My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching begins even before the books open.I bring an energy and dynamism to the subject that spurs curiosity in young minds.In classrooms, group settings, and one-on-one sessions, I listen and understand the hurdles that students face in acquiring a stronger understanding.
A question that guides my teaching philosophy and approach is a simple one – if Math had a persona, how would it like me to teach it to others.
I believe my personal philosophy of education is a cohesive mix of principles, which are integral to creating an enlightened experience during the process of systematic instruction.I’ve tried to adopt four principles in my philosophy.
I start by taking away the fear of failure that breeds anxiety and stifles learning. Math is not a natural subject that students experience in their lives. It is not as evident and familiar like the leaves on the tree or our breathing or the English being spoken on the TV shows. Math is hidden like in the lot size of our home, or the geometry of the houses lining the roads or the shape of the donuts. I feel this creates an unnatural fear of the unknown, and thus a greater propensity to make mistakes in Math. During my years of teaching and tutoring school students, I’ve made clear that mistakes are a natural part of learning and correlate their mistakes to my own when I was learning. This creates an empathy towards their own struggle to learn and understand. It breaks downs the barrier to asking questions, and promotes the beginning of a dialogue. Once the anxiety fades and disappears, it slowly allows confidence to appear.
I strive for my students to understand, not simply memorize. I believe a sound understanding is a strong foundation for math. Recognizing that students can have a wide spectrum of abilities, I focus on making sure that my students understand the subject matter, its properties, and relationships. By relating the subject to our lives, it makes the subject less esoteric and provides a more meaningful contextual framework for the student. A deeper understanding fosters a lifetime of interest and learning.-
I emphasize practice. I’ve taught people with different levels of abilities, and to succeed the one common thing they all need to do is Practice. There are no shortcuts. In my experience, gifted students make even more careless mistakes due to their tendency to dismiss practice. Since Math is a precise subject, practice strengthens the thinking process and allows the students to be more organized in their thinking.
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I learn and continue to improve my teaching style, as new methods and research comes to my attention. In addition, I continue to have the patience in my approach and belief in what I’m doing. In a way, it’s not only the students who should learn during our engagement. But it’s also a period of discovery for me too, and I’m learning as well.