MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1
My Teaching Philosophy
April Navarro
CD V62: Principles & Practices in ECE
MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 2
A preschool teacher’s role
The role of a preschool teacher involves helping children develop in several components
that involve their emotional, mental, and physical growth. In doing so, the preschool teacher will
serve as a role model and help guide their students with their individualized learning process. In
terms of my beliefs about child-led activities vs. teacher-led activities, I believe that children-led
play allows children to take charge in the process of their own learning and external experiences.
In child-led activities, the child is given the opportunity to explore their interests and use their
creativity while testing out their new environment and ideas. In preschool, I believe that the
teacher’s role in playtime involves offering a healthy and safe environment for each child to
explore and learn. When the children are participating in playtime, it is fundamental for teachers
to provide positive feedback and encouragement for each child. Another important component
involves giving sufficient time and space for the children to experiment and explore their
surroundings. Lastly, it is essential to observe children on their stages of play (e.g., Parten’s stages
of play). Whether if the child’s behavior involves unoccupied, cooperative, onlooker, parallel,
associative, or solitary play- my role as a teacher would be to recognize any of those stages of play
and help each student develop their social skills with other children and adults.
The child’s role as a learner
My personal philosophy on how children learn best is through play-based techniques. Play
is fundamental in that it helps several aspects of a child- whether if it involves intellectual, physical,
emotional, and social components. I believe that as teachers, we can provide educational materials
and an appropriate learning environment that best support each child. These types of learning
environments can involve sensory play materials (e.g., sand and water table), a library area,
materials used for dramatic play, art materials, music models, writing materials, and much more.
Montessori is a philosophy that I am particularly fond of, due to this learning component, providing
children an enriched atmosphere with highly trained teachers to meet the needs of each student. In
a Montessori setting, it is emphasized on how children provide individualized learning. Students
are able to explore and learn through hands on experience. In terms of open-ended activities,
Montessori does great in implementing learning and play materials such as wooden blocks, art
supplies, magnetic tiles, dolls, animal figures, as well with playing with sand, water, and play
dough. Open-ended activities help support a child’s intellectual development due to numerous
techniques that the learning materials can be used and explored by the child. As for structured
learning activities, children can be engaged in gardening, making play dough, or completing a
jigsaw puzzle. I believe that it is fundamental for children to have a balance of structured and open-
ended learning activities provided for them in their classroom.
Addressing special needs, different learning styles and diversity in the classroom
In terms of learning styles, children can have one or more learning style that works best for
them in the classroom. These learning styles can vary from a visual, auditory, verbal, or kinesthetic
among children in early childhood settings. I consider that it is fundamental in developing
appropriate lesson plans that will help each student. In doing so, I plan on incorporating a mixture
of teaching styles to meet the needs of all students. I will engage the students by making sure to
provide visuals, tell stories (e.g., while making connections to the main points of the lecture), and
offer activities that are hands on for students. Not only will integrating various learning styles can
prepare children to learn, but it will also help the classroom stay engaged and eager to continue
MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 3
with their learning curriculum. In children who have special needs, it is important to create an
inclusive classroom that is made accessible, use instructional layouts, and develop an
individualized behavior management plan. In term of personalities, it is beneficial to look at the
child’s temperament style. For instance, it is important to note if a student is shy and takes more
time to warm up to other children and adults or if a child has a lot of energy in the classroom.
My curricular orientation
My curricular orientation primarily follows the steps of Montessori curriculum. This type
of curricular orientation involves children to go at their own pace with learning and is based on
their development and interests. I will aim to give fundamental learning outcomes and materials
needed for children to explore with these materials on their own and make real life connections.
My belief in this type of curricular orientation or model would be to take steps in observing the
children and how students are learning. I will aim to intervene in a child’s learning if I notice that
he or she needs encouragement to continue to explore and learn about their learning materials. The
goal is for children to practice as many times needed until he or she is ready to progress to the next
learning stage. My teaching style is to make the learning environment for the children as child-
centered, hands on, and keep several learning styles in mind for all students to use. I have always
believed in a personalized approach for students to learn, primarily due to having this type of
curriculum integrated into my education. The areas that this curriculum addresses in the classroom
involve mathematics, practical life skills, language, sensorial (e.g., shapes and colors), and culture.
Classroom and Conflict Management
I personally do not like to give time outs or take away play time privileges from children
as a solution to conflict management. In terms of conflict resolution when behavioral issues arise
between students, it is important to help the children to recognize and express their emotions in a
safe and healthy approach. I will aim to teach students how to listen to their peers and teachers,
become more aware of their needs and how to communicate those thoughts and feelings
respectfully to others. In helping the children express their emotions, I can show him or her pictures
of faces with different emotions and ask them to explain what that person is feeling. In some
approach, this can help the child identify their own emotion and think about reasons behind their
emotion. It is also important to model, or role play, good behavior and what the child can do
differently in future situations.
Family Inclusion in the Classroom
I plan to incorporate parents and primary caregivers of students into the classroom by
creating engagement opportunities for them to be involved. Family-teacher boards, volunteering
for a school field trip or in a class activity are a few involvement options that can be incorporated
into the classroom. In bringing the student’s family parents together in the classroom, it is also
beneficial to provide a space where children can show pictures or special objects that represent
their family and culture. Every child is different- whether if it is their personality, temperament,
learning style, or culture. I believe that it is important to teach children how to become open
minded and respectful in learning more about themselves and of other individuals in the
community. Although this is my teaching philosophy, I would love to progress my education into
a principal figure for the students one day.
