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
Tests
Tests are not an appropriate way to measure a students comprehension. Students usually have anxiety issues when it comes to test taking. Most students only memorize information for a tests, and then it gets lost in time. It is important for teachers to use Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Skills to insure their students truly grasp the concept they are teaching. Bloom's levels include knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Most teachers only make it through knowledge and comprehension, while only a few students actually achieve the application aspect. For a student to remember, not just memorize, the content, we need to explore all of these levels. Students can be evaluated more efficiently through observation and assessment. I strive for the success of all the students in my classroom, therefore I will enhance each style of learning through readings, student oriented questions, hands-on experiments, group discussions, and occasional field trips. In addition, my students will be allowed time to work in groups to provide one another with peer counseling.
