Personal and Professional Philosophy in Childhood Education

This essay delves into the author's personal and professional philosophy of teaching in early childhood education. It emphasizes the crucial role of early childhood in a child's development, citing research on the impact of mental health and development. The essay explores the importance of a teacher's philosophy, focusing on creating an efficient classroom environment, fostering independence, and building confidence in students. It discusses the significance of assessment, including formative and summative methods, and highlights the value of observation and self-assessment for teachers. Strategic planning, including the use of lesson plans, is presented as essential for effective teaching, with an emphasis on adapting to the diverse needs of students. The essay underscores the importance of incorporating games and interactive activities to enhance learning and engagement, as well as the need for teacher-parent interaction to understand and support students' needs. The author's philosophy also includes providing encouragement, appreciation, and support to foster a positive classroom atmosphere and the use of e-learning tools to enhance the learning process. The essay concludes by reiterating the importance of a well-defined teaching philosophy, incorporating assessment, planning, and innovative teaching strategies to maximize the impact on children's learning and development.

Running head: Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood
education.
Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
Early childhood education becomes more important because childhood is the most
crucial time for any person as most of the development that takes place both mentally and
physically is during this time. A study by Zeanah, reveals that mental health and development
during childhood has a significant effect on a child’s life (Zeanah, 2018). The philosophies of a
teacher should include helping the students use their classroom environment in an efficient
manner like interacting with other students and teachers so that the children see themselves as
individuals who are capable of socialising and learning on their own. Feeling independent and
confident help in the academic growth of a child (Hosseinpur, Sheikhzade & Vahdat, 2013). In
this essay, I will discuss the different kinds of personal and professional philosophy related to
documentation, assessment and teaching in early childhood education. This essay will also throw
light on the different aspects related to early childhood education and its effects in the life of the
children associated with it. I will highlight the various strategies undertaken for the planning,
assessment and teaching in early childhood education and analyse it in different perspectives.
Assessment serves as a very helpful tool when it comes to the educational sector,
especially if one is working with children. It is very important for a teacher to keep track of a
student's growth. A study states that assessment of students is vital for effective teaching
Schmeck, (2013). Each child needs help in different areas and in different ways, so it becomes
very important to understand the need of every student, and that can only be done through
assessment. According to Another report, assessing the students help reach higher goals in the
educational sector (Kuh, Jankowski, Ikenberry & Kinzie, 2014). Observation is also an integral
part of assessing a student. Half of the problem that a teacher deals with today can be solved if
he\she is alert and observant in the class. Assessments for me are a way to understand the area of
weakness of the students I am teaching. The assessment technique that I personally use and find

2Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
very helpful is the formative and summative assessment which is done on a regular basis. The
results of formative and summative assessment provide me with the knowledge of where my
students stand and help me improve or modify my teaching style to gain maximum results from
the student’s side. These assessments are mostly based on the tests, quizzes and assignment to
draw diagrams. It is also necessary to assess yourself as a teacher based on the results that you
are getting from the student. In my case, I like to have a question and answer session with my
students that involve question regarding my teaching style. Through the question and answer
session with the student, I get an overall idea of what parts of my teaching they do not like and
find difficulty in following and what parts of my teaching make their learning process easy.
Teaching in the 21st century is a challenge which can be faced successfully only by
strategic planning. Results are of course important although what matters to me more is the
process of learning and understanding of the student. Developing their skills, abilities and
understanding in such a way that they make sense the outside world should be the basic outcome.
Young children make sense of the outside world by the education they receive and the things
they are taught in schools (Smidt, 2013). I feel it is irresponsible for a teacher to not plan before
proceeding with a class. Even for assessing a student I need to plan the ways that I would
incorporate to asses, my students. Assessment only does half of the work; the next step is to
device a strategic plan for effective teaching. A lesson plan is the best way to stay organised with
your work. My lesson plans work as road maps for me, making me set goals for teaching my
students. It makes me enter the classroom with some extra confident already knowing what to
teach for the day. It helps me be more productive as a teacher and help my students do better.
According to a study, a lesson plan is a very important component of successful teaching (Fujjii,
2019). I believe a good lesson plan requires learning objectives, learning activities and

3Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
assessment of student's understanding. Teaching young students can be challenging but planning
for each day helps a great deal to solve this problem. An essential part of the challenge deals
with the problem of different needs specific to different student. My students are always on the
top of my priority list. Solving their problem has always been necessary for me. I plan to work
on each of their problems individually no matter how much time it takes. It is tiring to work on
improving them constantly. However, the results motivate me to work even harder. It gives me
immense pleasure when parents come to me to thank me for all the hard work I have put in order
to improve their children.
Children often get stressed when they are not able to do things properly, and this hampers
their productivity. I feel it is essential to incorporate some games in the process of learning. It
helps them relax for some time and refreshes them. Education can also take place while playing
games. Mixing academic learning with fun games is a great idea to gain the interest of students. I
divide my class into groups and arrange a competition for them, asking them questions from their
syllabus. The group which answers the maximum number of questions correctly wins the game,
and after that, I distribute prizes to the group that has won the game. This accomplishes two
goals. First, the whole class involve in a fun session; second, they learn in the process of having
fun. The distribution of prizes makes them want to perform better next time.
Teaching children has made me realise that it is very important for a teacher to interact
with the students to know their needs personally. The needs and basic questions of a child have
been summed in a report (Gordon and brownw,2013). Small children deal with a lot of issues
that we, as adults might not notice because they are too petty for us to notice. My experience has
made me realise that child psychology does not work like that, and even the pettiest of things can
trouble them to a great extent and hamper their mental growth. Dealing with issues alone with no

4Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
one to talk to makes children vulnerable and affects their personality and academic productivity.
Teaching small children comes with a lot of responsibilities that has to be taken care of. It is very
important to understand their needs in order to help them do better in their life. I believe that it is
also important for a teacher to interact with the parents of my students to let them how well their
kids are doing or on what areas do they need help in order to do better. I, as a teacher, cannot be
around the children all the time, so it is important for the parents to know about their kids so they
can assist their kids in an efficient way. It also works as a way to know my students better. I have
often seen that if a child is very problematic to handle it stems from somewhere deep, form their
family issues and talking to their parents gives me an insight into the child life and helps me
understand him/her better. Interacting with parents will also give me the parent's perspective
regarding their children and their abilities and also makes me aware of the child's personal
problems. All of these information helps in the effective learning experience for the child.
Talking to their parents will also make a teacher aware of the hidden talents of the
student. It very essential for a student to be supported by their teachers and mentors. Being
supportive and cooperative as a teacher has always been in my philosophy of education. Every
child has some unique talent in him waiting to be encouragement and support. Supporting a child
to be creative and helping him try out new ideas makes him feel he can risk making mistakes. I
have seen many teachers committing the mistake of scolding their students so much that the
students develop a fear of doing something new or creative. It is very important to be
appreciative to children because of their constant need for attention. The relationship of a teacher
and a student has a significant effect on his\her education (Furrer, Skinner and Pitzer, 2014).
Scolding a child constantly will make him or her afraid of the teacher and make the teacher less
approachable. This will hamper the relationship shared by the student and teacher and create an

5Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
environment of fear in the classroom. Learning environment does affect not only the education
of a child but also his mental health (Hedefalk, Almquist and Ostman, 2015). Encouragement,
appreciation and support all help in building a positive atmosphere in the classroom.
I give E-learning special preference in my philosophy of education. It is an extremely
helpful tool for imparting education to children since it makes the entire process so easy. The
most challenging task when working with children is to get their attention because small children
are incredibly fickle minded due to their tiny attention span. E-learning solves this problem
because of its beautiful visual appeal and ensures maximum attention from children's side. A
report says that smart class improves the overall education of children and promotes academic
growth (Jena, 2013). E-learning has revolutionised the entire education system and has improved
academic studies globally. Computer science has proved to be the most efficient of tools for
education. According to a survey done by Fessakis, kids of the age of 5 or 7 have improved their
problem solving skills using computer application (Fessakis, 2013). E-learning helps the children
in advanced thinking and makes them smarter than age. I have witnessed the benefits of e-
learning myself. I have seen many of my students progress and improve their decision making
skills because of e-learning.
Thus, concluding from the above discussion, it can be said that it is essential that every
teacher should have a teaching philosophy of his\her own. The strategies that have been
incorporated by me has helped me a lot as a teacher and given me more clarity to do my work
more effectively. Assessment and planning and documentation are tools for effective teaching.
My experience as a teacher has taught me the value of incorporating these tools in my teaching
strategies. Teaching small children is a creative process that needs innovative ideas for maximum
effect on children. One has to be persuasive and approachable to the students. It is always helpful

6Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
to have a strategic plan ready before entering the classroom. Lesson plans are great to be
organised and specific.

7Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
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Fessakis, G., Gouli, E., & Mavroudi, E. (2013). Problem solving by 5–6 years old kindergarten
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Fujii, T., 2019. Designing and adapting tasks in lesson planning: a critical process of Lesson
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relationships on students’ classroom engagement and everyday motivational
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8Philosophy to documentation, planning, assessment and teaching in childhood education
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