Philosophy of Teaching

Amy Hornby Uribe

As a child and teenager, I always knew I would be a teacher. My parents are both teachers; it is
in my blood. During my senior year in high school, I traveled to Mexico with my Spanish Club.
Because of that life changing experience before I had even returned home, I knew that I would
someday be a Spanish teacher. In my high school Spanish classes, and on that trip, I developed
such an enthusiasm for learning languages that I had to share it.
I am a natural leader in the classroom, a lifelong learner, and a believer that everyone can
become excited about learning if they have they connect to their teachers. My students say that
my face lights up when I teach; they ask how I can be full of life and excited at 7:00 am and still
have the spark at 3:00 pm. Its easy, I tell them. I love what I do and I love it when they get it.
It is impossible for me to separate my personal love of the Spanish language and my professional
life teaching the language.
Even though I knew at the age of 18 that I was going to be a Spanish teacher, my semester study
abroad in Puebla, Mexico was my most life changing event. During that semester I fell in love in
more than one way. I fell in love with the Mexican culture, food, people, and one man in
particular. Even though 5 years passed before I married him, my personal and professional lives
were wedded that semester. Spanish is not just what I teach; it is who I am; who we are. In my
family, we have both Mexican and Midwestern family traditions. Half of my family lives in
Mexico, and we are raising our children to be bilingual. It excites my students to learn a
language that is so deeply a part of who I am. They love hearing stories such as me fixing a
traditional Thanksgiving meal for a crowd of people from Mexico City.
During my teaching career, I have learned that striving to be a great teacher requires more than
just loving my content area. Most teachers do love their content area, but high-quality teaching
is rooted in well-thought out pedagogy, purposeful lesson planning, effective classroom
management skills, and nurturing a strong rapport with students. My teaching philosophy is
ever evolving, and my own teaching experiences coupled with conducting and applying research
in the classroom will ensure my continuing growth and development.

A well-thought out pedagogy

My general educational philosophy is based on socio-constructivism. Students learn a great deal
from their teachers, but the ah ha moments generally come when they are working in groups
and are hands on with the content. My students do a lot of group and pair work, and while I
have had success using group work in class, individual accountability is critical. By including an
individual accountability component in my lessons, my students are not able to hide behind their
peers or just get by in the class because of their peers knowledge. Rather, all students must
work hard to develop and demonstrate their skills and proficiencies and strengthen their
weaknesses.
I do not follow one single instructional method or approach to language or methods teaching; as
my students do not all learn in the same manner. My teaching philosophy is that of a principled
eclectic, taking the best from various approaches to teaching and learning and using those
approaches in my lessons to demonstrate their effective use in the classroom and meet the needs
of all types of learners.

Purposeful lesson planning

My undergraduate degree from UW-La Crosse is in Spanish and Secondary Education. One of
the most valuable skills I learned in that program was how to make effective lesson plans. My
lessons begin with an anticipatory set to excite the students about the days events or to review a
previously taught concept. The warm-up is followed by introduction of the new material, a more
guided activity followed by more independent practice. I am conscientious of how much time I
am speaking versus how much time the students are speaking and provide activities that allow
them, not me, to share their knowledge and work through challenges. I wrap up my classes with
a quick review of the day and reminders of upcoming events.
In both a language and methods class I use a variety of activities that compliment different
learning styles. In an Education class, I carefully divide my time between presenting material,
class discussion, and student application of the new material. In preparing pre-service teachers
for the classroom, it is imperative to provide them with time to practice and perform in front of
their peers, as teaching a lesson is the best way to learn content, teaching approaches and
classroom management.
In a language class over the course of a week, I give equal coverage to reading, writing, listening
and speaking. I incorporate learning games and use target culture contexts, often from my own
personal experiences related to my ties with Mexico or my travels in Ecuador and Spain, to teach
grammar and communication skills. In addition to traditional classroom tools, I incorporate
technology through the use of such things as internet, video, podcasts, and Power Point. The five
Cs of ACTFL are one of the main driving forces behind my curriculum and lesson planning, as
is time spent on Focus on Form versus Focus on Meaning

Effective classroom management skills

The most well thought out lesson plans are useless without effective classroom management
skills. I have taught undergraduate, as well as middle and high school Spanish and ESL.
Classroom management skills are essential for a successful secondary classroom, and will assist
university students with transitions or the pace of the course. Regardless of the level, the
classroom needs to be a place where students feel safe, comfortable and they know what to
expect. Keeping the students on task, maintaining a good instructional pace and efficiently
covering housekeeping tasks of attendance, returning papers, etc. can make or break a fabulous
lesson. I firmly believe that getting to know students well eliminates most behavior problems.

Nurturing a strong rapport with students

I begin the first week of every new class by dedicating a significant amount of time to getting to
know my students. By the end of the first week, I know my students names, why they are
studying what they are, and a little about what makes them unique. I also ask my students to
know this information about each other and about me. When someone asks my students who
their professor is, they will tell you, Its Professor Uribe. They wont have to describe me
physically to explain who I am. If they are going to construct knowledge socially, then they
must develop social relationships. Its amazing how fast a classroom where students know each
other takes on a sense of community and a unique identity. As can be seen in Krashens work,
the affective filters of the students need to be minimized in order to provide them with a
comfortable place to learn. Getting to know each other will help this happen, and with all the
opportunities to collaborate that I provide my students, it is inevitable that they will be at ease
with each other.
I recognize that my students all have unique needs and desires. I also understand that my
students are real people with real lives who are involved in many co-curricular activities. It is
great to go see a student in a music, sporting or drama event, or just stop by an order a sandwich
from them while they are working. I enjoy interacting with my students outside the classroom,
whether it is just in passing, or taking a group on a trip. After all it was traveling with my
Spanish teacher, not just being in her class that inspired me to become a Spanish teacher.
Teaching is not only the art of providing content instruction. It is the art of building
relationships, creating hands on opportunities, providing a forum for exchanging ideas and truly
getting to know people. Teaching is developing the minds of students to better be able to
understand others ways of life, and contributions to the world. It is integrating content from all
subject areas and asking students to compare their new beliefs with their old beliefs, extending
learning experiences from the classroom to the home and community to emphasize living in a
global society, and it is the art of inspiring others to become lifelong learners.

References
www.actfl.org