Educational Beliefs and Practices

Educational Beliefs and Practices
My name is Joseph Swainston, a current student at Western Governors University.

Although I am still a student, I am currently teaching my own classroom in a small town in
Idaho. I have had such a great opportunity to teach my first classroom this year and finally
realize that I love to educate kids! When I was a student in high school, I always would tell
people that I would someday be a teacher. I have always loved the idea of teaching but I never
really knew if it was the correct career choice for me. With that I can say that I love that I was
able to become a teacher and have learned it is so amazing for me personally. Teaching holds a
really special place in my heart and it always will. To me teaching is so important to the
development of our kids, future parents, maybe future leaders, or whatever my students may
become. The importance of teaching all starts with me wanting my students to know they always
have support from me as the teacher. Support is an area that a lot of kids need from adults and it
is sad to say but some kids do not get the amount of support they need outside of school and
that’s where I find my career important. Teaching allows me to show students that someone is
always there to support them, that they have a person that they know will always be willing to
help them and trust them in things they do in my classroom. The connections that I make as a
teacher can simply change a kid’s whole life around, it can make them want to be successful no
matter what others say, and it ultimately can save a life. Because I find this so important in my
career, I have seen throughout this year that my students love my classroom, they work hard to
impress me but they also don’t want to let themselves down, and that is why teaching is so
important to me.
As a current educator I believe that teachers and students should create a classroom that
allows students to have no fear. The students come to my classroom for a limited time Monday
thru Thursday but I believe they should always enjoy coming. Some students have situations at
home or with friends that may cause them to feel lost or worried about doing something wrong
and that is why my classroom tries too always be positive and fun. I feel that students come in
with a better attitude, they respect me even more, and that they feel like they can try and fail and
know they are still capable of being successful. If students can experience this in my classroom,
they can be able to learn about the material and themselves better than anywhere else. I was able
to read this saying that is quoted in an online article by Edweek.org that says: “As much as we
need to provide enriched experiences to promote healthy brain development,” says Dr. Jack P.
Shonkoff, the director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, “we also
need to protect the brain from bad things happening to it. We all understand that in terms of
screening for lead, because lead does bad things to a brain, mercury does bad things to a brain,
… but toxic stress does bad things to a brain, too—it’s a different chemical doing it, but it’s still
a big problem interfering with brain development.” This to me shows me that my belief in
teaching and creating a safe environment for my students will help them develop into someone
more successful and less hurt as they grow into adults.
In a small school that does struggle with student learning, I focus on trying to teach these
students ways to be successful with understanding the material and studying correctly for a test. I
think that a lot of educators get frustrated with student outcome because they “didn’t study hard
enough”, but in reality, a lot of kids don’t know how to study for a test. I do two things in my
classroom that help my students with the process of learning the material or becoming a master.
The first instructional strategy that I use with my kids is we create journals, not journals that they
right about their lives but about the material we learn in class. The students are able to see ideas
from me in my own journal that shows what I felt like is most important for them to learn. The
students then share with each other before they leave class that day. The following day, the first
thing the students do is grab their journals and review them again to refresh their memory. I
found that my students come to class remembering the material that we covered the day before
and have grown tremendously on test scores. Another instructional strategy that I include in my
classroom is the think-pair-share daily. One thing that I have learned in my first year is that my
students do not like sharing with the entire class. They much rather be with a partner and express
their thoughts because they feel less pressure. The strategy has helped my students with
becoming more comfortable and willing to talk about math rather than ignore the lesson and feel
scared of answering anything related to the material. I do add two things in my room to help me
assess where my students stand with understanding the material. The first thing that we do in my
class is a weekly quiz. The last day of the week, we end the class with a 10-question quiz that
allows them to test their understanding of the material that we learned throughout the week. This
allows me and them to see how well they are comprehending the material that was covered,
which allows them to judge what to do the same or different depending on the results. The other
thing that I add in my class is class Kahoot. The Kahoot is used after every unit, before we take
the unit test. The Kahoot is a fun way to engage my students and it also helps me allow to check
their understanding before the test. I really try to incorporate both of these tools because it helps
me see before the big test. If the students are showing understanding on the quizzes and Kahoot
but not well on the test, which allows me to understand if they had a rough day or if they really
don’t understand.
As important as it is to connect with the students, it is also important to grow connections
with other stakeholders in the school. I feel that it is extremely important to create relationships
with other stakeholders which helps the success rate of teachers and the students. As a current
educator, I find it important to attend meetings with grade level teachers to help establish a solid
foundation as a whole grade level rather than just an individual teacher. One thing that I do to
obtain positive relationships with other stakeholders is sharing outcomes or teaching methods
with them. I have found that great communication and sharing success stories and ideas with
each other then we create a successful relationship and trust with each other.
Sparks, S. (2020, December 01). Social-Emotional needs entwined with STUDENTS' Learning,
Security. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/social-
emotional-needs-entwined-with-students-learning-security/2013/01

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Educational Beliefs and Practices

My name is Joseph Swainston, a current student at Western Governors University.

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