Educational Philosophy

Throughout my classroom experience and the courses I have

taken at Drake University, I have developed a person teaching
philosophy that I will implement into my future classroom. My goal for
my future classroom is to challenge students and create life-long
learners. Because every child learns differently, I will prepare and plan
lessons to meet all students needs. I strongly believe that every child
is capable of succeeding with the proper motivation and support. As a
teacher, I need to be aware of the various learning theories in order to
best support all of my students.
Deciding how I want to effectively run a classroom requires much
thought. After learning about different learning theories, I have
concluded that you cant just pick one theory that works the best in a
classroom. There are traits of each philosophy that are beneficial and
effective for student learning.
One philosophy that I will incorporate a great deal into my future
classroom is Progressivism, or the learning by doing philosophy. I
believe that students learn the most efficiently through hands-on
projects and real world experiences. I also think that teachers should
serve as a guide and model student learning, rather that teaching at
the students.
However, I also think that Essentialism and Behaviorism serve as
a good foundation for classroom management and discipline. Setting
clear rules and expectations can be crucial in maintaining structure in
a class. I also believe that reinforcing desired behaviors can shape
student behavior.
Although there are many different philosophies of teaching with
contrasting beliefs, teachers can integrate all of them smoothly into a
classroom. All students learn differently, so it is important to remember
that different styles of teaching will work better with different students.
Embodying multiple philosophies a good way to cater to every childs
needs.