Running

Head: Teacher Belief Statement

Teacher Belief Statement
Tom Harrington
George Mason University

Harrington 1

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 2

Teaching is a community that generates strong beliefs amongst its members. In

this paper, I will be laying out my own beliefs on several important components of
good teaching. These beliefs come from reflecting on my own education, both as a
teacher and as a student. The four main beliefs that I will be exploring are as
follows:

Students learn by experiencing content in meaningful context

Instruction should be an individualized, guided experience

Inquiry and data collection drive reflection and growth

Critical reflection provides a structured route for assessment and

improvement

These four statements make up the core of my beliefs as a teacher.

Students Learn By Experiencing Content in Meaningful Context
Student learning is of the foremost importance to me as a teacher. How
students learn and how to best work with them form the basis of my teaching. Three
main statements can sum up my beliefs on student learning:
1. Students learn best by doing.
2. Students should be internally motivated.
3. Learning does not occur in a vacuum.
I believe that students learn best by doing. As a math teacher, I believe it is of
upmost importance for students to learn by practice and experience. Students need
to actually do the math, in a meaningful context, in order to understand its
importance and applicability. As Dewey states, learning by doing creates backward
and forward connection with the content (Dewey, 1944, 140). By doing math in a
meaningful situation, students are able to connect the math to real world
experiences and process it better.

I believe that students learn best when they are internally motivated.

External motivations, such as grades, may force students to do the work they are
assigned, but students can only truly learn when the want to learn. It is one of the
primary jobs of the teacher to find ways to instill this intrinsic motivation in
students. Students need to see the value of education as a transformative tool, both

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 3

for themselves and for their larger community. It is one of the primary roles of the
teacher to instill this belief in students.

I believe that student learning should not occur in a vacuum. Too often in

education, students are simply taught content for contents sake. It is easy,
especially in math, to fail to make the connection between the content and its
meaning in the real world. I believe that one of the primary tools for nurturing
successful student learning is to ground the content in meaningful context. Math in
particular is the process of problem solving. Whether specific math skills are used
for real world problems is not the main concern, rather that mathematical thinking
and problem solving skills can be used in every real world context is what I strive to
teach my students. By placing math in context, I believe it builds a better connection
with students and leads to better learning.
Instruction Should Be an Individualized, Guided Experience

My beliefs on instruction center around meeting my students needs as

individuals. To this end, I think that each students education should be as unique as
possible. I believe that students should be able to pace and direct their own
education. I see the role of the teacher as that of a guide in the classroom. These
three core concepts make up my views on instruction.
I believe that learning should be as individualized as possible. The teacher
should work with their students to tailor instruction the students individual needs.
What this means can be different for each student. Students can require different
instructional methods, amounts of time or even different evaluation methods. Of
course, it can be next to impossible to implement unique instructional methods for
each individual student in a class, but the teacher must strive as much as possible to
work in different methods to each lesson. This can mean integrating different
explanations, multiple representations and, in math at least, different methods for
solving problems. By incorporating these different techniques, the teacher can hope
to reach the maximum number of students in their class.

I believe that instruction should be self-paced and self-directed. Different

students process material at different speeds and sometimes in different orders. I

believe in a mastery style of instruction in which each student progresses along the

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 4

content at their own speed, not moving on to the next objective until they have
shown mastery of the previous objective. In a modern classroom, this style of
instruction is difficult to implement alongside state pacing and standardized testing.
However, it is still possible to find ways of implementing self-paced learning, and
striving to do that is something that should be encouraged.

I believe that the teachers role in the classroom should be primarily that of a

guide. A students education should be one of self-discovery and students should

take ownership of their own learning. The teachers job should not simply be that of
a content delivery system, but rather they should be there to facilitate their
students exploration of the content. To this end, teachers should be doing less
lecturing and direct instruction and more answering questions and facilitating as
students work through the material on their own. This can be done through guided
exploration or through a mix of inquiry learning and direct instruction.

Inquiry and Data Collection Drive Reflection and Growth

I believe that systemic reflection is a key part of improvement as a teacher.

Looking back at previous experiences and thoughtfully examining them fuels

teacher growth. Identifying strengths and weaknesses allows for meaningful
improvement. As Rodgers states, we use our raw experiences to generate
meaningful theories and practices (2002). By focusing on reflecting, implementing
new practices and reflecting again, a cycle of continuous improvement is created.
Inquiry and data reflection are the driving forces behind this improvement cycle.

I believe that inquiry into practices is a key part of the reflection and

improvement as a teacher. Teachers are constantly bombarded with a barrage of

ever changing ideas of what exactly constitutes best practices. Part of a teachers job
is sorting out which of these ideas are best practices for them. Brookfield showed
how critical reflection often debunks common beliefs on what are best practices
(1995). Not every technique will work every student or with every class. By
inquiring into their own teaching and what works for their individual students, a
teacher is able to form their own ideas on best practices, not making themselves
dependent on what they are told are best practices. This practice is crucial in

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 5

developing what Brookfield called a teachers authentic voice (1995). Through

examining their own practice, a teacher can see what feels right and works well
form them. In my own practice, I have found that is not part of my authentic voice is
sustained lecturing. My first few years of teaching, I taught mainly through direct
lecturing in class. Through reflecting on my practice, I found that while this method
was somewhat effective both my students and even I were bored and uninterested
in class. Straight lecturing was just not the best practice for me. By continuing to
engage in inquiry, I continue to evolve as a teacher.

I believe that data and data collection play a major role in critical reflection.

As discussed by Farrell, reflection should be based on evidence (2012). Data

collection provides this evidence. Data from formative and summative assessments
can be used to examine the effectiveness of teaching methods. As we reflect on our
teaching and formulate new ideas and techniques to implement, we must test these
ideas. This forms part of the cycle of critical reflection. Data allows us to examine the
results of these tests and decide the effectiveness of our techniques. While
qualitative data on student attitudes and beliefs is important, this sort of
quantitative data on student performance allows us to test our own effectiveness as
teachers. An example of this sort of data collection occurred in my classroom this
year. For the past few years, I have been slowly implementing a flipped classroom
model in my class. In this model, students receive direct instruction at home,
through video lectures that I record. In class time is spent on activities and practice
work. It allows me as a teacher to be more of a guide in the classroom. This year was
the first year that I implemented the model with my regular 8th grade math students.
I was initially apprehensive about using the model as it involves putting a high level
of responsibility on the students shoulders. Throughout the year I collected
multiple forms of data on my students. Data ranged from formative quiz scores and
classroom observations to summative data from quarterly benchmark tests. I used
this data to continually measure the effectiveness of my new teaching method. As I
went, my students slowly started to increase in their scores and the data showed
that flipping my class was have a positive impact. Finally, my students year end SOL
test scores confirmed my thoughts. On their previous years test, 50% of my

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 6

students had passed. On this years test 80% of the students passed, a significant
growth. By collecting data and continually analyzing it, I was able to see the positive
effect of implementing a new technique and therefore will continue to use it in class.

Critical Reflection Provides a Structured Route for Assessment and Improvement

I believe that critical reflective practice fulfills several roles in the

improvement of teaching practice. First, it keeps teachers constantly improving and

evolving. By following the reflective cycle, teachers are forced to always be
examining and improving their own practice. Being a reflective teacher keeps your
from becoming complacent in your teaching. Second, critical reflective practice
provides a structure for reflection and improvement. Critical reflection takes on a
defined structure of finding a problem, analyzing it, making a hypothesis and testing
it (Farrell, 2012). Having this structure is critical for actual growth as a teacher.
Simply thinking about your practice is not enough. Critical reflection requires real
action on the part of the teacher and that is the key part of growth. Third, critical
reflective practice helps you to determine what works for you as teacher and for
your students. It is important to discover who you are as a teacher and what works
for you. Reflection is key to this process. By trying new things and then reflecting on
how they worked, you are able to find out what works for you. The same process
also helps to determine exactly what works for your students. Some things that are
considered best practices may just not work for a certain group. By engaging in
critical reflection, it is easy for a teacher to make this determination. Finally, critical
reflection also helps a teacher to see how others view their practice. Two of the four
lenses of reflection mentioned by Brookfield are students and colleagues (1995). By
interacting with these two groups and examining how they view your teaching, you
are able to get a different perspective on your practice than you might be able to
come up with on your own. These perspectives can be key in improving your
teaching. Critical reflective practice provides not only the lens for examining
teaching, but also the means for improving it.

Conclusion

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 7

My key beliefs as a teacher can be summed up thusly: Teaching is a constant,

student-focused process of self-reflection and improvement. I have shown that I

believe all students learn best when they are self-motivated and taught in
meaningful context. I believe that a teachers role in education is to be the guide for
their students learning. I believe that instruction should be tailored to students
needs. Key to providing good instruction and student learning is critical reflective
practice. This reflection should be a structured, evidence driven inquiry into ones
own practice. Only by looking critically at their own practice can a teacher find ways
to grow.

Teacher Belief Statement

Harrington 8

References
Brookfield, S. (1995). What it means to be a critically reflective teacher. Becoming a
critically reflective teacher (pp. 1 27). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming critically reflective: A process of learning and
change. Becoming a critically reflective teacher (pp. 28-48). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Brookfield, S. (1995). Learning to know ourselves: The value of autobiography.
Becoming a critically reflective teacher (pp. 49-70). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
Dewey, J. (1944). Experience in thinking. Democracy in education (pp. 139-151).
New York, NY: The Free Press.
Farrell, T. S. C. (2012). Reflecting on reflective practice: (Re)visiting Dewey and
Schn. TESOL Journal, 3(1), 7-16.
Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective
thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842-866.