Welcome
to the philosophy page of my portfolio.
Philosophy of Teaching Statement
I have
been a teacher for over half of my lifetime. That’s a long time! The
teacher that I am today is not the teacher who I was when I began my
career. My path toward learning how to teach is one that is now very
familiar to me because I walk down that road every time that I am in
a classroom.
I am a
teacher who has taught students at all levels and all ages. My
life’s lessons that inform my philosophy of teaching come from
teaching experiences in elementary, undergraduate and graduate
classrooms. I have discovered that regardless of my students’ ages,
a few common goals always emerge: to help them learn the most that
they can learn and to help them become the best individuals that
they can become in the short time that I spend with them as their
teacher.
Students first! This idea is at
the core of my philosophy of teaching. When I first began my
teaching career, my focus was on lesson objectives and activities,
and while that was and is certainly important, I have realized that
I must put the students, rather than the lessons, at the center of
my focus. One of the most compelling aspects of my job is to get to
know every student as a learner. I ask myself: Who are the students?
What do my students find important? What has happened and is
currently happening in my students’ lives that might impact their
learning? You see, I believe that if I take time to know my students
well, then I will be able to identify their strengths and
challenges. And it is only in knowing students’ strengths and
challenges that I can achieve my goal of maximizing their outcomes.
Listen, listen, listen. I have
learned that perhaps one of our greatest challenges as teachers is
to talk less and listen more. I believe that students need to
express their own ideas and opinions and teachers all too often
provide little time for shared collaborative conversations in
college classrooms. Students like, and need, to have time to make
connections with what they already know and have experienced to new
content and concepts. In this way, I align much of my teaching
practices to constructivist approaches. I believe that students
understand new ideas by making sense of them from past experiences
and knowledge. I believe that it is important to provide time for
students to listen to other students and for me to listen to them.
What I didn’t know in my early years as a teacher that I know now is
that students reveal much about themselves with what questions they
ask, when they ask them and how they ask them. Perhaps equally
important, I have also realized that students tell a lot about
themselves when they aren’t asking questions as well. So, at times
during my instruction, I reflect on what questions aren’t being
asked, and what students aren’t asking questions. Answers to this
inquiry help me to find ways to connect with students who need to be
heard but are not comfortable asking someone to listen.
Powerful Planning. At times,
professors approach me and ask if they can visit my classroom to try
to identify a practice in my teaching that will improve their own
instruction. When they say that they’d like to visit my classroom, I
respond: Of course you can sit in on one of my classes, but I’d like
to take a minute to ask you how your planning is coming along. I ask
the professors to take some time to discuss the ways that they plan
for their students’ learning and the considerations that they make
when thinking about upcoming lessons. I believe that planning is one
of the keys to success. I once heard a saying that went something
like this: People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan. In my
current job, I teach undergraduate and graduate students to teach in
elementary education classrooms. My intention is for them is to
become the best teachers they can be for their future students. I
realize that I don’t have a long time to work with them - every
lesson and interaction counts. So, I carefully plan each lesson.
Careful planning means that I must include current research on
teaching and learning and implement classroom activities that help
students to understand and retain new knowledge. I have come to
realize that planning and implementing sound pedagogical practices
can help me to reach this goal.
Great Expectations! One time
one of my students commented, “Dr. Rombach is a tough grader, but
cares like no other.” I have expectations that in students’ eyes,
that initially unreasonably high, but throughout the courses I
teach, I provide support structures that help students to be
successful such as creating and using detailed assignment
descriptions and grading rubrics, provide time for individual
conferencing, point out useful online resources, and create peer
study groups. All of these structures serve as scaffolding that help
students frequently mention my courses’ value in their later
careers.
Community Matters. I believe in
inclusive education practices. Including all community members in
learning activities establishes a cohesive, collaborative cohort.
The social construction of knowledge allows for each community
member to learn from others. My professional teaching goal is that
my students become aware of the need to work toward creating an
equitable society for all. My work is to have students understand
the importance of teaching for social justice in and out of school
environments.
Acknowledge and Appreciate.
Everyone needs to feel appreciated. I realize that the quantity and
quality of work that I require my students to complete is more than
they may have had experience completing in the past. I ask myself,
how can I require the type of assignments that I create AND have
students feel that the work that they complete is worthwhile. I have
found that one of the most important things that I can do is to
acknowledge students for their time and effort that they give to my
course requirements. I take time during classes to thank them for
active participation, time spent on completing assignments and for
their in-class contributions. A key to my instruction is to always
find something that each student does well, and begin by
appreciating that trait by saying so.
Keep
Learning.
Each day, possibilities exist
for advancing my understanding of teaching and learning. I believe
that it is critical that I welcome this ever-changing process with
an open door for change and continual growth. Research on
teaching evolves and changes and I believe that it is imperative
that I continue to learn new effective methods of teaching to help
me maximize student learning. I believe that every day provides me
with a new opportunity to learn a little more about teaching and a
little more about myself as a teacher. The process never ends. |