Every student brings something different to the classroom. Whether this be in their behavior or their approach to learning, there will never be a class where everyone is the same. This enforces my philosophy for teaching that it is important for teachers to be able to be versatile and adapt to the students in their classes, because the most important thing for a teacher is the success of their students. When it comes time for me to teach my first class, I will make it a point to have multiple different methods of teaching to ensure that I can help the students in any way that they learn best.

When it comes to giving students instructions, math is difficult to vary methods of teaching the information. Most of the time it is the best course of action to lecture the students on the background information and then go into how to work through the problem for the lesson, but there can be different ways to do this. Having the students copy the information from you on the board is one way; the teacher is the one doing the work and the students just copy what they’re doing. Another way to teach the information is for the students to complete practice problems on their own. The teacher does the first problem and then the students are the ones who work through the next few problems to get the hang of it. Being able to do both methods I believe are important for student success because you never know what way works best for the students unless you try it, and once you can determine which is better, then it is easier to instruct the students.

I believe it is important to also get student opinions based on how they learn best. Asking the students if the method you’re using is best for them or not is important because there is no better way to find out than from the source itself. If the students are divided in their answers of what works best, then as the teacher, it is important to incorporate multiple methods into the same lesson. For example, you can have multiple practice problems at the end of the lesson so that the students who learn best through practice can learn that way, but once they’re done with that then you can do the problems yourself on the board so that way the students who learn best through copying and learning from the teacher can learn that way as well.

Exams are tricky to adapt for each student because exams should be standard for everyone, that way there is no bias towards one student or another. Making sure the students are prepared for the test is the biggest part. If the teacher can get the students ready for the test, then the test itself isn’t as bad for the students. If the students are confident in their knowledge going into the exam, then there will be less stress while they’re taking it. I do believe that the wording is also important, that is why I will only call my exams, quizzes, and not tests. When students hear the word test, it automatically adds stress to the exam, but if they hear quiz, it is less likely they will be as stressed out as if it were a test. Little things like that are what would help the students any way possible, and the little things will add up and make the best path for the students to succeed in the classroom.

In conclusion, I believe that all students deserve to learn in whatever way they feel most comfortable. Whether that be directly from the teacher, or learning through self-practice, it is important to make this available in every lesson. Making sure the students have the least amount of stress possible is important too, especially when it comes to exams. Small things such as calling it a quiz instead of a test can help reduce stress for the students. The most important thing when teaching is for the students to succeed, so doing anything necessary to ensure that happens is what being a teacher is all about.