Learning takes place in an environment that allows students to feel safe and welcomed. The biggest objective of my teaching philosophy is to ensure students are feeling encouraged to learn in ways that are useful to them, learn respectfully alongside peers, and know their differences are being celebrated. By having a safe learning environment, I hope to have students feel comfortable talking to myself as the educator as well as their peers. I believe a classroom should feel like a community where students from diverse backgrounds come together to learn alongside one another.
Assessment
In the past, the main form of assessment has been through summative tests and presentations. Within my classroom, I plan to step away from the traditional forms of assessment and focus on types that are relevant to the students in the class. I plan to incorporate assessment types such as entry and exit slips, journaling, posters, portfolios, and self/peer evaluations. By joining these types with tests, the students are able to be evaluated in ways that are relevant to their learnings. Assessing is an important aspect to learning as we focus on three different types, assessment for learning, assessment of learning, and assessment as learning. All these ways of assessment hold an important place within the classroom and are there to encourage the students and the educator. I believe that since students all learn differently and we explore different ways of teaching, we should also be exploring different ways of assessing.
Social Justice in Teaching
Inclusive education is the idea that all students are being included in the classroom. I believe that an inclusive classroom does not just make sure to include people with disabilities, but should also be inclusive of all cultures, sexualities, and any other diversities. I plan to achieve this by incorporating Indigenous ways of learning as well as other cultural learnings throughout my teaching. The students in my classroom will know that I am an alliance to the LGBTQ+ community and feel welcomed and supported within the classroom and school. I hope that by doing this the students will feel safe and comfortable learning alongside their classmates.