What school/s of Philosophy noted in the chapter aligns with your beliefs and understandings of the purpose of education? Why? In what ways? Provide evidence examples, and cite information from the chapter and ancillary resources. (John Dewey – “My pedagogical Creed” the SOE Conceptual Framework Themes, the adjoining article written by a seasoned teacher, and included chapter highlights of cognitive psychologists – Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget – noted in the chapter.
***Use the provided guided questions to frame the essay/reflection. The paper is a personal statement with supporting evidence, examples, cited quotes, infusing only the class resources.
Our upcoming week will entail, reviewing the importance of constructing and reflecting on an initial educational philosophy statement and essay, in which we are probing our beliefs, underpinnings, prior knowledge and substantive evidence of our beliefs and understandings of the value of an education, which is at the core of a literate, just, inclusive and and caring community of students who value learning and teaching as reciprocal endeavors.
Sidebar and Underpinning: The conceptual framework of the Pace SOE has the following benchmarks that bear semblance to the philosophical beliefs that we are framing for this assignment. (I have posted a short summary here and attached a one-page overview as a guide for deciphering some of the important beliefs, missions, and themes that may strike a chord when writing your own philosophical stance. sm
The School of Education believes that a fundamental aim in education is to create opportunities for individuals to realize their potential within a democratic community. Therefore, we prepare graduates of our programs to be:
reflective practitioners who
promote justice,
create caring classrooms and school communities, and
enable all students to be successful learners.
Read: Introduction to Education – Chapter 5 – What is an Educational Philosophy?
This is an important chapter that will require a close and insightful reading stance and interpretation. The chapter will serve as a resource of timely information, with the exemplary writing of John Dewey’s “My Pedagogic Creed” as references and viable models to consider for creating an original philosophical statement about teaching, learning, and the value of an education. Review the chapter content carefully and consider the array of philosophical schools of thought that underpin the realm of teaching. The adjoining writing prompt is to create, develop and submit an original philosophy of education paper that reflects, articulates, and explains a well-established understanding of the importance of philosophy and education as interrelated disciplines and the role of the teacher as a contributor to theory, research, and classroom practice. Careful consideration needs to be given to the reading selections, prior knowledge and new accrued learning and teaching experiences. sm
Guided Questions – for discussion and review.
What are the correlations between philosophy and education?
What is an educational philosophy? Why is it important to reflect on, create and share one’s beliefs about teaching, and learning?
What are the schools of philosophical thought that have evolved over time and remain timely at present?
What is Constructivism?
Who are the notable theorists who have contributed to the development of cognitive learning and teaching methodologies?
What is socio-cultural theory? Who is the theorist associated with this school of thought?
What is your educational philosophy?
What is an Educational Philosophy?
Educators continue to build upon their philosophy over their careers. They often choose elements from various philosophies and integrate them into their own. When identifying a philosophy, here are things to consider:
What is the purpose of education?
What do you believe should be taught?
How do you think the curriculum should be taught?
What is your role as the teacher?
What is the role of the student?
What is the value of teacher-centered instruction and student-centered instruction; where and when do you incorporate each?
Review posted documents regarding educational philosophy – class session agendas, resources, and ancillary materials in class session modules.
The following resources are provided when “digging deeper” into the chapter.
What is your Educational Philosophy? https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-your-educational-philosophy-ben-johnson
Four Philosophies and Their Applications to Education https://docs.google.com/document/d/149dx9pNRqIYp-EAYVHgXkxUV_u2cnmbGmvMgS863P4o/edit
My Pedagogic Creed – John Dewey
Theorists – Cognitive psychologists Jean Piaget & Lev Vygotsky
Branches of philosophy –
Perennialism – focuses on human concerns that have caused concern for centuries, revealed through ‘great works’ (Ornstein, 2003, p. 110) It focuses on great works of art, literature, and enduring ideas.
Essentialism – Emphasizes skills and subjects that are needed by all in a productive society. This is the belief in “Back to Basics.” Rote learning is emphasized and
Progressivism – Instruction features problem-solving and group activities
Progressivism – Instruction features problem-solving and group activities – The instructor acts as a facilitator as opposed to a leader (Ornstein, 2003, p. 110)
Social Reconstructionism – Instruction that focuses on significant social and economic problems in an effort to solve them (Ornstein, 2003, pg.110)
Existentialism – Classroom dialogue stimulates awareness – each person creates an awareness gleaned from discussion and encourages deep personal reflection on his or her convictions (Ornstein, 2003, p. 108).
The article noted below is an adjoining resource and example of a seasoned/experienced teacher discussing the importance of writing and revising a teaching philosophy.
Article Edutopia: How Writing and Revisiting Your Teaching Philosophy Can Fuel Your Practice by Casey Daugherty (April 10, 2023)
https://www.edutopia.org/article/the-benefits-of-writing-and-revising-your-teaching-philosophy
(posted in our class session module – LMS Classes
Advice from a seasoned classroom teacher
A teaching philosophy serves as an “internal compass, a reminder of purpose, my north point. Rereading it helps me to realize that classrooms, communities, and content change. But this original compass has not—it has kept me from getting lost.” (Daugherty, 2023)
Daugherty notes that in the past the lead statements were:
“All kids can learn” and “I want to create lifelong learners.” Now—the strategies can make these and other elements of my philosophy possible in the classroom.
Tenets of Daugherty’s philosophy and strategies to enacting them—gleaned from decades of practice—shared with an invitation to pen our own teaching philosophy that might also serve as a guidepost as we grow through each stage of our careers.
Provide choice – we want to feed students natural curiosity. Ex. Diversifying the texts we present and promote student agency through choice reading and writing assignments—leads to deeper and continued inquiry and engagement, putting learners in the driver’s seat.
Lead by learning—orienting ourselves as the lead learner in the classroom is important to helping students move forward in their own learning. Ex. Daugherty writes with her students. She reads with them too. Reading and writing together produces powerful, connected learning and a sense of community fueled by authentic, adult modeled inquiry.
Ask Questions—then more questions – we ask many questions as teachers and (lifelong learners). There is power in realizing that quality questions are not just yes/no questions, but probing questions—ones that make you tilt your head and think before your speak. Asking deeper questions not only improves self-reflective teaching (e.g., How can I become a better teacher?) How does writing change if we start with conversation first? What are better ways to build community in my classroom?) but also coaching and conferencing with students (e.g., What would happen if you flipped these paragraphs? How does the behavior of this character make you think self-acceptance is the theme of your book? Before you begin, what does the end product look like to you? Open-ended inquiry moves thinking and discussion deeper.
Learn from students – “What I value most about teaching are the lessons that I learn from students about life in the classroom and beyond. I seek their guidance and advice in relation to my teaching, asking them to reflect on what happens in our classroom, and these debriefs give me insight into how I can change even the minutest of details to improve their learning.” (Daugherty, 20223)
Be flexible – In education, everything is always shifting. Lessons need modifying, calendars need adjusting, and assignments sometimes need to be scrapped. When plans don’t work, it’s important to make peace with flux—to remember that the best instructors are flexible enough to admit when something isn’t working, are open to change, and are models of adaptation, teaching young people, by example, how to respond to the unexpected.
Your Turn – In a politically charged, standardized-test-driven educational climate, how can we hold on to the belief that what we do makes a difference?
Philosophy and pedagogy matter most in the face of conflict and change. Helping students feel confident, powerful, and prepared makes a teacher feel worthy.
To ground our practice, no matter if you are in your first or 15th year of teaching, pen you own paragraph, diagram, or bulleted list representative of your teaching philosophy. Does it align with your original approach to education? What has changed, and what stays the same? How might you share your philosophy—and strategies for enacting it—with others?
Review: Introduction to Education – Chapter 5 – What is an Educational Philosophy?
Review chapter content, resources, and branches of philosophy. (Notes are embedded in our class session Agendas posted in designated modules in LMS Classes – please review).
Write: Cull ideas from Chapter 5 (what school of philosophy do you feel is most important as an underpinning to weave into your philosophy statement?
and the ancillary resources John Dewey, SOE Conceptual Framework themes,
Recommended length – 3 substantive pages + works cited. Please include a statement/thesis that incorporates the key belief/s about your educational philosophy and provides the supportive evidence, examples, and underpinnings. There should be evidence of theory, expert perspectives, and classroom applications. Please include course materials only for this assignment.
