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Philosophy
of Education By: Cindy
Ives “Schools that try to impart sublime content
while being largely inattentive to student individuality offer substantially
less value than those that propel learners through a powerful synthesis of
both sets of ideas” (Ackerman, 2003, p. 6).
An effective classroom must have a teacher that is willing to use both
progressive and traditional theories of learning. Students need to be taught certain concepts
and practice these in a traditional method, but also must be allowed to
investigate the concepts and see how it connects to their lives. Students need to be able to demonstrate
their understanding of a concept in a way that shows their creativity instead
of just on a test that asks them to regurgitate facts. In addition, students can show their
creativity through the use of projects that allow them to choose how to
present the knowledge they have gained.
For example, a student can create a PowerPoint presentation, a song,
or a report. Students learn and develop to the
fullest when they are provided with a safe environment in which they feel respected
and cared about. According to
cognitive psychologists, students learn through direct instruction and
experience (Bruning, Schraw, Norby, & Ronning, 2004). Students need to be provided with a caring
environment that allows them to freely express themselves and be allowed to
discuss what they are learning with their peers. They need to be given the opportunity to
explore concepts hands-on, through the use of manipulatives and through the
use of technology. Students should not
just be free to explore, though. To
learn to their fullest and continue developing as life-long learners,
students need to be shown the procedures and concepts that make up a new idea
or lesson. Teachers need to be willing
to provide this atmosphere to their students. Teachers need to access their
students’ prior knowledge so they can see how what they are learning now
applies to their everyday lives and what they already know. To access this prior knowledge, students
need to have strong schema already developed.
If the connection between what they know and what they are learning is
weak, students will not be able to truly comprehend the concept, and it will
not be stored in long term memory. To
be able to store knowledge in long term memory, students need to be taught
helpful problem solving strategies and when to use them. Students need to be
allowed to think critically. A field
study has shown that in many schools students are “left as passive and bored
spectators, with little chance to evaluate the information presented or make
critical judgments, students turn off intellectually and simply go through
the motions necessary to complete the course” (Winn, 2004, p. 1). Students
then turn to teachers to be given the answers and are unsure how to solve
problems for themselves. According to Steele & Johanning (2004), teachers
should help students to organize commonalities between different concepts and
problems, help their students to see relationships about how one is related
in the change of another, and help their students to form
generalizations. Teachers should also
use class discussions and questioning to help their students think
critically. The more probing questions
and discussions help students to begin to think about a story or concept more
critically. To be productive members of society and help to continue to
improve and make advancements in our country, students need to be able to
think for themselves and problem solve. Every student learns differently
and approaches learning in various ways. Gardener believed that people learn
through multiple intelligences (Walker & Soltis, 2004). Everyone has these multiple intelligences,
but most people favor a specific intelligence more than another. Some students learn better visually, while
other students learn the best haptically.
As a teacher, one should understand and respect these
differences. For example, if a student
learns better haptically, a teacher should provide opportunities to use
manipulatives and conduct experiments.
Also, if the teacher needs to present information in a visual or
auditory way, one should allow the haptic student to do something with their
hands (ex. - squeeze a stress ball). A student’s learning preference has a
direct effect on their approach to learning. A teacher should deliver instruction
that encompasses all the multiple intelligences into the unit at some
point. All classrooms should have a set of
rules and consequences. The students
should be given the opportunity to help create the rules for the
classroom. To promote a positive
learning environment, teachers should spend more time rewarding the students
who are behaving and working to their fullest. Students react better to a positive
learning environment. Students who are
working continue to do so because they realize they are doing what they are
suppose to do and are recognized for this.
The students who misbehave begin to see how one should behave and
often times want to be given the same rewards as the rest of the class. A teacher should listen to his/her
students’ concerns, worries, or positives because students feel safer and
feel they are in a positive learning environment. |