My teaching philosophy:

1. The learner and the teacher co-construct knowledge within sociocultural contexts. In other words, it is through social and collaborative interaction that learner’s discuss, disagree and build consensus on the meaning of theories and principles. In class, we will be engaging in multiple group activities that will facilitate learning and provide the needed scaffolding to build concepts and knowledge.
2. I value depth over breadth in learning the concepts. This means that I prefer to delve into topics instead of providing a cursory overview.
3. All learners come to the learning environment with diverse perspectives, background knowledge, communication strategies, cultural backgrounds, learning styles and work ethic. It is this diversity that brings richness to the learning environment. Each learner must understand themselves before they can understand others and effectively co-construct knowledge in a collaborative learning environment. This means that you will be asked to think and reflect deeply about the topics being discussed and will be engaged in activities that will build your intrapersonal and interpersonal skills.
4. The most conducive learning environment is one that the learner feels both physically and emotionally safe. In order to achieve this, the teacher does not have ultimate authority on any topic but the learner needs to be able to cogently articulate their conceptual understanding when they have an alternative interpretation of the research and theory presented. Mutual respect helps to support an emotionally safe environment and this is achieved by accepting other’s thoughts and opinions, listening carefully and being open to new thoughts and ideas.

My Assessment Philosophy: Assessment should measure as objectively as possible the learning that has occurred. Reliable and valid measures of assessment should require you to apply, create and synthesize concepts and knowledge. Assessment should also provide me with information on how to improve my teaching practice and prepare learning activities that meet the needs of the learners in this classroom. Assessments require you to be self-reflective and demonstrate your understanding of best practice through application.