Running head: STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 1

Statement of Informed Beliefs

Kevin Larsen
College of Southern Idaho
Instructor: Evin Fox
EDUC 204: Families, Communities, and Culture
Spring 2014

STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 2

STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS
Introduction
Something that has been very important to me in my life is having strong motives to help
young people have positive empowerment in the community. The best way I found to do that is
to become a teacher where I can impact and give guidance to the students I come in contact
with. Teachers have a great responsibility to help their students build strong values and morals
that will help them become great citizens of their community. As I teach my students I want
them to notice my positive attitude to where they may develop a positive behavior throughout
their lives. I want to be the kind of teacher my students can look back years down the road and
remember me for the things that I taught them and the way I may have influenced their lives.
Students ability to Learn
A students ability to learn is influenced by different factors in their lives, such as a bad
home life, a learning disability, or may just not have the best friends as role models. Also not all
students learn the same way, or at the same speed. Students have different learning styles, which
is the reason why teachers must learn to teach in a way that each student has the opportunity to
learn efficiently. According to Bennett (2010), It is the composite of characteristic cognitive,
affective, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of home a learner
perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment (p. 205). Students all learn
differently such as a visual learner, a verbal learner, or even a tactile learner. As a teacher, I have
to figure out what kind of learners I have in class and tailor the assignments and lessons to help
all of my students have full understanding of what is expected. A teachers expectations should
meet the students learning abilities. Teachers expectations should be challenging to keep
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students attention, but not so hard that students get discouraged and stop trying. As a teacher I
want my students to succeed and I need to be there to help guide them in achieving their goals
and enhancing their ability to learn and succeed. Some way I could do this is by learner-
directed curriculums, which are activities from individual interests and teacher guidance. There
are teacher-directed curriculums, which are activities for all children that the teacher plans. All
students have a diverse way of learning from curriculum, they all learn a little differently and at
different speeds. I feel I would be good at helping students who may have a hard time learning,
because in school I had trouble reading and comprehending what I read. I was put into a resource
class to help me with my disability; I worked hard and I wanted to prove to everyone that I could
do it and be in regular classes just like all the other students. So I feel I can relate and help those
students out as much as possible, but also keep the other students engaged in the lesson as well.
Students Social Ecology Theory
Students learn better when they are interested in what is being taught, it is important to
teach subjects in a meaningful way that connects to each student. Most students have the desire
to learn, but sometimes what is going on at home or outside school affects the way a student may
perform in class. As a teacher I need to get to know my students well enough to notice if
something is affecting their learning. When teaches show a students that they care and give them
some support, most students are not going to want to disappoint their teacher and they will do
their best especially when they feel the teacher cares about them as a person. Some students have
a strong family support system where they are willing to help the student at home with
homework and assignments the student maybe struggling with. Then there are other students that
have no family support what so ever. Those are the students that need more help from us teachers
to be able to truly succeed. A community that has good after-school programs or community
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 4
centers where a student that struggles with school work can get extra help can help the student
learn easier in a one-on-one setting. Some cultures may struggle more with schoolwork than
others, either because of a language barrier or the diversity of cultures. By understanding the
impacts that family, community, and culture have on students ability to learn can help me as a
teacher know how to adjust my lessons to help those that maybe affected by these different social
ecologies. Piaget (1952) believed, Humans adapt mentally to their environments through their
interactions or experiences with people, objects, and events. He viewed child as an active learner
who explores, experiments, and plans, thereby constructing knowledge (p.172). Piaget also
thought all children matured in a certain order. During the sensorimotor stage (1 - 2 years old)
a child used their senses and motor abilities to interact with their environment. The
preoperational stage (2 to 7 years old) the child used symbols to represent objects, which they
made judgments based on appearances, and beliefs. During the concrete operational stage (7 -11
years old) the child is able to apply logical and systematic principles to specific experiences. Last
formal operations (11 years old and up) the child is able to think logically about abstract ideas
and hypotheses.
Cultural Diversity Instruction
As a teacher I would have to be sensitive about cultural diversity in the classroom. In a
multi cultural classroom you have to be able to help students feel comfortable in the classroom
and willing to express themselves. As a teacher I must create a classroom culture where all
students, regardless of their cultural and linguistic background, are welcomed and supported,
and provided with the best opportunity to learn. As a teachers I need to help students understand
cultural pluralism in the classroom by helping students appreciate and understand the different
cultures, language, religious, and lifestyles which are in the classroom. Also I need to help
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 5
students understand cultural assimilation as well, where the minorities learn the characteristics
of the majority cultural group so they can use them to learn from one another.
Curriculum for all Learners
As a teacher it will be important to know my students and understand each of their
strengths and weakness. As I understand each student I can adjust my classroom curriculum to
meet the schools curriculum and teach the students in a more meaningful way to meet their
learning needs. For an example of having stronger student help the students who may be
struggling, I feel that it is a great tool having students learn from each other. Students sometimes
are able to get a better grasp of understanding for another student than they could from the
teacher. So by combining a teacher teaching and letting the students work together on some
assignments, or projects I feel each student would be able to get a better understanding of the
subject by doing this. I can assess students by how well they are doing on assignments, class
projects, and tests. This will help me understand the progress each student is making. If there are
students struggling or not understanding a subject, I can see that and make the appropriate
adjustments. I can also give feedback so students understand what is expected of them as they
do the assignment. I think by allowing students to evaluate each others projects it is a great way
for students to help each other and to ultimately learn from each other.
Conclusion
As a teacher our job is to be a positive influence and someone the students can look up to
as an example of a leader in the community. A teacher is able to teach students about diversity,
different cultures, and even any misconception about other cultures. Teaching about the different
cultural backgrounds and the different types of people in the classroom helps students learn from
each other. A good teacher helps and treats each student the same no matter if they have a
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learning disability or diverse background. Most students look up to teachers to be role models
and examples, so as a teacher I have to live up to those expectations. As a teacher I have to be
aware of what I said, did, and how I acted when I am around students. Teachers are held up
higher expectation than some other professions. Teachers are there to help students learn and
accept each others differences.




















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References
Berns, R. M. (2013). Child, family, school, community socialization and support. (9th ed., pp.
6-29). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth