Philosophy of Education

It is that time of year. The time to resubmit our Philosophy of Education. I like to think it is a good time to reflect on how my philosophy has changed over the year.

Ms. Hum’s Philosophy of Education

What guides my teaching?

I strongly believe that every person has the ability to learn. We may be different types and rates of learners, but we all possess the ability to learn.  My goal is to reach every student and help them to be successful, independent learners, striving to become so engaged in their learning, they grow the skills of being passionate life-long learners with hopes that they will in turn give back to their family and community.

So what are elements that guide this philosophy?

Children are individuals and therefore should be taught as such.

Every person is unique, in their personality and learning styles. Therefore teaching all students in the same manner does not help each person to be successful. Instead, as a teacher I provide a variety of modalities for learning, giving content in the form of varied multimedia or tactile experiences that are contextual to their environment. I build connections with my students to to help each individual make the connection to the content through their areas of interest and passion. In doing so, we as teachers help the learner to make sense of the skills and content, allowing it to become life-long learning. 

What inspired me? 

Every child has a want to learn, with some hidden passion or talent, regardless of disabilities, race, gender or income.

I believe that every person wants to learn and should thus be given the chance regardless of any disabilities, race, gender or income. Such things do not determine if a person wants to learn, nor if a person can learn. These only determine a person’s opportunity to learn. As a teacher, I believe it is my job to provide every opportunity I can to help a person learn and become successful.  Doing so also provides a person with a variety of experiences to learn from and about, opening new doors to new opportunities in which he/ she has many chances to discover hidden talents, and passions. Once these passions and talents are discovered, the learner becomes driven to learn more and inquire more, thus creating a life-long learner.

More to think about

Inquiry is part of our learning process.

I believe that at a young age we are naturally curious and inquire about our environment and how we should interact with our environment. Fostering and growing this inquiry in persons allows for them to make connections with new concepts and skills. In addition, inquiry allows for persons to be constantly seeking knowledge and skills to help better understand themselves, others, their environment and community. Hence, using Inquiry as a method for teaching means I present scenarios and situations that require students to inquire or ask questions, and thus seek the knowledge or skills naturally and independently, rather than being the “sage on the stage.” This will result in all learning community in which all are learners and teachers. What inspired me?

Zone of Proximal Learning, Community and Collaboration

In the process of learning, a student learns new content or skills, and then requires feedback from the teacher or community to determine if they have the information or skills correct. Though this is done in many different ways, the most important aspect to this cyclical process is that it is a constant and consistent feedback loop done throughout the learning process with many chances for correction. Having a community of learners can provide more opportunities for new learning, correcting learning or help to deepen the learning process. This means that students outside of the Zone of Proximal learning can be adjusted back into this zone, not only from the help of the teacher but other learners in the community. Such a community, whether online or in person, must be developed early in the learning community and it must be positive with guidelines and structure. Adding in collaboration amongst teachers, students and students to teachers, invigorates the community and maintains the process. All of which produces skills for the work force, community and eventually bettering our world. Read More, Collaboration & Community

Technology is a medium to support our learning.  

As a teacher we need to be aware that our students are 21^st   century learners, requiring 21^st century skills, and therefore 21^st century teachers. Such skills include communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, information and media skills, and life and career skills. Technology has become a rich medium to support the growth of these skills. From digital communities for problem solving and collaboration, to creative solutions to problems kids and teachers can share with the world, technology has become a universal tool for learning and teaching. But like any skill, it must be taught so it is used effectively to extend and enhance our learning. Despite what hardware, software or application that is used, learning should always focus on the learning objectives, and the technology should support or enhance the meeting of these objectives.  Finally, media literacy is often referred to as the invisible fourth “r” in the reading, writing and arithmetic mantra. As technology becomes more of a medium for conveying information, we as teachers need to be more aware of using media to convey information and skills to our students, as well as helping students to create their own media to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. This is especially critical since we are moving into an era of information, and students now must be able to sort and analyze the volumes of accessible information on the Internet to identify what is most useful and accurate and safe for learning. Learn More,