Kayla Propst

Final Teaching Platform

As a small child I remember my teachers always telling me that knowledge is
power. After many years of analyzing that comment, I have realized a couple of
things. The first thing I realized is that my teachers were and are 100 % correct,
knowledge is power and always will be the key to power. The second thing I realized
was that my two main goals as a future educator is to have my students to leave my
class with more knowledge then they entered my classroom with and to teach my
students how to succeed in life.
I believe that the three most important things for students to learn while
they are in school is how to apply their knowledge to real life situations, to never
give up, always give 100%, and that knowledge is power.
I believe that students learn from his or her teachers connecting their lessons
and activities to real life and experiences, which they have faced or will face. It is
also important to realize and understand that every student learns differently.
There are three types of learners and it is important to incorporate their learning
styles into your individual lessons and the classroom as a whole. The three types of
learners include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. A teacher knows that a child is
learning and improving his or her skills by recognizing that the child is giving his or
her 100% effort and that they are making gains, even if they are small.
When I begin teaching I want my students to leave with more knowledge
then what they started off with at the beginning of the year. I believe that any
improvement in a content area is something for the student and the teacher to be
proud of. Five years after a student leaves my class I will want them to feel like the

Kayla Propst
time they spent in my class was productive, easily relatable to real life experiences,
and the experiences they have or will face, and that my teaching made a difference
in their life (small or big).
Where you teach plays a huge role in how an educator teaches. Location
affects context because it determines what tools you have access to in the classroom.
Also, the teacher will have to relate the lesson to the children in the correct way
because the demographics may be different then a previous school they worked at.
In order to know if the lesson you taught is productive you will need to make
sure that the students are engaged and interested. In order to make the information
is retainable the teacher should have the students practice examples of the material
and do a short review of her lesson the next day. Classrooms should be divided in a
20/18 ratio, where the teacher teaches 20% of the time and the students practice
the material 80% of the time. For example to improve a childs literacy the teacher
should have them read individually and have them participate in read alouds as
much as class time permits and encourage them to do the same outside the
classroom. The teacher must use a reflection in order to improve the lesson for his
or her next use.