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Statement of Informed Beliefs Ashlie C. Loman College of Western Idaho

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Statement of Informed Beliefs Introduction Primary school teaching is the single most important profession in the world. Teachers pass on knowledge and values to children, prepare them for further education and for working life and are main contributors to a good education. Educators have one of the most challenging jobs and their services to the community are often taken for granted by others. Mrs. Wilson was my second grade teacher and was everything the ideal educator should be. She was generous, compassionate and brought enthusiasm to her lessons every day. One day I aspire to be as successful of an educator as Mrs. Wilson was. Teaching is a very challenging profession considering the diversity of learners in every classroom. Teachers have to be able to adapt and modify their lessons according to each individual students needs and through my own personal observations, it is not always easy. All Students Can Learn As we know, every child is unique and no two are exactly the same. That being said, children do not learn the same as the student next to them. Some students possess a fielddependent learning style, meaning they, exhibit a holistic, concrete, social approach to learning and usually implies that the student works well in groups and perceives things in terms of the whole context (Berns, 2010). While on the other hand additional students have a fieldindependent learning style which means they take an analytic and logical approach to tasks and usually implies that the student relates well to impersonal, abstract information, independent of the context (Berns, 2010). These are just a couple of the many learning styles among children.

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The diversity of the learning styles in a single classroom is astonishing and requires the instructor to teach the lesson in ways that allow each student to understand the content. When I am a teacher, I plan on getting to know my students and be able to identify which teaching methods work best with each student. It is a teachers job to realize when a student is falling behind and they must respond with the appropriate help that the student requires. A single classroom is filled with a diversity of learners. Like I stated earlier, no two kids are the same. Each child is going to have a topic that they find is relatively difficult for them or they need additional assistance. Children can learn, we as educators just have to figure out how to deliver the lesson in ways all students can learn, providing additional and alternative approaches for the students who need it. I want to be a positive example to my students and create an environment of prosocial behavior. I want my students to be excited to come to class every morning and genuinely want to learn. I believe if teachers made their lesson plans fun and involved the students more than the students will actually engage themselves. As a teacher I will get to know each and every one of my students at a more personal level so I can classify which learning styles works best with which student. When students are able to direct their own learning instead of being instructed a certain way, the students become more focused on getting the task at hand done. Another word for this is learner directed curriculum, meaning a lesson in which the learning activities emerge from individual interests and teacher guidance (Berns, 2010). I have seen this method work effectively in my observations at Lincoln Elementary and the students loved being able to complete the task their way. I plan on implementing this teaching technique in my classroom where its suitable.

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Teachers Expectations Children with high expectations for success on a task usually persist at it longer and perform better than children with low expectations (Berns, 2010). When I have my own classroom I plan on setting reasonable high expectations of my students. Setting too high of standards will only make my students feel like they are being set up for failure. As a student myself, I know how a teachers attitude in a classroom can affect the way a student learns. If the instructor is not enthusiastic or showing interest in a topic that he/she is teaching then it just makes the whole class seem to drag on and the students do not get motivated to want to learn the topic. I believe every lesson should be taught with enthusiasm and make the students want to learn. Having high expectations of students makes the student want to meet those expectations and feel successful. That being said, setting educational goals for the whole class or individually to each student is a key component to the students motivation and rewarding them for reaching a goal drives the student to want to work harder to be rewarded for achieving another goal. According to Johnson & Johnson, instructional settings can be organized into goal structures. The three types of structures include; cooperative, competitive, and individualized (Bern, 2010). As a teacher, I believe that knowing and utilizing these goal structures will help me tremendously with my students. Cooperative goal structure involves all the students to work together towards a shared goal. Competitive goal structure requires the students to work against each other to achieve goals only a few students can attain and an individualized goal structure is in which one students achievement of a goal is unrelated to the other students achievement of that goal.

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Incorporating all these goals in a classroom promotes a different type of student interaction and can easily be modified for students who have disabilities. The way a teacher manages his/her classroom environment, including arranging the room, planning activities, observing behavior, and organizing groups, affects the socialization taking place in their classroom (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Students Social Ecology Theory Multiple factors are included when it comes to a child and their approach to education or learning. Not only do the teachers play an important role in modeling appropriate behavior to the students in the classroom, but the teacher is not the only one who has influence on a students education. The families, culture, and communities also influence a students education in ways that are not always visible. Schools are a way for us as humans to socialize our children to be a productive member of society. Teaching children the skills they need to function successfully in society. However, some factors come into play that a teacher has no control of outside of the school walls. Students come from a variety of backgrounds culturally, morally, economically, ethnically, and religiously. A child has no control over who their family of orientation includes. For example, some students may come from a home raised by a single parent. According to Hetherington and Clingempeel, single-parent mothers experience economic as well as emotional and physical strain (Berns, 2010). A child who comes from a low-income household may not have the supplies necessary to achieve, while a child from a wealthy family has the advantage to supplies and tools that other students do not. Children learn by observing and

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modeling the behavior of others, so the people and environment a child is brought up around really have a bigger affect on the child than people actually think. Cultural Diversity Instruction Learning about the different cultures in my classroom is one of the things Im most excited about when teaching. I believe students should be educated on the variety of cultures of the students around them. I plan on making learning about ones ethnic background exciting and invite students to bring in pictures or items from home that reflect their culture and explain it to the class. I will use whatever diversity that exists among my students to model inclusiveness. For example, if students are about to do an activity that is difficult for a disabled student to do, I will encourage students to help adapt the activity so that everyone can participate. Under the right circumstances, I believe such an approach can establish a norm of inclusiveness and will also reward students for valuing each other's participation. As an educator I will strive to have a class rich in cultural pluralism meaning: mutual appreciation and understanding of various cultures and coexistence in a society of different languages, religious beliefs, and lifestyles (Berns, 2010). A classroom where the students can work together and respect each others differences is the type of classroom that all teachers should endeavor. The process by whereby a minority (subordinate) cultural group takes on the characteristics of the majority (dominant) group (Berns, 2010). This is known as cultural assimilation and is something all teachers should be paying attention to too ensure it is not occurring in their classrooms. As soon as a teacher starts to notice any behaviors associated with cultural assimilation, immediate action needs to be taken to remind the students that everyone is different but unique in countless ways and it is important to be understanding.

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Curriculum for All Learners No student is unteachable, it is our job as an educator to be able to deliver the information according to the needs of each student. An educator should be able to think fast and have a couple back-up plans for the way they go about instructing their lesson in the learning style that is the most effective with the student. It is our job as teachers to guarantee our students are being provided with the tools they need to accomplish a goal or task. We are accountable for creating what type of environment our classroom houses and giving our students an equal chance at success. I will assess my students needs based off of their in-class activities and my own observations. I plan to come to class prepared everyday and teach my lessons in accordance to what works the best with my class and I will encourage students to help other students who may be struggling. After all, we get by with a little help from our friends. I want all my students to be at the level they need to be and more in order to advance to the next grade. It is my mission to guarantee my students can say they actually learned something from me while having fun every step of the way. Conclusion No two students are the same and this is why it is vital that we as educators set standards and goals based off the needs of each individual student. All students deserve an equal opportunity to success which requires us as teachers to identify when a student is struggling or falling behind and providing them the assistance they need as soon as possible. I do not want to be a teacher who just feeds students information then move onto my next task. I want to inspire my students and be the teacher to them that Mrs. Wilson was to me. I want to be the teacher who

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makes a difference in my students lives. In the words of Jim Henson, Kids do not remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.

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References Berns, Roberta M. (2010). Child, Family, Community: Socialization and Support (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Print.