Paper 3C – Secondary Social Studies

A Philosophy of Teaching: My First Attempt

As I contemplate my philosophy of teaching, the one thing about which I am certain is that I am a humanist. I sincerely believe that learning (and education, for that matter) must be concerned with the total development of the person, not just cognitively, but also socially, emotionally, physically, and even spiritually. Much of the specific information that follows, therefore, is humanistic and holistic in nature. I do realize, however, that no one model, not even a model as comprehensive and multifaceted as humanism, could ever meet the needs of all students in all situations, particularly in a subject area as broad as social sciences. Therefore, I know that in order to be the most effective teacher I can be, I will need to employ techniques from other models, most notably the cognitive model.
 

My preference for humanism is very apparent in my choices of teaching techniques as I plan to teach through discussion whenever possible. I particularly like small group discussion, and I will attempt to follow the guidelines for successful discussions given in class by providing background information, structure, and closure. I like the idea of having groups choose spokespersons who will report their group's findings.

Many of the discussion activities I employ will be holistic/confluent in nature, connecting feelings and values to the concepts I will be teaching. I believe that values analysis, in particular, is essential in subjects such as history and government because I want my students to think deeply about the concepts they are learning, not simply memorize them.

In addition to the humanistic technique of discussion, I will also try to emphasize discovery-based learning, a cognitive technique. Teaching important concepts through discovery is especially appropriate for introducing topics in subjects such as economics, geography, psychology, and sociology. I liked the archaeology lesson plan that we looked at in class, and I may use a similar discovery/constructivist task to introduce a historical period, particularly if I am teaching at the junior high school level.

Having students do independent research projects is also something I would like to try, particularly if I teach AP classes. In my high school AP History class, we did group projects that involved historical research. I believe that I learned a lot from that assignment, and I think my students will as well. 

Though I would rather not lecture, I know that lecture is an inevitable part of any social studies class. However, I plan to use lecture only very sparingly and never for an entire class period. When I do lecture, I will use the lecture-pause technique and will attempt to employ the characteristics of effective lectures that we learned in class such as organization, emphasis on important points, and presenting many examples. Additionally, I may also experiment with the jigsaw cooperative learning technique as a means of teaching content that might otherwise typically be presented by means of lecture.
 

Classroom motivation is, quite frankly, something that I never really thought about prior to taking Ed 310. I guess that I just took it for granted that my students would be motivated by my dynamic personality! Though I do think that my enthusiasm and rapport (teacher factors) will help motivate students, I realize now that I must carefully plan my lessons to maximize student motivation. Task factors, such as variety and relevance, will be utilized whenever possible. I also hope to pique my students’ curiosity (an intrinsic need) when using discovery-based activities. I may occasionally provide extrinsic rewards, but only when absolutely necessary. Finally, I will make every effort to develop a classroom climate in which students feel safe, secure, and welcomed, thereby meeting their deficiency needs (Maslow).
 

How will I handle student diversity in my classes? I plan to celebrate it! The very nature of the social studies (history, geography, government, sociology, and psychology) lends itself to teaching and learning about diversity. Therefore, I intend to integrate aspects of cultural diversity into lessons whenever appropriate. For instance, when teaching U.S. history, I plan to utilize James Banks’ transformational approach and explore multiple perspectives (such as those of Native Americans and African Americans as well as European Americans) of historical events. Though I’m not quite sure how, I will also try to be transformational in other subjects that I teach.
 

Diversity is not just about multiculturalism. It is also about learning styles, academic differences, and disabilities. As noted in regard to motivation, I will use a variety of teaching techniques to appeal to various learning styles and multiple intelligences. I will also do my best to meet the needs of students with disabilities and those functioning at different academic levels by providing various assignment options and offering individual help and, perhaps, peer tutoring. If/when I have students with mental retardation or other severe disabilities in one my classes, I will try to meet their needs by using multilevel cooperative learning activities similar to the example we looked at in class.
 

When it comes to classroom management, I am somewhat less of a humanist, perhaps because I have some trepidation regarding my ability to keep order in my classroom. Since I would rather be safe than sorry, I intend to run a very tight ship, at least early in my teaching career. Though I may someday solicit student input regarding classroom rules, as a beginning teacher I will simply inform students of my rules and the consequences for breaking them on the first day. Since I agree with James Dobson that the first few days of school set the tone for the entire year, I will be sure to handle small misbehaviors that occur early in the year and will make every effort to enforce my rules fairly and consistently. I will attempt to minimize discipline problems by always being prepared, organized, and keeping students motivated and actively engaged in learning. I will also do my best to have “with-it-ness,” and I intend to use Redl’s influence techniques (signaling, proximity, and interest boosting) whenever possible to prevent major problems. When I have to give verbal reprimands, I will try to keep in mind the guidelines presented in class, particularly making eye contact and giving the reprimand at close proximity. I like Linda Albert’s concept of meeting in private with students who are having serious behavior problems, and I will probably use the steps William Glasser suggests when I do meet with problem students. All of these ideas are tentative, of course, and I’ll have to see what works.
 

So . . . these are my current ideas about teaching, my “emerging philosophy,” if you will. I know that with experience, the passage of time, and exposure to new teaching techniques my philosophy will change. However, there is one thing I am sure of: I am and ever shall be a humanist!