Teaching is a great responsibility because it is often a teacher who both shapes their students’ views on a particular subject and contributes to the formation of their world outlook. Therefore, thinking about the ideas and values to be promoted in one’s teaching practice might be crucial. The purpose of this paper is to define my objectives, methods, and evaluation as a teacher which together form my teaching philosophy.
From the time I decided to pursue a career in teaching, I have been watching my teachers and professors and realizing my experience as a student to find the core. By now, I have figured out that it is significant to motivate students properly, not just to remind them of the difficulty of an upcoming exam. Actually, young people will not follow their professors’ advice and study hard if they do not understand the reason why they should do that. Hence, my objective as a teacher is to assist each student in understanding the ground why my subject is important to them personally, and then help them master their knowledge and skills. I also see my goal in making young people acquire a habit of studying and developing life-long learning skills in them because one should always improve their competencies and knowledge to be a professional.
Speaking about the means, by using which I can achieve the goals set, I believe that a personal example might be the key one. My students should see me as a highly-motivated and effective teacher who likes the occupation and works hard. Perhaps, if so, they would get inspired and work hard, too, in order to become successful students and real professionals. This idea can be implemented through the following methods: clarifying to students what skills they are going to acquire by accomplishing a particular task and concentrating on practical experience rather than on theory. Moreover, I regard giving students certain freedom and encouraging them to think critically for keeping them interested as truly important.
As for the evaluation criteria, my students’ good and excellent marks for exams will certainly be a sign that I have worked effectively. However, knowing that my graduates pursue a career in medicine, truly like their occupation and develop their skills would be rewarding, because it would prove that I have chosen the right direction in teaching.My philosophy closely echoes the importance of teaching students the right ways of thinking and analyzing. According to Caro, Lenkeit, and Kyriakides (2016), effective thinking belongs to one of the key abilities a person should have because it is going to help them both in studies and life. Researchers note, that too much instruction and control negatively affect the motivation, interest, and results of students (Swartz & Perkins, 2016).That is why my views are opposite the philosophy, in which the main idea is to just give students tasks, make them follow the patterns and only ensure that their works correspond with the templates.
To sum up, it is important to stress the point that as a teacher, I see my mission in motivating students, helping them get encouraged, being a good example for them, and developing their skills. Seeing that my former students have become highly-motivated and skilled professionals who are constantly working on the development of their abilities would be the best reward for me. I do not accept making young people follow the rules without giving them a reason to do so, and concentrate only on theory instead of practice.
References
Caro, D. H., Lenkeit, J., &Kyriakides, L. (2016). Teaching strategies and differential effectiveness across learning contexts: Evidence from PISA 2012. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 49, 30-41.
Swartz, R.& Perkins, D. (2016). Teaching thinking: Issues and approaches. London, England: Routledge.