My Teaching Philosophy

 

  As a Mathematics and English teacher, I wish to help my students to be independent learners, responsible for their own learning. Apart from that, my aim is to help them develop their 21^st century skills, especially the 4Cs: communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. As a teacher, I believe that students will need to have such skills in order for them to be successful in the future. I like to have a student-centered, fully-engaging class where all students are not reluctant or shy to share their own ideas and opinions. I like to ensure that the students’ participation is at its maximum, in addition to them having the opportunity to take part in hands-on activities which enhance their learning. I also believe in the benefits of differentiated learning, where no students are to be left behind. My teaching philosophy is influenced by Abraham Maslow’s humanist approach, where I aim to have a group of students who feel safe, welcomed and comfortable during the learning process.

 

     Students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. To achieve this, I often start my class by asking their prior knowledge on the topic to know where they are at on their learning. I also encourage them to think, discuss and share their ideas with their pairs or within their groups. This practice helps create a safe learning environment for them so they become more confident to ask questions whenever they are in doubts, or to share their opinions when necessary. I like the practice of peer feedback and peer correction in my class, because I believe sometimes students also learn better from each other instead of from their teacher. I often give my students the opportunity to present their work whether individually, in pairs or in groups. It is through group activities that the students can enhance their communication and social skills, in addition to developing their teamwork and leadership skills. I like the use of game-based learning in my class, where students can have fun while learning at the same time. There are a number of games and activities that can be used in class, for examples, BINGO, tic-tac-toe, multiplication dice and the list goes on. Whenever possible, I always create activities which can relate my teaching to the real-life examples. For instance, when teaching shapes, I would ask my students to hunt for the shapes they learn in the classroom.

 

     I believe in formative and summative assessment. Therefore, I encourage pair work and group work throughout my lesson where students are given the opportunity to reteach and reexplain the concept to each other. Students are also prompted to explain how they get their answer to their questions. It is also through presentation that students can argue and discuss different opinions and contradicting answers. This type of constructive feedback among each other helps the students learn better. I always challenge my students to create their own questions during class activity to assess their understanding on the topic. I also use the “I do, We do & You do” strategy in class to ensure that students are able to do their tasks on their own. I often create differentiated tasks and worksheets to make sure that every student is learning at their own pace without having to feel like they are left behind. I also give frequent topical tests to students to assess their knowledge, and to help them be prepared for their examinations. Apart from that, I also implement short quizzes and online interactive games to assess whether the students have achieved the targeted learning outcomes.

 

     It is every teacher’s wish to see their students being successful in the future. My definition of ‘successful’ is for the students to be able to enhance their critical thinking skills and improve their mathematical skills in general so they could apply the knowledge they have gained into the real world. I expect my students to build up their confidence and self-esteem and be more independent with their own learning. I also hope to produce students who are used to problem-solving skills as it is essential in our everyday life.

 

     Challenges are inevitable when it comes to teaching and learning. One major problem I often face is language barrier. Although the medium language used is English, quite a few students still struggle to communicate in English with the teacher, or with each other. This makes it difficult to have a smooth lesson because language translation often occurs in between. Another main issue is the practice of peer feedback or peer correction. Some students find the practice humiliating and they lose face particularly when they make mistakes during the learning. A few of them even feel like their friends do not have the authority of correcting their mistakes. In this recent time where learning takes place online, it is difficult to implement the practice I usually use in physical class into the online class. The lack of students’ online participation makes it hard to conduct a fully engaging class the way I used to.

 

     To overcome these obstacles, I usually allow the use of bilingual education in my classroom at its necessary level. Students are allowed to explain what they know in Malay language. However, it has to be followed with immediate translation or rephrasing to English language either by myself or by their peers. I would have self-evaluation after every class conducted to reflect back on my teaching and access the things that go well and the things that I should improve. I also introduce a number of ground rules for the students to follow when giving peer feedback. To have a better students’ response during online class, I have to ensure that I use minimal and yet effective online learning strategy so that all students can participate. I often prepare a short lesson video for the students to refer to in case they could not make the live online lesson.

 

    I like the idea of peer evaluation in improving my teaching skills. I am open to any constructive feedback, advices and opinions given by my colleagues or someone with high authority. I would also participate in professional development sessions conducted within the school or within the ministry so I could learn more on how to become a good 21^st century teacher.