Teaching philosophy

 Upon reflecting on my, on-the-ground, approach to classroom management, lesson planning, and instructional style, I found that I was unsparingly, and unknowingly, using what is called Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies or CBS. "CBS has its roots in psychiatry and was proven to help many people get over  a number of clinically proven conditions such as OCD, anxiety and social phobia Cognitive-behavioral Strategies in the Classroom", (2014) . For example, I always encourage students to use their inner-dialogue to observe, analyse, and modify their own behaviors. At the same time, I make a point of using plenty of tangible, sensory, and psychological rewards as reinforcers i.e. tokens, totems, smiley faces and star stickers, tiny sweets, genuine smile or nod, public praise of a job well-done, etc.. which is a kind of a melange between Behavioral and Cognitive theories.

My philosophy 

Classroom management

I found that my philosophy had its roots in my desire for my teenage daughters to receive from their educators what I provide for my students. This may sound selfish and/or self centered but in fact, it is not. I know that I have to deliver a certain standard of quality regardless of what my own family receives and I agree and accept this responsibility. However, I use this as part of one's own motivation to deliver quality standards and help develop the student as a whole, instead of merely focusing on delivering an SAT or ELA session. 

Lesson planning

In terms of academia, this has helped me construct suitable exercises and activities with the abilities of my slowest student in mind i.e. how new information is presented, the desired outcome of exercises, possible obstacles that might face some students. In terms of behavior, CBS helps teachers empathize more with the students at times when they become emotionally agitated and self restraint is key. 

Instructional style

As a rule, I try to keep instructional time at minimum to give more chance to students to do their work uninterrupted and for me to observe their performance and behavior. When instructing, I try to build or relate previous knowledge to the topic at hand. This helps establish common grounds and some sort of agreement or buy-in early on in the lesson where I could scaffold and move forward. I also tend to incorporate humor and/or inside jokes adequately to break the sometimes rigid material. Sometimes during instruction, I suddenly pause and seem to look for someone to finish my sentence to encourage engagement and to retain attention.

Conclusion

The reason I opted to write this brief comment after I had already finished crafting a mind map was that I wanted to further explain my stance more clearly. Personally, I believe that we are all students in the school of life till the last day of school. In other words, I actively look for the lesson in every situation, planned or unplanned, whether to learn from it myself or to point it out to at least one student. When I started this course I knew there was a lot to learn but did not actually realize how ignorant one is. Besides Behavioral and Cognitive theories, there is a more recent theory that was at play without being fully aware of it. 

References

1. Cognitive-behavioral Strategies in the Classroom. (2014). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://education.ufl.edu/behavior-management-resource-guide/2014/07/14/cognitive-behavioral-strategies-in-the-classroom/

Taking Ownership of curricular innovation

 

"..one of the consequences of our approach to reform is that the curriculum gets narrowed as school district policies make it clear that what is to be tested is what is to be taught" Eisner, (eds.) p.299.    

   I teach ELA and SAT/ACT prep. in various international schools- IB, IGCSE, and American- in Cairo, Egypt. In almost all of these schools, I was specifically asked by management to focus on preparing students for their finals i.e. SAT, ACT, or APs. When a department head is available s/he usually picks the lessons that address said finals. This meant that lessons that are not relevant to the finals have, in the eyes of school management, less value in class than others. For example, in my last school, I was specifically asked to include SAT exercises in every ELA session. Consequently, the lesson plan for a literature session, for example, must include set time for said exercises, significantly reducing the time allotted for literature. 

   This orientation is usually communicated, directly or indirectly, to teachers and students who start to intentionally neglect all other educational aspects that do not relate to the final tests. This means that non-core subjects like, Arts and PE, become neglected as they do not contribute to the final score. On one hand, teachers start to plan their lessons and activities around "training" students on taking the finals as opposed to "preparing" them to be life long learners. 

"..issues including dramatic demographic changes, policy changes, globalization, emerging technologies, and concerns surrounding refugees and immigration remain challenging for both school settings and teacher educators" (Hasan, A. et al., 2017). 

   This is exceptionally true in Egypt as the fees for international education have risen dramatically due to high demand from families who want the best education for their children. Consequently, this shifts the emphasis from wholesome education to mere training which, in turn, raises many questions about schooling real emphasis Smith, M. K. (2005). In the teachers' lounge, most of our conversations used to revolve around coming tests and how to prepare students for them. I should also mention here that teachers showed almost the same level worry about finals as much as the students themselves or their parents. 

   The reason for this, in my opinion, is multilayered: school districts emphasize only the role of common core; schools usually concentrate on students final results as an indicator to their success as an educational establishment which in turn means more applicants in the future and thus, more profit; teachers tend to follow school policy by orienting each lesson to serve the final test; students, in turn, regard all that is irrelevant to the final test as unimportant and unnecessary; parents are for the most part concerned with the graduation of their children rather than their development. 

    In my opinion, there is a need to make students cognitive development as important as their scores on their final tests. This should start with the policy makers. In other words, school districts should communicate, to all stakeholders, that curricular innovation alone is neither enough nor does it stop at the curriculum itself but transcends it to reflect educators own synthesization of it. Stakeholders in this situation are school management, educators, parents/guardians, and students. Said stakeholders should also strive to self educate about the underlying principles and/or theory behind curricular innovation in order to be able to see a clearer goal, each on his turf. 

References

 Eisner, E.  What does it mean to say a school is doing well?.  In Flinders, D. J., &   Thornton, S. J. (Eds.), The Curriculum Studies Reader, Fourth Edition (pp.297-305). New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from: https://chrisdavidcampbell.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/eisener-2001.pdf

Hasan, A. et al (2017)  Meeting the Challenges of Curriculum and Instruction in School Settings in the United States.  Journal of Social Studies Education Research. retrieved from  https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1162276.pdf

Smith, M. K. (2005) ‘Elliot W. Eisner, connoisseurship, criticism and the art of education’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/eisner.htm

Jerick T., (2015), Curriculum development curriculum issues, concerns and responses. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/JerickTeodoro1/curriculum-development-curriculum-issues-concerns-and-responses-49630682

On Effective Learning Environments

I attended a French Jesuit school in Cairo, Egypt and I currently teach ELA and SAT/ACT prep. courses. I have been teaching/training for almost 15 years and have taught national and international curricula.

Oxford's Language Dictionary concisely defines learning as "the acquisition of knowledge and/or skills through study, experience, or being taught" and I believe this definition is applicable to all learners regardless of their diversity. Generally speaking, I have experienced, in one capacity or another, many of the challenges that could hinder the learning process. The causes of these challenges were sometimes management or student related and most of the times were teacher related. It is up to the teacher to construct an adequate learning environment conducive to effective learning. Further development of said environment has virtually no limits but it always has to start at the same place, the teacher's intention. In other words, it is the teacher who decides to choose a teacher-centered or a student-centered instructional approach. It is up to the teacher to choose to enrich the learning experience with engaging activities and look for and recognize different types of learners as well as their educational and developmental needs.

Factors like constructing adequate classroom design, setting the rules with students and reaching an agreement on academic and behavioral expectations, utilizing effective communication techniques, and being prepared and resilient are some of the key elements that affect students' learning process and are all in the hands of the teacher. A teacher's preparedness starts by learning different learning theorem to gain an understanding of the stages of the learning process as well as the factors that directly affect it. For example, understanding the Neuroscience behind learning will give the teacher an insight on how information and emotions are processed in a student's mind.

In conclusion, I believe that it is the teacher who has the responsibility and the power to construct, manage, and maintain an effective learning environment.