Teaching Philosophy

I've been working now on a few teaching/learning philosophies in the past years and I think I've come up with a version that is brief and reflects a lot of the elements discussed on this blog.

Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.
--Jacob Chanowski

I found this quote on a wall as an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University-Idaho, a school whose motto is “Rethinking Education” and it seemed to square well with what I thought about my own learning, long before I thought I would become a teacher. I do not intend to reflect an undesirable image on learners, but rather found that this is how I would describe myself as a learner. I was drawn to the focus on learning as an exchange, rather than a one-way experience and a disregard for appearances in the pursuit of more important things; this leaves students free to make necessary mistakes. As a teacher I am interested in what a student brings to the classroom, his choices and actions and making sure he or she feels accountable and informed when it comes to his or her performance.

What a Student Brings

The quote from Jacob Chanowski, assumes that students don’t come to the classroom as empty vessels to be filled. They come with “cultural capital” and though their language skills or backgrounds may rough and unsophisticated, they bring much to the classroom. I am convinced that a teaching approach should use the students’ first language to reinforce their second language acquisition and that a multicultural classroom can and should be the goal of every ESL class. A multicultural classroom embraces differences and invites students to use the common language of English to express and discuss their experience.
A student is not just a cultural being, but a cognitive presence. Students in my class will be invited to engage in metacognition about the way that they learn, to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses in content or with the multiple intelligences and work on overcoming them. Self knowledge can be very empowering as students discover that language is something that comes from inside of them and make choices suited to what they want and who they are. In this way language learning becomes a collaborative effort between student and teacher in negotiating authentic communication situations.

Agency

Ultimately the learning achievement of every individual lies with that individual. I must find ways of tapping into intrinsic motivation because every student is an agent who must be given freedom to choose and plan. These choices and the framework for such planning comes with guidance from a teacher. A teacher facilitates this best when fostering intrinsic motivation and focusing on meaningful learning rather than rote learning.
The ultimate goal of language education is independent learners. Language is not something that we are ever done learning, so the ability to continue into unchartered waters independently is a goal I have for my students. Together we will strive for self-correction, identifying logical errors etc., and my feedback will reflect that mistakes are progressive; my teaching style will focus on what gives us energy and rapport in the classroom.

Accountability

To understand our progress and continue or increase as learners, we all have to measure and quantify what we are doing well, how we measure up to a standard, etc. We must feel that there is some kind of accountability. While the dangers of over-anxiety in a language classroom are very real and reflect a balancing act for teachers to speakers of other languages, there must be expectations of venturing forth and participating for students. In a beginning classroom, the teacher may provide most of the material and even much of the second language communication, but learners should feel that they are not spectators and that they are expected to reach for greater facility. This also demonstrates meaningful learning in that students are not required to give the answers I give them or repeat my version of knowledge but rather to boldly and, at times, almost bare-footedly, to tread where they have not gone before. Learners should not feel that they make these ventures alone. However, they should feel greater autonomy and a sense of independence when they accomplish a language task.

Technology

I feel that for an independent language learner there is no better tool than technology, mainly computers and digital media. Technology also represents a global language and skill necessary for success and communication. I hope to connect my students to me, to each other and to the world through technology. In my classroom I will find ways to use various forms of technology for these reasons. Technological advances have made me wonder at times at what use technology will make of teachers rather than how teachers will use technology. Once again, my mind returns to Chanowski’s questioning, adaptable, human learner. Teachers also must be a questioning, independent source of dialogue, collaborative learning, and the adaptability that is so necessary for language learning centered on independent individuals who are members of the larger world.