TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

by: Emily Droge

As a teacher, I cultivate a healthy and engaging learning community by making all students feel included. Every child has a right to feel safe, the right
to feel like they belong and the right to ;ind their own voice. The foundation for fostering such an environment is building great relationships with my students
that will in turn earn mutual trust. I use a balanced approach allowing everyone and everything to be an equal and essential part of the learning PIE. *

I always model for my students appropriate

instruction, behavior, relationships and learning. I
want my students to know that learning is a life-
long process that is never complete and does not
just exist inside the four walls of the school. I
dont ask my students to do things that I am not
doing, therefore I challenge myself to learn new
ideas, concepts and strategies that will further my
education and professional development.

Pieces of the

Model
17%
I am an advocate for every one of my students,
and they have an equal part in their
education. Each student is a crucial thread in
the fabric of the classroom, school, community
and even the world. As a learning community
we celebrate our differences and build
genuine and authentic relationships with the
people and world around us. We are the
caretakers of this planet and we work together
to ;ind our purpose in what it means to serve
it and each other well.

Children have a desire to be a part of a community and

when they ;ind it and are immersed in it, then they can
truly be themselves. If kids are to experience a whole,
full and rich education, it is my job to help construct and
foster such a culture of community. I do this by modeling
the importance of celebrating diversity and creating
equitable learning for all of my students. I also foster
great foundational relationships with my students to
build trust, to inspire learning, to ensure safety and to be
the best advocate that I can be for each one of them. I
have open communication with parents/guardians to
get a better understanding of home life, and the different
struggles each one has connecting school to home. My
room will always be a safe-haven for students to come
and work or just to hang out and talk.

Community
17%

17%
Equality

17%
Assessment

17%
Technology

17%
Curriculum

Technology plays a critical role in the classroom to

engage learners and make learning more accessible. I
use it frequently to create a more UDL classroom.
Although technology and information is continually
changing, the basic skills for developing life long
learners have not changed. As a learning community
facilitator, I cultivate problem solving skills,
communication skills and research skills.

I use a variety of formative and summative

assessments throughout the curriculum to track
learner progress and development. I make the
learning goals clear and align them with the proper
assessment. Formative assessments allow me to
have productive conferences with my students to
improve my teaching and their learning.

I create and implement an engaging curriculum that

makes learning accessible to all learning types. I use a
variety of teaching strategies to hook and engage students
in authentic and personal learning experiences. Students
will know that what they are learning is important, and
that asking, Why, we are doing something is one of the
most important questions to be asking during the process.

*Inspired by Alina Bossbaly in Improbable Scholars written by David L. Kirp

Model
k Region 1

Equality
10

10

Technology
10

Community
10

Assessment Curriculum
10

10