My Teaching Philosophy

Science is defined as the study of the natural world based on facts learned through observation or experimentation. Science should be taught through observation and experimentation. In my science lessons, I strive to harness the students’ natural curiosity and channel it into discovery based learning. In my teaching, I feel it is important to present scientific material in a way that is relevant and interesting to the students’ lives. I want students to walk away from my classes with a new appreciation for science and the natural world and to have the skills to be able to make scientific conclusions.

Since science deals with the natural world, I incorporate the natural environment in my lessons whenever possible. A prime example is teaching about weather in the mountains. Instead of reading about how climate and weather changes with elevation, we hiked up a mountain. Along the hike we learned about adiabatic cooling and how that affects the weather in the mountains. The students were able to feel the differences in temperature as we climbed higher, and many noticed air pressure changes when their ears popped. Being able to experience the lesson ingrained it into the students’ minds and they were better able to understand the concepts being taught. Most importantly, they had a lot of fun learning and were eager to learn more.

I feel that it is very important to create an environment in which students want to learn. For me, this means creating lessons that I am excited to teach. By harnessing my own excitement, I am able to create a learning environment which is not only informative, but also engaging and fun for the students. It is extremely important to me to design lessons that are not only informative, but are also engaging and fun for the students. Since many students learn in different ways, it is important to tailor these lessons to the various types of learners, thus also avoiding the potential for boring repetition. For example, in a unit on geology, I would incorporate hands-on games for learning the rock types for active learners; creating a scale model of geologic time for visual learners; and creating a story of a rock making its way through the rock cycle for listeners. By using various types of activities, I am able to create an engaging learning experience for every student.

In addition to creating lessons that students are eager to participate in, it is also important to create a classroom environment where students feel safe and accepted. In order to do this, I make sure students get to know each other through short teambuilding exercises. When done over time, these short exercises help students to build confidence and break down preconceived social barriers. This, in turn, helps students regularly communicate with each other. I encourage student-teacher communication to create open dialogue in which students feel comfortable expressing problems or asking for help.

Teaching is never predictable and challenges often come up. If a lesson does not end up providing the desired results there is never shame in asking for help from fellow teachers. I know when to admit I’m wrong or to acknowledge that I don’t know something. Teaching is also a learning process. I look at difficulties as opportunities to grow as a teacher and learn something new. It is important to me to never stop learning and demonstrate to students that learning can happen beyond the classroom.

My greatest moments in teaching are when learning is noticeable; when students smile at a discovery or are having fun leaning something new. I am able to make these moments happen by creating an engaging lesson plan with active learning. I foster open classroom dialogue to encourage students to share their discoveries. When these fail, I am not afraid to learn from the situation and find a new way to approach the lesson. By focusing on my teaching strengths, I am able to recreate these moments throughout the learning process.