My Teaching Philosophy

 

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The Hidden Curriculum is Just as Important as the Formal Curriculum

 

 

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One of the concepts that really resonated with me while a student-teacher at The Mico, was that of the hidden curriculum, i.e., concepts and ideas that students learn but are not deliberately taught. These are the norms, values and ideals that we, as educators pass on to our students unconsciously. We do not sit and write lesson plans for punctuality, decency, diligence, empathy, consistency, respect. However, our students are most diligent observers of these qualities. Students should learn good lessons from the hidden curriculum and in so doing, they will be more receptive to the lesson that was actually planned.

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                                               Teachers are Effective when they are Reflective & Proactive Practitioners

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Objective self-assessment and planning for the dynamics of the teaching-learning environment help teachers to improve and achieve mastery of their craft. The professional who is reflective in his/her approach achieves a level of clarity and insight that leads to the best form of growth. Similarly, through intelligent and objective reflection, an educator can implement proactive measures and this is the best methods to enable students to grow in the subject area.

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“What I cannot create, I do not understand.” Richard Feynman

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Richard Feynman (May 11, 1918-February 15, 1988) was a renowned Physicist and educator. He had the distinct quality of being able to break down the most multifarious ideas in a most complex subject area in a manner that was practical, pragmatic and easy to understand. He learned the most complex theories by thinking deeply on them and creating models and diagrams which he used to teach his students. He created in order to understand which, in turn, helped others to understand. An educator embraces the idea of giving students activities that enable them to create, to demonstrate, to design the ideas that were imparted. Projects, presentations, portfolios and models are all modern and practical ways for a teacher to get his/her students to create in order to show that they understand.

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Education Requires Innovation

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It is said that the success of a business relies on location, location, location. Likewise, the success of the 21st century classroom teacher depends on innovation, innovation, innovation. There has never been a time in human existence when education has depended so heavily on technology. The teacher who does not invite modern technologies in his/her classroom cheats himself/herself and his/her students of lessons that are engaging, fun, relevant and appealing to the current generation of learners. A teacher must innovate so that 21st century learners can relate.

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In Education, if we do not measure, we cannot improve.

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Twenty first educators should be data driven. We should have objective and measurable criteria by which we rate the success and failures of our performance, including our lessons, or positions of responsibilities, etc. Reflection on our performance should not only be subjective and qualitative. Reflection should also be quantitative, process oriented and results focused. When we measure our performance and arrive at a quantitative result, it is one of the best ways for us to identify the factors that contribute to our success and failures and plan accordingly.

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