Francis' Teaching Philosophy
The teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of one's beliefs about teaching and learning. It guides how I put my beliefs into practice, where I include concrete examples of what I do in the classroom.
The use of an architectural metaphor to inform my teaching philosophy stems from my formative undergraduate years at Durham University.
Durham is a peninsular city in Northern England, bounded on three sides by the River Wear’s meanders.
The city’s famous bridges featured prominently in my daily commutes between home, lecture sites and town.
Building
Bridges
to the
Future
Prebends Bridge, Durham
Like teachers, bridges are:
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Transitions
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Strong and Safe
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Connections
Bridges are spaces of transition.
Similarly, my students are negotiating their identities. To support them in their journey of self discovery, supportive peer and teacher-student relationships are crucial.
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Hence, my teaching practice will support students as they cross adolescence's bridges through:
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Authentic learning - Real world tasks
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Active learning - Practising receptive and productive language skills
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Collaborative learning - Individual, pair, group & whole class
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Facilitation techniques that support personal voice
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Goal mastery orientations
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Setting & addressing lapses in routines
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Keeping records of learning
Bridges are strong and safe.
My teaching practice builds on the theory-practice links I have cultivated in my Curriculum Studies modules.
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Hence, my teaching practice will involve the following teacher moves:
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Deliberate lesson sequencing
(e.g. GRR: "I do - We do - You do") -
Activating & building student schema through pop culture videos
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Pre-planned teacher modelling
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Guided analysis (e.g. SPECS and SLIMS framework)
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Discussion routines (e.g. Literature Circles, turn-taking)
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Identifying priority areas for remediation
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Providing actionable feedback
Bridges are connections.
Bridges make journeys and new destinations possible. Similarly, teaching facilitates engagement with the world: creating future possibilities through sustained ethical engagement.
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Hence, my teaching practice will involve the following:
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Real-world issues
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Capitalising on co-curricular opportunities to connect students with possibility and purpose.
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Experiencing culture authentically
(e.g. listening to writers, plays, museums, bookshops)
