Introduction

     My philosophy of teaching and learning has been guided by (is based on) the six California Standards for the Teaching Profession:  (1) engaging and supporting all students in learning; (2) creating and maintaining effective environments for student learning; (3) understanding and organizing subject matter for student learning; (4) planning instruction and designing learning experiences for all students; (5) assessing student learning; and (6) developing as a professional educator.

Engaging and supporting all students in learning- My philosophy is to always teach a topic with lots examples, visuals and hands on activities if possible.  I want to make sure that all students are able to understand what I teach.  Also all students should be interested and engaged.  Sometime students loose interest in a topic because they don’t understand it, but my plan is to make sure that I do not leave any student behind.  I will communicate with families and or stay after school to be able to reach those students who might fall behind.

Creating and maintaining effective environments for student learning- There will be class meetings in my classroom.  These meetings are important because the students will assist in planning class activities, rules and the room atmosphere.  During this time we will also speak about how the class is doing as a whole, how they respect each other and how well they work together.

Understanding and organizing subject matter for student learning- I am a very organized person and this will reflect in my teaching.  My objective will be to teach across the curriculum so that the students build connections and I will be saving time simultaneously.  My plan is also to collaborate with other teachers so that we can help each other out.  

Planning instruction and designing learning experiences for all students- Planning instruction will take me some time.  But I want to make sure that I invest this time so that the day runs smoothly.  I will also allow catch up time and at the same time plan extra activities so that the students are always busy and learning.

 Assessing student learning- I will assess the students in many different ways.  I will conduct diagnostic assessments through out the day and then projects, writing assignments and or tests will also be used.  Having the students apply what they learn is also a way to assess them with out the students realizing it. 

 Developing as a professional educator- Maintaining a close relationship with the parents is very important in order to learn about the students’ needs.  It is also important to constantly communicate with other educators, read articles and have subscriptions to educational journals because it is imperative to always be well informed. 

Summary:  Over all, I want to make an impact in my students’ lives.  Applying all that is mentioned above and then going the extra step for my students and the school is something that I plan to do.  I will make every day a special and exciting day so that my students want to continue to come to class.  The students will also walk away everyday with new connections, concepts and ideas.