What is my teaching philosophy?

In my last blog I mentioned that I would like to research anxiety in the online learning environment.  However, before I do that I will be looking at my teaching philosophy.  The connection between teaching philosophies and anxiety will be revealed in my next blog.

I have not always had a teaching philosophy. At the very beginning of my teaching career I was very inexperienced both in practical and theoretical aspects of teaching.  My first ESOL teaching position was in Japan in 2003 and having a teaching qualification and or experience was not a requirement.  Therefore, my delivery was very impromptu and I just did what I could to maximise student engagement.  It was not until 2011 that I decided to do some formal ESOL teacher training and completed the Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA).  The certificate is very practical based so it was good to know that I was doing some things right. 

“Philosophy inspires our activities and gives direction to our practices” (Kanuka, 2008, p. 2).  Before researching this topic, I had a fair idea of what my teaching philosophies were but perhaps not in technical terms.  I always thought of myself as an adaptable teacher; adapting my teaching to suit my learners, their levels and at times their mood.  I believe in student centred learning and that the teacher should act as a facilitator and guide their students.  Students are not the only learners; we as educators also learn from our students . 

I have enjoyed exploring my teaching philosophies further and the next few paragraphs will shed some light on what my philosophies towards teaching and technology are based on the research conducted on the topic.

I will firstly discuss my teaching philosophies as I have touched on them briefly above.  I identify strongly with the progressive and humanist approaches.  They are also quite similar to Pratt’s (2002) nurturing and developmental perspectives which I also favour in my delivery.  I like to experiment in the classroom and challenge the learners through problem solving.  I also think contextual learning assists in engaging the learners.  Research suggests that people learn best when the content is of relevance and it is because of this that I try and incorporate as much of their lives into the lesson.  Students want to feel supported in their learning but also in control.  Pacific people thrive in groups as community is very important in their culture and therefore I include a lot of the humanist view in my delivery with this group of learners. 

According to Kanuka (2008), there are three philosophies of technology that educators tend to identify with: user determinism, technological determinism and social determinism.  Social determinism combines the use of technology within society and culture while technological determinism puts technology as a contributor to societal change but in a negative way that sees it as distracting and possibly damaging to education.  Too much of anything is not good and the same applies to technology in education.  Whether we like it or not, technology will continue to advance so we need to make the best out of what is on offer and make good use of it in our classes.

User determinism focuses on technological use and how we use it in our teaching and learning.  There is also emphasis that technology should not be depended on for success but rather as a tool to assist learning.  This philosophy is in line with my beliefs.  There is a tendency for some educators to rely heavily on technology.  It is so easy nowadays to make an amazing lesson on PowerPoint and it is even easier to just sit there and click the button of a mouse.  Then, when you look at your class, half of them are asleep from boredom.  Technology can make the class more interesting but we need to ensure that student engagement and participation are also achieved throughout the lesson.

The attached video looks at developing your own teaching philosophy.  It is a little long but worth watching especially for those who have just entered in the teaching field and may be struggling a little to find their place in the classroom.  It has inspired me to think about my own philosophy statement and documenting it.  It would be interesting to see how it changes over the years as new technology emerges in teaching and learning. 

 

Kanuka, H. (2008). Understanding e-learning technologies-in-practice through philosophies-in-practice. The theory and practice of online learning, 91-118.

Pratt, D. (2002). Good Teaching: One Size Fits All? New directions for adult and continuing education(93).

Yager, S. (2013, June 26). Writing a teaching philosophy statement. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tbqS25mHCiM