the third rail

Philosophy of Teaching

I believe in sharing.
Sharing like in kindergarten as well as sharing knowledge. As an educator, I am not a font of knowledge but I can share what I do know with my students and fellow teachers. When we participate in sharing (collaborating) the result is stronger relationships, mutual respect, and deeper learning. One of us is not nearly as smart as many of us.

I believe in talking.
Discussions with students lead to greater understanding of what the students know/don’t know, and, more importantly, what they want to know. Discussion also leads to greater depth of thinking and greater scope as students respond to each other and build on each others ideas.

I believe in doing.
Students need to be active participants as much as possible. Learners need to be actively practicing/applying whatever the lesson is in order to learn it. The teacher needs to set up the learning opportunities for students to practice with the teacher available for support when needed.

I believe in Constructivism.
As far as experiential learning goes at least. We all have our own unique experiences which affect the way that we learn and what meaning students give and get from interactions. This said, each student comes to the class at different points on the learning continuum and needs different things from the instructor in order to make the most of his/her time in class.

I believe in choice.
Students need to have choices in their learning. From the material used to cover a subject, to how the students will practice, to how they will demonstrate their learning. Sometimes there are not a lot of options available for an abundance of reasons. But I believe good teachers keep in mind when planning and working with their students, that the more opportunities students have for customizing their learning the better the learning experience will be.