Teaching philosophy and reflections on the role of the online teacher.
In my reflection on my teaching philosophy as it relates to online learning, I am pulling from a variety of experiences as an educator, but none with the title of teacher. My current job title has no bearing on my aspirations in teaching current and future learners. My motivation for engaging in this learning stems from my experiences with emergency remote teaching (link to previous blog post) and my understanding that current learning technologies and approaches are essential to meeting the needs of current learners and those that I will be educating in the future.
My most recent experiences in a classroom setting have been anything but typical. My work is typically in specialized learning settings that connect with student mental health. My approach comes first and foremost from relationships, and in developing key self-regulation skills with students so that they can become successful learners in any setting. This changes my pedagogical approach significantly, as does the fact that my work comes as part of an enormous learning team, including a classroom teachers, strategists, specialists, psychologists and community outreach. With this ecological model in mind, my approach to these questions comes from a different perspective than if I were their classroom teacher. Bawane and Spector (2009) posit, ” The social role involves creating a friendly environment by sending welcoming messages, using a personal tone, and providing immediate and constructive feedback”(p. 388). I would identify my main role as a social role, providing feedback not only to students, but colleagues and community partners as well.
Also essential in my teaching philosophy is being mindful of trauma-informed practice, inclusion, and anti-racist education. These very important, often-overlooked (unless it becomes disruptive to the rest of the students) tenets of my approach are key to approaching my role as an online teacher. When I consider how I might approach teaching in an online setting, these values guide my approach.
I see myself as the proprietor of an outdoor store, providing amenities and warmth for the Ice Fishers. I am also an Ice Fisher, and my line is connected to the students’. I support them in catching fish, but also having the skills to do so while keeping them warm and supported. The visibility is typically low, it can be cold and isolated, but I have space heaters, cabins, mittens, hot chocolate, and Onesie Wednesdays! I haven’t actually done any ice fishing before, but I think that learning fishing from my grandfather in a rowboat for hours has given me some transferable skills.
In online teaching I would be more content-aware, in comparison to my current role in teaching social skills and providing individualized instructional support for students based on their IPPs. My role in my current setting is a supportive one, so my ideas for curriculum instruction are not as important as my ideas for supporting students’ learning needs. In moving to an online setting, I have recognized a shift in my approach to a much more rigorous pedagogical role, as the need for supports with social skills and coping with anxiety are lessened to a large degree.
I find it exciting looking into the future at how I can combine my main focus now and my newly acquired knowledge and skills with regard to online teaching.
References
Bawane, J., & Spector, J. M. (2009). Prioritization of online instructor roles: implications for competency-based teacher education programs. Distance Education, 30(3), 383–397. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1080/01587910903236536
