I am passionate about the Early Years and have adopted a personal teaching philosophy based on many elements considered central to Early Childhood Education. In particular, I employ a sociocultural, play-based inquiry learning through a nature based pedagogy. These educational perspectives carry through to the older years where I remain adamant that project-based learning in a social context and environmental awareness are crucial components to children's education.
Learning through participation is central to my beliefs as socioculturalism derives from constructivism which is based on experiential learning. I believe children of all ages should be provided with interesting, engaging, open-ended hands-on activities to facilitate inquiry skills and creativity. I strongly believe that every outcome of the Australian Curriculum can be taught in an engaging, meaningful, enjoyable way; irrespective of the students' ages. It takes dedication, passion, creativity and time to bring into fruition, but I am passionate about teaching and believe that the educational outcomes for the children are worth the effort. Children are much more likely to remember and understand the learning if they are actively engaged, and, crucially, enjoying themselves. I view community as paramount and believe it is important for students to develop a strong sense of community. This supports them to develop team-work skills, respect, a strong sense of identity and recognise their own achievements as well as those of others. In an early childhood setting, the Early Years Learning Framework, National Quality Standards and Australian Curriculum are crucial documents and frame my teaching as well as provide a framework for self-reflection. In the upper years, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, Nation Curriculum and SCSA will guide and inform my teaching practices. |
SocioculturalismWhat children can do with the assistance of others might be in some sense even more indicative of their mental development than what they can do alone - Lev Vygotsky
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Inquiry based learningA problem well put is half solved - John Dewey
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Nature-based pedagogyWhen one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world - John Muir
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