Importance of Teaching Philosophy:

Teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of beliefs about teaching and learning. It's a one-to-two-page narrative that conveys your core ideas about being an effective teacher in the context of the discipline. It develops these ideas with specific, concrete examples of what the teacher and learners will do to achieve those goals. The teaching philosophy statement also explains why you choose these options (Writing Your Teaching Philosophy, 2022). It is a process of gaining information about everything around the world. Moreover, teaching philosophy contains teachers’ attitudes, principles, teaching styles, and beliefs which allow them to be professional teachers (UKEssays, 2018). In my opinion, writing teaching philosophy permitted teachers to share their ideas with others, improve and find the best way to develop teaching skills, and improve their weaknesses. As an early childhood teacher, I also think that teaching philosophy is important because it enhances teachers’ skills, reflects better on their own teaching, and discovers what is best for their learners.

 

Education in the 21st Century:

Education is a rich learning environment for the children, that allows them to explore and discover their world. The learning environment is the most critical influence in the learning process (Learning through play: New perspectives on early years development). I believe that students should learn in a safe environment that helps them to be creative, acquis knowledge, and motivate exploration in children. Therefore, I always tried to create a safe environment and stimulate my students, which help them to feel secure and learn successfully. Over the past generation, educational researchers and practitioners have advanced the state of teaching and teacher training.  Also, the widespread use of digital technologies has been moving societies from the industrial era to the information era.   The education and technology are societal norms for communicating, socializing, retrieving information, and learning have changed.    The teacher prepares students to function and prosper in the  21st  Century (Ph.D., 2011).  

The United Arab Emirate vision is innovative education for knowledge, and global society, while its mission is to develop an innovative Education System for knowledge and a globally competitive society (Vision and Mission, 2021). This is also my vision and mission. For instance, during my previous teaching practice, I applied different teaching styles, such as applying natural learning, reading stories, creating pop-up books, art activities, and movement-dancing activities. In my view, in education, it is essential to have a clear and strong vision and mission, because that will help teachers to become professional in teaching.

 

Beliefs about learners:

Teachers possess a wide range of beliefs about teaching. Included in this review are investigations of teachers’ beliefs about generalized approaches to teaching such as the broadcast of knowledge, constructivist teaching, and student-centered practices (Helen rose Fives and Michele Gregoire Gill, 2015). I believe that not all students learn in the same way; each child has unique strengths, characteristics in learning, and different learning styles. According to Howard Gardener's theory, he believes people learn in different ways (Marenus, 2020). In my experiences, I applied different teaching styles to help my students to a variety of learners such as auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. For auditory learners I let them listen to music and clap while counting the number from 1 to 10. For visual students, I used flashcards for numbers and let them read math number colorful stories because they learn through the sense of sight. As for kinesthetic learners, I let them make numbers using play-dough touch because they learn by doing.

Moreover, I also believe that variation is one of the most effective strategies in early childhood education. It is a set of opinions about teaching and learning that are reflected as a set of practices. During my teaching practice, I implemented differentiation by classifying learners into three groups high, middle, and low levels. The next step was creating activities for each level, this action helped students to do the activities effectively. Also, I think that social constructivism is important to improve students’ social-emotional skills. Social constructivism is a theory that students learn through social interaction with other students. According to Vygotsky's theory, he believes that children are curious and learn when they communicate with each other and share information (McLeod, 2020). In my teaching, I apply this concept by letting students discuss with each other what plants need to grow up, also when students start to plant the seeds together while the teacher is guiding them.

​

Beliefs about best practices in the content area of specialization:

The teachers are facilitators, and coordinators, not the dispensers of knowledge. They must understand students and be able to state and apply the concept. Students should coordinate their knowledge with what they already know. Teaching, as opposed to instructing, is primarily about the process. The critical content of any learning experience is the method or process through which learning occurs. In the words of Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message." The teacher believes about both teaching and learning can have a major impact on the classroom environment.

In planning my program, I would strive for a developmentally appropriate, student-centered atmosphere where students can master new challenges through activities and topics that are meaningful to them, thus building their self-esteem as they develop and learn. students should be given choices, responsibilities, and opportunities to initiate their own learning. I believe observations and assessments are excellent tools to use when planning a curriculum. Observations, not only aid in creating the curriculum but also give insight into the development, knowledge, and skill levels of each individual child. I believe in the importance of applying technology in the classroom such as using educational videos, as it will help teachers to explain what they want faster. Also using technology will help low-level students to improve their level. In my teaching practice, I had a student who was a low achievement, he memorized alphabetical letters from watching and singing the (Jolly Phonics A-Z) song every day.

I believe that assessment is essential, and it could affect the student’s learning. Assessment helps teachers to see what students learned and helps students to set their goals. During my teaching practice, I used three different types of assessment such as diagnostic, formative, and summative. I implemented a diagnostic assessment before the lesson, I asked students questions to see if they had an idea about the lesson. Also, I used formative assessment after the lesson through the checklist, observe students, ask questions after the activity. For summative assessment, I created quizzes to check what students learned.

​

Beliefs about the function of the teacher in the learning process:

A teacher's role is to make judgments about how best to help their students learn in the environments in which they teach. They generally do so competently, thoughtfully, and with appropriate caution, in consideration of their own values and those of their students and other stakeholders. The teachers are aware that their decisions might not achieve the intended outcomes. They monitor the impacts of their decisions over time, evaluate the results, and respond flexibly as necessary. Teachers reflect on their practice to grow and improve. As they do this, their experience informs their intuition for decision-making, and they become better at it (Pezaro, 2016).

My role as a teacher is to create a safe and positive environment, provide them with knowledge, listen to them and be like their mother, and assign lessons that benefit them. Moreover, my job as a teacher is to let them collaborate with other students, communicate with their environment, trust them, and give them clear instructions. The organization is the most significant and challenging role for the teacher. Teachers need to have a very detailed plan for each lesson because planning is a critical competence that decides the success of a teacher (Farrell, 2002)In my opinion, the lesson plans need to be more detailed and include the term, unite, daily lessons. For my own lesson plan I always make sure to include the learning objective, new vocabulary, what resources are needed, content, student activities, and assessment. Planning for a detailed lesson plan will help the teacher identify required resources and allow other teachers to teach the lesson smoothly. Furthermore, during my online session, I prepared a box with the required resources for the lesson and sent it to my students.

 

Education in the future:

 Education plays a very important role in making my life as complete and fulfilling as possible. Depending on the current situation I believe that the education system and teaching styles will change after five years. I believe that education will be hybrid education, which means half online and half in the classroom because teachers are applying one of the 21-century skills, which is using technology in education. the students attend the session via Microsoft Teams. After five years, I think the teachers will make a lot of zoom meetings for low-level achievement to improve their academic level, implement technology during the circle time, activities, assessment, and the exam which will make things easier for the teachers and students.

Furthermore, I see myself as a good role model for many students, and a professional teacher after five years who will implement different teaching styles such as outdoor classes, to let my students collaborate, and improve their fine motor, gross motor, and cognitive social skills. Also, guide training teachers, do workshops for teachers about early childhood education activities. Additionally, one of my main targets is to implement a lot of educational applications to manage my time, organize my lessons, create creative activities for the learners, and involve parents in their child's education.

Moreover, as a future emirate teacher, I always need to expand my student’s skills. Read and search for different successful strategies in teaching, to help my students improve their academic level, and to plan for an efficient lesson plan. Young learners’ interests change constantly, as a professional teacher, I need to be aware of that point and work hard to motivate and fulfill their interests. Creating a positive relationship with teachers is very important because I can learn from their experiences and skills. Creating happy memories with my students and making them come to school every day.

 

 Conclusion

To sum up, I believe that teaching requires skills and experiences to achieve the goals of the learning process.  I think the teacher who implement a natural learning style in teaching, and I think it is the best way of teaching because it allows students to explore. I consider Students will be more interested to learn, collaborating with their environment, and developing their cognitive skills. I enjoyed creating creative and innovative activities for kindergarten students, which helped me as a teacher to develop my 21-century skills and think out of the box. Also, will feel excited to learn, and engaged during the activities, and they will enjoy and have fun.

 

 

References

Farrell, T. S. (2002). A strategic approach to teaching reading . Singapore: National Institute of Education.

Helenrose Fives and Michele Gregoire Gill. (2015). International Handbook of Research on Teachers’ Beliefs. Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Learning through play: New perspectives on early years development. (n.d.). researchoutreach.

Marenus, M. (2020). Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. simplypsychology.

McLeod, S. (2020). Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory. simplypsychology.

Pezaro, C. (2016). The role of a teacher and the purpose of education. npjscilearncommunity.

Ph.D, K. L. (2011). Education for the 21st Century. Associate Professor of Mathematics, Science, and Instructional Technology Education East Carolina University.

UKEssays. (2018). Importance Of A Teaching Philosophy Education Essay.

Vision and Mission. (2021, 11 16). Retrieved from ministry of education: https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/VisionMission.aspx

Writing Your Teaching Philosophy. (2022). umn.