Teaching+Philosophy

//The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.// - Mark Van Doren

My overarching philosophy of pedagogy and education is that students learn best when they are actively engaged in their own learning process. From my own experience as a student in the public school system, what I remember best are those activities and projects in which I was actively involved, and those teachers who facilitated this experiential learning. I believe that students must be able to see the relevance of subject content in their own daily lives, and it must be presented in a way that is interesting, engaging and appropriate for their age, their level of comprehension, and their individual needs. I also strongly believe in the importance of establishing and maintaining trust and good rapport with my students, as I feel that the student-teacher relationship is a valuable component of students’ overall educational experience.

I firmly believe in the use of positive motivational strategies in the classroom, such as the development of self-determination, in order to increase student motivation and engagement and decrease indifference and misbehaviour. According to self-determination theory, motivation relies on feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness. The higher the degree to which students feel they are successful in their school work, feel they are engaging by choice rather than against their will, and feel a sense of belonging in the classroom, the more likely they are to be intrinsically motivated to complete their school work. Helping students to develop such self-determination may seem like a challenging task, but I believe that it will largely depend on how successful I am at establishing inclusion in my classroom, providing differentiated project options, and getting to know my students on an individual basis.

To read my Philosophy of Teaching and Learning, click on the following link.

