The Teaching Files

Why We Do What We Do (And What We Can Learn From Knowing)

Have you ever wondered why you did something in a classroom on sort of spur of the moment? It could be an idea that comes to you during a lesson and it could have been something you planned (although you are more likely to know why you did something you had planned). This might have been something in classroom management, discipline, a different teaching strategy, the way you interact with students or any of the other classroom factors that needed a decision you hadn’t planned for.  Maybe you said to yourself – I wonder why I did that? Or, how did I know to do that? I remember as a very new teacher, I would try something for a day or two for classroom management and decide it wasn’t working like I wanted, so I tried something else for a couple of days and so on. It bothered me that I wasn’t being consistent (I knew that consistency is a key component of effective classroom management). But I questioned myself about being consistent with something that wasn’t working. So I had some thinking and reading to do to find what would work for me. My decisions, of course, were based on what I knew about my students and what fit me as a teacher. But what other factors influenced what I did?

Quite simply, I chose some of the things I did because I had seen another teacher during field experience do something similar. Some things I chose because they were the opposite of what I had seen some teachers do that didn’t seem quite right because I was not comfortable with the effects it had on students or didn’t accomplish what I thought I would want to accomplish.  Questioning myself about why I was doing what I was doing, I began to realize that it ultimately came back to my beliefs. 

For example, I believed that students would remember better when they were interested in what they were learning versus what they were not interested in. 
And I believed that when students were engaged in learning and enjoying what they were doing, they would learn more and remember better. 
I also believed that if students knew I respected them and wanted them to succeed and have a good school year, they would more likely engage in learning rather than engage in talking. 

And it was those beliefs that were driving the decisions I made in the classroom. It took some time to flesh those beliefs out – to put them into words. And eventually, I was able to ask myself questions such as if I believed students should be engaged in something relevant, how I might use that belief to structure and plan my lessons. In graduate school, I learned that what I believe is really my philosophy about education and pieces of the puzzle began to come together.

Another thing I did early on, was to go to a couple of the textbooks I had in my education courses and some new education journals to see if my beliefs made sense with what I had learned. For example, I found what was considered to be developmentally appropriate in my Educational Psychology textbook. I also found in that text and others that students remember what is relevant and meaningful to them. I then tried to match some of concepts with appropriate strategies. I found that brain-based strategies made sense, that cooperative learning was an effective strategy, the value of learning objectives, and that formative assessment strategies could not only help me understand where my students were before instruction, but also whether they were learning what I was teaching. I remembered some of these things better than others and I was pleased that my much of my education training was relevant to many of my needs as a beginning teacher. I had heard some teachers say “Just forget everything you learned in college – what they taught you doesn’t reflect the needs in the real world classroom.” But because I had taken time to understand what my beliefs about teaching were, I was also able to engage in those reflective practices that help you improve as a teacher and I was able to decide for myself what was working for me.

There are, of course, other ways to help you figure out what you can try when you are having problems with students or instruction. You can identify the best teachers in your school and ask them for advice. One of the wonderful things about the teaching world is that teachers have always shared information with new teachers and with each other. After all, they have many of the same types of students you do and can probably give you a few insights. But I’ve also seen it work the other way around: new teachers showing experienced teachers new techniques so that sharing of effective practices can go both ways.  So what can all this say to new and even experienced teachers?

First, we act and react according to our beliefs. Everyone has a philosophy of education even though they might not recognize that. But our beliefs are powerful when it comes to teaching and usually help us make decisions about what to do. When we identify what our beliefs are, we can help ourselves find strategies, materials, and direction in our teaching. Secondly, we can think back on prior training – either in our education program or in in-services that we’ve attended. Many times, we are introduced to new strategies and materials. One of the ways we can more easily adopt those new strategies is to figure out what beliefs are reflected in those strategies and whether they match with our beliefs. When they do match (or when they come close), we know we can be successful with trying the new strategies. If they don’t quite seem to match, we can ask ourselves if teachers we admire are successful with those strategies and whether that might make them worth trying. Then we are being open-minded and we stay willing to try new things. Instructional coaches are often available and can observe and give us suggestions of what we are doing that is working as well as what is not working. They will also be able to offer suggestions for us to try. Third, it is always worth investing time and thoughts into how we are teaching and what we are using. There are many opportunities to help us find effective strategies – we can read about them, we can learn about them in training, or we can learn about them from effective teachers.

Another concern you may have is whether the district for which you are interviewing has the same belief systems/philosophy as you do. When they do, your job flows more smoothly because you as the teacher and the district will be in agreement. You know you will be supported in the classroom and that in-services set by that district should fit in with your philosophy of education. But how do you know what that district’s philosophy of education is? This is a good question for you to ask while in the interview process. In fact, it is important to ask because you as a candidate want to know if you and the district will be a “good fit”. Many schools have vision statements and mission statements and that may give you a clue. Of course, it is one thing to have the vision/mission statement, but do they “live” those beliefs. One way to do that is for districts to ask themselves if decisions fit in with their vision/mission statements. Teachers can ask themselves the same question as they plan their lessons – identifying practices that fit with their district’s vision/mission statements. And, it is also important for teachers to always question what they do and reflect on it. That is an important way to stay open to new ideas.