Shruthi Manjunath

6/24/14
Teaching Philosophy
Math has always been an intimidating subject for me. It does not
come naturally to me. However, there was a moment in my life I could
truly say that this was not the case. Thanks to my fourth grade math
teacher, and the positive and safe environment she created, I actually
felt comfortable and successful in math. I could ask her any question
and never felt frightened to do so. She was patient and would help
support me when I struggled with certain problems. She would help me
work through them. She showed me just how important the
environment and social interactions can be to the learning process. I
also felt that she never gave me a task that I was not capable of
handling. Even the most difficult material that was given, with some
assistance from her, I was able to master it. In addition, she gave me
very good feedback. It was clear, specific, and in a positive manner. It
was easy to improve when I knew exactly where my errors were and
what I needed to do to correct them. Thus, she further showed me how
important learning content that is at the appropriate level for the
student and effective feedback can be for academic success.
Therefore, I value these lessons she taught me and implement them in
my own teaching.
First, I have a Vygotskian approach to teaching and feel that the
environment and social interactions can have a big impact on learning.
Hence, I always try to create a positive climate. I work at being
approachable and warm, letting my students know that I will be
available to support them. For instance, during my time teaching
elementary students, I made it known that I was here to provide
guidance and assured them that they could ask me any questions they
had. When they would do class activities I made sure to actively
monitor them, addressing any concerns and providing one-on-one
assistance with any difficult problems. I further encouraged them to
learn from each other by having higher achieving peers work with
lower achieving peers. Most of these students benefited from
instruction and made excellent progress through out the semester.
Also, during my time as a supervisor of School Psychology students, I
made sure to encourage the expression of any concerns and tried to
make myself available as much as possible. There were many times
that I would sit down with students individually and guide them
through difficult cases. Many of my supervisees informed me that they
appreciated this support and felt that I was available when they
needed me.
Second, I think it also is crucial to assess prior knowledge before
teaching begins in order to make sure the appropriate material is being
taught. Every student comes in with a different knowledge base and

Shruthi Manjunath
6/24/14
this can affect his or her learning. According to Vygotsky, learning
occurs when one is in his or her zone of proximal development, which
is the difference between what one can do on his or her own and what
one can do with guidance. Thus, in order to be able to assess what a
students zone of proximal development is, an instructor must assess
that students prior knowledge. This ensures that the student is being
taught appropriate material. For example, as an elementary school
reading instructor, before classes began I would assess current reading
abilities with a short test. Based on these results, I would decide what
to teach and the level of difficulty that was appropriate for each
student. Most of these students made excellent progress through out
the semester and had no major issues in mastering the material.
Finally, I think that providing effective feedback, as a teacher is
critical to learning, as effective feedback allows the student to
improve. For instance, every time I gave feedback on an assignment
that was turned in, I made sure that the comments I wrote were clear,
specific, and phrased in a positive manner. I was told by some of my
students that having feedback in this format was helpful, as they knew
exactly what to do in order to improve their performance.
Thus, as an instructor, one should strive to make sure students
are learning to the best of their ability. Having a positive climate
through social interactions, teaching learning content that is at the
appropriate level, and giving effective feedback are all critical ways to
accomplish this goal. I truly believe these methods not only aid in
teacher success but also student success.
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