Tyler Freeman - English Major
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Hi there! My name is Tyler Freeman. I am a graduate of Douglas High School and have earned my Associate's Degree from Snead State Community College. I am currently trying to earn my Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education in the field of English. On this website, you will find my education philosophy, professional readings, and instructional strategies. Be sure to check out the Blog page for my resume, as well as some sample lesson plans.
My Education Philosophy
It is my personal belief that education is not just about learning the subject at hand, but about learning how it can be applied to everyday life. Theorist Jean Piaget once stated that true understanding of a subject occurs when the students take what has been learned and apply it to further use outside of the classroom (Wiggins & McTighe 123).
Adolescents have trouble finding interest in reading, due to a little thing that educator Kelly Gallagher describes as "readicide," which can be defined as "the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools" (2). The constant reading for information that teachers have instructed their students to do for years to prepare for some big test at the state level has caused students to despise reading. This is what I want to change. I wish to teach students to enjoy reading again, and that sometimes the best way to discover new information is to read between the lines. I hope that they will receive that understanding that there is more to reading than words on paper, and that sometimes they must dig a little deeper to discover something that they never thought about before.
I believe that in order to fully develop a student's understanding of a subject we must go beyond simple questions for students to answer in class. In order to see how well they understand the subject at hand, we must delve deeper. Allow the student to draw on personal experiences to see how she or he relates to what he or she is reading. This is best stated by theorist Howard Gardner: "...it is generally necessary to look more deeply... For these purposes, new and unfamiliar problems, followed by open-ended clinical interviews or careful observations, provide the best way of establishing the degree of understanding... attained" (Wiggins & McTighe 94).
It is the teacher's job to guide their student on this journey of self-discovery, but they also need the help of their parents and the community around them. After all, as Lev Vygotsky believed, connections with others allows important information to be learned from actual experiences, as well as helpful feedback from outside experts (Crawford 88).
To summarize, my philosophy is essentially that students have trouble enjoying reading because they have spent much of their reading in the structured environment of the classroom. Because of that, they may not fully understand the importance of what they are learning outside of the classroom. I want to help them understand that use and allow them to read for not just information, but for connection as well.
Professional Readings
Throughout my college career, I have read quite a few texts that have helped me to develop a better understanding of the best philosophies for education. A few of these have helped me to develop my own philosophy on education, which can be read above.
One of these was Understanding by Design, by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe. This is a book that has helped me separate understanding from knowing. Because of this book, I understand that not only should a student know the subject that he or she is learning, but that she or he should also be able to understand why it is important for them to learn about it.
Another important reading for me is Readicide, by Kelly Gallagher. This is a book that has shown me the reason that there are many students who despise reading, which is that, after all of the test preparations teaching them how to read a test, they are unable to find any enjoyments for reading outside of tests. This book has done a great job showing me ways to hopefully get them excited for reading again.
The last book I cited in my philosophy is Brain-Based Teaching with Adolescent Learning in Mind, by Glenda Beamon Crawford. This book has helped me develop a better understanding of how the adolescent mind works and how I can adapt my teaching methods to work with that.
These are just a few of my many readings, as I have read many other texts that have helped prepare me for the world of education and the best strategies to implement for the best teaching possible.
Instructional Strategies
- One Teach, One Observe - This is one teacher teaches the lesson, while the other watches the students and makes sure the students are following along. This allows the teacher to know when students are experiencing difficulties and any improvements he or she might need to make.
- One Teach, One Assist - This is also where one teacher gives the primary instruction. However, the other teacher provides assistance to students, while at the same time makes sure the students are doing their work and doing it correctly.
- Parallel Teaching - This is where each teacher instructs half the students with the same material and the same strategies. In other words they are both teaching the same thing at the same time in the same classroom. This makes it easier for teachers to make sure the students are following along, as there are less for them to keep an eye on.
- Station Teaching - The lesson is divided into three parts. Both teachers teach two different segments of the lesson to two different groups, while the third group works on their segment alone. This continues for a determined amount of time, after which the groups rotate and move on to the next segment.
- Supplemental Teaching - One teacher works with students at the expected grade level, while the other teacher works with students that need information remediation. This allows one teacher to make sure that each student is working at the appropriate pace, while the other teacher provides extra attention to those that need it.
- Alternative Teaching - Two teachers are teaching the same information with different approaches. While one teacher delivers the information one way, the other delivers it using a alternative method. For example, while a teacher might be delivering a lecture, the other may provide something that is a little more hands on. The methods used by the teachers depends upon the skill set and interests of the students. Works particularly well in a classroom that has inclusion or second language students.
- Team Teaching - This is where both teachers teach one lesson at the same time. They work together to make sure the students understand every part of the lesson. Neither one is the leader as both share instruction, interject information, and assist students with questions.
Contact Info.
The best way to contact me is through my e-mail address, [email protected] It is also possible to follow me on LinkedIn.
Works Cited:
Wiggins, Grant & Jay Mctighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandria: Expanded 2nd ed., Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005. Print.
Gallagher, Kelly. Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Portalnd: Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. Print.
Crawford, Glenda B. Brain-Based Teaching With Adolescent Learning in Mind. Thousand Oaks: 2nd ed., Corwin Press, 2007. Print.