EDUC2320, Flinders University

Assignment 1B: Personal Statement

Stephen Butler
ID: 2184262

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that my effectiveness as an educator stems from my firm understanding that I am

now, and will forever be, a student. I view the educational system and its pedagogies as living
breathing entities that continue to grow, change, and develop. Therefore, I must continually
cultivate my learning. Through ongoing personal development, I am in the best position to assist my
students in achieving their potential by using innovative ideas and versatile teaching strategies.

I believe that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching. Therefore, there is no single
pedagogy or practice that will suit all students. I feel that all educational theories have value in an
educational system. However, it is my responsibility to understand how and when to implement
these strategies. The main theories that I gravitate toward in developing my own pedagogy, is a
combination of behaviourism, cognitivism, and humanism. Utilising classical and operant
conditioning, I can assist my students in understanding what is expected of them in my classroom by
introducing and removing stimulus to promote a positive learning experience. (Van Deur, 2018;
Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016). I strive to build a social culture of learning where students have a
collaboration of thoughts and positive interactions with their peers, and where information is
continuously received. This promotes short term memory transitioning into long term memory for
the students’ growth and development (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016). I use varied activities to
accomplish this. I use a combination of self-directed and teacher-directed learning in an ever-
changing environment to promote increased engagement in students (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016;
AITSL, 2014; Anderson, Krathwohl, et al., 2001). This supports a higher order of thinking through
concepts such as, Bloom’s Taxonomy (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016; AITSL, 2014; Anderson,
Krathwohl, et al., 2001). By using multiple pedagogies in a constantly evolving classroom
environment, I am in a much better position to assist my students’ critical and creative thinking by
keeping learning fun, appropriate, and engaging (Australian Curriculum, n.d.).

I also recognise that a student’s environment, in and out of school, play a major role in that
student’s ability to learn and excel. While the students’ environments outside of my classroom are
largely out of my control, their environment within my classroom needs to be one of inclusion.
Inclusion is not only for students with disabilities, but also for those from different socioeconomic
and cultural backgrounds. Another group that are often left out of this conversation are gifted
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students who may find daily activities to be less engaging or effortless. As an educator I must ensure
that my use of multiple pedagogies cater for the inclusion of my diverse range of students in the way
that I direct learning in my classroom (Van Deur, 2018; Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016).

My desire to be an excellent educator has lead me to taking on a few roles outside of

university to increase my knowledge about how to be an inclusive teacher. I will briefly outline a few
of them here. I mentor a mature aged student with a physical disability at Flinders University. We
work together to solve issues with mobility around campus as well as helping her to adapt to an
academic lifestyle as a mature aged student. I also mentor year 11 and 12 students in a special youth
flexible learning centre where I help them prepare for their South Australian Certificate of Education.
This gives me an opportunity to get a more holistic view of the challenges surrounding troubled
homes, low socioeconomic backgrounds, different cultures than my own, and how to approach the
individual difficulties of students in a group setting. I have also taught Taekwondo for many years to
students of all ages. During this time, I taught special needs children with a diverse array of physical
and intellectual disabilities. This shows my experience in understanding how to cater for a large
amount of diversity in a class environment for mainstream, special needs, and amalgamated classes.
It has also taught me ways to modify the curriculum to accommodate all students in my classes with
varying abilities. These endeavours beyond the university curriculum, have given me practical
experience which is valuable to building an inclusive classroom (AITSL, 2014; Crocitto, Sullivan &
Carraher, 2005). These experiences have also given me a knowledge of the tools and equipment
available to me to assist students with more significant needs such as Dragonspeak, hearing
equipment, and mobility equipment (South Australia Department of Education, n.d.).

By building a classroom culture around positive social inclusion and catering for diversity
among my students, I have a solid platform to promote positive affective development. It is
important to note that not all children develop at the same rate as their peers and go through
different stages at different times. My use of positive affirmation and inclusion assists my students in
developing emotional intelligence. By developing emotional intelligence, students have a solid
platform for acknowledging their individual strengths, teach themselves to self-regulate their
impulses, and use emotion to aid in their reasoning and decision making as they strive to identify
their place in the world (Van Deur, 2018). This culture of positive and effective learning will help in
fostering positive relationships with other students by helping them to better understand
themselves, work better in teams, and build leadership qualities (ACARA, n.d.). By promoting a
positive environment in my classroom, a positive affirmation is created. Students establish can a
positive self-concept and self-efficacy about who they are and what they can achieve (Duchesne &
McMaugh, 2016; Graham, Schwartz, & MacArthur, 1993).

A1b.Butler.S.2184262
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I love helping others to grow and develop. It is for this purpose that I chose to be a teacher. I
strive every day to be a great teacher. I agree with William Arthur Ward when he said, “The
mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great
teacher inspires.” (Brainy Quote, n.d.).

A1b.Butler.S.2184262
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References

Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P., Cruikshank, K., Mayer, R., Pintrich, P., & Wittrock, M.
(2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy. New York.
Longman Publishing. Artz, AF, & Armour-Thomas, E. (1992). Development of a cognitive-
metacognitive framework for protocol analysis of mathematical problem solving in small groups.
Cognition and Instruction, 9(2), 137-175.
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/student-diversity

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.). Critical and Creative Thinking. Retrieved from

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/critical-and-creative-
thinking/
Brainy Quotes. (n.d.). William Arthur Ward Quotes. Retrieved from
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/william_arthur_ward_103463
Crocitto, M. M., Sullivan, S. E., & Carraher, S. M. (2005). Global mentoring as a means of career
development and knowledge creation: A learning-based framework and agenda for future
research. Career Development International, 10(6/7), 522-535
Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2016). Educational psychology for learning and teaching. Cengage AU.
Graham, S., Schwartz, S. S., & MacArthur, C. A. (1993). Knowledge of writing and the composing
process, attitude toward writing, and self-efficacy for students with and without learning
disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities, 26(4), 237-249.
South Australia Department of Education. (n.d.). Teaching for Effective Learning review tools
handbook. Retrieved from https://www.education.sa.gov.au/supporting-students/children-
disability-and-special-needs

Van Deur, P. (2018). Introduction and Theories of Learning, lecture 1 presented at Flinders University,
05 March 2018.

Van Deur, P. (2018). Affective Development, lecture 5 presented at Flinders University, 26 March 2018.

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