Educational+Philosophy

//** Educational Philosophy ** // A good teacher is someone who takes pride in their teaching as well as in their students. They get to know their students on a higher level, which allows them to adjust to their special, individual needs. Throughout my teaching experiences, I have learned that every student learns by a different method, whether it is auditory, kinesthetic, visual or being hands on. I myself am an auditory and visual learner, however this is not the case for all students. There are many different views on education and teaching. My educational philosophy reflects both pragmatism and constructivism. Founded by John Dewey, pragmatism focuses on helping students understand that what they are learning has the possibility of changing over time and is open to interpretation. Two themes of pragmatism is discovery learning and child centered learning. This philosophy relates well to teaching history because, history is not only about learning dates and memorizing events. History is about learning what in the past has influenced and impacted the present, and how these certain events shaped our society. I feel that by making the correlations between the past and the present, students will have a better idea of what is being discussed, as well as find it easier to understand. When students see that everything in history has some how impacted their own life, they will hopefully become more interested to learn. Constructivism, which is a theory founded by Jean Piaget, can be combined with Dewey’s pragmatism. Constructivism focuses on students learning from their own experiences. Students use their prior knowledge and experiences to construct meaning. According to Piaget, students should be actively engaged in the learning process. They need to be able to make connections to the information we as teachers provide them with. The teacher does not play the role of lecturer, but as the facilitator, to assist the students in making sense of the information. Students are encouraged to ask questions, make inferences, and develop their own conclusions. It is extremely important that teachers use differentiated instruction when designing lesson plans. Students must be treated as individual learners and it is crucial that teachers realize this. They must design lesson plans and activities to meet the needs of all students, enabling every student to learn to the best of their ability and succeed. I am a big supporter of group work, class discussions and active participation. When students work in groups they have the opportunity to hear what their peers think about a certain topic and they can learn from each other. Both theories support collaborative learning groups. Engaging students in hands on activities, while working in groups optimizes student learning. Interaction amongst students not only promotes learning but also help students learn to socialize with others. Active participation includes students not only questioning, but also reassessing their background knowledge with what they learned. Students are also encouraged to evaluate themselves as active learners. Constructivism encourages students to be the creators of their own knowledge. Both pragmatism and constructivism relate to teaching history. History is a subject mainly of interpretations, aside from specific dates and times. Contrary to what many believe, history is not an absolutism. Most textbooks are biased and that there is always information being left out. Every author has a different perspective, which can cause confusion amongst the students; which is why I feel it is very important to include different perspectives. This allows the students to see the difference, question the information and to make sense of it using their background knowledge and experiences. In order to engage my students, I will incorporate artifacts, primary and secondary sources, and multimedia technology. Becoming a teacher to me is not only about teaching students; but guiding them through the learning process, as well as helping them learn life long lessons and skills. 

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