"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow."

INCLUSIVE

Each and every student needs to feel valued, included, and cherished in my classroom environment in order for authentic and rich learning to take place. It is my role as a teacher to ensure that opportunities for individualized learning are available to each of my students no matter their learning needs or extenuating circumstances. Integrating all students into a classroom setting where they are individually challenged, accepted, and welcomed to learn and foster growth in a safe space is the foundation to a positive foundation.

INQUIRY

By giving students the opportunity to ask questions and take ownership over their learning, they are able to engage more fully into their own learning and processing of information. This allows for more authentic and rich learning, because students are guiding the process of their understanding as a collaborative team. As a teacher, it is my role to find ways to incorporate my students’ abilities and interests into the natural path of their learning, and to find ways to challenge and engage them along the way.

PLAYFUL

By including both structured and unstructured play in a classroom setting, students (especially at younger grade levels, but certainly applicable to older grades) have the opportunity to engage in inquiry-based exploration as well as social, emotional, and physical development. Play in the classroom knocks down barriers and act as an entry point for all students no matter their development level or prior experiences, in order to foster an inclusive learning environment and make curriculum connections. Apart from curriculum connections, play in the classroom can allow for self-exploration, risk taking, sharing, focus, control, and many other possibilities for all students.

FEEDBACK

As a facilitator of learning and growth, giving feedback is one of the most important promoters of success in the classroom. Providing feedback in a timely, structured, and productive manner gives students the opportunity to take ownership of their learning and make progress as individual learners. A fear of failure should never hold a student back from taking risks in their learning or exploring, so providing constant feedback as an educator allows students to understand where they are in their learning and where they are able to go. Feedback also allows my own role as an educator to improve as I will be able to ensure that my own teaching is effective and authentic by encouraging feedback from my students, peers, and team.

SHARING

In order to foster learning and growth in the classroom, communication is one of the most important ways to engage with students and check for understanding. Creating and nurturing a classroom environment where students feel confident sharing their ideas and concerns will allow for a safe space where learning can take place freely. I have been a student in a classroom setting where I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my ideas and thoughts with my teacher, and I feel that this hindered my own understanding. Communication shouldn’t stop at the classroom, as it is my role as a teacher to communicate with parents, community members, experts, administration, and other important figures in the community to enhance learning in my class and provide adequate support for my students.

RESPECT

In a productive and nurturing learning environment, respect sets the foundation for support and responsibility in a classroom. If students feel respected by their teacher, they will be able to more confidently engage in their own learning. Relationships in a class between teachers and students and among students assists in classroom management, collaboration in learning, and the formation of a classroom community. In the first few weeks of a school year, activities that foster respect in the classroom are so important to begin forming respectful relationships as a classroom community, where these routines and ideas can continue throughout the year. In a classroom where students respect each other, learning can become more collaborative, supportive, and engaging in a group setting.