1. Francesca Collignon, M.Ed.
Philosophy of Teaching
Before anything else, I want to inspire students to look beyond what they know, question everything
(including me) and become forward thinkers. I want my classes to be challenging, meaningful and
empowering. As an English Language Instructor, I learn just as much from my students as they
learn from me. I am constantly encouraged and challenged by an ever-changing population of
students. Their lives, cultural backgrounds and interests are pedagogical opportunities which I
exploit to inspire, motivate and transform students into learners.
My classes are a melding of different techniques, methods and materials depending on individual
student’s needs. The classes are after all about the students and I am not exempt from that category;
a fact I share with my students. I have no shame in saying “I don’t know” because the truth is,
sometimes I don’t but because I am a learner, someone who actively seeks knowledge, I will find the
information. By paralleling my life with theirs, I invite them to become a part of a community, a
community of learners, where we collaborate, cooperate, experiment and share. Like a parent
anxiously waiting for her six month old baby to walk, I provide learners guidance, encouragement
and a clear path. Just as the mom cannot walk for the baby, I cannot learn for my students but we
do need each other to be successful.
Practice is major component of my classes. On the first day of classes, I do an exercise with my
classes to illustrate my point. I put a trash can at the front of the room and ask all of the students to
make a paper ball and throw it into the basket. Only about two students usually make it. Next, I ask
them if the task was simple or hard. Most reply that it was difficult. So, I ask them to try again and
more students make a basket. I ask them to try again and even more students make the basket. We
discuss how at the beginning of the activity it was difficult and frustrating but with practice it
became easier to make the shot. This activity becomes a segue into problems solving, collaboration
and cooperation. I want my learners to be globally conscious and understand the role that culture
plays in language construction and acquisition. The delivery of information is another fact I
consider when helping students develop their language skills.
Through the use of multimedia, my learners can access information in ways that are relevant to their
learning styles. I make pre-lesson videos with information needed for the lesson. Students are able
to watch a short video prior to class so when we do meet, we can discuss any questions they may
have and it frees up more time for practical application. There are web-based programs that I also
use to help learners succeed by allowing them to practice all aspects of the language, reading, writing,
listening and speaking. I am always looking for new ways to work with my learners and a lot of
times they introduce me to new technology, which may or may not be implementable for class but
the point is we work through the learning process together.
Working with my classes, watching my learners develop socially and academically is tremendous as
we venture down unexpected and rich paths of information. It is my hope that I inspire them to
look beyond their aspirations and test their limits.