Teaching Philosophy

Michael Hosking’s Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher I believe the key to enhancing student’s learning within the classroom is getting to know each student on a personal level. By learning every student’s name, taking an interest in their lives outside of the classroom and being fair and showing respect to each student within the classroom, I have created an environment where students feel comfortable and learning can take place. Once I have created this safe and secure learning environment and my students are engaged and willing to learn, it is my role to provide interesting learning experiences to keep them motivated and on task. To maintain their engagement, I use a range of teaching styles and I use examples that are relevant to their daily lives. By doing this I give every student an equal opportunity of learning no matter what their individual learning style is. Finally I try to implement Blooms taxonomy within my questioning during lessons. Through the use of questioning that requires lower, middle and higher order thinking skills I can challenge and extend all students within my classroom.

Away from the classroom I believe that it is essential that I continue to improve myself as a teacher.  Firstly, I try to focus at a syllabus level to ensure that when I develop my lesson plans and assignments I am covering the required learning and give every student the opportunity of receiving the highest grade. Secondly, I am constantly improving my content knowledge so that I can develop lesson plans that are not only interesting but also allow students to gain a deep understanding of the material. Through the use of reflection I can assess what worked, what didn’t work and most importantly develop ways to improve the learning experience for my students. I believe this is a very important step to becoming an excellent teacher as without this reflection I will not improve my performances within the classroom. Finally it is vitally important that I participate as an active member within the school community. This way I will not only become a respected member of the team but also have an understanding of the schools goals and plans for the future. It also gives me the opportunity to question and learn from established teachers and implement some of their strategies to improve the learning experiences for my students.

What motivates me as a teacher is the satisfaction that I receive from knowing that I have made a difference within my student’s lives. When a student thanks me for the class or excels on their exams and assignments it motivates me and pushes me to improve my teaching so that more of my students can achieve their individual goals. By doing this, I can be satisfied at the end of every day in the knowledge that I have made a difference.