Visit the Inspired Teaching Institute
|
The
Inspired Teaching Institute is our flagship teacher-training program,
now celebrating its 13th year in Washington, DC. Join us for a few
hours and meet a group of teachers who are starting a yearlong journey
to improve their practice.
Visitor dates are: June 18-26 and
July 9-17. Visiting hours are 10-2.
The Institute is located at
Georgetown Day School Upper School campus, 4200 Davenport St., NW
Washington, DC.
RSVP to Kristen Boswell. |
| Join Our List
|
|
Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
|
|
|
Becoming Inspired: Step 2
|
|
This week we continue our study of the Five Step Process educators are currently experiencing at the Inspired Teaching Institute. The process leads participants towards the goal of achieving their full potential as Inspired Teachers.
For those of you who can't take the course right now, this weekly reflection on each step of the process will guide you through some of the questions participants explore.
Last week we talked about Step 1: Analyze and deepen my understanding of the ways I learn. This week we move to:
Step 2: Articulate and defend my philosophy of teaching and learning, including
what I believe about children. Find room in my philosophy for an
appreciation of children's natural curiosity and desire to learn.
I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
- Albert Einstein
If you're like most teachers, you had to create a philosophy of education statement for your teaching portfolio. You dutifully wrote the statement, put it in its slip cover, and promptly forgot what you wrote. Well, for the purposes of this step in the process it's good that you don't remember - you want to start with a clean slate.
What should your teaching philosophy entail? A philosophy by definition is "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct." So, in essence, your teaching philosophy is what you believe the truths or principles of your practice should be. For an example, check out the Inspired Teaching Philosophy.
In crafting your philosophy of teaching, try to forget about the realities of your current school environment and think instead in terms of your ideal school environment. (After all, the ideal gives you something to strive for!)
- Given the fact that all children posses the innate desire to learn, what classroom conditions are necessary for them to be able to do so? What kinds of learning activities make the most of their curiosity?
- What do you believe children are capable of doing in your classroom?
- What kind of relationship should children have with their teacher, peers, and school?
- How should the classroom prepare children for life outside of school? What role does discipline play in that preparation?
- What tools should be used in the classroom to assess student performance? What role should students play in understanding how these tools work? Should they engage in self assessment? If so, how?
- If all your answers to the above questions are to be realized in your classroom, what is your role as a teacher in that space?
Now that you've envisioned your philosophy in the ideal, it's time to prepare yourself to keep it alive in reality. You know what's best for your students, and your child-centered philosophy undoubtedly reflects that. But your ideas may not always be in line with those of your administration or your peers. In fact, it may be very difficult to put this philosophy into practice given the challenges of your teaching environment. This still doesn't mean it belongs hidden away in your teaching portfolio.
It does mean you have to work a little harder than your peers to prove that your way works too. You have to arm yourself with the latest research in support of your methodology, and you have to show success just like your fellow teachers show success - even if you're achieving it in your own unique way.
For example:
Your neighbor has a strong behavior modification system in place whereby a list of rules and consequences are adhered to with punishments and rewards. His class is routinely quiet and orderly.
You are working on developing self-discipline in your students by allowing them to move freely in your classroom and hold one another accountable to a student-generated list of expectations. Your classroom is lively and filled with movement.
When the principal walks by your room, she is likely to ask some questions about what she sees, particularly in relation to your neighbor's class. You'll need to show that your students can follow directions just as well as the kids next door, and that they are learning just as much even in a less rigid environment. Then you can whip out this issue brief on "Relationship-Based Discipline" and show all the research in support of your approach.
__________________________________________________
Below you'll find some informational sites that may be of use as you shore up support for your philosophy. Inspired Teaching is always here to be a support as well. If you're thinking about trying something inspiring in your classroom this fall, but fearing some resistance - email us and we'll see if we have resources to back you up!
|
Educational Research Resources
|
|
It's useful to back up your philosophy of education with some solid research from the field. You'll be able to face opposition and answer questions with confidence if you can demonstrate that your teaching methods have a foundation in documented best practices.
Google Scholar
This special google feature allows you to search for research on your topic just like you search for things using the usual Google site. When you use Google Scholar to search for a topic you pull up articles, abstracts, books, citations, and more from around the world.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
ASCD is an organziation that advocates for education policy and provides research on best practices in education. They seem to have a book on just about every education-related topic and most have excerpts on the site. If you become a member you get access to the ASCD newsletter and discounts on publications.
Education Week
Education Week offers both print and online resources for sale but free registration to the online site gives you access to a selection of articles form their weekly publication as well as the latest research, the online teacher community, and more.
Education Resources Information Center
Similar to Google Scholar, you can use this site to find research relevant to your search topic. The site boasts over 100,000 full articles that can be dowloaded for free, but in my experience these are rarely articles that pop up during my searches. If ERIC doesn't have a PDF of the article, it helps you find a library that has the book or ariticle on file.
|
|
|
|
|
