Job Discussion Forums

[jessicab]

Hello!

We're required to write a teaching philosophy meets cover letter for university. Just wanting some people to read it over and see if it sounds stupid, or if I missed anything they can think of.


My teaching philosophy is focused on the learner. I believe children need to understand that learning is a process and the expectations are that they progress through the experiences in the classroom. I seek to establish my classroom as an open place for children to experiment, make mistakes and take risks with their learning. To do this, a teacher must allow students to be successful at their own level and to use that success as their own motivation. My ability to bring a sense of humour and flexibility to my teaching and the way I present material allows students to relax and be open to ask questions and immerse themselves in the topic at hand. For my success in this I take responsibility for varying my instruction and ensuring my instruction appeals to all learning styles in my classroom. I am committed to helping students make connections between their experiences and the curriculum to get a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the unit.

I believe in making the classroom a safe place. Many students do not have a healthy or stable home life and often seek refuge at school. As in my own experience as a student, I know children like to have a consistent and stable adult as a part of their lives even if it is just a teacher at their school. Therefore it is part of my responsibility as a teacher to ensure that my classroom allows students to feel safe from any form of prejudice and are comfortable to express their true self. My practicum experience in a school that prides itself on its multiculturalism has encouraged my development in inclusive education that supports all students in my classroom.

I have always had an interest in learning about the world as is reflected in my degree. I was able to take history courses during my undergraduate degree that focused on areas across the globe. And during my practicum this year I was able to work with students from around the world right here in Canada. I was lucky enough to learn about these students backgrounds before arriving here. These students were so open and loved being able to teach me about themselves and where they came from. It was an incredible experience for me as it tapped into my drive for life long learning. Teaching students from such varying backgrounds has enriched the material I have taught by adding another dimension with their own experiences. These students have inspired me to work abroad and add that extra layer to my development as a teacher. I am excited to finish my Bachelor of Education at university this spring with P/J qualifications and pursuing this new experience!

[cmp45]

[jessicab]

[johnslat]

Dear jessicab,

I was going to offer some suggestions, but I got sidetracked, When you make the revisions that cmp45 suggested (good ones, too,) would you consider reposting the edited version?

Regards,
John

[killthebuddha]

Hi jessicab,

I took the liberty of making some grammatical and syntactical changes, and tried my best not to overreach. I hope it's okay.

My teaching philosophy is focused on the learner. I believe children need to understand that learning is a process, and that they are expected to progress through the experiences in the classroom. I seek to establish my classroom as an open place for children to experiment, make mistakes and take risks with their learning. To do this, a teacher must allow students to be successful at their own level and to use that success as their own motivation. My ability to bring flexibility and a sense of humour to my teaching, and to the way I present material, allows students to relax, be open to ask questions, and immerse themselves in the topic at hand. For my success in this I take responsibility for varying my instruction and ensuring that it appeals to all learning styles in my classroom. I am committed to helping students make connections between their experiences and the curriculum, so that they may get a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the unit.

I believe in making the classroom a safe place. Many students who do not have a healthy or stable home life often seek refuge at school. From my own experience as a student, I know children like to have a consistent and stable adult as a part of their lives, even if it is just a teacher at their school. Therefore it is part of my responsibility as a teacher to ensure that my classroom allows students to feel safe from any form of prejudice and to be comfortable to express their true selves. My practicum experience in a school that prides itself on its multiculturalism has encouraged my development of an inclusive education that supports all students in my classroom.

As is reflected by my coursework, I have always had an interest in learning about the world. I was able to take history courses during my undergraduate studies that focused on areas across the globe, and during my practicum this year I was able to work, right here in Canada, with students from around the world. I was lucky enough to learn about these students backgrounds before they arrived here. They were very open and enjoyed the opportunity to teach me about themselves and where they came from. It was an incredible experience for me as it tapped into my drive for life-long learning. Teaching students from such varying backgrounds has also enriched the material I have taught, by adding to it a dimension that is of their own experiences. These students have inspired me to work abroad and to add that extra dimension to my development as a teacher. I am excited to finish my Bachelor of Education at university this spring, with P/J qualifications, and to pursue this new experience!


--ktb

[cmp45]

I took further liberty in editing killthebuddah's version...the first two paragraphs clearly puts the children first...since you state that this is about your teaching philosophy, there is no need to use "I" through out the writing. The rest is as Buddah has edited...well done Buddah!

My teaching philosophy is focused on the learner. Children grow through an understanding of the learning process, and they are expected to progress through their experiences in the classroom. The classroom is an open place for children to experiment, make mistakes and take risks with their learning. To do this, students must be allowed to progress at their speed and at their own level, using their success as their own motivation. My ability to bring flexibility and a sense of humour to my teaching, allows students to relax, be open to ask questions, and immerse themselves in the topic at hand. This makes for a successful class situation, and ensures that it appeals to all learning styles in my classroom. Inaddition, helping students make the connections between their experiences and the curriculum, to obtain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the unit is my commitment to the students.

The classroom should be a safe place for students who do not have a healthy or stable home life. From my own experience as a student. Children need to have a consistent and stable adult as a part of their lives, even if it is just a teacher at their school. Therefore it is part of my responsibility as a teacher to ensure that my classroom allows students to feel safe from any form of prejudice and to be comfortable to express their true selves. My practicum experience in a school that prides itself on its multiculturalism has encouraged my development of an inclusive education that supports all students in my classroom.

As is reflected by my coursework, I have always had an interest in learning about the world. I was able to take history courses during my undergraduate studies that focused on areas across the globe, and during

my practicum this year I was able to work, right here in Canada, with students from around the world. I was lucky enough to learn about these students backgrounds before they arrived here. They were very open and enjoyed the opportunity to teach me about themselves and where they came from. It was an incredible experience for me as it tapped into my drive for life-long learning. Teaching students from such varying backgrounds has also enriched the material I have taught, by adding to it a dimension that is of their own experiences. These students have inspired me to work abroad and to add that extra dimension to my development as a teacher. I am excited to finish my Bachelor of Education at university this spring, with P/J qualifications, and to pursue this new experience!

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I agree with cmp45.

I think you may want to google "teaching philosophy" as well. There are some specific terms. You are often asked about teaching STYLE along with philosophy (these are two different things) especially in interviews. Again, there are some specific terms.

You may think about googling 'teaching style versus philosophy' or something like that.

But if you can't find anything (although I think you will find stuff- I did when I searched for it a few years ago) then maybe it won't matter. If it wasn't covered in your B.Ed then maybe it isn't really used in your province. It may come up in an interview, even if you don't use it in your cover letter, though.

[jessicab]

[johnslat]

Dear jessicab,


I've taken the further liberty of editing cmp45's editing of killthebuddah's version:


My teaching philosophy is focused on the learner. Children grow through an understanding of the learning process, and they are expected to progress through their experiences in the classroom. Therefore, the classroom should be an open, safe place for children to experiment, make mistakes, and take risks with their learning. However, in oder to achieve such an environment, students must be allowed to progress at their own speed and level, using their success as their own intrinsic motivation.

My ability to bring flexibility and a sense of humour to my teaching allows students to relax, be open to ask questions, and immerse themselves in the topic at hand. All these make for a successful class situation and ensure that all the different learning styles are both accommodated and stimulated. In addition, helping students make the connections between their experiences and the curriculum, to obtain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the unit, is my commitment to the students.

The classroom should be a welcoming place for students who do not have a healthy or stable home life. From my own experience as a student, I have learned that children need to have a caring and consistent adult as a part of their lives, even if it is only a teacher at their school. Therefore, it is part of my responsibility to ensure that my classroom allows students to feel protected from any form of prejudice and to be comfortable to express their true selves. My practicum experience in a school that prides itself on its multiculturalism has encouraged my development of an inclusive educational environment that supports all the students in my classroom.

As is reflected by my coursework, I have always had an interest in learning more about the world. I was able to take history courses during my undergraduate studies that focused on many different areas across the globe. Moreover, during my practicum this year, I was able to work, right here in Canada, with students from a number of other countries. This encouraged me to learn about their backgrounds before they arrived here. The students were all very open and enjoyed being able to teach me about themselves and where they came from. It was an incredible opportunity for me as it tapped into my drive for life-long learning. Teaching students from such varying backgrounds has also enriched the material I have developed by adding to it elements include their own experiences. These students have inspired me to work abroad and to add that extra dimension to my evolution as a teacher. I am very excited about finishing my Bachelor of Education at university this spring, with P/J qualifications, and about pursuing new ventures in other lands and cultures!