My personal teaching philosophy. I strive to provide a visual, kinesthetic and project-based approach in every lesson. In addition, it is so important to me to focus on student motivation and empowerment.

1. Running head: INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE 1
Individual Student Profile: My Teaching Philosophy
Nicole Huset
American College of Education
LIT5203

2. INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE 2
Individual Student Profile: My Teaching Philosophy
I believe that teaching is one of the most important roles in our society. What we choose
to teach our youth is what they use to confront the outside world. It is my ambition as an
educator to guide my students to grow academically, socially, emotionally and physically. To
conquer this ambition, there are three goals of mine that I strive to achieve as an educator. I
believe students should be provided individualized learning, to be given the skills to feel
empowered to want to be a good person, and to allow for curiosity and creativity to steer their
learning.
Personal Philosophy of Learning
Learning and growing is the foundation every individual lives off of. People are
constantly learning something new everyday, no matter how old an individual may be. They use
the knowledge and skills they learned to get through their day-to-day lives. As an educator, I
think it is very important to continue growing academically, socially, emotionally and physically
because that is the same thing I want for my students. When I want to see something from my
students, I need to also model those same things. In addition, by pushing myself to further my
education, I am able to give so much more to my students. I am able to bring back everything I
learned to the classroom to create an even stronger learning environment.
Goal Statement One
Providing students with individualized learning allows for teachers to meet their students
at their zone of proximal development (ZPD). Doolittle (1997) describes Vygotsky’s zone of
proximal development as, “a conceptual basis for explaining the five basic tenets of cooperative
learning: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, small-
group and interpersonal skills, and group self-evaluation” (p. 83). Every individual is on his or

3. INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE 3
her own learning path and it is unfair to lump the class together and teach to the whole group.
When teaching to the group as a whole, there will be students who are lost because they are not
academically at this stage yet, as well as students who are bored because they already know the
material being presented. I believe in getting to know each student and then creating small
groups based on the needs of the students. Within those small groups, if there are students who
need extra assistance, I am able to pull them for individualized lessons too. My goal is to
provide my students with individualized learning because I believe the more individualized the
learning can be for them, the higher the chance they will academically succeed.
Goal Statement Two
I believe it is crucial to establish an environment where students feel empowered to take
care of it and the people in it. According to Erwin (2004), “One of the most effective ways
teachers can give students a say in the classroom is by allowing them to participate in developing
the classroom rules or behavioral guidelines” (ch.4). The beginning of the school year is the best
time to have a discussion with the students on what behaviors they think they should encompass.
After these are established, the students need to be taught and modeled the correct behaviors, as
well as social skills. Social skills help students communicate and interact appropriately with
their peers. These behaviors and skills are not only essential to encompass in school, but also the
world outside of the classroom. Each student is unique and has special qualities that they can
bring to this world. As educators, it is our role to give them the skills necessary to highlight their
individual qualities so they can make a difference in the world, hopefully doing what they love.
My goal is to have my students feel empowered to do the right thing, to be educated on the
correct social skills and to be a good person when they leave my classroom at the end of the year.

4. INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE 4
Goal Statement Three
Allowing students’ curiosity and creativity steer their learning gives them a sense of
control over their academics. Society is so worried about students succeeding on test scores that
the importance of creativity and curiosity is lost (Jones, 2018). When students feel in charge of
their learning to explore the things they want, they tend to be more engaged and excited about
learning. It is important for the teacher to act as the guide and not be the main source of
information. To encourage self-inquiry, students need to practice searching for information on
their own for questions they may have or things they may be curious about. Not only does this
make learning more fun, but it also provides the students with critical thinking skills and helps
them become more of an independent learner. My goal is for students to allow their curiosity
and creativity to steer their learning in helping them become more independent learners.
Conclusion
Teaching is a lifelong learning process for both the students and the teacher. The teacher
should always have their goals at the forefront of their plans to best support their students. My
first goal being to provide individualized learning to help the students grow at their own pace, as
well as giving them the opportunity to meet their fullest potential. My second goal is to give
students the skills to be empowered to do the right thing, to be a good person and to be
successful in this world. Lastly, my goal is to allow student curiosity and creativity to guide their
learning. With keeping the overall goal being student achievement in all areas of who they are as
a person, I can steer my teaching to best support every student.

5. INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE 5
References
Doolittle, P. E. (1997). Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development as a theoretical foundation for
cooperative learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teacher, 8(1), 83-103.
Erwin, J. C. (2004). The classroom of choice: Giving students what they need and getting what
you want. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Jones, B. (2018, Jan. 16). Developing child creativity. [web log comment]. Retrieved from
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/developing-childcreativity_us_5a5eb079e4b0c
40b3e59756d