If you were to ask a group of teachers to address their philosophy of practice, how difficult do you think it would be to reach a consensus? Some teachers may describe specific lecture-style strategies they have used to promote quick and effective thinking while others believe students’ can only achieve critical thinking skills through self-discovery. Exemplary teachers recognize the importance of information processing theories and their connection with learners’ goals, beliefs, metacognition, and motivation. Furthermore, model teachers recognize the interrelationship between prior knowledge and long-term memory. In line with current philosophies of practice, I believe a cognitive approach to teaching and a learner-centered classroom promotes student engagement and meaningful learning.
A beginning approach to teaching is recognizing what students already know. Learning is a constructive process. According to J.R. Anderson’s ACT-R (Atomic Components of Thought) theory, students are more apt to recall new information when it relates to prior knowledge (Bruning, Schraw, & Norby, 2011). Anderson’s model proposes that procedural and declarative knowledge are interrelated. The key concept of the ACT-R model is spreading activation (Bruning, Schraw, & Norby, 2011). The more activations students make, the more easily they can remember new concepts. Students are unable to obtain highly complex knowledge if they have nothing to build upon. Findings by Recht and Leslie (1988) showed the ACT-R model is supported even when aptitudes differ (Recht & Leslie, 1988). They investigated how prior knowledge influences the amount of short-term verbal and non-verbal memory and long-term retention in students of high and low ability in reading compr...
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...and understand the relationship between performance and self-efficacy. Second, it is essential for students to understand why they are academically successful or not. I provide my students’ prompt and constructive feedback. The feedback directly relates to the performance objectives of the course. Finally, I encourage students to engage in challenging tasks. If students are motivated and reassured that a task is attainable, they will gain confidence that will positively affect future learning.
My philosophy of teaching continues to evolve as I discover new methods of instruction that allow me to create a learner-centered classroom that encourages personal growth and high self-efficacy. It is my belief that every student has the ability to reach his or her full potential. Furthermore, every student deserves quality instruction in an inclusive learning environment.
My most basic, fundamental belief in education has always been that every student is capable of learning. The learning may not take place on my desired timeline, but each child has the capacity to learn. I have always considered myself to be child-centered, rather that teacher-centered, in the classroom. I hold that most learning is accomplished when new information can be integrated into previous knowledge, and I also find that a balanced approach to any learning includes the repetition of information and a varied approach in delivery.
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
Vosniadou S. (1996) TOWARDS A REVISED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY FOR NEW ADVANCES IN LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION. Learning and instruction,6( 2), 95-109.
Self-efficacy is the belief that someone has the inherent ability to achieve a goal. A student who has a high self-efficacy allows himself to believe that he can be successfully academically.(Bozo & Flint, 2008) He believes that a challenging problem is a task that can be mastered This student is more committed to work in the classroom. (Schunk,1991). On the other hand, a student who has a low level of self-efficacy is likely to be academically motivated. He is more likely to avoid a task that is difficult, give up, make excuses, or lose confidence in his abilities (Margolis & McCabe, 2006). This failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teachers need to find ways to motivate these students by increasing their self-efficacy.
Every teacher has a different method of teaching. The teachers that I have had in my school career have been no exception. In this way, each teacher has set an example for me, as a future teacher, to follow or not to follow as I see fit. With the examples from my teachers and in continuing my education, I am developing my own method of teaching. I plan to use a combination of teaching methods in my own classroom. My method will be an eclectic approach because I will be using components of more than one philosophy. I will be using essentialism, behaviorism, progressivism, and existentialism.
In a social constructivist view on learning the brain is a complex, flexible, ever changing organism that reshapes itself in response to challenge (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). Constructivism view is that knowledge is obtained and understood through a student’s mental framework (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). Learning is not a passive process but it is a deliberate and progressive process that deepens meaning (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). The student does not only reply on a teachers lectures but also on their interactions with the environment around them (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). In this view it is important that the teacher sees the student as the centre of teaching endeavours, by assisting them to obtain information they can integrate into their already known knowledge. There are many ways that a teacher can assist their students, one example is Scaffolding. Scaffolding is where a teacher provides students with just enough help in order to complete the tasks themselves, then over time decreasing the amount of help so that a student can master this themselves.
Upon being faced with the task of writing my philosophy of teaching, I made many attempts to narrow the basis for my philosophy down to one or two simple ideas. However, I quickly came to the realization that my personal teaching philosophy stems from many other ideas, philosophies, and personal experiences. I then concentrated my efforts on finding the strongest points of my personal beliefs about teaching and what I have learned this semester, and came up with the following.
Education serves as the foundation to a lifetime of learning. Since every child is unique, I believe that it is important for them to learn in an environment that is both secure and stimulating. By creating this type of atmosphere, the students will be able to realize their intelligence and use it constructively. As a future educator, it will be my goal to establish a classroom that is, 1) non-authoritarian, 2) student-centered, and 3) focused around student experience. These three elements are part of Progressivism, the educational philosophy I plan to incorporate in my classroom.
Education is a very important aspect of our lives. It is our education that makes us who we are and determines what we become. Therefore, education is not something to be taken lightly. As a teacher, my goal will be to provide the best possible education for my students. Every student is unique. I must see students for who they are individually and respect their ideas and opinions. Each student has a different learning style. I must take this into consideration because I want to provide a constructive learning opportunity for every student. I believe that every student has the potential to learn.
Jaime Escalante, a great educator, once said, “The teacher gives us the desire to learn, the desire to be Somebody.” As a teacher, my goal will be to show students that each of them can be whatever they want to be, and not only are they capable of being good at what they do, they can be the best. To reach this goal, I must be an effective teacher, which I believe can best be accomplished by teaching in a way that is comfortable for me. Therefore, I will not base my classroom around one single philosophy; I am going to seek comfort by utilizing certain aspects of different educational philosophies, namely essentialism, existentialism, progressivism, and social reconstructionism.
As a teacher, I have numerous personal goals. Mainly, my goal is to provide students with the opportunity and encouragement to succeed in life and to develop as free-thinking individuals in society. I consider myself a progressive and an essentialist, according to theory. I feel that students need to be given multiple opportunities to explore many different life skills that sometimes are overlooked in the education system. Testing, rote memorization, and lecture, in my opinion, do not promote students' own inquiry and does not give students opportunities to tap into their own source of knowledge that they each bring with them to the classroom. As a teacher, I hope to leave my students able to set and accomplish goals through the use of these life skills. Some teachers I have had while in hi...
A teaching philosophy is critical in my role as a future successful teacher. It will guide me in the way I conduct myself, how I develop curriculum, and how I establish order in my classroom. As a teacher it is important for me to be consistent with how I manage my classes. With a central philosophy as a backbone it will be easy to follow my own simple guidelines.
My philosophy on education and learning is simple; to teach my future students to the best of my ability to achieve academic success. As well as getting to know my students well. Getting to know a little of their background can help make a difference in our teaching career. As a teacher, we care for our student’s educational needs and to achieve a full potential in their learning ability. I believe that education is an individual, unique experience for every student who enters a classroom. Having a passion for teaching and providing students with a proper education should always be a teacher’s top priority.
Pike, B., & Bradley, F. (1997). The philosophy of teaching: Developing a statement that thrives in the classroom. Clearing House, 70(3), 125. Retrieved October 6, 2011 from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9703092460&site=ehost-live&scope=site
We need to continuously assess and evaluate our students so we can set appropriate goals for each student and individual instructions. Each child learns different, so as a teacher we need to have different styles of teaching for positive reinforcement.