// My Teaching Platform \\

When given the opportunity to share my teaching platform on the spot, I was panicking. “What if I don’t get everything out that I want to express?!” grew the anxious voice in my head. However, as I was presented with each question I felt as though the answers seemed to come to me more quickly than I had imagined…

• What is the goal of education?
  “Presenting knowledge to an individual in a way that they can understand and comprehend various new concepts and ideas that they are being taught.”
  Throughout my time in the classroom, I’ve learned that the goal of education isn’t a just a simple definition that can be answered in one sentence. There is so much that comes into play in education and there are so many different forms that education can take place in. Learning happens everywhere and almost every minute of the day. The goal of education is learning, but the all of the aspects that come into play within education–i.e. culture, learning styles, context, etc.–can affect the outcome of the learning.
  If you were forced to choose, what would you say are the 3 most important things which you want students to learn in your classroom?
  “One would probably be various educational concepts that they can take outside the classroom and integrate them into their daily and/or future lives. Another thing I would love my students to learn in my class is a passion of education. I hope that when my students walk out of my classroom everyday they not only enjoy education, but also value it and count it as a blessing to be able to expand their knowledge, as many children their age aren’t given that opportunity. The last thing and quite possibly the most important of them all, I’d like my students to learn that no matter what happens in their life-the trials, the tribulations, the hard times, and of course the good times too-I will always be there for them. My students will know that I care very deeply for them and only hope that they exceed in life and are happy. My students will know that they are my joy and the reason why I love teaching.”
  This semester I decided to sit with my students at lunch and during that time, one of the girls told me about a story she had written. She explained the story to me and emphasized how proud she was that it was seventeen pages long. She also informed me that she wanted to type it, but she didn’t know when she would be able to. Knowing that I was in a Title 1 school, I took the liberty to ask if she wanted me to take it home and type it up for her. The expression she had when I told her that was so genuinely happy. When I returned the story to her the following week, I noticed that she had started to turn her story into a play with her classmates. I think that this example was a perfect example that exemplifies some of the important things in education. When you show students that you genuinely care for them and go above and beyond for them, they are more willing to continue to reach farther.  
  
• How do you think students learn? How do you know if they are learning?
  “I believe very strongly in Howard Gardeners Multiple intelligence theory. So a student learns best based upon their intelligence type. For example if a teacher has an extremely athletic student in their classroom, they could quite possibly be the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. So in order to provide them with the best learning environment to optimize their learning the teacher might integrate some sort of movement where the student might either participate in performing an experiment, performing a skit as an assessment, or anything that includes the student actively and physically involved with the lesson, and not just listening to a lecture. The best way to really know if a student is learning is by giving them some sort of assessment. Now I’m not the kind of teacher to hand out tests at the end of every lesson, so just like how every student learns differently, every students tests differently. In my classroom I would give my very best effort to give my students an array of assessments that would play off the strengths of every intelligence type in my class. This would hopefully give student a chance to succeed and thrive academically.”
  I still completely agree with this statement. Throughout this semester’s internship, I’ve tried to learn how each of the students in my class learns. In my own classroom, I would actually like to give a multiple intelligence questionnaire to my students in the beginning of the year making it easier for me to teach my class adequately. This semester, it was a little difficult to try and do my lessons because I wasn’t sure how these students learn. My teacher doesn’t focus on the various learning styles of her students and maybe that’s just part of her teaching pedagogy, but my own teaching pedagogy would focus on this. I would definitely have a list of assessments to pick from throughout the year and I think that would help the students within my class this semester. 
  
• What are your expectations and hopes for students?
  “As I mentioned earlier, I hope that my students know how much I care for them and that no matter what I will be there for them. I’d also hope and expect that every one of my students walks out of my classroom with a plethora of knowledge that they hadn’t previously known and that they grew and continue growing as learners.”
  It’s not that I would change my answer to this question, I would edit and add things to it. My expectations for my students is that they would learn how to respond using higher order thinking and not to expect my to feed them answers. I’ve seen a lot of students this semester trying to get out of thinking for themselves because they know that a teacher will eventually give them the answer. In order to aid my students to their fullest potential, setting these expectations will provide them to reach achievement. In the same aspect, my hopes for my students is that they will leave my class with a plethora of knowledge and also they will leave as learning lovers because they will know that they all individually have their own unique learning style, and if they develop a way to learn centered around their learning style then they education will be much more individualized and useful. 
  
• Five years after students have left your classroom, what do you want them to say about your teaching? about the curriculum?
  “If a student looks back on their educational career after five years and can say something along the lines of ‘I love the way Ms. Edmunds taught this, I will always remember it!’ or ‘Ms. Edmunds cared so much for me and made such a difference in my academics’, then I would be overjoyed. My drive as an educator is to make a difference in a child’s life no matter how minute. I love when I see a light bulb go off in a child’s head because I took the time to explain to them a concept that no other teacher or individual took the time to explain differently. So at the end of the day, if a student remembers me after five years, I believe that’s a blessing in and of itself because there was obviously some kind of impact I made on them whether it be my curriculum, teaching style, or genuine love for them.’
  This semester I have grown to love my fifth grade internship class, and they love me too. One of my students said that their favorite thing about Ms. Edmunds is that she is always smiling. That little reminder is such an encouragement and shows that these students understand how much I care about them and want to see them succeed. Also in the beginning of the semester, a student in the class was resistant in communicating with me. Many people have put a title of the “repeat student”, and even though this year he is having to repeat, most of the teachers use this term in a negative connotation. Throughout the year, I have been showing this student that I am here for him and will support him throughout his education and that I believe he can achieve success despite what others think. Recently, I’ve been noticing that this student is much more open and hard working that in the beginning of the year. I love seeing the development of this student throughout the year because it shows how much a teacher’s belief can do to a child’s self-esteem and self-motivation.
  
• How do you think the context of where you teach influences how you teach?
  “I think that no matter where you teach you should be aware of the background and environment your students are coming from. In order for your teaching to make optimal sense to them, it’s important to keep the activities and lessons somewhat relevant to them. For example, if I ever end up teaching in an area where the population is mostly in a low socioeconomic status then I need to be aware that these individuals may not have as much technological knowledge in order to execute an activity on an Ipad or computer successfully. Additionally, it is important to become acclimated with my student’s background because I never what to offend or exclude any of them with various practices or celebrations. When a student sees that a teacher is taking the time to get to know them as a individual and not just another child that comes and goes, they will most likely have more respectful attitude towards the class. I believe that in order to gain respect, you must show respect. With all that being said, every child is a unique individual and no matter where you teach it’s always important to get to know your students in order to ensure their optimal academic growth.”
  The one thing I would add to this explanation, is Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. No matter where you are in it’s important to get to know your students and know where they are developmentally in order to teach them optimally. When I first started in the classroom, there was a little boy who was so resilient to listen and be motivated. This child was also a child that many teachers referred to as the “repeat student”. At first, I tried really hard to connect with the student and that didn’t seem to help. When I took a step back and reviewed what I was doing and changed my strategy to actually trying to get to know him as an individual, I started to see a change in his motivation. From what I can tell, this student has been through a lot in his school environment and his home environment, and when a teacher takes a moment to support and help it can make a huge difference as I analyzed this semester. 
  
• What sorts of things do you look for to tell you that you’ve taught a really good lesson? A poor lesson?
  “I’ve always loved the idea of exit slips for students where they can write down any concerns they may have on the day’s lessons or even write down something they really loved that day. I think that exit slips are great because it allows students the freedom to express their confusion freely, and they give teachers feedback. Any type of feedback is so important when working with children, I never want a child to become confused without the ability to say so. Feedback will give me a chance to either explain the lesson again or even go back to the drawing board and brainstorm how I can teach it differently. Then by the time an assessment comes around, hopefully every child will understand the material.”
  When I was doing my lessons this semester, I found it was really hard to actually try to pay attention to each student throughout the lesson. This may have been because as a new teacher, I am still learning how to actually teach so I am so focused on that aspect I completely forget to pay attention to the actual important variable–the students. My goal to know if I taught a good lesson would has slightly changed. I still like exit slips, but I would also try to have a informal conference with my students throughout the year to see how they are doing and if they need any assistance.