My Own Applied Knowledge and Theories of Practice

I think that as we begin our teaching careers, we are adventurous and feel as though we can try anything. During our internships, we are encouraged to experiment and if lessons fail, it is okay! Internship is the perfect opportunity to fail, we have a safety net. I took that opportunity to try out different ways of teaching, including direct instruction, simulations and inquiry projects. It was fun and I learned so much about myself. As soon as I was assigned my own classroom, I instantly felt a different pressure, suddenly the freedom to try new things and experiment was gone. What happened?

The moment I had my own classroom, my own students, reality set in. Hard. I knew that I was responsible for my students’ learning. I had more responsibilities than I did during my internship. My instinct was to fall back to what I was familiar with and teach the way I was taught. Suddenly my students were sitting in rows and doing worksheets. I needed several months to settle into a rhythm before I looked around and realized that I needed to think about how my students learn best.

Of course I looked at Bloom’s Taxonomy first. As a teacher of 15 years, I still refer to this and find value in Bloom’s Taxonomy, including the new level of Creating. 

Interestly, as I reflect on my teaching experiences, what I learned in university was very valuable; however, what I learned during my first two or three years of teaching was likely the most applicable to what I use each and every day. This applied knowledge cannot be gained in universities but only in internships and while working. It was during this time that I realized I am most interested in a Constructivist way of teaching. I am sure that most teachers favour subjects over others, and mine are Social Studies and English Language Arts. According to Chapter 2: The nature of knowledge and the implications for teaching,  Constructivists prefer less quantitative subjects, “Although constructivist approaches can be and have been applied to all fields of knowledge, they are more commonly found in approaches to teaching in the humanities, social sciences, education, and other less quantitative subject areas.”

Each class has different needs and I am able to explore, learn and grow with each class. While I prefer a Constructivist style that includes Inquiry Based Learning, not all classes have the same needs or benefit the same way. I have had to adapt to meet their needs. Furthermore, I have been able to include technology throughout my classes to benefit my students in many different ways. Most students appreciate and use technology to learn. Not very often do I need to monitor student technology use when they are engaged in an Inquiry Based Project.