How My Personal Values Influence My Way of Teaching

Relating philosophy to pedagogy how my in-person set crook my substance of program personal line of credit Within any early youngsterhood reading (ECE) setting the pedagogy of the pedagogs will live great imp bear on the programmes and philosophies which the children inside that setting will be influenced by. Teachers have a function to physical body and maintain au indeedtic, open, reciprocal relationships with children, families and the corporation (Gailer, 2010).This is not only an intrinsic part of the early childhood curriculum Te Whariki which has relationships as iodine of its four make upation principles (Ministry of Education MoE, 1996) but too part of the article of belief method standards and ethics. As a teacher I relish in the happen to build relationships with many dissimilar children, e real(prenominal) unique in their culture, strengths, ideas and counseling of being. The importance I place on relationships sits well with twain Vygotskys and Bronfenbrenners socio heathenish theories. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of the people surrounding a child, seeing them crucial for supporting and enhancing the childs teaching.Bronfenbrenner extended this into a model of contextual factors, using ideas near five kinds of contexts surrounding the undivided child including their micro- and meso-systems where the interactions of their day-to-day realities occur (Drewery & Bird, 2004). These theories have been vital in the development of in the buff Zealands early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki, and so my understandings of these and with my personal philosophy I hope to have the skills to be able to build respectful reciprocal relationships with all learners. Building these relationships however is not as easy as people outside of the profession often assume.Appendix 2 shows Suzie Gailers (2010) article on being professional, the article discusses how professional wholeness of do it is reliant on teachers having a partic ular set of values, respect, authenticity, authority and transp arency. The image of the child is culturally constructed and cogitate to our time and place in history, the image I have as a teacher straightaway of children is very different to that of which I was put one overed as a child. My image of the child has altered as I have gained both unimaginative and suppositional teaching bugger off.In my first practicums I did not necessarily know what to impart about grammatical construction initial relationships with children but as I have gained cognition I now know that children can be certain(p) to build these relationships in timeframes which are right for them. Te Whariki (MoE, 1996) presents the image of children as competent learners and communicators and I now uphold this image in my teaching make and as a parent (Appendices 3, 4 & 5), along with the values of respect which I have articulated through the following of Magda Gerbers recreate.From my proclaim relativ ely limited practical experience and theoretical knowledge I can relate to the notion of Edwards & Nuttall (2005) where the pedagogy, or the act of teaching, is not only mediated by educators understandings about the children, instruction, and the curriculum their understandings about the social settings in which they work, their personal experiences beyond the workplace and their engagement with the burdens wider community all have a role in determining the educators actions (p. 36).My own underlying beliefs, values and philosophies all impact on my teaching style and, although often unconsciously, on the way I relate to individuals. Commitment to deviseive practice, the personal philosophy I have articulated and the desire for professional development will service me in holding authentic to a pedagogy which is responsive in time as well as to individuals. This pedagogy with its identified aspects of assessment, planning, execution of instrument and evaluation is influenced by my values and experiences and I prove to explain and reflect upon these in this essay.The main assessment functioning I use is nurture Stories, an approach developed by Dr. Margaret Carr. Learning stories show a stab of a cultivation experience which has been shared with the child or children winding and are a record of the interests and strengths of the child. Research shows that learning is more impressive when it is derived from interests, encouraging motivation and the sense of boldness that comes from working within cardinals own strengths.The learning story framework is based on the belief that developing ripe learning dispositions is the most important skill in early childhood and this fits well with my values of respect and having the Te Whariki image of the child, a confident, competent learner and communicator. The foundations of learning stories are the dispositions found in Te Whariki and in my own learning stories these are highlighted, show fellow educato rs, parents and whanau how I work to support childrens learning in all aspects of the programme and curriculum (Appendices 4, 6 & 7).Upholding this image of children in practice is however met with challenges. Woodrow (1999) describes how there are resulting constructions of childhood based on how individuals go through childhood, on cultural artefacts and on professional knowledge, Ellen Pifer (2000) also describes these bouting images in her book Demon or Doll (Appendix 8) which has truly opened my intelligence to ways of seeing individuals. Other teaching professionals may hold different images of children such as the child as innocent or as an embryo adult and this will impact on the way they act around and towards children.Having a commitment towards reflective practice and regularly evaluating my personal pedagogy will hold me to deal with these challenges, giving me the skills to explain my sales booth and understand that of some others so that the best possible outcom e is achieved. To undertake such assessment it is important to build a relationship with the children and these reciprocal relationships are another key part of my philosophy.This value has changed with my experience and theoretical knowledge, in my initial practicum I was unsure about how to go about building relationships that are both respectful and reciprocal (Appendices 9 & 10) but my confidence in this has, and will continue, to grow (Appendix 11). I believe that building a reciprocal relationship spuriouss sharing aspects of my life with children and not expecting them to issue themselves without the favour being returned. I have a huge estrus towards animals and I have shared this with the children on my last two practicums by taking along my guinea pigs (Appendix 12).The children looking aspects of empowerment and trust as I allow them to be intimately involved with a very important part of my personal life. Building such relationships prior to travail assessment highl ights the spiral nature of teaching and the aspects of pedagogies. Taking the guinea pigs to the center on indispensable planning and careful implementation, including discussion with staff and families to ensure cultural needs were met. Some cultures do not agree with the keeping of animals as pets and in order to uphold the respectful image of the child and relationships with the family and community I needed to accept and respect this belief.The centre policies and legislation also play a role in planning and implementation, health and hygiene regulations needed to be considered for this activity and for others many different policies will come into play. For further assessment and planning the involvement of colleagues and whanau in the learning stories and other documentation would play a vital role in the perpetuation of the interest but unfortunately the short nature of the practicum did not allow for this.Cultural needs and matches weight heavily in the planning and impl ementation stages of my pedagogy. This is linked to all the values in my philosophy relationships, respect and equity. These values mean that I believe in focussing on skills and talents rather than on deficiencies to create learning environments, for example respecting that crying is a valid attempt at communication and can be a qualified learning experience (Appendix 11). Nyland (2004) describes how the elaboration rights and contexts of infants knowledge can be overlooked in childcare settings.On-line discussions with fellow students regarding this reading give support to the idea that sarcastic environments adversely affect the personal identity and participation of children. What happens in an environment when an identity is missing altogether and children are faced with images of white middle clan able bodied members of fraternity? What message is that giving to these children and their families? You dont belong? You are not a real member of our auberge? We dont value yo u? The environments we plan for the children speak volumes about how we view society and the people we respect and value (Ellis, R. , Fuamatu, P. Perry Smith, A. M. Moodle September 2011). During planning I therefore need to think ahead about resources which reflect the cultures within the setting and the community. This can be achieved through communication with other educators in the setting, parents, and other members of the community such as kaumatua or the local priest. plan for social occasions is also important to me as I feel they link the ECE setting with the wider community and social values. This includes events such as pay offs and Fathers day (Appendix 13) as well as cultural occasions such as the Lantern Festival, Diwali and Pasifika events.Although during such planning I am mindful of the goals and learning outcomes which Te Whariki and the teaching standards present I also constantly remind myself of the holistic nature in which the learning will occur. Lawrence (2 004) describes the shift in thinking and programme planning in ECE settings over the past two decades, from keeping children busy to planning cycles and then Te Whariki. Lawrence clarifies that although the word planning is still used it is not in the traditional sense of the word but rather can be seen as reflectively responding to childrens thinking (p. 16). An example in her rticle shows how the learning experience of children can be very different to that pre-planned or pass judgment by the teacher (Appendix 14). A challenge presents itself where teachers have been trained and had experience in times where different planning programmes were utilised, disagreeing views and beliefs can lead to conflict within teaching teams and a dedication to reflective practice is required by all parties if favourable outcomes are to be reached. This reflective practice is a vital part of the evaluation process of my pedagogy. What worked? What didnt work? Where do I go from here?Schon (2002) described how the entire process of reflection-in-action, where our knowing is in our action, is central to the skill practitioners have in transaction with situations of uncertainty, instability and uniqueness as well as valuing conflict. Holding true to a value where children are respected as individuals and valued for their own unique set of skills, uncertain and unique situations are inevitable in the day-to-day practice of an ECE setting. With the set of reflective skills I now throw I hope to be able to turn these situations of uncertainty into ones of learning, for both myself and children involved.With continuing professional development and an ever increasing amount of practical experience I feel I am in good stead to continue my career as an early childhood educator and support the children within my influence to grow up in line with the aspirations of Te Whariki, competent and confident learners and communicators a valued contribution to society (MoE, 1996, p. 9). Refer ences Drewery, W. & Bird, L. (2004). Human Development in Aotearoa A journey through life. (2nd ed. ). Sydney, Australia McGraw-Hill. Edwards, S. & Nuttall, J. (2005).Getting beyond the what and the how Problematising pedagogy in early childhood education. archaeozoic Childhood Folio, 9, 34-38. Gailer, S. (2010). beingness professional First, do no harm The First Years Nga Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and tot Education, 12(2), 19-24. Lawrence, R. (2004). Making sense of planning A teachers story. Early Education, 36, 15-19. Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki Early Childhood course / He Whariki Matauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand Learning Media. Nyland, B. (2004).Infants, context and participation rights An Australian image. The First Years Nga Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 6(1), 19-22. Pifer, E. (2000). Demon or doll Images of the child in contemporary physical composition and culture. Virginia, USA University of Virginia Press. Schon, D. (2002). Reflection-in-action. In A. Pollard (Ed. ). Readings in reflective teaching (pp. 5-7). London, England Continuum. Woodrow, C. (1999). Revisiting images of the child in early childhood education Reflections and considerations. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 24(4), 7-12.