Educational philosophy

Crystal Allmon’s

Teaching

Philosoph

y

Hands on LearningHow do people learn?

The approach to hands on learning…

“Students in a hands-on science program will remember the material better, feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations. When more than one method of learning is accessed as in hands-on learning, the information has a better chance of being stored in the memory for useful retrieval. Students who have difficulty in the learning arena for reasons of ESL barriers, auditory deficiencies, or behavioral interference can be found to be on task more often because they are part of the learning process and not just spectators.”

http://www.ncrel.org/

“According to a study featured in the North Central Regional Educational Library,hands-on learning provides students with a way to construct meaning and acquireunderstanding. For this reason, teachers have made these traditional learningmethods increasingly important, made easier through key products.”

http://express-press-release.net

Facilitating Learning1. By providing lots of hands on activities when teaching basic skills I believe the children will be more likely to be able to retrieve the information needed when it is asked of them again.

2. By bringing knowledgeable experienced people into the classroom to show the children what they can achieve you allow the children to see what hard work in education can get you.

3. Allowing for fundraisers to pay for the field trips which I feel should be mandatory to help the child learn not only in the classroom but the everyday world. Learning how to utilize the things I have taught the children would be the ultimate goal.

Teaching Methods

Why will I teach the way that I do?

After researching a couple different sites I complied a list of things many other teachers use, that I find to be useful also and would use in a classroom setting later on.

“Learning easels are often an impactful product to use in classrooms. Karen Wood, 3rd grade teacher of Newcastle Public School, says her classroom easel is "Terrific, and my students are enjoying having it in our classroom almost as much as I am. This wonderful teaching tool really is ....making teaching a little easier... and a lot more fun!! ” http://express-press-release.net

I believe using easels or chalkboards in my classroom will boost the overall excitement for solving problems on their own. By sitting down and working the problem out in front of them they can learn to try the problem first before asking for help and giving up.

Teaching Methods“During literacy hour in Hicks's class at Blanchard Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, students pair up and head to one of 16 "corners," or centers, to tackle hands-on vocabulary, reading, and math activities. In the ABC corner, students thumb through clues to find mystery words. In the math corner, students stack buttons, plastic fruit, and toy bugs to create graphs. And in the spelling corner, they manipulate alphabet puzzle shapes to piece together vocabulary words.”

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article

I would also like to use corners or stations to allow students to create and learn, like the article says above, to allow the students to be like their own teachers in a way. By letting the child take charge and figure things out with their hands the brain takes charge and allows for instant learning and recognition for later.

“"Hands-on activities mean students have objects (both living and inanimate) directly available for investigation" (Meinhard, 1992, p. 2).” http://www.ncrel.org

By having activities that include objects in the classroom the child will be allowed to turn the brain on to apply what they have learned physically in an activity using those objects.

Teaching MethodsThe following is a pyramid from the National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine. It is the average Retention rate of children polled.

I based my teaching Philosophy off of this chart, I feel like it most expresses how I feel a classroom should be taught and organized.

Since the child retains the least amount of information during lecture that would be the area one should focus on least and so on and so forth.

In order to keep attention and promote earning in the classroom we should definitely be more hands on.

Testing of SkillsHow will I know my ideas are working?

“A new study by Purdue University has shed some light on how to most effectively engage students in technology and engineering at a young age. The study took five classes of 8th graders in a rural Indiana school and taught them about human impacts on water and water quality through a traditional textbook and lecture method and then compared their comprehension of those subjects to another five classes of 8th graders from that school who learned about water quality through engineering design modules. The students in the latter group were asked to build a water purification device as a way of learning the concepts. The researchers found that students who built the hands-on water purification system had "a deeper understanding" of the concepts than the students who had lecture-based lessons, especially in students for whom English was not their first language. Both groups—a total of 126 students—were tested before they took the lessons and after they completed the unit.” http://blogs.edweek.org

By testing my students level of intelligence with a basic skills test of everything that will be taught that year, before the hands on teaching, and then again after they have learned all of the required skills, I can then apply my findings and compare test scores and skill levels with another teachers classroom that did not use hands on learning.

After these results at the end of the year I can then decide if hands on learning is really the best teaching philosophy to have.

Student GoalsWhat goals will I have for my students?

1. I would like my students to learn from the curriculum I’ve created based on a hands on learning approach.

2. I would like my students to think of the classroom as not the only place to learn and be hands on. There are many places to learn, take something from every experience you have.

3. I would like my students to be able to retrieve various answers from the beginning of the year all the way until the end of the year based on the different curriculum and teaching style.

4. I would like each of my students to be able to pass the basic skills and knowledge assessment by the end of the school year.

Teacher GoalsWhat are my future goals for growth as a teacher?

1. To use the hands on learning system as a tool and utilize it to help students learn and retrieve knowledge.

2. To take the initiate to change the curriculum if for any reason the lessons are no longer working for students.

3. To be recognized for the teaching methods based on the skills test scores at the end of the year being above average.

4. To influence the use of hands on learning in every classroom to better the overall grades and learning abilities of each student.

Always…