Teaching Philosophy Statement

Assignment – Teaching Philosophy Statement
1. Type of my teaching: I am a trainer for music teachers. I provide training in the following:

● How to teach music to young children, teenagers and adults
● How to organize time in the class
● How to prepare students to exams
● How to use and interpret music syllabus for exams
● How to teach music to children and adults with special needs
● How to teach music to groups of children aged 3 -6
● How to communicate with parents and students
For this assignment you are tasked with developing and articulating your own philosophy of teaching practice in the form of a written statement (1,500 words approx.).
A teaching philosophy statement is a personal, reflective statement about your educational values and beliefs, which provides concrete examples of how you enact these in your teaching practice with learners. It addresses fundamental questions such as: Why you teach? What you teach? Who you teach? How you teach? How you evaluate your effectiveness as a teacher? It identifies your goals in teaching and provides a clear rationale for the approaches you take to achieving them. It accounts for your understanding of the purposes of education, the nature of teaching and learning, and the nature of the teacher-student relationship.
Philosophy statement will be assessed against the nine learning outcomes:

1. Demonstrate a good understanding of contested issues in education and assessment examined in class.
2. Analyse and critically evaluate the philosophical foundations of education and assessment.
3. Identify, evaluate and discuss their personal views on education and assessment and the important factors that contribute to learning, teaching and assessment practices today.
4. Recognise and explore ethical dimensions to teaching, learning and assessment including personal ethical dimensions.
5. Critically discuss and give examples of the strengths and weaknesses of each theoretical approach with regard to explaining the range of human learning
6. Critically discuss and provide examples of the influence of various profiles and backgrounds of adult learners including motivation, learning style, life context and experience in effective learning and teaching
7. Differentiate, critique and apply the various theoretical perspectives (e.g., behavioural, cognitive, constructivist) on how students learn, as presented in the current scholarly literature
8. Integrate the various ways in which the theoretical perspectives on learning and cognition are related to and can be used in developing and evaluating effective learning environments including constructive alignment and the use of the outcomes-based approach to learning and teaching
9. Evaluate various teaching strategies in terms of how they engage, support, and facilitate student learning

You need to show that you have a good understanding of contested issues in education and assessment, can articulate a personal position, and can show how you respond in practice to major module themes such as:

a) The purposes of education and its role in society
b) Equity, diversity and inclusion in education
c) The nature, purposes and consequences of assessment
d) The ethical dimensions of teaching and learning
e) The impact of technology on education
f) theoretical perspectives on ‘how we learn’,
g) theoretical perspectives on ‘why we learn’
h) theoretical perspectives on ‘what it means to teach effectively and inclusively’.

Marking Criteria
· The assignment is well-structured, logically organised and coherent. (5%)
· The assignment is written in an appropriately personal and reflective tone, is easy to read and error-free. (10%)
· The assignment correctly cites and references sources for key ideas underpinning practices. (5%)
· The assignment identifies key contested issues in education explored during the module and relates them to teaching practice. (30%)
· The student clearly articulates and reasons his/her educational values and beliefs as they shape practice. (25%)
· The assignment provides illustrative examples to support statements and evidence practices. (25%)

Word Count: 1,500 words (+/- 10%), excluding references.
Referencing: All sources should be acknowledged using the APA style