Ms. Haleb's Classroom

Hello all!

Thanks for checking out my website. My name is Haleb Loul, but students call me Ms. Haleb or Ms. Hal for short.

I am from Portland, Oregon. I graduated with an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Vassar College in 2015. I am currently a teacher candidate in the Inclusive Elementary Educator Program at Portland State University.

I am set to graduate and become a licensed general and special education teacher in 2019.

4 Components of My Teaching Philosophy

Culturally Appropriate Instruction: As an educator I strongly believe in individualizing instruction and expectations to suit each student and community. I hope to support a diverse classroom with children from varying backgrounds, beliefs, and skill levels. According to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, a child’s knowledge and learning style can differ from culture to culture. Therefore I will pay much attention to the roles culture, language, and the students’ relationships with society shape their development. Then use my observations to create an appropriate classroom environment that includes lessons that are relevant to all the students. For example, when teaching history I will stay away from the Eurocentric perspectives and teach history from all racial and ethnic viewpoints.

Respect all Students: There is an obvious power structure between teacher and students that I believe should be respected and acknowledged. However, teachers should understand that the power structure can cause tension in the teacher student relationships. I will refrain from any power struggles with students. I believe in seeing the misbehaviors of students as learning experiences for both the student and teacher. I will utilize the theory in behaviorism that stats that behaviors are learned through repeated experiences with stimuli and consequences. I will acknowledge that students are sometimes taught to communicate through misbehavior and focus on reteaching the correct behaviors through modifying the consequences. I will respect students as people with needs that can be met though appropriate communication. For example, if a student uses disrespectful language when asked to complete a task I will teach the student the correct way to ask for assistance with the task through processes like the FBA to BSP interventions.

Involve all Students: According to the social learning theory, students learn best through social interaction and various types of modeling. Teacher and peer interaction and modeling occur in the classroom everyday. I believe that students should learn from each other because the best way to learn skills at the appropriate level is to have the skills modeled and taught by peers who are at a similar level. I believe that students of all different skill levels should participate in teaching and modeling in the ways that best suits them. This is done through scaffolding and creating a positive learning environment. I will involve all students in the learning process by facilitating discussions such as conversations about the different ways to solve a math problem. For example, a multiplication story problem where there are different ways to multiple the numbers to obtain the correct answer.

Using Data-Based Interventions: I believe that learning is a complex process and the best way to help a child learn is to observe and understand each student’s abilities. Then to find ways, that are meaningful for each student, to retain and understand concepts taught to them. Students who have different cognitive processes should have instruction tailored or added based on data-based interventions. For example, a student who is behind reading level will be offered one-on-one instruction to help them improve their skills.