Ece 625 - Philosophy Statement and Research Questions

Philosophy Statement and Research Questions

Linda Crosland

ECE/625

Lesley Pearson

April 27, 2015

     My preferred teaching style is demonstrating or modeling my lessons. I prefer acting as a role model while I demonstrate skills and processes. I also act as a coach by helping students progress and utilize the skill and knowledge that I demonstrate. I am a teacher who likes to demonstrate to students the appropriate way to do a task or work through a problem and next I will help them understand the task. I like to encourage my students to participate so that I can observe the different learning styles that they are displaying.  I like for students to take responsibility for learning what they need to learn and I expect them to ask for help when they do not comprehend a question or problem.

     I also like learning with the students. I feel like with this teaching style the children will be able to explore and experiment with new ideas. According to the author with this teaching style “students can learn that making mistakes are part of the learning process as they watch their teacher make mistakes as well”. (2014) The students will be able to see that you can learn from your mistakes.  

     As an educator I enjoy working with children. It gives me great pleasure to have a student ask me to help them with their assignments. I am a person that when I demonstrate to them how to do their assignment and they still do not understand what I am teaching them I want them to let me know. I want them to ask questions. I let them know that is why I am here to make sure that they are given the proper education that they are entitled to.  I will do my best to find a way to help them understand what they are doing. I want every child that I have the pleasure of working with to succeed in school.

     My philosophy and approach to family and community engagement is to make sure every child get the best education that they can get. In order to do that families and the community need to be a part of their child’s education. When families are involved in their child’s education the child tend to do a better job in school. I also want to make sure that families are given the resources that they need to help them succeed in being a part of their child’s education.  I am a firm believer that every child can learn, but every child does not learn the same.

     My role as a teacher is to guide the students not to lead them. I will make sure the direction I move in will interest the child. Safety for the children will be my major concern. My role is to let the child choose his or her own learning style. I do not want to play the role that a teacher know everything. I want to encourage my students to find their own answers and not provider the answer to them.  I want to be my student’s partner that way I can learn with the students as well as teaching them. According to the author” Early childhood teachers support learning by providing activities and materials that children find engaging”. (August 08)

     Education is to give children a desire to learn and to teach them how to use their minds and where to go to obtain facts when their curiosity is stirred up. Education is the key to one’s success. We have always been told to study hard, get good grades and go to college. Education gives everyone the opportunity to succeed in life.

    An important skill teachers need to have is the ability to build on the knowledge that students bring into the classrooms, especially the knowledge that is shaped by their family, community, and cultural histories. I will try to understand the real life experience of the family and the children that I teach.  I will allow parents to have a voice in my curriculum and planning. According to Hughes “family voices can advise teachers on how to balance high stakes accountability testing with skills we also know children need to survive and thrive at school”.

      Teachers can also get parents involved in their child education by going out into the community to do a home visit that way they can build a rapport.  Teacher can also call their student’s family to give positive information. That will make the child feel good when they parents get a call from their teacher telling them something good about them.  Teachers can also send parents email to inform them of what is going on with their child throughout the school year.

        Children should grow up in a world free from bias and discrimination.  We want them to reach for their drams and to know that whatever they expect to accomplish in is possible.  Children should love and included in everything and not rejections and excluded from things.

     Before children start school they form an idea about themselves and other.  Children need to know that it is okay to be different. As a teacher I will structure my teaching to recognize the different perspectives. For example in class if we are discussion food we will discuss the different types of food form different countries as well as the United States.  I will have learning groups in my classroom and diverse and devise activities that will call for each child to participate in the group.  This will let students know that each person in their group are important and has something to contribute to the group.

     Three questions that I want to focus on are:

• Does a newly hired employee in your program typically start in a position like yours or is there a more typically pathway for working up to your position?
• What curriculum are you using in your classroom? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of this curriculum?
• Why did you choose to go into early childhood education?

     I want to know if I am capable of starting in a director’s position. If I can’t start as a director where will I have to start? I also want to know what I have to do to get to that position. If I have to start at the bottom I am willing to do that, but knowing will get me prepared.

     By asking about the curriculum it will give me some idea of what to teach in an early childhood education classroom. That way I can prepare myself.  If I know the advantages and disadvantages of the curriculum I will know if it is the curriculum that I will want to present to my students.  It will let me know if they will gain anything from the curriculum or if it will be a waste of my time as well as the students.