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Whatever level in primary school I end up teaching, there are certain abilities I want my students to take away from my classroom. My aim is to foster both an ability to think deeply and critically, while also leaving room for imagination and creativity. Students in my class will be active participants in their learning. In part I would try to embody Piaget’s constructivist approach to learning. In this approach students are responsible for constructing their own learning. Another definitive key to this approach is that activities used in the classroom are used to provoke thought about change and occurrences in the world (McInerney & McInerney 2010, pp. 36).
A critical mind is one that doesn’t just accept what is shown to it at face value, but instead is constantly asking questions. This is not just a great tool for learning, but is also a needed skill in the advancing technological, and media based society we live in. Being comfortable to ask questions and consider all the possibilities of situations is an ability that will enable students to carry themselves well throughout their further studies, and naturally all throughout their life.
I also aim to both utilise and encourage the imagination of children throughout my teaching career. I believe imagination should play a strong role in the classroom, irrespective of whether it’s a primary or high school environment. I don’t just want students to see the world for how it is- but how it could be. According to McInerney and McInerney (2010) curiousity is a “major element of intrinsic motivation” and is “stimulated by situations that are surprising, incongruous, or out of keeping with a student’s existing beliefs and ideas”(McInerney and McInerney 2010, pp. 205).
Combining all these tools, I would strive to have children leaving my classroom feeling inspired, passionate and confident in their learning and understanding.
References:
McInerney, Dennis M, and Valentina McInerney. (2010). Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning (5th ed). NSW: Pearson Australia.
