Introduction
Every educator should have got his / her own unique group of teaching philosophy which suits the ever-changing needs and needs of education in the current society. Exploring and producing the values of teaching takes on an important role in adding to the success of an educator in the coaching job because our beliefs can generate our very own confirmation. This teaching idea has been formed by my own experience when serving my alma mater as a alleviation professor, as well as my prior experiences in teaching experience and coaching assistantship as a trainee professor. It will provide as a basis for my embarkation to the profession of education with the purpose of success in coaching.
My Idea of Coaching and Learning Paradigm
My core perception of teaching has been carved out predicated on the saying of a Greek philosopher, Socrates - Education is the kindling of your flame, not the filling of any vessel. " Privately, I'd like to further build this perception upon the old declaring - "EASILY provide a man a fish, I give food to him for each day; if I show him to fish, I give food to him for life".
So, which arrived first, the chicken breast or the egg? If my student were to ask me this question, I would probably laugh at him and reply, "Why don't you find out and notify me?"
Many times within my interaction with small children through my coaching experiences, I had been often stumbled after the questions posed by the inquisitive brains of theirs. While there may be not definite answers to their questions, I often didn't give them the answers directly.
This is exactly what shaped my primary belief about instructing - learning is that it's not merely only a "process of acquiring knowledge or skills" ("dictionary. com", 2012) but also a quest of finding where sometimes the procedure of breakthrough is more important than the finding itself. It's important never to spoonfeed the children with answers.
My Teaching Opinion: Now and Then
Role of the educator: To cater to Differentiation and Adaptations
In this 21st century, it is just a generation equipped with many technologies. The power than it allows a person to "google" for the answers just by a few clicks in a space without restrictions. So, one may question the role of the educator since most answers to questions can be found on the internet. A professor occupies many functions, one which is to teach. And so, imagine if the information found on the internet does not suit the appropriate level or the training style of the child? In my own view, that's where the important role of the educator will come in.
In the past, I used to feel that using a single-way methodology of tackling the concept is sufficient, and assume that children would be able to understand what has been taught. However, after taking this course, I come to realise that every child is a unique specific with different learning styles: visual learners, auditory learners, tactile learners as well as Kinesthetic learners. That is even more vital when it comes to coping with children with special needs. It is important not to suppose, as it often will not reflect the truth. Additionally it is essential for the professor to adapt to the differentiation of the kid. However time-consuming and taxing to modify the curriculum and the 8worksheets it could seems, I believe it is all worth it as the child would be able to learn something new that could profit him.
In my opinion, the teacher has to offer her lessons in a creative and strong way, at the same time, tailoring to match the individual students with an array of different learning styles. You can find never a "one size suits all" strategy in anywhere, like the class room, as well as the internet. If you ask me, what the teacher will is to try her best and tailor the content to the power of the class. Hence, it is vital that the instructor examine the account of each individual student before the semester. Perhaps, it is also ideal to learn the learning styles of each child before the lesson off their parents or from the former teachers. However, if time does not permit, this may be done in the semester, when you have taught the class for a time period and knows the various learning styles of each individual child. Matching to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, there are a total of 8 intelligences: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal, interpersonal. It is important for the instructor to approach an idea in many ways.
Hence, for my future Practicum 1 and 2, I would be more tactful in including different techniques, such as including Youtube videos, songs, poems, story-telling, hands-on tests into my lesson plan to compliment different learning varieties of my students.
Of course, there are a great many other roles of the tutor which include: counsellor, mentor, friend, disciplinarian, group dynamics facilitator, motivational presenter etc. This might also mean that the many assignments of a professor entail the never-ending set of workload. This is when the challenge seeps in, when one has to struggle with the issue of work-life balance. If you ask me, work is never-ending and time waits for nobody. It is very important that the tutor adjusts his / her working style, to deal with each matter one at a time. This might avoid creating pointless stress which is poor to oneself.
Parents, too, have special needs
In the past, I used to think that the main obstacle I'd face is the children, especially those with special needs. However, after taking this program, I was educated to rethink and view things from the notion of the father or mother. It is not only some children who have special needs - some parents, too, have special needs.
In this generation where parents are generally more educated than in the past, they certainly have a higher demand from the teachers of their children. Sometimes, these demands are something that supersedes goals which is often way beyond our limits. Encounters with parents of children with challenging behavior can come in a variety of forms and then for a variety of reasons. It is worth keeping in mind that sometimes they are really flooded with a range of strong emotions triggered by nothing in connection with school. Hence, it is essential never to take their responses individually and put you down. In the end, it is the children that we have in center.
In truth, I used to have this mentality to why I should take the role of any parent after i am just a educator. Besides, I am only in my own early twenties and I cannot see myself behaving like a mother who has all the motherly qualities. I would have a tendency to pull the clear lines between the obligations of a professor and a father or mother. Also, I would think that it is the responsibility of the mother or father to create a positive upbringing in the child.
However, I realised that every family has their own problems. Sometimes the parents are in denial that the behaviour is unacceptable and have the school's expectations are unreasonable. It can be difficult to deal with such parents (Rogers, 2004). However, it's important to stay professional rather than to give into the temptation of tossing in the towel. Despite the fact that, I still do not feel that a instructor should take up a role as a surrogate mother or father, however, I am in a position to emphasise using their situation more set alongside the past. I really believe it's important not only to cultivate collegial and pupil relationship, but also parental relationships.
Creating a confident Primary Classroom Environment
A classroom is the place where a teacher will be most engaged during his / her professional job as a professor (Louradusamy, Myint, Quek & Wong, 2003). Hence, making a positive primary school room environment for the pupils can be an crucial part of good classroom management (Weinstein, Miganana & Romana, 2011). I strongly believe in this and also have integrated it within my teaching philosophy after taking on this course. In additional, a school room management displays about my philosophy of teaching and learning, which tells a lot about me who trips my class (Louradusamy et al. , 2003). Regarding to Doyle (1986), the classroom may be considered as an ecological system and looked at the classroom as a distinctive unit where the educator and the pupils interact for an objective of instructing and understanding how to take place.
Given the already overload work that teachers have to juggle with, I used to think that heading to the amount of having an attractive classroom may be over demanding and impractical. However, after going right through the coaching experience at Lian Hua Main School, one of the things that captured my attention is the class pets - a reservoir of guppies with iridescent colours and a furry Winter White hamster behind the classroom. Having to observe the category from the trunk of the class, surprisingly, it does not feel like an ordinary classroom to me. The entire sense felt at the idea of your time was a whole new feeling that I have never noticed before in a school room. It felt similar to a study room if you ask me, rather than a typical class room. After careful observation, I realised there was even a mini reading place, with carpeted floor, and bean carriers. By the side of the windows, there have been pots of renewable bean plant life with the students' name labelled on each container. Obviously, that was a science experiment and the pots of vegetation were the works of students. The greenery brought the classroom nearer to nature, and together with the pets' place and reading area, they add vibrancy to the dismal class setting. By the end of the lesson, the student ornamented the cage and fed the hamster and guppies. One of these even found the hamster and offered it a few strokes at its back again.
Of course, I put getting rid of questions flashed in the mind - who's going to take care of the hamster? Who's going to change this in the fish tank? Who is going to dust the bean luggage? As a result, I spoke to the proper execution teacher of this Primary 5 course. He said that the class pets are there to instil the sense of responsibility and also to create a caring classroom culture. The students have a class work roster where students will need turn to supply and clean the cage of the hamster and the guppies. He also emphasized that takes time to develop but the end result is often worthwhile every efforts put in to make a positive class room environment. True enough, the students I mingled with said that they don't find it a hassle to take up the duties of cleaning the cage and nourishing the domestic pets, "They're part of your 5G family".
The conversations exchanged with the students provided me further affirmation that it is all worth it to consider the cosmetic area of the classroom. In the foreseeable future, I'd definitely make the class attractive and pleasure-looking.
Conclusion
In the midst of the 4 years training as a student-teacher, I have already been advised of the countless testimonies by in-service instructors as well as ex-teachers, about how precisely taxing and demanding teaching can be. Unquestionably, it is hard never to feel disheartened, sceptical and even fearful about what is lying before me. However, I believe that you need to not allow self-fulfilling prophecy take effect (Myers, 2004). One should be positive and really should embrace the future.
While it does not pay a lot in dollars to be a educator in Singapore, the subconscious and mental rewards tend to be than suffice - the light up look on a face whenever a seemingly unfathomable strategy is finally grasped and comprehended; the many thanks cards from the students; and the internet satisfaction of knowing that you have made a notable difference that remaining an undeniable draw on the future. That is my teaching beliefs that I have developed so far, and it'll continue to advance when I attempt my 4 yr of teaching job.
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