Pretest for 502

1. What is your philosophy of education?

Students should be provided with a positive, nurturing, learning environment that allows him or her to reach their maximum potential of learning.

2. Define Educational psychology.

Educational psychology is how students learn and how they behave. Understanding the needs of each student is essential in understanding how to teach and reach all students in the classroom, to ensure maximum levels of achievement.

3. List your best teaching practices in the following categories:

Diversity: In my classroom I differentiate frequently to meet the needs of all of my students. I do math centers daily to help reteach the information from the day before, as well as push the higher students so that they are continuing to grow. For my students who are on IEP’s, I provide modified versions of the content to meet their specific needs. I also differentiate during reading by placing my students in guided reading groups based on their specific level of achievement. The students in the groups are constantly moving based on their mastery of a skill.

Theories of Learning: My school has recently been focused on the research behind problem-based learning. I have been practicing and developing techniques to incorporate these strategies into my math and reading instruction. I also have been focused on project-based learning, which is beneficial in creating student led learning. Both of these forms of teaching have really helped my students work in a more inquiry-based environment.

Effective Teaching and Evaluation: For the past five years my school district has focused on data collection through