I believe that students learn in various ways. I think that no child is the same, and therefore no one style of teaching can fit all students. For instance, some students learn best when they are able to manipulate objects, others learn best while moving around in their environment, and others learn best through one-on-one instruction. I also believe that students learn and retain information if it is connected to their world and their interests. It is then imperative to know your students and to cater and differentiate your lessons to meet their varying needs and interests. I hope to meet the needs of each of my students through the goals I have set for myself as an educator.
My goals as an educator:
– Build relationships with my students
– Make school a safe and fun place to attend
– Inspire inquiry both inside and outside of the classroom
– Create transdisciplinary lessons
– Get my students moving (DPA!)
– Model and scaffold 21st century skills
– Incorporate the First People’s Principles of Learning
– Teach through a self-regulation lens
– Reflect and continue to grow as an educator
Building relationships is the first bullet on my goals list. This is because I feel this is the most important thing when working with kids. The children we work with must know that we care about them and educators should want to know the students they work with. I believe that getting to know the kids you work with will lead to them getting to know you, respecting you, and caring about you in return. This is then key to classroom management as I also believe that kids want to listen to people they care about and respect. Moreover, getting to know your students will allow you to teach with them in mind and cater to their needs. Further, and most importantly, if they know that you care about them, they will come to you with issues they are experiencing, and you can help them to the best of your abilities.
Teaching for the 21st century learner is an important overarching goal in my teaching practice. To me this means placing the student at the center and having them engaged and involved with their learning. Through my goals of inspiring inquiry, creating trandisciplinary lessons, teaching 21st century skills, incorporating self-regulation techniques, and engaging in research and reflection, I will work towards providing the best education for each of my students.