Teaching Philosophy

My Teaching Philosophy – A Self Interview

JANELLE:                 How would you describe your teaching philosophy, particularly concerned with writing, in 3 words/phrases?

MS. NEWMAN:          If I had to narrow down my philosophy it could be reflected in: student empowerment; networked/connected engagement; and vigilant reflection.

JANELLE:                 Can you describe those in a bit more detail?

MS. NEWMAN:          I would define student empowerment as giving the students the tools and the opportunity to drive their own learning.  The value of student empowerment can be implemented  within any framework.  Networked/connected engagement sees student creations as able to touch the greater society.  Technology has allowed us to form communities is new ways and students can interact more directly with a global, as well as local, community.  Vigilant reflection helps all classroom participants, teachers and students alike, to become aware of their own decisions, ideologies, and opinions which affect their actions in the classroom and greater society.

JANELLE:                 Why do you teach?

MS. NEWMAN:          I teach because somewhere, in the midst of chaos and inadequacy, the classroom environment can help foster world-changing skills.   It also can be a place that violently removes empowerment and creativity – this I want to combat.  I love teaching because it is an ever-changing set of variables to be understood, analyzed, and manipulated to order to facilitate this place of change.  It is the consistent problem-solving and self-assessment that energizes me.  And in all of that, through teaching I’m given the privilege of getting to know a great number of very fascinating people, my students.

JANELLE:                 Who do you teach and what do you teach?

MS. NEWMAN:          Throughout my teaching career thus far, I have taught in a variety of areas and across many ages.  I tend to gravitate toward the language and performing arts content sectors.  At present, I am involved in teaching English as a second language (ESL) to college-bound adults as well as in teacher preparation courses for those wanting to teach ESL at the K-12 level.   Most of my college-bound adults hail from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and China and my teacher preparatory students are from the United States.  Due to the heterogeneous nature of my overall student population, I make great effort to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed.  We all have unique histories to bring into the classroom.  Every student deserves their individual voice to be heard in the way he or she chooses to express it.  Saying that, I work to help students balance the need for fluency with the strategies to succeed in the academic community.  It goes back to empowerment – helping students create in a way that serves their individual purposes and community.

JANELLE:                 How do students learn and therefore how do you teach?

MS. NEWMAN:          I believe students learn through self-reflection and active participation in meaning making.   I find myself recalling more information when I can tie it to an unforgettable educational or “real-life” experience – a memory or strong emotion so I attempt to facilitate classroom activities that may provide for these experiences.  I also aim to break down the dichotomy between “classroom” and “real-life”. Problem-posing situations, as found in works of Freire, and the active-learning methods of Dewey’s progressive education inform my teaching style. My ultimate goal in the classroom is to help students see that learning is a lifelong process.  It will hopefully never finish.  As I help students develop their personal strategies for learning, I hope those strategies will be transferred beyond the specific classroom content.  I do not teach anything just for the sake of teaching it.  I attempt to connect every theory to a practical experience where it might be used.

JANELLE:                 What might your classroom look like?

MS. NEWMAN:          I have an interactive approach to teaching.  I rarely do the same activity for a whole class period; instead, I try to include as much variety in teacher-led, student-led, and small group activities while using technology where appropriate.  It is extremely difficult to fall asleep in one of my classes because there is constant student-student and teacher-student engagement.

JANELLE:                 How do you measure your effectiveness as a teacher?

MS. NEWMAN:          I know that I am being an effective teacher when students are engaged in learning.  Though not neglecting the final product, the process of learning holds more weight overall.  Good attendance, active classroom participation, open community communication, and a level of engagement with the target information helps display my teaching effectiveness or lack therefore.  Nothing is inherently a boring or unengageable topic.  Through my teaching style, I hope to foster in students a curiosity of the world.  If students have more curiosity and the tools to explore that curiosity when they leave my course, I have done my job as a teacher.   

JANELLE:                 Any final thoughts?

MS. NEWMAN:          Teaching is a calling.  Some would call it a vocation.  As in every profession, there are people who do it because they can’t imagine doing anything else, and those who do it for the paycheck.  I would encourage anyone who thinks they might have a bit of that calling to try teaching.