PHILOSOPHY BLOG

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

My experience as a teacher was challenging but exiting, it was challenging because I felt I did not have the experience enough to teach and I was very young, I was 20 years old and at that time I was a German teacher. It was exciting because it was the first time I worked as a teacher. How I became a teacher? this is something I never imagined that would happen, it was when I came from a languages school in Germany and I used to spoke German very well; a friend of mine asked me to teach in a languages academy and I did not want to accept because I felt I did not have the experience enough. My first day as a teacher was awesome. I really enjoyed so much sharing my knowledge with students and teaching something important as a language, it was a great experience that made me feel proud and it was so excited that made me decide to become a teacher!

Teaching is something that makes me feel proud, students learn important things you teach and they can apply what they learn in their lives, they get more knowledge day by day and this knowledge is an important and valuable thing they will have they entire life and will help them in different situations.

Learning is important in a lot of ways, it is not necessary to be sitting in front of a book to get more knowledge, students can learn by experiences in the day by day, me as a teacher can say that learning can be a great experience. A good teaching is when the students learn by fun but this depends of the teacher because motivation is one of the most important thing when teaching.

My teaching philosophy can be when students are motivated, this is something I try to do all the time and I think is important, I always find different ways to engage them and make them feel comfortable in the class so they will feel that they are in control of their learning, this means that they learn what they want to learn.

Motivation is something that for some teachers is more difficult than others, I think motivation deals with fun, the teacher’s way of teaching and how he manages the class, teachers most be entertainers in some way and students are the audience, some teachers like to talk and talk much, this is boring, a good teacher is the person that can transmit a knowledge in a successful way with fun and can create a meaningful learning environment with the materials he has available.

First, when I start the class I ask the students how are you? I think is important to know their situation and feelings and try to know each other, make them feel comfortable and familiar with the class. Make them feel comfortable is also one of the most important things I also try to do in my classes.

Second, I set the goals I want to achieve with the students and before I start the class, I normally try to fix the chairs in a way they can share and work together if they need it, sometimes this is not possible because of the way the classroom is set but at least they can work in pairs in a collaborative way, this make them to feel comfortable too. This also depends of the teaching strategy I am going to apply that day.

Third, I always try to modify a bit the original syllabus to make it to work in a fun way, having fun is one of the most important things in my class because students learn fast and better if they are having fun, I always try to create different games and fun activities according to the subject and topics they are about to learn, for me this result very useful, students always have fun in class and keep motivated all the time. I can create a game or a fun activity at any time and make a fun class without using a computer, power point presentation or even the book.

After every class is important to analyze what to improve for the next class and try to change and consider what was good or bad in the teaching, by doing this the teacher have the chance to improve the class with a new strategy, he can use different strategies according to the students needs and apply the best for them, a good teacher is always innovating his classes and trying to do the best for his students.

One of the most important things I spect from students is that they can apply what they learned in my classes; as a teacher, this is the best result of a good teaching. I also consider having fun is the key to make the students learn and produce and I will keep creating new ways of motivation for my classes and future students.

• Musical Intelligence

Strengths: Rhythm and Music

People who have strong musical intelligence are good and thinking in patterns, rhythms and sounds. They have a strong appreciation for music and are often good at musical composition and performance.

Characteristics of Musical Intelligence

• Enjoy singing and playing musical instruments
• Recognizes musical patterns and tones easily
• Good at remembering songs and melodies
• Rich understanding of musical structure, rhythm and notes

•  Spatial Intelligence

People with Visual intelligence are artistic. They are very aware of their surroundings and are good at remembering images. They have a great sense of direction. They like to draw, paint and read maps. They learn best through drawings and visual aids. 

• Intrapersonal Intelligence:

Strengths: Introspection and Self-Reflection

Individuals who are strong in intrapersonal intelligence are good at being aware of their own emotional states, feelings and motivations. They tend to enjoy self-reflection and analysis, including day-dreaming, exploring relationships with others and assessing their personal strengths.

• Naturalistic Intelligence:

Strengths: Finding Patters and Relationships to Nature

Naturalistic is the most recent addition to Gardner’s theory ⁵ and has been met with more resistance than his original seven intelligences. According to Gardner, individuals who are high in this type of intelligence are more in tune with nature and are often interested in nurturing, exploring the environment and learning about other species. These individuals are said to be highly aware of even subtle changes to their environments.

• Logical - Mathematical Intelligence: 

People with Logical intelligence are abstract thinkers and are attracted to logic and reasoning. They are good at investigation and scientific processes. They learn best by logic. 

Common Characteristics Can easily do math in their head Good at strategy games Have a mind "like a computer" Really like math Enjoy science experiments Organize things by category Abstract thinker Look for a rational explanations Wonder how things work

Career Matches Scientist Mathematician Lawyer/Attorney Doctor Accountant Bookkeeper Computer Programmer Researcher Financial Planner

• Linguistic Intelligence:

People with Linguistic intelligence love and are talented with words. They enjoy reading, writing and learning languages. They have an ability to teach and explain things to others. They learn best by reading, taking notes and going to lectures. 

Common Characteristics Notices grammatical mistakes Often speaks of what they have read Likes to use "fancy" words Loves word games Cherishes their book collection Easily remembers quotes and famous sayings Likes puns and rhymes Enjoys writing Enjoys foreign language Always enjoyed English class (Personality info: <http://www.mypersonality.info/multiple-intelligences/verbal linguistic/> )

Career Matches Writer (any type) Editor Public Speaker Politician Preacher Teacher Journalist Broadcaster English / Writing Tutor Actor / Actress

Try out these activities: 

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/crossword.htm Vocabulary exercises: crosswords, puzzles, etc.

http://www.learnenglish.de/gamespage.htm Word games such as: letter swap, matching words, riddles, etc.

• Interpersonal Intelligence:

Strengths: Understanding and Relating to Other People

Those who have strong interpersonal intelligence are good understanding and interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires and intentions of those around them.

Characteristics of Interpersonal Intelligence

• Good at communicating verbally
• Skilled nonverbal communicators
• See situations from different perspectives
• Create positive relationships with others
• Good at resolving conflict in groups
• From activity or social clubs

Bodily Kinesthetic people - Activities

• Bodily - Kinesthetic:

                                                               Strengths: Physical Movement, Motor Control

• Those who have high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are said to be good at body movement, performing actions and physical control. People who are strong in this area tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity.

  Characteristics of Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

  
  • Good at dancing and sports
  • Enjoy creating things with their hands
  • Excellent physical coordination
  • Tends to remember by doing, rather than hearing or seeing

TEST YOURSELF

Test yourself and find your strengths! 

Everybody has all the multiple intelligences, but some of them are more developed than the others.This kind of test will help you to find which of the multiple intelligences you're stronger in.

http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Then according to your results, you can choose your intelligence, read about it and try many activities related with it. 

• http://surfaquarium.com/MI/intelligences.htm     This link is amazing!  It has different activities related with each kind of multiple intelligence.  You should try it. : D 

Applying Dr. Gardner's theory in the classroom is meaningful. There is a real change in the methodology, because it promotes the interaction of students doing  authentic tasks  and perfoming real-life situations in the target language. The traditional methods will be replaced by the new era of teaching, where the student is the only and main builder of his own knowledge. 

How to grow a better brain 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002391/smarts.html

• Multiple Intelligence Games

http://totthoughts.com/2011/06/07/the-animal-game-again/

• List of activities to develop multiple intelligences

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/multiple-intelligence-activities.html 

The Key Learning Community

Multiple Intelligences In The Classroom

In recent years, new definitions of intelligence have gained acceptance and have dramatically enhanced the appraisal of human competencies. Howard Gardner of Harvard University in his book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, suggests that there are at least seven human intelligences, two of which, verbal/linguistic intelligence and logical/mathematical intelligence, have dominated the traditional pedagogy of western societies.

The five non-traditional intelligences, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonaland intrapersonal, have generally been overlooked in education. However, if we can develop ways to teach and learn by engaging all seven intelligences, we will increase the possibilities for student success and create the opportunity to, in Margaret Mead's words, "weave a social fabric in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place." 

How can the Multiple Intelligences be implemented in the classroom?

What are some of the results of this program?

What is the teacher's role in a Multiple Intelligences program?

Read more at ... http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Campbell.htm

• This video shows a clear example of a school applying multiple intelligences in the classroom:

Indianapolis school works with a curriculum based on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. 

Here, teachers look beyond test scores. They emphasize exploration, experimentation, doing projects, developing arts, computer skills, etc, beginning in kindergarten. Teachers apply different methods for teaching to achieve real positive results, and students enjoy learning in this way. 

A Brief Background

"If a child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns." by Rita Dunn.

Sometimes, we as teachers get mad trying to teach certain topic to the students but they can't internalize the new knowledge and they get bored. Maybe it is because we are teaching them in the traditional way. However, nowadays we have to consider that everybody learns in different ways, and that's what Dr. Gardner explained in this theory.

So, the next link can help you to understand a little bit more about this theory and its purpose.

http://208.254.39.65/neuronreading/e_article001083919.cfm?x=b11