Concepts of Learning, Teaching, Goals and Interaction with Students

Teaching philosophy
The Center for Educational Innovation (CEI) at the University of Minnesota states in its website that a "teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning." Your foreign/second language teaching philosophy will set forth your beliefs about second language teaching and explicitly focus on the pedagogical strands and second language acquisition (SLA) principles discussed in class, with examples that illustrate these points. It is written in first person and the tone is confident and professional.
The CEI provides a tutorial on writing teaching philosophies. Much of what they say applies to this assignment, but please note that you will be evaluated with our own rubric (see Assignments on Bb). The tutorial is on:
https://cei(dot)umn(dot)edu/writing-your-teaching-philosophy
Areas to cover:
Your concept of learning: Ask yourself questions such as "What do I mean by learning?" and "What happens in a successful learning situation?"
Your concept of teaching: Note your values, beliefs, and aspirations as a teacher. Ask yourself questions such as “What is my role as a teacher?” “What is the perfect teaching situation?” “What is my view of assessment?”
Your goals for students: What skills should students obtain as the result of your teaching? You may address the goals you have for specific classes or curricula and the rationale behind them (i.e., critical thinking, writing, or problem solving).
Your interaction with students: What are your attitudes toward advising and mentoring students? How would an observer see you interact with students? Why do you want to work with students?
Specific examples: How are the values and beliefs noted above realized in classroom activities? You may discuss course materials, lesson plans, activities, assignments, assessment instruments, etc. Examples support all areas.
Professional growth: How will you continue growing as a teacher? What goals do you have for yourself and how will you reach them? How have your attitudes toward teaching and learning changed over time? How will you use your student evaluations to improve your teaching? How might you learn new skills? How do you know when you have taught effectively?
Other things to address in your FL teaching philosophy include:
• An understanding of the connections among the perspectives of a culture and its practices and products, integrating the FL Standards cultural framework into your instructional practices.
• Theoretical and research support throughout. 1
EDUC 429/627 Teaching Philosophy
• The value and role of literary and cultural texts and how to help your students interpret and reflect upon perspectives in of the TL cultures.
• How to integrate knowledge of other disciplines into FL instruction and identify viewpoints accessible only through the TL language.
• A variety of instructional practices that reflect language outcomes, articulated program models, and address the needs of diverse language learners.
• An understanding of language acquisition and how to use that knowledge to create supportive classroom learning environments in the target language.
• An understanding of the goal areas and standards of the Standards in Foreign Language Learning and how to integrate them in instruction.
• Your engagement in professional development opportunities that strengthen your linguistic and cultural competence.
• The value of foreign language learning to students' overall success and how to promote it to students, colleagues and members of your community.
Your teaching philosophy is a document in progress. As you teach and participate in professional development activities, your teaching will change and your professional identity will grow. Therefore, it is necessary that you revisit and rewrite your teaching philosophy periodically to express and reflect your changing beliefs, values, and your ongoing experiences.
The Philosophy of Teaching Statement is no more than two pages in length, at least 1.15 spacing and .75 margins. Be succinct in your writing and remember who your audience is (me, employers, other professors, licensing agencies, colleagues).
1st draft – September 27
2nd draft – November 01
Final draft – November 29
429 students, please upload the final version to tk-20
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