Based on my experience as a student and equally as a practicing teacher, one thing that I have noted over time is that education is an individual experience that is unique to each student. That is why I believe that for schools to offer the best for its students, it is imperative that teachers get to understand their learners in the first place. Since a teacher's role in the life of a student is quite expansive and the outcomes of such a role will take the student a long way in life, teaching should then be recognized as a lifestyle rather than a four-hour-per-week job. It is until then that the actual commitment will be emulated by the teacher in question and then a student's life get shaped in the right manner for current and future success. In other words, I strongly believe that by making learning a living experience for the learners through customized instructions, a teacher can channel a student's resources towards learning and growth in an all-encompassing way.
Philosophy of Schools and Learning
Schools are like factories where the inputs are students and the outputs are scholars and professionals in various fields. The process through which such a transformation is achieved is what matters most. That is why I believe that the first step that a school and individual teachers should take is set standards for its students based on a background knowledge on the experiences of each student with the learning environment (Winch, Gingell, & Winch, 2008). For example, a school district that implements a K-12 curriculum should do so based on the academic standards established by federal and state agencies all while ensuring that controlling the curriculum locally through its teachers and the administration. That way, the higher level standards are refined to fit the school and learners through specific strategies that work best with the kind of learners the school has. That is the kind of customization of instructions that I believe helps learners to live a unique experience while in school and hence achieve higher levels of success in whatever career they decide to venture into.
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From the foregoing, academic standards by federal and state agencies are not meant to restrict schools as learning environments, rather they provide a high-level plan to meet the knowledge needs of the society at any given time. Schools should be institutions where the academic standards are implemented through leadership and guidance around the implementation process (Winch et al., 2008). The leadership and guidance within each school should be aimed at determining the instructional methods, methods of assessment, and the kind of resources that the school and a teacher will need for every classroom, lesson, and the individual student. With this kind of approach to education and learning, there is no doubt that a school, as well as its teaching staff, will be able to meet and exceed adopted standards.
That said, it is also imperative that schools focus efforts on eliciting motivation among students because academic learning begins with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The students must see that the educator is passionate about the subject or material being taught. Such genuine intensity to learning is what arouses the curiosity of the learner and in turn makes the learner interested and motivated to undertake in a teaching and learning process. More on motivation will be examined under instructional methods.
In summary, it is within the reach of schools to understand the learning style of their students and thus be able to customize instructions to reflect that kind of knowledge. While academic standards are set elsewhere, the curriculum implementation process should be such that it optimizes the outcome of instructional methods to make learning a living experience for all students. I believe that the underlying principle of how schools operate should be to attend to one student at a time.
Instructional Methods
I believe that not only do students need their learning to be a living experience but their teachers too need it to be so for them and it all starts with employing the right instructional methods. Instructional methods depend on the individual goals of a teacher and equally on the understanding of the learner's needs. Hence, when it comes to instructional methods, I believe due diligence is required because this is the "process" per se of the school as a factory. Adopting evidence-based instructional methods with a keen attention on manipulating such to fit into the learning context provides the best learning outcomes in any environment.
As a teacher, I will lay the foundation of learning as an experience by employing constructivist methods of teaching that triggers motivation and inspiration among learners. The constructivist methods of teaching are core to turning students into active learners (Wilson, 2012). Through such methods, students make choices and assume responsibilities in the classroom for intellectual inquiry and discovery (Dill, 2017). As an example, when students undertake in projects, there is an opportunity for me to discover the preferences as well as strengths and weaknesses of my students. The next time I involve students in similar activities, including discussions and experiments, I will better place to offer more opportunities to my learners to feel motivated and inspired than they were previously. In other words, constructivist methods of teaching provide me with the opportunity to differentiate instructions for my students in a classroom environment and optimize learning outcomes for them.
Once I will have learned the strengths and weaknesses of my learners through employing constructivist methods described above, it will also be necessary to making learning engaging and with clear expectations. Thus, I also intend to use more supportive behavior strategies. Being firm but fair is my mantra and that entails pointing out disruptive behaviors to learning while at the same time providing chances for such behaviors to be overcome by the student as an individual. That way, students get to understand that their behaviors and attitude and their learning go hand in hand.
Diversity
One final issue in the teaching and learning environment is diversity and me here, I believe that by developing cultural sensitivity it is possible to address diversity in a way that promotes inclusivity in a classroom environment (Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin | Scholastic, 2018). Thus, my approach to diversity will be to make use of simulation to promote communication among the diverse population of students. In my understanding, mastering culturally competent communication is unlike other skills (Dill, 2017). It takes innovative and creative teaching methods to realize it. The simulation will specifically help me and my students overcome language and cultural barriers to communication by exposing students to interactive sessions with simulated scenarios to improve their verbal and non-verbal communication and cultural sensitivity (Spinner-Gelfars, 2013).
Conclusion
As I conclude, I have made a commitment to be an academic, personal, and ethical role model by becoming a teacher and that is how I intend to ensure the personal growth of my students. Clearly, there can be no complete learning without attending to all needs of a student beyond the classroom environment. That is why my philosophy of education is such that an all-encompassing instructional strategy or approach defines what I believe should entail teaching and learning.
References
Dills, A. (2017). Classroom diversity and academic outcomes. Economic Inquiry, 56 (1), 304-316. doi: 10.1111/ecin.12481
Spinner-Gelfars, A. (2013). Using simulation to promote effective communication with a diverse student population. Teaching and Learning in Nursing . (3), 96-101. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2013.01.004
Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin. Scholastic . (2018). Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/teaching-diversity-place-begin-0/
Wilson, M. (2012). Learning styles, instructional strategies, and the question of matching: A literature review. International Journal of Education, 4 (3). doi: 10.5296/ije.v4i3.1785
Winch, C., Gingell, J., & Winch, C. (2008). Philosophy of education. London: Routledge.
