I believe that teaching should provide students with the opportunity to meet their fullest potential through active engagement in the learning process.
I believe this is accomplished by providing meaningful experiences that focus on student learning. This requires differentiated services and opportunities that promote the strengths and unique abilities of individual learners and is accomplished by instructional changes in content, process, and product.
Content should be based on meaningful subject matter that actively engages learners through higher level thinking skills. This fosters deeper learning. Teaching should focus on enriched instruction that incorporates real world learning experiences and quality instruction with the goal of moving students from the ‘role’ of the student to that of active learner. This method of presenting quality content augments critical thinking skills and extends reasoning fluency, providing the learner with a foundation of confidence and competence in order to engage and persevere in complex problem solving.
In order to enhance learning, I believe the process requires active collaborative and cooperative engagement of learners. Active engagement in the learning process facilitates social and emotional development. Greater social and emotional competence promotes academic success as well as positive personal outcomes for students.
Products and activities produced throughout the learning process should allow for individualized, flexible and differentiated experiences. Instruction should provide learners with interdisciplinary opportunities to construct knowledge, employ higher level thinking skills, and allow for reflection and connection of abstract concepts and ideas. This allows for in-depth learning and enriches the overall experience.
I believe that recognizing, understanding, and supporting the needs of individual learners through changes in content, process, and product provides students with active engagement in meaningful learning experiences. This fosters academic confidence, achievement, motivation, and autonomous learning.
