CHAPTER 1

PRELIMINARIES
 INTRODUCTION
 PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION
 INSPIRATIONAL ITEMS
 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to my portfolio, I am Krystal G. Gapang a student from Jose Maria College
Davao City under the program of Bachelor of Elementary Education.

True teachers use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students
to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them
to create bridges of their own.

Teacher learning is a continuous process that promotes teachers’ teaching skills,

master new knowledge, develop new proficiency, which in turn, help improve students’
learning.

Practice teaching is to provide the students with an opportunity to apply their

pedagogical knowledge and skills in practice. One of the aims is also that the student
will be able to understand his/her role in the larger whole of the profession and in
the extended operational environment of the school. An important goal is to learn
how to develop and advance one’s competence in development .Teachers are
responsible and accountable for designing and delivering a high quality of learning
and teaching practice.

Pre-service teacher education is the education and training provided to student

teachers before they have undertaken any teaching. In contrast, in-service teacher
education provides learning opportunities for practicing teachers.

A teaching portfolio is a collection of documents, prepared for the purpose of

applying for academic jobs and documenting professional developing in teaching.

Portfolio is a compilation of academic work and other forms of educational

evidence assembled for the purpose of evaluating coursework quality, learning
progress, and academic achievement determining whether students have met
learning standards or other academic requirements for courses, I developed this
portfolio to help me understand, document, assess and enhance teaching and learning
in preparation in my teaching career.

This portfolio provides a way to document the substance and complexity of

teaching as a teaching career, and can be used to structure self-assessment as well
as peer- review. This portfolio helps me to document and assess students' learning
and thinking, and development.
 AUTHOR’S PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION

Education is a process that involves many elements working together for a

common goal. Education is important for not only providing students with knowledge
but it is also important for teaching children various life skills.

I believe that every student should have an equal opportunity to learn. With
caring and positive teacher every child can succeed in life. Every student should be
assessed in the way that allows them to express their abilities .Teacher need to
make sure that they are meeting the needs of all their students.

I believe that both students and teacher should possess the trait of being
lifelong learners. I believe that teaching is highly rewarding profession that allows
me to change the lives of students and to effectively provide with the skills and
attitudes necessary to build their character and achieve success. It is my mission to
instill a love of life-long learning and to ensure that my students are capable of
striving in today’s world.

Learning should be student-centered, because it has a greater impact on

student mastery of higher versus lower level cognitive skills. Active learning places
the student at the center of a lecture’s objective and its outcome. Students in these
lectures are not only engaged in learning but are also involved in cognitive processes
such as comprehension and evaluation.

Teachers are only part the class. Teachers have high expectations
for students and provide tasks that are engaging and of high interest,
students build self-esteem, increase confidence and improve academic performance.
A teacher goes way beyond what is required. I have found that it truly helps in the
educational process if the teacher shows genuine concerns for the student’s well
being, giving respect and sharing that you care for the students.

INSPIRATIONAL ITEMS
o The Making of a 21st Century Teacher
o 5 Ways to be a Better Teacher in Today’s
Classroom
o Judging Jack: When a Teacher Finally
Understands a Student
o A Letter from Mr. Abraham Lincoln to His
Son’s Teacher
o Behaviour of a Teacher
The Making of a 21st Century Teacher

The 21st century educator looks forward to the future. They are aware of
the ever-changing trends in technology and are in tune of what the future may bring
to education. A good 21st century teacher is aware of the career opportunities that
will be in the coming years for their students, and are always advocating towards
forward thinking and planning to ensure all students will not be left behind. Lastly,
the 21st century educator must use teaching strategies to ensure that the focus in
education is on preparing today’s children for the future of where they will live and
where they will work, not for our current world.

A Master of Technology in the Classroom

Technology in the classroom is ever-changing and moving at a rapid pace. The

21st century teacher is one that moves right along with it. Technology in the
classroom, whether it’s for lessons, assignments, or grading, can help students learn
better and faster, and help make a teacher’s time more effective. A 21st century
teacher does not have to have a class set of tablets in every child’s hand, or the
latest Smart board. But they can have a nice balance of educational tools in their
classroom. An effective teacher knows what technology in the classroom can truly
help transform their students’ education. They know what the best tools are, and
how and when to use them.

Knows How to Collaborate

 An effective 21st century educator must be able to collaborate and work well
in a team. Working with others is an important 21st century skill. Over the past few
years, being able to collaborate effectively in the workplace has grown quite rapidly.
Learning is deemed to be more effective when you can share your ideas and
knowledge with others. Sharing your expertise and experience, communicating and
learning from others, and being able to self-reflect is an important part of the
learning and teaching process.

A 21st century teacher is able to adapt to whatever comes their way. Teaching
is a career that has pretty much stayed the same over the past few decades. The
tools have changed over the years (Smart boards have replaced chalkboards, tablets
have replaced textbooks) but the practice has not. The 21st century teacher is able
to look at their practice and adapt based on the needs of their students. They must
be able to adapt their teaching style to include different modes of learning, adapt
when a lesson fails, and adapt to new technology. They must be able to adapt to the
curriculum and the requirements and be able to use their imagination to teach in
creative ways.

Is a Lifelong Learner

The 21st century educator is a lifelong learner. They don’t just expect their
students to be lifelong learners, but they too stay current and on top of what’s new
in education. Even though they may still use the same lesson plan from years before,
they know how to change it to keep up-to-date with what is current. A great educator
will not only embrace technology, but be willing to learn more about it.

Advocates for Their Profession

It’s a critical time in education and how it and teachers are being perceived.
With the common core being implemented and judged, the teaching profession is
being met with a close eye now more than ever before. Instead of sitting back, a
21st century takes a stand for themselves and advocates for their profession. They
pay close attention to the important issues and talk about them with their
community. They keep parents and students informed on what’s going on in education
and address on issues head on.

21st Century learning means teaching just as you have done in the past
centuries, but with way better tools. Today’s teachers have a great advantage, they
have powerful learning tools at their disposal that they didn’t have before. 21st
Century technology is an opportunity for students to acquire more knowledge.
Teachers have the ability to move away from being the dispenser of information to
someone who can guide them and prepare them for their future. Ultimately, the 21st
century learner will be “learner-driven,” where they choose how and what they want
to learn. The teacher will serve as a facilitator and guide to help embrace 21st
century learning.

5 Ways to be a Better Teacher in Today’s Classroom

The highest calling of today's education system is to equip students with the
characteristics and skills needed to navigate the ever-changing 21st century global
economy as adults. We talk a lot about how to engage students and make them better
learners, but how often do we step back and consider how to make better educators?
The success of our students and the effectiveness of the education system as a
whole starts and ends with the teacher.

So what might an effective 21st century educator look like? eSchool News
recently polled its readers and came up with five characteristics that the most
effective educators have in common. Here’s what you can do to emulate them:

Be forward thinking.

The 21st century educator must have a broader vision, anticipating and
adapting to trends, not only in education, but technology and science as well. Our
teachers are tasked with preparing students, not for the world as it exists today,
but for the one they will someday inherit.
Be an eager learner.

Technology has become a fundamental part of our students' daily experience,

both in and out of the classroom. Educators operating in such a rapidly evolving
technological climate simply must be willing to learn to effectively teach. The phrase
"lead by example" comes to mind. If we want our students to be inquisitive, open-
minded and willing to learn from making mistakes, so must be our teachers.

Be a builder of relationships.

Today's students are more likely to gauge their number of friends on Faceb

ook than by who sits with them at the lunch table. In such a world of technological
isolation, where it's possible to go through an entire day without real human
interaction, we must facilitate interpersonal relationships within the classroom while
prioritizing communication, respect and cooperation.

Be equipped to teach all levels of learners.

As effective 21st century educators, we not only need to be armed with the
same characteristics and skills we plan to impart on our students, we must also have
the ability to teach those characteristics and skills to every student at every level
in the classroom. This includes the ability to effectively relate to students and teach
to their unique learning styles.

Be able to implement technology effectively.

Enhancing the educational environment with technology can facilitate faster

learning and streamline teacher tasks, such as grading, planning and presenting
lessons, but simply putting a computer in front of your students isn't enough.
Technology can just as easily be distracting or unproductive. An effective 21st
century educator will have the discernment and know-how to incorporate technology
into the classroom in a way that facilitates, rather than distracts from, teaching and
learning.
 As educators working under pressure to maximize student performance, we
sometimes focus all of our time and energy on developing curriculum, planning and
implementing lessons, and accessing our students' skill level at the expense of our
own ongoing education. If we take the time to foster the characteristics necessary
to be an effective educator in ourselves and our peers, our students will ultimately
benefit

Judging Jack: When a Teacher Finally Understands a

Student

Let me tell you about a recent student of mine. We’ll call him Jack. He’s a quiet
boy, our Jack, self-possessed, responsible enough generally, amply courteous,
eminently likable. In my normative-level senior literature class, he was attentive and
receptive but disinclined to push himself. He found a comfortable pace and stuck
with it. The snarky might be tempted to condemn him as undistinguished, B−/C+, just
another kid—any of these tantamount, in the current climate, to pretty heavy
condemnation. More and more of late, I find myself compelled to defend kids like
Jack, even to other teachers, some of whom seem to hold in a museum-lit shrine an
image of the Ideal Student to which they expect all those of the flesh-and-blood
variety to aspire. Anything short of that is a disappointment, a personal affront, a
sign, even, of a deficient character. Superlative achievement and a whole salad bar
of laurels should be everyone’s goal, they, too, seem to believe, and learning is what
happens along the way. Students like Jack can become invisible. In fact, many seem
to prefer it that way.

Through the year, Jack ambled along at about three-quarters speed. Over the
first few months, I waited for signs of ignition. When he handed me a sub-mediocre
paper as the last of the autumn leaves were skittering down the street, I deemed it
reason for a sit-down. We had a pleasant talk. He agreed he could be doing better,
acknowledged he had it in him, said he recognized the benefits of working hard;
cause enough, I thought, for cautious optimism. We parted pals. But nothing changed.
A nudge here, a prod there, even a mild remonstration or two … nothing. Fair enough,
I thought. A student, particularly a senior, is allowed to govern his own engagement,
to deem my class not his bag. As long as something is. I left him to his own
recognizance.

But across a long and mild winter came evidence of nothing from our Jack in
the way of bags, no bag in any direction. Spring eased in—nary a whiff of fervor
regarding anything.

Then in May, a new generation of leaves greening the trees, with the effect
of a revelation, I happened to learn that reticent Jack did have a passion after all …
happened to learn because he mentioned it. He had, as it turns out, a big bag, a let-
the-world-go-on-without-me bag, a calling. I even liked that he hadn’t bothered to
tell me about it until our time together was almost over; it was, after all, his. And it
served, as far as he knew—or would at least let on—no useful purpose beyond the
gratification of doing it, which he articulated poorly, which bothered him not in the
least. He wasn’t being coached or spurred or assessed by an adult.

No competition waited for which he was preparing. He’d had no special training
for it; nor did it play even an oblique role, as far as I know, in any of his college
aspirations. The pleasure and satisfactions were his alone and for themselves, and
more than enough.

In May, I learned that Jack draws.

But it’s more than that: Jack draws pictures of three dimensions. He creates
detailed paper models, sculptures really, with ordinary printer paper, pencils and
pens, scissors and Scotch tape. He does it purely because he enjoys it. From the
Hogwarts Castle to the Statue of Liberty to a life-size, wearable baseball cap, and
on and on, some no bigger than a deck of cards, some as big as a collie. Something
strikes his fancy, he sits down and makes a model. If it takes a week, it takes a week.
If the phone rings, he lets it. If the homework gets short shrift, so be it. And they
are exquisite, these Jack originals. They are beautifully, masterly done. You should
see them. Everyone should see them—the Fabergé eggs of paper sports cars and
Millennium Falcons. On that note, though, Jack doesn’t seem to care much either
way. It’s nice that people like them, but that’s not why he does it. The fun, the
satisfaction, is in the doing.

It began a few years earlier. His family was on vacation at the Jersey Shore.
Time ran short at an amusement park, if I have it right, and Jack was unable to go
on a ride he’d been eager to try. The family headed for the car with a crestfallen
kid in tow—which, I’ll point out, is a kid for you: Fun all day at an amusement park,
and he’s glum about the one ride he didn’t get to go on. Well, thinks the parent, too
bad. But, thinks the kid, I really, really, really wanted to go on that ride. Mid-mope,
Jack gets back to wherever it is they’re staying and, not knowing why, reaches for
pencil and paper and creates a meticulously detailed drawing of the ride, a longing
drawing, a demonstration of frustrated ardor. A love letter. And, he realized at the
end, it came out great. It was fun to do. Time and the world had vanished. Finished,
he looked at the picture. Felt a measure of pride in his handiwork. Realized sitting
there that the itch was not entirely scratched. Realized that the ride had a left side
and a right and a back, so he drew them too. When he was done, there they lay on
the table, four sheets of paper with drawings on them. Then he had an idea, a
delighted little zing: The ride doesn’t lie flat on a table. It stands upright. It has
three dimensions. He went for scissors and tape.

Bliss does not have to be big and important. Nor must it bring one accolades
of any luster to matter. Bliss is more than its own reward. And while rare is the acorn
that becomes an oak tree, every oak tree, every last one, began as an acorn you could
pick up and put in your pocket.

Whether Jack goes on to become an artist or an architect or an engineer or

anything else directly consequent to his enthusiasm for model making does not
matter. He has learned something about passion, about focus, about clearing a space
in his life and doing what he does purely because he loves and believes in it. He has
honed a set of abilities too. Developed standards of his own measure and see to it
that he meets them. He knows, then, the satisfactions of seeing with purpose,
conceiving ideas, dedicating himself to them, and producing good work. In choosing
and doing for himself, he earns his confidence and self-worth. Very good things,
these, and, I hope, lifelong.
 A Letter from Mr. Abraham Lincoln to His Son’s
Teacher

My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a
while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him
across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To
live this life will require faith, love and courage.

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he
will have to know, teaching him – but gently, if you can. Teach him that for every
enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men
are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero that for
every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar
found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him
to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people. Steer him away
from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him if you
can – how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him
there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the
extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill.
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong.
 Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is
doing it. Teach him to listen to everyone, but teach him also to filters all that he
hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put
a price tag on his heart and soul. Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him
have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because
then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little
boy and he is my son.

Behaviour of a Teacher

Good teachers know how to bring out the best in their students, but it’s not magic
and it’s not just about popularity. Here are some of the “tricks” good teachers use:

Encourage high expectations

Set challenging goals for learning.
Make expectations clear both orally and in writing.
Set consequences for non-completion of work.
Encourage students to write and speak well.

Discuss class progress.

Communicate importance of high academic standards.
Encourage cooperation among students
Ask students to explain difficult concepts to each other.
Inquire into students’ interests and backgrounds.
Encourage students to prepare together for class.
Allow students to critique each other’s work.
Create study groups and project teams.
Emphasize timeliness
Expect students to complete assignments promptly.
Estimate and communicate the amount of time to be spent on tasks.
Encourage rehearsal of oral presentations.
Encourage steady work and sensible time management.

Give prompt feedback

Provide sufficient opportunities for assessment.
Prepare classroom activities (for example, active learning exercises) that give
immediate feedback.
Return graded assignments within one week.
Give detailed evaluations of work starting early in the term.
Give a pre-test at the beginning of the course to assess students’ background in the
subject.

Encourage student-instructor contact

Adopt a demeanor that communicates that you are approachable.
Welcome students to drop by your office. Respect diverse talents and ways of
learning.

Encourage student involvement

Use diverse teaching activities. Encourage active learning. Ask students to present
work to the class.
Ask students to relate outside events to class material.
Give students real-life situations to analyze.
Use simulations and role-playing in class.
Encourage students to challenge course material.
Be sure to make clear that showing disrespect to you or other students is not
appropriate.