Mikayla Jackson Barth

Philosophy of Teaching
Through my education at Emporia State University, I have begun to
further develop my philosophy of education. As I prepare for my future
classroom, I am intent on creating an inclusive classroom community where
my students can interact and learn together. I want to teach my children not
only curricular concepts, but ideas of character education and acceptance of
others that will help them be successful later in life. I agree with Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. who said Intelligence plus character: that is the goal of true
education.
Albert Bandura was a theorist who explained how people learn through
observation and modeling through his famous bobo doll study. This is
important, because I will want to model what I expect from my students in
both curricular objectives and behavior. My own attitude can have an
immense effect on my students learning, so I will need to always remember
to leave my personal life at the door and to start each day fresh. I want to
ensure that each of my students feels loved and needed as a part of the
class.
The theorist who has impacted my educational philosophy the most is
Abraham Maslow. He proposed a hierarchy of needs that argues that basic
fundamental needs need to be met before a child will have the motivation to
grow further. This is important because my students must feel safe, loved,
and have their basic physiological needs met before I can expect them to
learn and be engaged in my classroom. Unfortunately, sometimes these
needs will not be met for the child at home, so it is essential that they have
this environment at school each day. I will work alongside my coworkers to
ensure that each students basic needs are being met.
My classroom desks will be set up in clustered groups, providing
students with the chance to interact and discuss what they are learning
throughout the school day. Learning from Piagets theories, I believe that it is
my job to accommodate for my students needs and learning styles, not the
other way around. This will lead to some differentiated instruction within my
classroom. I will also make sure to include manipulatives for the students to
use and plan other hands-on activities for learning. I will accommodate for
different learning modalities in my classroom.
Vygotsky is another theorist with important contributions to my
educational philosophy. Because of him, I will want to challenge my students
to work a bit above their current level, without causing them too much
stress. I can do this through scaffolding and paying attention to each childs
Zone of Proximal Development. Again, because each student will be working
on a different level, this will lead to differentiating my instruction to meet the
needs of each individual student.
Overall, I want students to have a positive experience with learning so
they will continue to be lifelong learners. I will encourage student
engagement by tying curricular activities to student interests and providing

hands-on activities instead of worksheets. I will model correct behaviors for

my students, so that they can learn from my example. Finally, I will expect
my students to practice kindness and will encourage a positive classroom
community where each student can feel safe and needed.