Teacher Professional Growth Plan
My goal for my future classrooms is to create a creative, supportive environment in which all children can strive regardless of their learning style, personality, or other external factors. I want students to feel comfortable yet challenged in my classroom. Throughout the B.Ed. program as well as my Field Experience I feel that I have seen teachers implement some valuable tactics that allowed them to carry out a classroom similar to the one I want to have once I am a teacher.
Personal/Professional Integration & Development
My aim for this is to allow creativity in the classroom. The ideas of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have further supported my belief in creativity. Intrinsic motivation is the internal desire to complete a task, something which is important for a student to have if they are to succeed academically. If a child has the intrinsic motivation to do their best then outside factors will be less likely to influence their accomplishment. However if a student is motivated solely by extrinsic motivators they will suffer the consequences if at some point extrinsic motivators no longer exist. If a child is encouraged to use their creativity during a task their personal interest will increase. Personal interest is an important factor that increases intrinsic motivation. Therefore I feel that creativity is crucial in a successful classroom. My strengths of developing an understanding of a child’s personality will help me implement the ideas of creativity in the classroom because I will be able to infer as to what types of creativity will be evident from each student. A teacher that I observed during my field experience used creativity and her understanding of her students to her advantage. Her students were required to do a project to show their understanding of a particular topic. She had given little limitations to the extent to which they could express their knowledge. The result was a class where each student was deeply immersed in their individual assignment because they were interested in the method and therefore intrinsically motivated to do well. Previously I had said that in a classroom that is very structured only students who thrive on traditional learning would have success. However, during my experience I saw that there can be a balance between structure and creativity. This balance is in fact essential to a productive classroom. The classrooms in which I witnessed effective balance maintained structure through expectations and goals, but allowed creative thinking and actions so that students could reach the expectations by the means that suited them best. If there is no structure whatsoever students will have no expectations and will not be able to strive towards anything. The balance of both creativity and structure allow students to work within the parameters of the teachers expectations while still using their individuality to express themselves. |
School and Classroom Culture
I want to create an environment where each student feels comfortable and secure in the classroom while enhancing their knowledge. I want to put emphasis on inclusion while pushing students to reach their potential. I saw this implemented during my field experience when a teacher began the day by sitting on the floor with the grade one students and asking who wanted to share something interesting they had done the previous evening. She then used that information to ask prompting questions that required the students to think. This simple act made the children feel comfortable yet, without them being aware, challenged their knowledge and made them think critically. I want to draw on Piaget’s theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium by encouraging students to allow disequilibrium to occur in order to achieve a greater knowledge. I think that by encouraging accommodation rather than assimilation the students will acquire an appreciation for the learning process. Disequilibrium is a powerful tool when used to promote learning, however I feel that it should not be used improperly or else the effectiveness will diminish. As an early educator I will be able to use the inhibitions of my young students to my advantage. I can also prompt them into learning through key questions. The theory I am alluding to is Vygotsky’s theory of proximal development. I thought that if I taught through guided participation then my students would be able to achieve ore than they would be able to individually. Though I still feel that teaching through guided participation is an effective means of learning I feel the need to add to my previous ideas. Social cognitive theory suggests that collaboration between students allows for a deeper understanding of material. Social cognitive theory promotes the idea of students learning from one another; Observational learning effect shows that students who observe a classmate learning something new from a model will also learn that skill. The benefits of this type of learning are that students will feel more responsible for their work and will therefore be more motivated to work. |