Educational Philosophy

My philosophy for teaching science is composed of three main points teaching styles, cross curricular/collaboration, and technology integration.  To effectively reach every student in the classroom, I use a variety of teaching styles.  Each student is an individual with his or her own needs.  Using a combination of audio, visual, abstract, concrete, and inquiry based teaching styles meets this philosophy.  I am also a firm believer in team teaching and/or cross-curricular instruction.  The ability of teachers to work together to create curriculum, create assessments, and instruct is key to the future of teaching science.  Finally, Technology is an important part of today’s society.  Students need to become familiar with how it is used as a tool in science.

While teaching I had an opportunity to instruct in both upper level Advanced Placement classes as well as introductory science classes.   I used very different teaching styles for the large diversity of students.  I found this to be very challenging and believe that St. John Fisher’s program will help me to further develop my ability to use different teaching styles in the classroom.  I am especially interested in the inquiry based learning aspect of the program.  I used this style several times while teaching, and I found it to be very demanding.  I am excited about the prospects offered by St John Fisher College in this area.

I also participated in a cross-curricular collaboration while teaching.   I worked with another science teacher to develop a large-scale inquiry based lab.   This lab included aspects of chemistry, physics, and biology.  The students, under our direction, had to choose a topic in science and develop a research plan that included a library research component and an experimental component.  This experience enhanced my interest in this area.  I want to learn new ways to implement this type of project.  The program at St John Fisher College will help me to refine my skills in this area.

Technology integration is a very import philosophy for me.  I felt that my largest contribution to the science program, at my high school, was building a computer lab.  I built a lab from warehoused computers, procured Vernier Lab Pros, and Vernier sensors.  Many students had minimal experience with technology or computers.  I found that some students were afraid to touch the equipment.  At the end of the course these students felt much more comfortable with technology.  The technology aspect of the Mathematics/Science/Technology curriculum is the portion I am particularly interested in completing.

I feel that it is the right time in my career to expand my capabilities to continue to strive toward my teaching philosophies.   I would like to broaden my ability to teach high school science and to teach at the junior college level.  The curriculum in the Mathematics/Science/Technology Education Masters program offered at St. John Fisher College is the perfect fit for my career goals and teaching philosophy.  After completing my Masters I feel that I will be more prepared to teach science with integrated technologies and inquiry based learning plans.