My name is Alicia Baxter, and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama. I also have 21 semester hours in general science to accomplish highly qualified status. I hope to become a middle school science teacher after I graduate. I love the gratification of inspiring students and the thrill in their eyes when the light bulb finally turns on. I not only want to make a difference in my student's lives, but I feel obligated to do everything in my power to prepare them for college and beyond. I have high expectations for all my students, and I will achieve this by covering course content, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in every subject I teach.
My Teaching Philosophy
Setting Goals to Raise the Standard
Having goals is important for teachers, as well as students. My students will be required to keep a goal journal. Journal entries will begin the first day of class. The first journal entry will include: what they expect to learn from my class, what new information they would like to learn about, and what grade they anticipate making. Each assignment will include a journal entry in which the students will set at least one attainable goal regarding the assignment. In addition, I will require the students to have weekly personal goals of their choice and track whether or not these goals were met. At the end of each week, the students will be assigned a self-analysis entry, in which they critique their work during the week. This will also include any changes they could have made to improve their performance. A similar assignment will be assigned at the end of each semester critiquing the class material learned and the teaching methods. These journals will be kept confidential, but the students will have set times in which they can share their journal entries with the class. The journals will provide me with each students strengths and weaknesses, and I can adjust my lesson plans to ensure every student is successful in my class.
