Teaching Philosophy
My Five Pillars
My five pillars of my teaching philosophy are guided and founded from a broader pedagogical framework governed by the 21st Century Competencies. This framework outlines the way that learning and developing new knowledge occurs in learners and, most importantly, the targeted outcomes imperative to today’s world. This learning framing, heavily influenced by Albert Bandura social learning theory, focuses on the three distinct domains of the developing-self.
The cognitive domain is responsible for learners' cognitive processing, strategies, knowledge, and creativity, and heavily influences critical thinking and problem solving.
The interpersonal domain guides teamwork and leadership, which directly reflects on the development of collaboration, communication, responsibility, and conflict resolution. The interpersonal domain guides behaviour both in and around the learner –analogous to Bandura’s behavioural branch.
The intrapersonal domain influences the self through the development of intellectual openness, work ethic, and conscientiousness and self-evaluation. This domain is what internally happens within developing learners – the metacognitive component to learning.
The three domains intersect, overlap, and form continuous reciprocal structures that learners often navigate through in different ways and stages of their development. I believe the 21st Century Global Competencies framework forms a crucial and critical mark in the holistic development of developing learners. This framework in turn sets them up for success personally, professionally and beyond the academic setting – a goal I strive to achieve and instil in my pedagogy.
My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy focuses on student success through critical thinking and problem solving while maintaining an innovative, dynamic, and inclusive learning environment. Through my experiences, I believe that student success is maximised when educators find a balance between experiential learning that promotes creativity, individual interest, which develops self-motivation, and, most importantly, teamwork, which encourages perseverance and resilience.
I believe that as a teacher, I have a lot to offer. My extensive experience as an Uncertified Long Term Occasional Teacher with the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board, and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, has taught me the importance of interactive and digital media learning through my completely virtual assigned classes.
My experience as a student teacher, with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, in combination with my academics, has taught me the importance of student success through the appropriate use of differentiation and scaffolding, in particular, for students in maths and science courses. It has also introduced me to new teaching methods in different learning environments; like that of, teacher as mentor / facilitator, in which teachers empower their students by engaging them in meaningful self-discovery learning. In addition, it has also taught me the importance of open communication with parents to allow for student success to occur. Through my experience as a personal tutor in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics for high school and university students, I have learned that no two subjects can be taught the same and that catering to the students’ strengths secures their success. I often found myself using a combination of traditional teaching methods and digital resources to relate to students and communicate concepts more effectively.
Moreover, I believe that as a future international educator, it is fundamental to be adaptive, open-minded, and flexible to foster an environment of inclusion, acceptance, and success in our student's learning journey. Being an international educator is being mindful of the Global Communities found within diverse institutions and being informed and aware, not just of our student's academic performance but of the whole world surrounding them in their current journey to joining the global community.
Through my academic and labour experiences, I have discovered and valued the importance of effective communication, critical thinking, and teamwork as the imperative qualities that promote self-achievement both academically and socially. With my skills, abilities, and experiences, I plan to facilitate student achievement both academically and socially; I believe this would, in turn, prepare students for the fast-paced and ever-changing world outside of their academic endeavour.
GROWING SUCCESS
GLOBAL COMPENTENCIES
THINKING CLASSROOMS
STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
