Educational Philosophy
My Philosophy of Education is based on my understanding and perception of:
- How people learn.
- What I consider as best practices to help students learn.
- The needs of the individual learner through differentiated instruction and pedagogic strategies.
- My personal teaching style.
Philosophy of Education
I have based My Philosophy of Education on the following principles:
- Student-centered Classroom
- Researched-based Learning Strategies
- Standards-based Curriculum
- Skills-set Development
- 21st Century Skills
Student-Centered
Students learn more when they are active participants in their own learning. In order to create a student-centered classroom, my role must be one of a facilitator to student learning. By incorporating projects and activities into the curriculum, students take charge of their own learning. I have found the following principles beneficial :
The following descriptions came from the Edutopia Article: Great Teachers Don't Teach
Qualities of a Good Teacher:
Qualities of a Great Teacher:
- Constructivism is the principle of learning in which students construct their own meaning of a topic through exploration, discovery, and prior knowledge of the topic of study.
- Project-based Learning allows students to use their own creativity and imagination to answer the essential questions of the unit. Projects allow for alternative ways to evaluate student performances; rubrics play a major role in assessing student achievement and success.
- Metacognition is the process of thinking about one's own thinking, and it is an essential skill for all life-long learners. Journaling and reflection exercises will help students to think about their own learning.
The following descriptions came from the Edutopia Article: Great Teachers Don't Teach
Qualities of a Good Teacher:
- care about students.
- know the content and know how to explain it.
- expect and demand high levels of performance of students.
- are great performers and storytellers that rivet their students' attention.
Qualities of a Great Teacher:
- engineer learning experiences that maneuver the students into the driver's seat and then the teachers get out of the way.
- devise a way to give the students an urgent reason to learn skills or knowledge and then let them show they have learned it by what they can do.
- will keep the students wanting to come to school just to see what interesting things they will explore and discover each day.
Research-Based
Scientist and researchers in the fields of Educational Psychology andNeuroscience have made major advances in understanding the nature of learning and how the brain learns. I have found the following theories to be particularly helpful.
The brain is a powerful tool. It has been pre-programmed to learn, and by tapping into those pre-existing capabilities, teachers can assist students in reaching higher levels of learning and understanding.
For additional information, see Overview of Brain-Based Learning
- Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence
- Carl Jung's Learning Styles
- Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy
- New studies in Brain-based Learning
The brain is a powerful tool. It has been pre-programmed to learn, and by tapping into those pre-existing capabilities, teachers can assist students in reaching higher levels of learning and understanding.
For additional information, see Overview of Brain-Based Learning
Standards-Based
Standards-based education is a growing movement in education and for good reason. It aids both students and teachers to know their destination before they begin. Students learn best when they are provided with clear objectives and learning goals. I use the following methods to create a Standards-based Curriculum:
- Overall Objectives: These are the big, lasting (over-arching) concepts that students need to acquire (understand) by the end of a unit. These core understandings and enduring knowledge promote higher-order thinking, and they prepare students for the next level of learning.
- Essential Questions: These are the guiding questions that students need to answer along the way to understanding the overall objective. Students' responses to these questions allow them to demonstrate their understanding of what they have been studying.
- Power Standards: This is when standards are grouped together, or 'chunked,' into a meaningful scenario or project. In this way, students are presented with multiple standards in a meaningful context.
Skill-Sets
The body of human knowledge is expanding at an astonishing rate. The total volume of information on the planet doubles every 18 to 24 months! (Thornburg: 1998, 13) Therefore, it is impossible for an individual to keep up with these rapid changes. Also, it is no longer practical or feasible to expect every member in a society to share a large body of similar knowledge. This reality requires a significant change in education. Educators must transform from teaching a set of factual-based knowledge to the development of sets of skills that can be applied to a wide-range of situations.
As early as 1991, business leaders and employers , stated in the the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report, that in order for future employees to be competitive in the global marketplace, they need to posses a set of fully developed skills upon their entrance in the workforce. (See the SCANS Report below.)
As early as 1991, business leaders and employers , stated in the the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report, that in order for future employees to be competitive in the global marketplace, they need to posses a set of fully developed skills upon their entrance in the workforce. (See the SCANS Report below.)
21st Centry Skills
Skill sets important for today's learners (source: Tony Wagner)
Enhanced skill set (source: Jackie Gerstein)
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
- Agility and adaptability
- Initiative and entrepreneurship
- Effective oral and written communication
- Accessing and analyzing information
- Curiosity and imagination
Enhanced skill set (source: Jackie Gerstein)
- Grit
- Resilience
- Hope and Optimism
- Vision
- Self-Regulation
- Empathy and Global Stewardship