The two main theoretical principles in education is behaviorism and constructivism. Behaviorism focuses on the thoughts and actions of each individual student based on reinforcement from the teacher. A behaviorist classroom is teacher centered, uses explicit instruction, rewards and punishments and students usually work individually on their work. While a constructivist classroom focuses on hands on learning, student centered activities and students relate new information to prior knowledge.
In my future classroom I plan on using a combination of both theoretical principles, behaviorism and constructivism. I feel that both principles have important characteristics that can be implemented into the classroom. In my classroom, there will be days where the the lesson is more teacher centered then student centered, there will also be days where the lesson will be more student centered then teacher. Depending on the lesson topic, I will determine which method will work better. For most of my lessons I will use a combination of both methods. The "I Do, We Do, You Do" structure of a lesson plan starts the lesson off teacher centered, then transitions to more student centered. This structure of planning lessons is one that I have had a lot of practice with this semester and is a structure I plan to use while planning my future lessons.
I think that for certain lessons, students will need explicit instruction, while other lessons are better for students to experiment on their own or with a small group. Based on the topic of the lesson, I will decide whether explicit instruction is necessary for the students. It is important for students to construct their own knowledge, however I feel that it is equally as important to provide students with information that might be too difficult for them to construct on their own. Literature study does not always have a right and wrong answer, there are a lot of gray areas. Due to this, I will encourage my future students to try and construct their own questions and answers based on their prior knowledge.
Based on what I have learned and observed through my internships, I think that having some sort of reward system is important in the classroom. While, all teachers hope that their students will be self motivated to learn, the reality is that many students will need motivation. Creating and using some sort of reward system in the classroom is a good way to motivate students. A behaviorist classroom would use rewards and punishments for students. In my future classroom, I will only use rewards. I want my students to enjoy school, I do not think that punishing students is a good way to encourage enjoyment. Rewards are great for motivation, but punishments are not necessary and promotes a negative attitude towards school. I believe, punishments should only be used as a last resort and should not be a frequent occurrence in the classroom.
Finally, in my literate classroom I will have students do a mixture of individual work, group work and/or partner work. I will provide time for students to read individually and in groups. I will also give students a chance to work in groups to discuss books or complete an activity based on a book. I think that even though reading is an individual activity, it is important to discuss what you have read with others. Based on this, my literate classroom will have more group/partner work than individual work.
Based on the characteristics of theoretical principles I plan to use in my classroom, my fourth students will be critical readers. As critical readers, my students' learning goals will be able to read and comprehend short chapter books and carry a discussion about what they read with a partner or a group. My students should be able to read at or above grade level books with ease and be able to participate in either group or partner discussions.