My teaching philosophy is founded on the belief that active learning produces the best results.  I feel that students learn best as autonomous learners, or when they are actively involved in learning.  As a teacher I feel students need to be motivated, but this should come intrinsically.  I do not believe in extrinsic motives such as rewards or punishments.  Studies show students who are simply lectured to by teachers do not have the best information retention rates, rather discussion groups and peer teaching derive much better results.  Thus, a teacher should help lead the students, but allow them to develop ideas and thoughts on their own.  However, i am realistic enough to realize students have a variety of learning styles, thus teachers have to alter accordingly.
    I plan on teaching Broad field Social Studies in any grade from sixth through twelfth.  My main emphasis will be history, thus i want students to use critical thinking and discuss different points of view.  I plan to experiment with different methods, but with the thought in mind of guiding students to be the best independent yet active learners as possible.  My goal is to gain and keep the student's interest by actively engaging them in a variety of activities and learning situations.  I want discussion groups led by the students so they can exp-lore and question rather than listen to lectures.  I think it is important for a teacher to interven