivated is to instill a feeling of hope in them. When they feel like there is a larger network or community of students and teachers who are willing to help them out at any time, without judgement or complaint, I believe that the difficult task of learning various science concepts will become easier on my students.
Another use of technology to keep my students interested and involved would be to show them webpages such as “I F***ing Love Science” (although perhaps one with a more appropriate name) which gives short interesting science discoveries or facts along with images and videos. This would allow for both teacher and student to learn something new and to open up a new topic of discussion, without always sticking to one certain field or topic.
Julianna Zelt 