Maggie Davis

2023 Maggie Bruyn TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND RESUME TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

“Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before.” Loris Malaguzzi

To me, the fundamental goal of teaching is to foster learning as it takes place in many different circumstances, contexts and environments. Every child is capable of learning and of success therefore a student's desire to learn is a vital element to effectively mastering new concepts and skills. I enjoy taking a hands-on approach to teaching as I believe it encourages learning, I thrive on bringing the outside world into my classroom.

My main goal within the classroom is to teach students how to learn, I believe that children are eager to acquire knowledge, and with guidance will seek out and discover the essentials on their own. I achieve this by focusing on investigation and critical analysis thereby developing creative problem-solving skills. By fostering problem-solving skills students can develop the necessary strategies to be successful within today’s society. I teach with enthusiasm and a desire to share my love of the subject matter. I aspire for each student to come away with the same enthusiasm and to develop a desire to embark on a life long learning journey with me. In saying this I understand that children have multiple learning styles and I create a classroom to encompass these. I feel that the more students actively participate in activities and tasks the more likely young people are to recall what they are learning. I believe in teaching to the individuals Zone of Proximal Development and to challenge their learning ability. Watching a child succeed in a task is a precious moment and I strive to assist all students within my classroom to succeed. I achieve this through motivating my students to embark on more complex challenges pushing them little by little to achieve their personal best.

As a teacher, I like to create an inclusive classroom with a clear focus on developing learning experiences that value diversity. As such my outcomes focus on developing knowledge, skills and processes that demonstrate this learning. In order to expand each child’s opportunity to learn, I consider my environment, students’ backgrounds, prior learning experiences, interests and hobbies as I believe this is a basis for constructing new understandings. I find creating a safe environment that is inclusive to all needs and abilities an important aspect to my teaching and classroom environment. I want each student to be respectful to their fellow classmate’s individual characteristics and backgrounds including families, communities, culture, language, skills, interests learning strengths, and weaknesses.

Learning experiences within my classroom are tailored for both individuals and groups. I have done and will continue to, encourage learning by creating a relaxed environment for students, stimulating and modeling conversation about concepts being presented, and designing and organising material in a way that makes it easiest to understand. I will endeavor to relay information back to the children’s personal experiences, emphasizing that everything students learn fits together into a holistic understanding of the world.