Kudakwashe M - Tutor in Johannesburg

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY My primary teaching philosophy is constructivism and combines innovative educational approaches that are based on contemporary educational research in order to address the students’ needs without compromising the quality of education. I believe in a learner-centred, inquiry based learning approach that utilizes the twenty first century technologies to enhance learner development. I believe that students (have prior knowledge which must be accessed and assessed in order to identify misconceptions and the zone of proximal development on which new knowledge can be built. To this end I believe that strategies which seek to maximize learning, considering the multiple intelligences and learning styles, must be employed. These strategies must make use of the 21st century technologies such as multimedia in order to make learning meaningful and relevant. This also means learning must be centred in the learners’ context in order to ensure relevance. I believe that assessment drives learning, and consequently I employ continuous assessment approaches, with rigorous feedback in order to ensure continuous learning. To this end, I believe in the significance of both formative assessment and summative assessment. These include short quizzes, practical hands-on activities, short tests, oral and written exams. With regards to postgraduates therefore I am a proponent of not only written dissertations, but also oral presentations or defences. In addition, I believe that postgraduate students must at least be encouraged to publish from their projects. I also believe that an excellent teacher is one who:  shares a passion for teaching;  is clear, organized, accessible, supportive and compassionate;  is able to establish rapport; provide direction and feedback;  exhibits integrity and respect for others;  demonstrates content competence;  utilises planning and orienting strategies;  possesses a broad repertoire of teaching methods and scripts;  engages in self-evaluation and reflection;  draws upon multiple forms of knowledge, they target their teaching to the learners’ level of knowledge. My teaching philosophy is influenced primarily by scholars such as John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Stephen Abrahamson, Richard Mayer and Stephen Schiro.