SEL / Teaching Philosphy Statement

 

 

 

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Unit: Art

Theme: Teaching Philosophy Statement

Introduction

Effective Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) approaches often incorporate four elements represented by the acronym SAFE: sequenced, active, focused, explicit. These elements correlate with the ideas that make  a classroom safe and creative. Today we will take those ideas into consideration when articulating your teaching philosophy statement.

II

Learning Objectives

 

•  Understand what makes a learning process task oriented or relationship oriented
• Explain the meaning of the teaching philosophy statement
  
• Gain an awareness of the role the teaching philosophy statement has in education
• Experience how the Teaching philosophy works in a real classroom environment
  

 

III

Main Lesson

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Task Oriented vs. Relationship Oriented

The Sweet Spot

Finding the Balance

2

Social & Emotional Learning

SEL in the Classroom

Effective SEL approaches often incorporate four elements represented by the acronym SAFE:

• SEQUENCED: Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development
• ACTIVE: Employing active forms of learning to help students strengthen new skills
• FOCUSED: Dedicated time and attention to developing personal and social skills
• EXPLICIT: Targeting specific social and emotional skills

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 Group Work

Using the SEL approaches (above) as a reference, match the elements represented by the acronym SAFE with the safe tips (we covered last class) that apply.

LINK: 20 Tips for Creating a Safe Learning Environment

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber

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Teaching Philosophy

 

Notes

- finding the balance between prioritizing yourself and prioritizing the class you are a part of. 

-discovering who you are as a teacher and what your internal values are vs. your external values 

-make sure to be honest with what your identity is as a teacher

-how much time and thought you put into your meaning as a teacher 

-needs to be very personal 

-be aware of who your audience is and what you are trying to portray 

- delving into all of your reasonings that you want to teach and who you want to teach to 

-what specific subjects align with my teaching interests and how to I want to demonstrate to my class 

QUESTION 1

After watching this video, discuss the meaning of the teaching philosophy when the focus is a process oriented approach to learning through the arts. 

 

 

 

 

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Task Oriented Arts Education vs. Relationship Oriented Arts Learning

 

Question 2 

What makes a learning process task oriented or relationship oriented is the intention of  the teacher. Explain.

 IV

A Note to Remember

The teaching philosophy is a written statement of the educator's general personal views on teaching. The philosophy statement often attempts to express what methods of teaching the teacher practices. 

 

V

Case Study

Frank Avella, the narrator in the video below, is a Google Certified Trainer, and a Master Teacher in K-12 Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and various Test Prep Courses. Avella has lots of experience in the field of education as both a teacher and an instructional trainer. He conducts professional development training all throughout the United States. Some of Avellas's training includes G-Suite, classroom management, the flipped classroom, and more.

Teachings in Education, the platform hosting Avella's videos, offers training, professional development, and researched-based strategies for educators.

 

VI

Activity 1

Define in your own words your own teaching philosophy.

 

Get in your groups and design a poster with your teaching philosophy as a group following the example below from Marc Berger's teaching portfolio.

VII

Glossary

 

VAKT Learning Styles Model: Developed by psychologists in the 1920s to classify the most common ways that people learn, the VAKT model, invites teachers to design instruction for the visual, auditory, kinethetic and tactual learner. 

task-oriented: In task-oriented cultures, such as Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S., the primary means of achieving one's goals is through skillfully managing tasks and time. A "good" or successful person is one who "gets the job done" efficiently. Decision-making is often the responsibility of an individual, depending on the person's rank, track record, level of specialization, etc. 

relationship-oriented:  Relationship-oriented cultures organize goal achievement somewhat differently. These include most of Latin America, eastern and southern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and nearly all of Asia. In this type of system, the group to which a person belongs is a crucial part of that person's identity and goals are accomplished via relationships. Decisions tend to be made either top-down or only after broad consensus is reached. I

proxemics: As just one aspect of nonverbal communication, this term refers to how far apart do we stand. It can be defined as how personal space is maintained as a function of one’s culture. 

teaching philosophy:  The teaching philosophy is a written statement of the educator's general personal views on teaching. The philosophy statement often attempts to express what methods of teaching the teacher practices.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) approaches: SEL approaches often incorporate four elements represented by the acronym SAFE: SEQUENCED ( Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development), ACTIVE( Employing active forms of learning to help students strengthen new skills), FOCUSED (Dedicated time and attention to developing personal and social skills), and EXPLICIT (Targeting specific social and emotional skills).

 

 

VIII

Journaling 

IX

Sources

Fran Avella.  https://www.udemy.com/user/frank-avella/

Teaching Philosophy Examples.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZHPl2SaFGA

Marc Berger. https://marcbergerportfolio.wordpress.com/teaching-philosophy/

Task Orientation vs. Relationship Orientation https://www.watershedassociates.com/learning-center-item/task-orientation-vs-relationship-orientation.html

VAK Learning Styles.  https://www.mindtools.com/ak6cyjn/vak-learning-styles

Proxemics 101: Understanding Personal Space Across Cultureshttps://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/understanding-personal-space-proxemics/

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X

  Students' Work

 

Team 1 

 Olivia Miller, Lana Nesheiwat, Benjamin Feuer, Jake Irrgan, Rudy Stonisch

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom

 

Last week, we discussed 20 tips to create a safe classroom. Today, SAFE encapsulates sequenced activities, active learning, focused dedication, and explicit and clear skills. Overall, these both cover effective social and emotional learning . Through reading article number 5: "to read with your students" we connect with teachers being interactive the F- of being focused and dedicating time. Then, Number 9 addresses grudges early on, which connects with E- being explicit and targeting emotional skills. Adding on, Number 19 says "to sit with your students," which connects with A- being active and strengthening skills. This can happen while being present in their learning in order to make "sitting in a chair" less structured. Lastly, Number 3 says teachers should have Non- Negotiable which connects with S- being sequenced and developing skills more on a schedule and having a set of rules.

 

Teaching Philosophy Statements

As teachers, our teaching philosophy revolves around supporting students in emotional and academic environments. This is essential for their future and we will use core values of a SAFE class. We teach in an interactive manner with active engagement. We measure effectiveness by active communication with students and checking up on them. Within the classroom, we will set rules in order to manage students feeling safe and uplifted by one another. We teach to be mentors and coaches to our students, on all levels and promote inclusivity, creativity, and trust. 

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Team 2

 Ellie Karofsky, Meghan Warshauer, Carlota Cardenal, Alex Fishbone

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom

 

Our tip to create a safe and  creative classroom is "Remain calm." When applying the element of SEL, we agree on the following:

Sequences: Teach routine and repetitive activities/ breathing techniques that teaches everyone how to remain calm

Active: Create methods to quiet down the classroom to make everyone calm - for example clapping hands after the teacher

Focused: Taking time to provide for the students who are getting out of hand/ are having trouble remaining calm and provide the tools to remain calm. Allow students to learn how to help each other when another is not calm so that the teacher is not overwhelmed with everyone at once. 

Explicit: goes with sequences and teaching the students that remaining calm is a good habit in learning how to deal with emotions.

 Teaching Philosophy Statements

Our decision to become educators is to serve as mentors in both an academic and personal level for students. We teach our students to be creative, to think outside the box, to not be scared of making mistakes and instead, learn and grow from them, as well as to be collaborative. Our teaching method is to keep our students engaged through interactive activities, group projects and building a safe environment by remaining calm and encouraging students to voice their opinions, always trying to make school feel like a safe place for all. 

 

 

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Team 3

Allie Rodman, Luke Tegan, Jared Harrison-Hunte, and Antonio Tripp

 

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom 

 Need to apply SEL elements:(

Our tips to create a safe and  creative classroom are: 

- Incorporate both independent and group activities to cater to both learning types (Task-oriented and relationship-oriented)

- Incorporate visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactual activities to cater to all learning types

- Encourage students to take responsibility for their learning. For example, first learning a lesson independently, and then teaching it to the class (Combines both task-oriented and relationship-oriented)

- Develop a relationship with each student before delving in to learning, and encourage students to develop relationships with each other

Teaching Philosophy Statements

We believe in fostering an open learning environment. This means allowing students to express their ideas and encouraging their creativity. In regard to emotions, this means allowing students to be vulnerable and to express their feelings - We believe that a classroom is not successful without mutual understanding. We also believe in fostering an accepting and loving learning environment, one in which students feel unconditionally welcomed. We also believe in teaching students about life in general. For example, we want to relate "typical" school subjects, such as math, to the real world. We want to teach because we want to disrupt the status quo. It is necessary that students regain their appreciation and love of learning.

 

 

 

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Team 4

 Nia Bayardelle, Albion Shala, Ajay Allen, Jaleel Skinner

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom 

We chose the tip "art and music feed the soul."  We applied the SEL elements in the following way:

• Sequenced: find music that's related to what's being learned
• Active: have students create a visual representation of the topic
• Focused: designate time for students can work in groups to create a diagram explaining the topic
• Explicit: ask students to interpret the materials shown to them in class

Teaching Philosophy Statements

We believe that it is important to provide students with the guidance they need to grow and succeed into their best selves. Each student is unique in their learning style, and we feel it is the teacher's job to adapt to each class's needs. We think that it is crucial that students understand that learning is a journey and one that can be filled with ups and downs. We will provide support and understanding to our students throughout this journey. As teachers, we will work hard to make the classroom a fun and safe environment for everyone.

 

 

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Team 5

 Ryan Steinberg, Ethan Ruga, Abigail Gendell

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom 

 

Our tips to create a safe and creative classroom are matched with the elements of SEL in the following manner:  

- S: Art and music feed the soul 

- A: Sit with your students 

- F: Model Vulnerability 

-E: Address grudges early on

Teaching Philosophy Statements 

 

As teachers, we will ensure that our students feel comfortable and safe within the classroom. We will build individual relationships with each child to make sure they feel important and prioritized. By checking in with our students frequently, we will make sure they learn to love education and appreciate whats being taught in the classroom. We hope to be strong mentors to our students and give them people to look up to. 

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Team 6

Nicholas Diambrosio, XinYi Nong, Sebastian Chin, Logan Bright

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom 

 

Our tips to create a safe and creative classroom are matched with the elements of SEL (SAFE - Sequenced, active, focused, explicit) in the following manner:  

1. Model Vulnerability

   1. Open line of communication with the student, about class topics, personal issues, things going on in and outside of the classroom. (shows explicit feelings about day to day and out of school issues)

2. Remain Calm at all times

   1. Remain calm in any and all situations within the learning environment. Shows the kids security and a positive attitude to influence their behaviors. (Focus on the goal of being productive in a positive way)

3. Community Build all year long

   1. Community build all year long. Have classroom activities on a regular basis that allow the students to reintroduce themselves, and new things that are going on in their life.  (Sequenced learned of one another)

4. Circulate

   1.  Make learning interesting, by incorporating new ways of interacting with one another and the materials at hand. Show students new ways of using their surroundings to learn about new ideas and topics they have not discovered before. (Keep learning active, and not the same monotonous lecture.)

Teaching Philosophy Statements 

 

As teachers in today’s age there are a multitude of expectations that we would abide by. Having an open mind with any situations is extremely important to us in order to ensure safety, and approachability in the classroom. This will also help us show resilience and adaptability within the subjects and day to day operations of the classroom. From adapting to different learning styles, to teaching students whose English is not their first language, as a teacher, being flexible is extremely important to us. While being flexible, establishing an open line of communication with the student, about class topics, personal issues and things going on in and outside of the classroom is something we plan to do regularly. This will allow the explicit  expression of feelings about day to day and out of school issues, and allow us to know who our students are as individuals outside of their position in the classroom. Being transparent to our students, being truthful, and understanding about who they are will allow them to respect us and vice versa, as well as honor the way we interact with them. Being honest with them, as far as is appropriate within the confines of the class in discussions of class topics and real world scenarios, allows us to produce better people for the world.

 

 

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Team 6

 Alessandra Diamond, Grace Lopez, Marina Tischenkel, Joel Keller, Duke ?

 

 

Applying SEL to Tips on building a Safe and Creative Classroom 

 

Our tips to create a safe and creative classroom are combined with the elements of SEL (SAFE - Sequenced, active, focused, explicit) in two separate blocks as it appears bellow:  

Elements of SEL

SEQUENCED: Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development

ACTIVE: Employing active forms of learning to help students strengthen new skills

FOCUSED: Dedicated time and attention to developing personal and social skills

EXPLICIT: Targeting specific social and emotional skills

1. Give Kids a Chance to Problem Solve on Their Own - Focused

- This gives students time to develop their own personal skills because they are forced to think on their own and be more creative with their way of thinking. 

2. Model vulnerability - Explicit

- If we (the teacher) model vulnerability students will feel more comfortable to connect with their own feelings and thus they will target specific social and emotional skills. 

3. Offer options - Active

- Offering options will allow students to choose activities that will highlight their personal skills which in turn strengthens them.

4. Read with your students - Sequenced

- If the teacher shows they like reading and they read with their students, the students will then feel connected to reading the book/story and will most likely continue reading outside of class.

Teaching Philosophy Statements 

 

We strive to act as a mentor to our students. We preach responsibility for our students and hold them accountable. We like to have reflection time to allow our students to fully comprehend what they have learned. We encourage lifelong learning that teaches students responsibility that has very instructional strategies to communicate with students and parents. We try to keep our students engaged with activities that will interest them. We strongly believe in keeping an open line of communication to allow the students to feel comfortable asking questions and discussing their opinions.