Running Head: TEACHING PLATFORM
Teaching Platform
Amanda Dunphy
University of South Florida
EDE4941- Childhood Ed Intern Level I
December 4, 2016
TEACHING PLATFORM
Teaching young, developing minds is not as easy as everyone thinks it may be. Teaching,
to many, can be explained by the broad term explaining and/or showing a specific topic to your
students and making sure they can comprehend and reiterate what they have just been taught.
However, as I continue to learn about theorists, new techniques used for helping students, and so
forth, I have concluded that teaching takes a special kind of person. Teaching young children
requires a heartfelt and dedicated individual who is willing to put their best efforts forth in order
to help every student succeed. As a future educator I am beginning to form my teaching
philosophy while encountering new things during my field experience and learning new teaching
techniques/strategies.
While learning about classroom management, I noticed that I could relate to not one, but
three theorists when it comes to the different approaches of discipline within your class. Each
theory had elements that I would aim to include within my classroom environment that way my
students are succeeding and receiving the most information possible. As I discussed in my
Creative Classroom Management blog, Alfie Kohns theory of beyond discipline is
beneficial when it comes to incorporating collaboration into ones classroom
(http://adunphy.weebly.com/blog-page/creative-classroom-management-activity). I feel it is
extremely important that students are able to work with one another because this helps them
form social interactive skills that they may lack. Collaborating also lets students take into
consideration different individuals points of view and further reflect on this, which is an
important milestone all children must meet at one point (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). By allowing
students to work with one another, you are also forming a safe, caring, and open environment for
your students to learn in and as I observe different classroom styles, I feel as if this plays into
every students success rate. Not only do I plan on incorporating aspects of Kohns discipline
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theory into my classroom, but I also agree with the assertive discipline theory that Lee Canter
emphasizes should be found in every class. Canters approach is beneficial when it comes to
things such as a tier warning system and involving parents in their childs education (Levin &
Nolan, 2010). By using a tier warning system in your classroom, you are allowing the student to
misbehave but reflect on this before punishing them. Involvement of parents in students
curriculum is important because if the child is only working during school hours they will slowly
fall behind. It is necessary that children must extend their learning and complete work while at
home as well. My favorite and most likely to be used theory was formed by Linda Albert and
refers to classroom management as a cooperative discipline approach. Albert explained that
we should make every student feel like they belong and that they are valued. This is extremely
critical when it comes to establishing an overall climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and
support (FEAP 2F). As seen in numerous lesson plans, I tend to provide my students with an
opportunity to work with one another in a respectful, open environment
(http://adunphy.weebly.com/blog-page/category/feaps-2f). Alberts theory further incorporates
individuals diversity into the classroom and involves families while establishing rules and
objectives of the overall classroom. This makes the environment more community based and
accommodating to different students needs. My goal as a teacher is to have a classroom
management style that incorporates different theories and strategies, all which play a huge role
into setting my students up for a bright, successful future.
While keeping numerous theorists in mind, my intentions are to have a classroom that is
student-centered. Within student-centered classrooms, students are directly involved and have a
sense of authority as it pertains to their own knowledge. Through collaboration and cooperating
with other students, my children will use prior knowledge to construct their new learning and
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further involve themselves in learning that is challenging and universal (Levin & Nolan, 2010). I
feel as if some students learn better by participating in hands-on activities and collaborating with
their fellow peers. As constructivists say, students tend to learn more by experiences and active
involvement with the material than by simply observing and listening (Bohlin, Durwin & ReeseWeber, 2009). As many teachers know, it is quite hard to meet the needs of every student in your
classroom, however this is necessary. While I study to become a future educator, I am learning
strategies that work with a number of students. Student-centered instruction involves revolving
the planning, teaching, and assessing of students based off of their individual needs and abilities
(Levin & Nolan, 2010). I would love to incorporate this into my classroom as I feel it is
necessary for educators to be willing to work with every student and motivate them to do better.
When I decided to become a teacher, I vowed to help every student in my classroom, despite the
obstacles or frustrations, I am here to help inexperienced children to become knowledgeable,
skillful individuals.
When it comes to assessing my students progress, I plan to do this in a number of ways.
I am not very fond of the traditional style of consistent tests for each subject. I would much
rather incorporate different techniques of assessing their comprehension into my classroom. For
example, one can use projects, written samples, even group work as an assessment on the
material that was taught. While I know it is important to test your students that way you can see
if they are comprehending necessary material, I think a mixture of both formative assessment
and summative assessments should be incorporated into every classroom. Formative
assessments are part of the instructional process; you can incorporate these into your teaching
and further adjust it that way the students are learning (Bohlin, Durwin & Reese-Weber, 2009).
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Summative assessments involve periodically seeing what your students do and do not know.
These assessments are often associated with direct state standards and are important to
classroom-based programs (Bohlin, Durwin & Reese-Weber, 2009).
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As I have taught numerous lessons to a third grade class, I have tried both assessment types. I
have used group collaborations as assessing what my students know as well as individual
worksheets. For example, while planning my first lesson plan on voting, I wanted to see what
the students knew about voting and aim to teach them new aspects of this monumental, important
day/action. (http://adunphy.weebly.com/blog-page/week-5). While teaching the children about
the first Thanksgiving celebration I also used a KWL chart to assess what my children knew and
further adjust the curriculum we covered that way necessary components were taught
(http://adunphy.weebly.com/blog-page/-make-up-monday). I want to make sure I am assessing
my students in a timely manner meanwhile constantly changing the types of assessments, in
hopes that I will be able to accommodate every child and keep every individual engaged.
While reflecting on my recent experiences in the classroom, I have set numerous goals
for myself as a future educator and advocate for young children. My goal as a teacher is to make
sure every student is leaving my classroom, daily, with new information that they can further
relate to real-life experiences. If a student is not learning the necessary standards, I want to
accommodate my teaching to their individual needs and abilities. The point of becoming a
teacher, to me, is to make a difference in every way possible. I may not be able to affect every
student worldwide, but I can make sure that every student that steps foot into my classroom
leaves feeling empowered and full of knowledge! Throughout my teaching career, I want to
make sure to learn and grow as I reflect on my everyday experiences in the classroom. A huge
part of teaching is being able to accept constructive criticism and use this to find research that
could better your teaching techniques and strategies. There is constant change throughout the
educations system and it is extremely important that you stay on top of this that way your
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students do not suffer. I cannot wait to become an influential, motivating, and compassionate
teacher and help students grow into successful individuals.
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References
Bohlin, L., Durwin, C. C., & Reese-Weber, M. (2009). EdPsych: Modules. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Charles, C. M. Linda Alberts Cooperative Discipline. In Building classroom discipline.
Boston Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch.5. pp. 67-84.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance
understanding. York, Me.: Stenhouse.
Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2010). Principles of classroom management: A professional decisionmaking model (7th ed.). Pearson.
