Teaching Philosophy
Danny Zenn
Teaching Philosophy
While most of my formal education experience is from a student’s perspective I maintain that I still have much to offer in the teaching world. My interest in teaching started with a wonderful high school and undergraduate experience as well as a general thirst for knowledge; throughout my life I’ve been interested in the world around me and inciting that desire in others is very rewarding to me. I also hold firm that the knowledge and acquisition of a foreign language and culture brings the world closer together and as cliché as it sounds, it makes the world a better place.
When thinking about how I want to go about sharing my passion for learning there are some important factors to consider. Firstly is the multitude of widely available and seemingly acceptable teaching strategies and practices, most of which would depend on the competency level of the learners, but wide array of possibility is important to appreciate. Secondly, applying this wide array of strategic option to a diverse classroom. Unfortunately not every class is the same, let alone every student! Understanding the background and learning history of the class is vital. Lastly, which is related to the second factor, is the student. Every student has different levels of maturity, knowledge, motivation and desire. The challenge is to (try to) bring all three factors into harmony.
That doesn’t, however, all lie upon me or the students. A truly effective classroom should be a sort of compromise of teaching learning between the teacher and the students. I believe that acquiring knowledge can be a genuinely fun experience. I also believe that for it to be fun the student must be an active participant in the classroom; both the students and the teachers must be willing to be engaged. I would not expect the students to be able to be engaged if the teacher was just lecturing the whole time just as much as I would not expect effective learning to take
Teaching Philosophy
While most of my formal education experience is from a student’s perspective I maintain that I still have much to offer in the teaching world. My interest in teaching started with a wonderful high school and undergraduate experience as well as a general thirst for knowledge; throughout my life I’ve been interested in the world around me and inciting that desire in others is very rewarding to me. I also hold firm that the knowledge and acquisition of a foreign language and culture brings the world closer together and as cliché as it sounds, it makes the world a better place.
When thinking about how I want to go about sharing my passion for learning there are some important factors to consider. Firstly is the multitude of widely available and seemingly acceptable teaching strategies and practices, most of which would depend on the competency level of the learners, but wide array of possibility is important to appreciate. Secondly, applying this wide array of strategic option to a diverse classroom. Unfortunately not every class is the same, let alone every student! Understanding the background and learning history of the class is vital. Lastly, which is related to the second factor, is the student. Every student has different levels of maturity, knowledge, motivation and desire. The challenge is to (try to) bring all three factors into harmony.
That doesn’t, however, all lie upon me or the students. A truly effective classroom should be a sort of compromise of teaching learning between the teacher and the students. I believe that acquiring knowledge can be a genuinely fun experience. I also believe that for it to be fun the student must be an active participant in the classroom; both the students and the teachers must be willing to be engaged. I would not expect the students to be able to be engaged if the teacher was just lecturing the whole time just as much as I would not expect effective learning to take