My Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is based upon the belief that every child has the right to excellent quality education from a teacher who is passionate, relatable, resourceful with high quality content knowledge. This will be my goal and inspiration as a teacher. The curriculum is an excellent guideline for a good teacher however to be an excellent teacher you need to be willing to be a lifelong learner. To learn through the experiences of their students and through listening to their students. Teachers also need to constantly be growing academically, emotionally as well as socially, constantly reflecting on their teaching methods and effectively adjusting them when need be. I aim to be a teacher who is aware, relatable, reflective with the ability to critically think. I believe an efficient and effective teacher is an individual who creates a learning environment that is not only inclusiveness and generosity but a learning environment that encourages mastery and independence through use of different pedagogy to cater for a diverse classroom (McDonald, 2013). In order to achieve this as constantly keep improving my skills in knowledge, I will take part in professional learning.
Inclusiveness is an important aspect of any classroom. It is imperative that as teachers we cater for a diverse range of students including students who have English as a second language or dialect (EAL/D) (Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). I will achieve this by adjusting the content in line with the objectives of the curriculum to fit the needs of each students thus creating personalised learning. This can be done using explicit teaching, building shared knowledge as well as using each student’s cultural understanding as ‘Intercultural understanding’ is one of the general capabilities found in the learning areas within the Australian curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.). According to the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration we must ensure that education ‘promotes and contributes to a socially cohesive society that values, respects and appreciates different points of view and cultural, social, linguistic and religious diversity’ so it is important we teach students about diversity and intercultural understanding (Council of Australian Governments Education Council, 2019).
As much as it is important for students to have positive relationships and interactions with each other, It essential as a teacher to also have positive, respectful and healthy relationships with other educators and members of the community, maintaining healthy boundaries and creating positive support groups (Whitton, Barker, Nosworthy, Humphries & Sinclair, 2016). This creates a school environment for teachers and students that is free of discrimination and judgement but welcoming and enjoyable.
As a pre-service teacher, I recognise that most my values align more with the humanistic approach to education where teachers are perceived as facilitator of education with their main goal being to create meaningful relationships with students, encouraging them to be confident and active members of society (Hanley, Winter & Burrell, 2019). This means taking students’ interest, individuality and uniqueness and provide content and learning experiences that contribute to these qualities. Nevertheless, I also believe that an effective teacher can draw upon multiple teaching methods and practices and adjust them when need be, and these skills will be developed through my entire journey as a teacher. With the increase of Information and communication technology (ICT) it is important that I implement the use of technology within my classroom, but it is essential that I encourage cyber awareness, responsibility and cyber safety within and outside the classroom (ACARA, n.d). This means constant supervision monitoring what students’ access when using different forms of technology.
Ethical and Legal
It is a teacher’s duty of care to ensure that students have a learning environment that is safe and welcoming, this means teachers should be ethical at all time showing the six ethical values portrayed in the Code of ethics for teachers in Queensland (Victorian State Government, 2019). I will ensure safety for all my students that means abiding by the rules, laws and legislations relating to child safety and social security. This means updating my working with children after every three years and updating my teaching police clearance and my documents needed by each school such as first aid. It will also be my ethical responsibility to follow the rules, procedure and policies of each school that I teach and each schooling community I attend.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d). General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum: Science. Retrieved from https://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Science_-_GC_learning_area.pdf

Marsh, C. J., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher.(6th edition.ed.): Frenchs Forest, NSW : Pearson Australia

McDonald, T. A. (2013). Classroom management : engaging students in learning / Tim McDonald (Second edition. ed.): South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia : Oxford University Press

Victorian State Government. (2018). Duty of Care and Supervision. Retrieved from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/prindutycare.aspx

Rachael Matanda