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My Teaching Philosophy
__ Student Centred Learning __ I have a strong belief that powerful human learning involves constructing and reconstructing our own meaning in the world. However, it is also true that ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’, so students should not be limited by the world they directly experience. Teachers step in and out of the role of expert, learner, collaborator, activator, and critic to help students construct their own understandings of a body of knowledge through dialogue. It is important to me that there is a balance between learning experiences that are student-negotiated, so that the knowledge, skills and attitudes being developed are relevant within their own world view, and teacher-directed experiences that open the students’ minds to new understandings and points of view.

__ Learning Community __ I believe that achievement is neither fixed, nor predetermined by past achievement. Rather, success or failure is as much a reflection of the quality of teacher-student-peer relationships as it is of ability. It is my belief that all students are capable learners when their cognitive, physical, and affective needs are being met by expert/others, their peers or by themselves. By developing respectful teacher-student relationships and a collaborative classroom culture my aim is to grow learners who take risks because they have a strong sense of belief in their own ability, and the metacognitive strategies to guide the process.

__ Total Integration __ I believe that knowledge is constantly evolving in a continuous process. When any form of knowledge is presented devoid of the context in which it was developed, it implies that the knowledge is fixed, irrefutable, and denies students the opportunity to discuss the ideas and influences that underpin it. I want my students to understand the socially constructed nature of knowledge- how it came about, how it is connected to their lives, its limitations- that there is no such thing as one absolute body of knowledge. I believe totally integrating the learning areas, values and key competencies of the curriculum within authentic contexts is the best way to achieve that because it validates a range of knowledge for students to critically examine and innovate on.

__ Social Justice __ I believe every human being has the right to participate in society to the best of their ability. It is my responsibility as an educator to teach students to value many ways of being so that they can make a difference on social justice issues that will improve not only their own lives, but the quality of life of our most vulnerable members of society.

__ Student Centred Learning __ This tenet is important to my philosophy because I believe that we learn based on our understanding of the world, but that we can learn more when we collaborate with people of different understandings. The theoretical basis of this belief comes from the work of Vygotsky (1978). His sociocultural theory of learning is based on the idea of that social interaction enhances learning, as in two people with different knowledge and skills collaborating will arrive at a shared understanding that would exceed what either person would have learned alone (Berk, 2009). An important part of Vygotsky’s social interaction is scaffolding the students by providing enough expert support for the student to accomplish a task they could not yet achieve on their own. When a student is working in this area of their ability, it is known as their zone of proximal development which moves as the student achieves independence at the task (Tangaere, 1996). In sociocultural learning theory, there are several ways to offer students the support they need while they maintain control over their own learning- reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning. Learning is interactive and driven by the students as they move between expert and learner roles as they engage with the task. A meta-analysis of research on the effects of 138 different learning strategies on achievement by Hattie (n.d) showed that cooperative learning had an effect size of 0.41 while reciprocal teaching had an effect size of 0.74. This clearly identified a good correlation between reciprocal teaching and increases in achievement and justifies using the strategy as part of my pedagogical toolbox. Following my practical experiences in the classroom, I have come to the understanding that students do not know what they don’t know, and that it is my job to present the knowledge or information in such a way that they discover it for themselves. My belief in co-constructing knowledge is based on the work of Piaget (1926). In Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental theory, children learn about the world around them through their own experiences (Berk, 2009). Instead of direct teacher instruction, students are encouraged to build up their knowledge through a variety of experiences and representations- concrete to abstract, simple to complex, and multiple modes such as art or music. In this way, students are able to experience new things in a way that suits their individual personalities and abilities, and builds up their knowledge and beliefs as they are able to assimilate it. The effect size of Piagetian programs in the meta-analyses by Hattie (n.d) was 1.28. This shows that Piagetian programs do increase achievement with only one other learning strategy out of 138 having a greater effect size. The role of the teacher remains critical to the effectiveness of the program, as the challenge is recognising what the students need to experience to advance their learning. That is why co-constructivism is important to my philosophy- it is very effective and it opens the students’ minds to new possibilities and understandings.

__ Learning Community __ This tenet is important to my philosophy because I believe greater learning occurs within caring and respectful relationships. There are three areas that human development can be categorised into: physical, cognitive and affective domains (Berk, 2009), and to develop into healthy individuals who can contribute to society, we need to develop all three. Furthermore, most experiences that we engage in as we develop involve more than one domain, and they are influenced by each other. Learning is predominantly a cognitive activity as it involves changes to our intellectual abilities, but is affected by our social and emotional state as well as our physical state. A review of research into the effects on learning of establishing productive teacher-student relationships conducted by Aitken and Sinnema (2008) found that “building respectful relationships with students establish a basis for learning, and helps create a sense of community” (p.150). This finding is strongly supported by Hattie’s (n.d.) result that teacher-student relationships have an effect size of 0.72 on achievement. In low decile, multicultural schools this becomes even more important with a study by Hill and Hawk (2000, cited in Aitken & Sinnema, 2008) stating that “while the relationship between a student and teacher in any school is important, the data in this study shows that it is not only important to these students but is a prerequisite for learning” (p.136). Establishing a good relationship with my students is important to me because of the profound effect this has on student achievement, as well as all of our motivation and sense of belonging. I believe that students need to be taught how to engage in respectful collaborative work, and my own experience tells me that some people have great difficulty working with others. One way I can address these problems is to explicitly teach students how to work collaboratively through building skills such as questioning, listening, speaking clearly, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and to give and receive praise (Aitken & Sinnema, 2008). Then, I believe they need to practise these skills without the pressure of any grades being assigned to the result. Researchers have found that this type of instruction can significantly increase and maintain good collaborative group skills across the curriculum (Pardy-Cumber, Walker & Moore, 2004, cited in Aitken & Sinnema, 2008). Peer interactions are another significant classroom relationship that has been identified by researchers as having an impact on learning. Nuthall (2007) studied the actual experiences of individual students and found that differences in peer relationships and status have as much of an impact on learning as teacher or student ability. Therefore, developing a positive classroom culture and explicitly teaching the students the metacognitive processes that they need to guide their own learning, and work collaboratively with others is really important to this aspect of my philosophy.

__ Total Integration __ In my philosophy, the concept of total integration means teaching in a ‘classroom without walls’. By that, I mean I am not distancing what happens in the real world from what we learn at school by chopping the knowledge or skills up into discrete pieces that seemingly have no relationship to what the students see around them once the bell goes at 3pm. I want the learning in my classroom to be based on authentic contexts that my students can relate to through their own prior experiences, and form connections across learning areas so that they can see and feel the relevance of what they are learning within that context. Theorists such as Dewey (1897) advocated an integrated approach to curriculum delivery as a way to connect the past and present experiences and inquiries of the students so that they would learn to think critically, analyse, and solve problems that would lead to a more democratic society. More recently, Kysilka (1998) and Karnes and Bean (2009) have found the application of an integrated curriculum as an effective response to addressing issues of relevance and achievement in schools today. However, the effect size of integrated curricula programs in the meta-analyses by Hattie (n,d.) was only 0.39, therefore integrated curricula programs did not have a very strong effect on achievement. In contrast, research by Nuthall (2007) into how children learn found that children’s learning is retained within the experience the learning was embedded in. This indicates to me that an integrated curriculum should provide many more experiences in which learning can be embedded in relevant and authentic contexts, as long as the learning is planned at sufficient depth rather than being too shallow and across too many learning areas. Teaching a body of knowledge that includes many ways of being is important to me as a teacher because I believe that there is not only one absolute body of knowledge, but a range of knowledge that has been constructed within a specific context and at a particular time. Discussing many ways of being opens the students’ minds and develops their critical thinking skills which are essential skills in an increasing multicultural society.

__ Social Justice __ This tenet is based on the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Save the Children, 2008) which acknowledges children as vulnerable human beings whose basic human rights need protecting so they can grow to their potential and contribute to society. Specifically, Article 29 states that children have the right to an education that not only develops their individual potential but builds a respect of other people’s rights and values and of the environment. My interpretation of this principle as a teacher delivering a socially constructed national curriculum is that I must explicitly reveal how the knowledge and beliefs of mainstream New Zealand society influence my teaching and visibly connect with the personal constructs of my students to ensure I meet my students’ needs and achieve the intentions of Article 29. The social construction approach is based on the theory that the meaning we attach to people and things is influenced by the dominant beliefs and values of that culture, and is used as a way of maintaining power (Adams, Openshaw & Hamer, 2005). The works of Freire (1996), Harker and Bourdieu (Adams et al, 2005) and have identified education as playing a key role in reproducing the knowledge and values of dominant groups in society, with similar groups more likely to succeed than those that are different. Therefore, identifying social constructions in education not only identifies how and why meanings exist, but also identifies in whose best interests their existence serves, so that I can actively work to renegotiate meanings with my students, and gradually change the social constructions to address what I believe are social justice issues. I have also drawn on the work of educator and theorist, Giroux (2004) who developed a critical pedagogy in response to the US government beginning to reduce teachers to the role of unthinking technocrat as one way of addressing the underachievement of minority groups in the United States. He believes that teachers do have a political and moral imperative to address social justice issues by growing students who can contribute to a more democratic and just society (Giroux, 2011). His pedagogy for teachers is important to my philosophy because it repositions us as transformative intellectuals who are able to move away from delivering prescribed curricula designed to promote cultural reproduction, to becoming critical thinkers who can reconstruct the curricula so that it affirms the many different ways of being in our society and promotes social change (Giroux, 2004). Therefore, I see it is my responsibility to teach my students to value the right of every person to their own beliefs and values, so that they will want to improve not only their own lives, but the quality of life of our most vulnerable members of society. __ Conclusion __ My personal philosophy is based on my own personal constructs of education, culture, and society and is a reflection of all of my accumulated knowledge, beliefs, values and experiences to date. The pedagogies and strategies I will use in my classrooms will be based on these constructs, and I expect that they will change as I use the curriculum and encounter all of the different pressures that occur in a school and in the community. As my personal constructs change based on my teaching experiences I will adapt my pedagogy to respond. Teaching is a dynamic process of constructing and reconstructing meaning based on feedback, so that we are continuously adapting and evolving. Teachers are learners.

__ References __ Adams, P., Openshaw, R., & Hamer, J. (Eds.). (2005). //Education and Society in Aotearoa New Zealand// (2 ed.). Melbourne: Thomson Dunmore Press. Aitken, G. & Sinnema, C. (2008). //Effective pedagogy in social sciences/Tikanga ā iwi: Best evidence synthesis iteration [BES].// Wellington: Ministry of Education. Berk, L. E. (2009). //Child Development// (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson Higher Education.

Freire, P. (1996). //Pedagogy of the Oppressed.// (Rev. ed). London: Penguin. Giroux, H. (2004). Teachers as transformative intellectuals. In A.S. Canestri & B.A. Marlow (Eds.) //Educational foundations: An anthology of critical pedagogy// (pp. 205-212). California: Sage. Giroux, H. (2011). //On critical pedagogy//. New York: Continuum. Hattie, J. (n.d.). Visible learning: a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses in education. Retrieved 16 April, 2012, from http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/media-speeches/guestlectures/pdfs/tgls-hattie.pdf

Karnes, F. A., & Bean, S. M. (Eds.). (2009). //Methods and materials for teaching the gifted// (3 ed.). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Nuthall, G. (2007). //The Hidden Lives of Learners//. Wellington: NZCER Press.

Save the Children (2008). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved 30 May, 2012, from [] Tangaere, Arapera Royal. (1996). Māori human development learning theory. In Webber, B. (Ed.) //He Paepae Korero: Research perspectives in Māori education.// Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.