Mrs. Douglas

My Teaching Philosophy

Knowledge is a gift ready to be unwrapped and enjoyed.  Teachers have the opportunity, and responsibility, to present this gift of knowledge so that each of their students will immediately want to take the opportunity to open it.

 I believe that children learn best when given opportunities to explore and discover new ideas.  When given the opportunity for discovery, learning becomes personally meaningful to students as they assimilate new material and ideas into their existing schema.   

 As a teacher, I provide discovery opportunities for my students knowing that hands on learning will allow them to take ownership of their learning process, while gearing them to be life-long learners.  In order for students to have successful learning opportunities within the classroom, it is the teacher’s responsibility to create a safe and risk-free environment.  As a teacher, I create a safe and risk-free environment by establishing clear expectations, while providing consistent and predictable daily classroom routines through the use of the Love and Logic Approach.  Using Love and Logic allows students to see a direct relationship between their actions or choices and a natural consequence.  The child is responsible for making an appropriate choice in order to solve the problems they encounter.  My role, as the teacher, is to foster students’ decisions and ideas, while reinforcing respectful and responsible relationships within the classroom. 

 Differentiated instruction is a must within the classroom so that each child can make a personal connection with the material presented, take ownership of their learning, and be successful in the classroom.  As an educator, I provide differentiation through scaffolding in the form of support and resources, in order for children to be successful in meeting and exceeding curricular goals and expectations.  An educator, like myself, is able to provide individualized instruction and activities through knowing their children and their background, integrating multiple teaching strategies, and constantly monitoring student progress.  Monitoring student progress through ongoing assessments is vital to the learning process.  By monitoring student progress, I am able to plan lessons that meet the children at their academic level, provide extra support and resources when needed, and provide opportunities to celebrate learning milestones together.  As an experienced educator, I know that students all learn in their own unique way and will display their knowledge in a manner that is best for them when they are given that opportunity.  For this reason, I believe in authentic assessments because they allow children to be creative when demonstrating the knowledge they have gained, and also enables them to take ownership of their learning. 

 I am honored to have been blessed with the gift of teaching.  With passion, confidence, and dedication, I will provide an environment rich with discovery opportunities for my students while setting clear expectations.  Having clear expectations will naturally create a respectful and risk-free environment to foster a love for learning.