My first Year,

The year has gone by incredibly fast and I have made many new friends, many of which were from education. In my opinion the college of education has a very familial vibe. I enjoy the way the classes make you think, being more concept based and are predicated on personal analysis more than other classes/colleges. I believe deeper understanding of a subject comes from this conceptual based analysis as it substantiates into a more profound knowledge, and I believe the educational (college) approach largely adheres to this methodology, or at least I am able to try to pursue it through my education classes. I also believe as education students we learn a great deal from simply observing the teaching style of the adept teachers in the college of education. So far my education professors have been some of the best teachers I have had in university, I find education professors to be highly understanding of students needs and do well to facilitate them. This is in large part why I have found that the education college has been so successful.

My initial perception of education was that it would have good pedagogical representation, and it rang true. I’m very happy with my choice to pursue education; despite a slight nervousness towards the prospect of having my own class, I am eager to continue learning next year. and hopefully confidence will come with time.

“A teaching (philosophy) statement is a purposeful and reflective essay about the author’s teaching beliefs and practices. It is an individual narrative that includes not only one’s beliefs about the teaching and learning process but also concrete examples of the ways in which he or she enacts these beliefs in the classroom.”

Vanderbilt University
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-statements/

My Initial Teaching Philosophy

I believe all students have the capacity to learn, improve and achieve their potential. I believe the ideal classroom environment consists of individualistic and humanistic approaches to meet each students unique needs, solidify their strengths and facilitate their learning. I believe in including student input in the teaching process as a means to incorporate strategies to meet their learning styles. However, I also intend to use my own judgement as a mechanism to guide students when they struggle to stay on the path. Lastly, I plan on learning from my students and my own experiences in the classroom throughout my career as a way to facilitate student growth to the best of my ability.

“Education is the kindling of a flame; not the filling of an empty vessel”

Socrates

My Learning Styles

Over the course of my life thus far I have observed that I learn new concepts better with visual representations rather than verbal/auditory descriptions. I have also observed that I am much more of a logical learner than physical, I prefer to conceptualize how something might function rather than physically experience it. That being said I find that kinesthetic methods can exponentially help in retention. I also enjoy working in group settings rather than in isolation.

I have found that my optimal learning system consists of a combination of visual and auditory stimulus, where I can conceptualize the required information. Upon understanding information in this deeper sense I find it much easier to retain the information. Tricks such as walking around the room while reading notes out loud helps me memorize them easier. And working along with peers creates a social environment in which I find it more fun to learn.

What is an instructional method?

A strategy or component of a strategy used as a means for accomplishing a learning objective.

Gamification

is the application of game elements and principles into a non-game; in the educational context gamification acts as a means to facilitate learning through increased engagement in the activity and ideally makes the activity fun for students.

ex. jeopardy

Experiential Learning

is the process of learning through experience, wherein the student has the opportunity to directly interact with the material. Experiential learning creates an environment of real world experiences for the student.

ex. extended practicum

Debate

as an instructional method is a process of picking a topic and having two learners, or teams of learners defend opposite sides of the issue. Students are naturally competitive and are likely to give much more thought to the topic as a product of them trying competing with the opposing side.

ex. academic debate

These are three of many instructional methods. Instructional methods can be used to tick the unique learning styles of students. It is important to observe how the class and individuals reacts to different instructional methods, then adapt/modify the methods or incorporate different ones. Another important factor to consider is time management, some strategies such as debate require more time than simply lecturing does. However, in the case of debate picking a topic that requires learning in several objective areas to be proficient in the debate allows for broader learning.

Differentiated instruction in the classroom gives the community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information, allowing all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability.

Carol Tomlinson defines differentiated instruction as:
In differentiated classrooms, teachers begin where students are, not the front of a curriculum guide. They accept and build upon the premise that learners differ in important ways. Thus, they also accept and act on the premise that teachers must be ready to engage students in instruction through different learning modalities, by appealing to differing interests, and by using varied rates of instruction along with varied degrees of complexity.

Tomlinson 2001

Differentiable areas include:

• Acquiring content
• Processing, Constructing or Making Sense of ideas
• Developing Teaching Materials
• Assessment Measures

Why is Differentiated Instruction/Learning so Important?

Students vary in Culture, Socioeconomic Status, Language, Gender, Motivation, Ability/Disability and Personal Interests…

As each student is different, simply using one strategy for the entire class ‘cookie cutter method’ makes no sense, curriculum/lessons must be adapted for each unique individual in order to maximize the learning potential of the entire class.

How to incorporate differential methods?

Differential methods include:

• Learning Stations
• Interviewing Students – ask about how they like to learn
• Targeting Different Senses
• Think, Pair, Share
• Literature Circles
• Relate Math to Everyday Examples – In 2015, a study published by the Canadian Center of Science and Education ( http://www.ccsenet.org/ ) used contextual learning strategies to teach integers, and increased test scores by more than 44%

Incorporating Differential Methods in Secondary School

The incorporation of differential methods into secondary classrooms is much the same as any other, the difference being in content and strategy which much fit the situation in order for the differential method to function

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Kiley, Duane. Differentiated Instruction in the Secondary Classroom: Analysis of the Level of Implementation and Factors that Influence Practice. 2011. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1429&context=dissertations

Assessment For Learning:

The process of gathering and interpreting evidence about student learning, for the purpose of determining where students are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there.                                                  http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/5AAssessmentPractices.pdf (Slide 16) Ex: Formative Assessments

Assessment Of Learning:

The process of collecting and interpreting evidence for the purpose of summarizing learning at a given point in time, to make judgements about the quality of student learning on the basis of established criteria, and to assign a value to represent that quality. http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/5AAssessmentPractices.pdf (Slide 18) Ex. Summative Assessments

Assessment As Learning:

The process of developing and supporting student metacognition. Students are actively engaged in the assessment process; that is, they monitor their own learning.                       http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/5AAssessmentPractices.pdf (Slide 17) Ex. Self Assessment

Upon comparing the Saskatchewan and British Columbian curriculums, I noticed many distinct differences in the approaches taken by the two provinces. The Saskatchewan curriculum documents are considerably longer than those of British Columbia, 48 pages to 7 pages (Foundations) and 45 pages to 8 pages (Calculus). The BC curriculum is much more ‘to the point’ than that of SK, however, lacks the detail and specifications of the SK curriculum. Despite the conveniences offered by the much more detailed SK curriculum, their are redundancies and surpluses of information. Long sections on the importance of Lifelong Learning (page 10 of pdf) may be important to education as a whole, however, they have no direct pertinence to Mathematics and frankly undermine the document itself by adding unimportant or non-relevant information. The BC curriculum is proof that the SK curriculum could be more stream lined, in my opinion the optimal curriculum document would be to the point like BC but also detailed like SK, with the redundancies and non-pertinent information removed.

The SK curriculum is based on a system of ‘Indicators’ and ‘Outcomes’ that function as a ‘means’ and an ‘end’ to learning the information of the curriculum. The BC curriculum is very similar and is based on a system of ‘Big Ideas’ and ‘Elaborations’ that function much the same way.

Saskatchewan Foundations 30 (2012) https://curriculum.gov.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/curricula/English/Mathematics/Mathematics_Foundations_Of_30_2012.pdf

British Columbia Foundations 30 (2018) https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/curriculum/mathematics/en_mathematics_12_foundations-of-mathematics_elab.pdf

Saskatchewan Calculus 30 (2012) https://curriculum.gov.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/curricula/English/Mathematics/Calculus30_2012.pdf

British Columbia Calculus 30 (2018) https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/curriculum/mathematics/en_mathematics_12_calculus_elab.pdf

Dear grade 8 self,

Keep moving forward… or die.

Highschool is awesome, don’t be scared. Highschool will be some of the best 4 years of your life, you will meet new lifelong friends, you will learn many things but most importantly you will make many mistakes, it is important to remember you learn more from your failures that you learn from your successes, the most important thing is to never stop trying. Mistakes are human, and you will make them… trust me. The most important part is that you never give up on achieving what you really want in life. Try to learn as much as you can during your time in high school, we could definitely have been more prepared for university math. But also, don’t focus too much on work, you are privileged enough to have something many people do not, free time, use it and have fun! Meet people, don’t be afraid to make new friends and don’t be afraid to lose old ones, as it is an inevitability. Only surround yourself by people who are worth surrounding yourself with, don’t maintain friendships with those who drag you down, simply because that friendship already exists.

In conclusion, have fun, be the best you can be, surround yourself by people who allow you to better yourself, don’t be afraid to fail and never stop trying!

From your future self,

Andrew Koehler – 2019

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

John Dewey

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

Plato

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of an empty vessel.”

Socrates

“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.”

Richard Feynman

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

Mark Twain

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Confucius

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”

Oscar Wilde

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

Brigham Young

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

Albert Einstein

Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.

Bill Gates

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Benjamin Franklin

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

Franklin D. Roosevelt