...My Personal Philosophy of Education It is customary that on New Year’s Eve, we make New Year resolution. The fact is that we are making a set of guideline that we want to live by. These are motives that we seek to achieve. In a similar way, teachers live by philosophy. This essay focuses on my personal philosophy of education. It unfolds the function of philosophy in a teacher’s life, my view on the purpose of education, the student teacher- relationship and the philosophy which influences my views expressed. All of these beliefs make up my personal philosophy of education. A teacher’s philosophy is a set of convictions that is held regarding his or her values, actions and knowledge. It entails personal perceptions of life. These will lead to the decisions that are made to accomplish classroom, school and social goals. It will answer the question of ‘why do I teach?’.Is it because teaching is a secure job or do I really want o be involved in the development of the minds of the future generation. A teacher’s philosophy will dictate the strategies used to relay information to students, the teacher-student relationship as well as the message brought across to students. A teacher’s philosophy of education examines the definition and goals of education. Nelson Mandela (date unknown) said that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. This statement is in fact true. In order for humans to make informed and logical decisions, they have to be...
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...Philosophy of Classroom Engagement and Management Cheryl Lindsey Grand Canyon University: EDU-536: Classroom Engagement and Management Dr. Strickland September 23, 2015 Philosophy of Classroom Engagement and Management This paper uses annotated bibliographies to discuss key topics of this author’s philosophy of classroom engagement and management. We will look at both, teacher’s role and student’s role. A closer look at the classroom atmosphere and appearance will help us understand how they can make a difference in the learning environment and student’s success. The discussion will end with a look into the relationship of student achievement and classroom engagement and management. Teacher’s role as facilitator Clapper, T. C. (2009, July). Moving away from teaching and becoming a facilitator of learning. Professional Against Improperly Labeling Active Learners: PAILAL Newsletter, 2(2), pp. 1-6. Retrieved from Academia: http://www.academia.edu/1180001/Moving_away_from_teaching_and_becoming_a_facilitator_of_learning Gone are the days of lecturing and teaching by the book. Today’s classrooms are built on helping students learn by engaging and motivating them. Teacher’s need to be flexible enough to stop in the middle of a teaching plan and change gear if they see the plan not keeping the student’s attention. The learning needs to be collaboration between students and teacher. As a facilitator, we guide the students to learning and beyond. It is the teacher’s job to...
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...Elizabeth Sims Introduction to Education Philosophy of Education Philosophy of Education is methods to the theory and practice of education. It is the nature of learning, especially in children; the purpose of education, particularly the question of whether the chief goal of educators should be imparting knowledge, developing intellectual independence, or instilling moral or political values. Philosophy means the love of wisdom, which is answering fundamental questions. Philosophy of education whether written or not, is the teacher’s love of wisdom regarding teaching that expresses itself in attitudes and actions every day in the classroom. The five components of philosophy of education are Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism and Existentialism. Essentialism is based on the belief that a core curriculum exists that everyone in the United States should learn. Which is true but societal always changed so that would want people to learn the basic root and then take it from there. Pernnialism means everlasting and is often used talking about plants. It is also based on a core curriculum, and in the regard it is similar to essentialism. Progressivism focuses on curriculum of interest to students. It’s more than preparation for the future, its life itself. Social reconstructionism is to change society rather than teach about it. Existentialism contends that teachers teach the whole person, not just math, reading, science, or any other particular...
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...1: What is the purpose of education? What goals do you want your students to achieve? The purpose of education is to prepare someone to meet the demands of the real world. Education teaches an individual about a particular subject or it develops the problem solving skills that I feel everyone is born with. I feel that everyone is born with the ability to solve problems. Education challenges those skills and forces children and adults alike, to create or enhance their own problem solving skills. Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, “The aim [of education] must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, see in the service to the community their highest life problem” (Einstein, 2012). I think this statement holds true today. I feel that education must prepare people to take on the world. Each individual will develop into their own identity and discover what is important in their life and what is worth fighting for. Ryan and Cooper (2013) “say that education is a process of human growth by which one gains greater understanding and control over oneself and one’s world” (p.28). Education is a process and we all take steps in education. That is why there are grade levels and there are curriculums based off of those steps that we take. Each individual develops a little differently than the next, but education presents someone with a problem and allows a person to develop an answer. There are parts of education that are black and white...
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...Christian Golden November 21, 2015 Intro to Education Philosophy of Education The purpose of education is to prepare children to become productive citizens of our society, by teaching them how to think individually, act in sociably acceptable manner and equipping students with adequate knowledge for their futures. Education also serves as a way to foster children’s imagination, curiosity and creative & analytical thinking. Through education children are also equipped with tools, and skills necessary to compete for positions in the future. Children also learn a lot about themselves through education, as they decide what careers to pursue through higher education. I also feel education serves as a tool to teach children how to appropriately navigate social interactions with peers that are different from themselves. In my opinion, good teaching is not a skill that is determined by one’s technique. Good teaching comes from the integrity of the teacher, and the teacher’s relationship with the students and the subject. All students learn differently, so a teacher that is able to adjust and use different methods to reach their students, will make a good one. Methods that are meaningful, relevant, and memorable will work best because they serve as ways to keep students engaged, and on topic. Also teachers must show passion toward their students, and the subject(s) they teach. Students will know whether a teacher truly cares about them, and the lessons they teach. Another...
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...My Philosophy of Education by Richard Whittington I started my education in Robinson Texas, a suburb of Waco Texas. I began in the first grade at Robinson Elementary. They did not have kindergarten as part of the school curriculum there. As most of us, I continued my primary education until I graduated in 1974 at Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois. What makes this journey unique is that I attended ten different schools for the twelve years of education. I attended the same school in grades 4 and 5 but I attended two schools in grade 6. I attended the same junior high school but different schools for each year of high school. It is the later that I feel has developed some of my philosophy in education. I attended the 10th and 11th grade at different schools but both in Memphis Tennessee. I attended the 12th grade at Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois. The contrast in the curriculum in these two states were tremendous. In Memphis, in order to graduate, I needed 4 credits in English, 4 credits in Mathematics, ½ credit in Physical Education and ½ credit in Army R.O.T.C. (Reserve Officer Training Corp). When I transferred to Illinois, I found I only needed ½ credit in English, ½ credit in Math but I needed 4 credits in Physical Education. Fortunately for me I enjoyed R.O.T.C. and attended a full year as an elective. I was allowed a waiver on my PE credits because of this or else I would have needed to participate in two PE classes in my senior year. As I look...
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...Micah Ballard Dispositions and Philosophy Paper Education 2010 Section 1 Charles Preston 4/25/11 Dispositions of a teacher are some of the most important topics we covered through the semester in Education 201. Teacher dispositions, if followed correctly, can be looked at as the prototypical teacher who can arrive at a school and not only help out the school, but also help of the children. The main dispositions of learning consist of the commitment to diversity, commitment to ethics, commitment to the teaching profession, and knowing the philosophies and theories of education. Throughout a semester of a number of speakers, class documents, and Martin Haberman’s Star Teachers, I feel like I have learned how important these dispositions truly are for the success of a teacher and what I need to work on to better myself to become a true star educator. The first disposition of teaching is the commitment to diversity. Commitment to diversity is a strong point of mine because I have first handedly seen the benefits of diversity in the schools. In one hand I went to a middle school that was about 30% African American, 25% Hispanic, and 45% White. On the other hand I went to a high school that was almost 95% White, 4% African American, and 1% Hispanic. I feel like the students I went to school with in the diverse community had a more open mind about society in a whole which clearly made for better learning. I also observed that the teachers at the diverse school seemed to have...
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...OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS OF A SCIENCE TEACHER’S STRATEGY IN TEACHING A Case Study Presented to Dr. Evangeline S. Cuenca MSU – ISED, Graduate School In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Course SE 200 (Historical and Philosophical Foundations in Science) March 11, 2011 INTRODUCTION Philosophy of science is part of the fabric of science teaching. Whenever science is taught, philosophy, to some degree, is also taught. Minimally, the teacher’s own epistemology, or conception of science, is conveyed to students and contributes to the image of science that they develop in class. Science education is enriched, and is more faithful to its subject, if aspects of the interesting and complex interplay of science and philosophy can be conveyed in the classroom. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, in its proposal for the reform of college science teaching, The Liberal Art of Science, recognises this: The teaching of science must explore the interplay between science and the intellectual and cultural traditions in which it is firmly embedded. Science has a history that can demonstrate the relationship between science and the wider world of ideas and can illuminate contemporary issues. (AAAS 1990, p: xiv) There are various ways in which the interplay between science and philosophy can be conveyed; reading of selections from original sources; joint projects with history...
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...CURRENT PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 1 Current Personal Classroom Management Plan Grand Canyon University EDU 536 November 6, 2013 CURRENT PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY Current Personal Classroom Management Plan As professional educators we have a responsibility to practice good classroom management. It is important to have a plan to be organized. We must organize our material, time, classroom, and students so we can ensure the student practices effective learning in the classroom (GCU EDU-536 Lecture, 2013). Canter (2006) said “Teachers who master effective classroom management skills can raise the achievement of their students by a dramatic 20 percentile points”. As a teacher, if we use great classroom management skills we can better guide our students. Classroom management is key to student success. The structure of classroom 2 management influences a students goal and achievement (Self-Brown and Mathews, 2003). It promotes a learning environment with minimal distractions and minimal student misbehavior. Managing our classroom appropriately we can teach our material effectively and promote student engagement, achievement, and effective learning. All of these ideas should be exercised from day 1 of class; especially classroom management and student engagement. They are the two most important ideas (GCU EDU 536 Lecture, 2013). Classroom management can be observed in how a teacher acts, how a student behaves, what the classroom looks and feels like, how a teacher assists a student...
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...tells them and what their parents tell them. People are looking for truth and will believe what people tell them until it can no longer be proven. For the Christian educator as for Thomas Aquinas, any truth discovered in God’s world is God’s truth, so it is proper to give a prominent place in a Christian curriculum to the study of the natural sciences (Braley 27). Teachers need to determine wheather the subject matter being taught is the most important part of instruction or if developing character and/or well-being of the child is the most important factor (Dunn7). A caring and nurturing attitude towards students is most important. There is a clear distinction between knowledge and mere opinion or belief (Dunn 8). Education...
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...THE VALIDATION OF A STUDENT SURVEY ON TEACHER PRACTICE By Ryan Thomas Balch Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Leadership and Policy Studies August, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor David S. Cordray Professor Matthew G. Springer Professor Mimi Engel Professor Mark Berends Though there is widespread evidence that teachers matter, a more challenging problem exists in attempting to measure teacher effectiveness. It can be argued that student feedback is an important consideration in any teacher evaluation system as students have the most contact with teachers and are the direct consumers of a teacher’s service. The current paper outlines the development and preliminary validation of a student survey on teacher practice. Using data from a large-scale pilot in Georgia, the analysis finds that teacher scores on a student survey have a positive and marginally significant relationship to value-added estimates of teacher effects on student achievement. Further, there is a strong link between teacher scores and measures of academic student engagement and student self-efficacy. Finally, the paper investigates policy related issues that are pertinent to implementing student surveys as a component of teacher evaluation. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to those who directly supported...
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...INDIAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND PEDAGOGY: AN ESSENTIAL PROPOSITION Prof. N.B. Biswas1 Epistemology and pedagogy both the concepts are philosophical in its origin. The present century demands an integrated teacher who can shape the inner potentiality of a learner through an integrated approach of knowledge of the content area and of the philosophy of teaching. Since, India won Independence; attempt has been made to formulate a national education policy. It has been essential to evolve an Indian philosophy of education in the light of the tradition and culture upheld by Swami Vivekananda, Rabindra Nath Tagore, M. K. Gandhi, Sri Aurobinda and others. Every nation needs an educational philosophy for building up a sound system of education. India has passed through various stages of development during different periods. Since Brahmanistic education it has followed the monastic scholastic, realistic, idealistic and pragmatic trends when values changed and new priorities emerged. India is a land where values have emerged and influenced the cultural life of the land. The cross-cultural studies of modern values show an increasing tendency towards materialistic and self-centered outlook. The world in which we live today is shrinking every day, but every nation is busy in building a wall of prejudice. This is why we need to develop an Indian Philosophy of Education. Since 1944 and uptil now about 150 philosophical studies have been carried out on education, out of which only 10 studies...
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...Personal Educational Philosophy Statement Deborah Castel University of West Florida Personal Educational Philosophy Statement People have many different views and ideas of what they see the purpose of education is and forming a philosophy of education is not as simple as it might sound. The purpose of education is to teach and expose students to knowledge. Developing a personal philosophy of education is important because it guides your instructional decisions and can provide stability, continuity, and long term guidance as a professional. There is not just one statement that defines the purpose of education and it isn't limited to just what one thinks. It is my belief that the purpose of education is not merely to teach students what our school districts what us to teach so they can pass these state and federal tests, but to ignite the minds of every child to be creative and analytical thinkers; to assist students in developing critical thinking skills and the value of reasoning for themselves; to develop a student's desire and ability to think and learn about the world around them; to teach and guide them in learning how to develop successful relationships that will enable them to work with their peers not only throughout their school years, but in life itself. The majority of learning does not really begin within the classroom, when a child enters school for the very first time. Many of life’s most important lessons are learned from our family members, from the communities...
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...California, Irvine This paper was published in the Journal of Research on Computing in Education. The citation for it is: Dexter, S., Anderson, R. E., & Becker, H. J. (1999). Teachers’ views of computers as catalysts for changes in their teaching practice. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 31 (3), 221239. Abstract: In this study we examined the use of computers by teachers in their instructional practices and their perception of the impact of computers on changes they have made to their classroom practice. These data draw from 47 teachers from 20 K-12 schools across 3 states who each completed a questionnaire, participated in 3 semi-structured interviews, and allowed 3 observations of their classroom. The teachers who had adopted more progressive teaching practices over time felt computers helped them change but they did not acknowledge computers as the catalyst for change. Instead, they cited catalysts that included: reflection upon experience, classes taken, and the context or culture of the school. We conclude that in order for teachers to implement the use of educational technology in a constructivist manner, they must have opportunities to construct pedagogical knowledge in a supportive climate. Research funded by the program of Research on Education Policy and Practice at the National Science Foundation and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. NSF Grant # REC-9600614 Teachers’ views of computers as catalysts 2 ...
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...Education Philosophy Position Final Paper Michele A. Williams 2012 Educ. 305-D04 LUO As postmodern educators feel their way through an ever changing multicultural classroom environment, it is imperative that each hold firmly to their philosophical positions and do not let society influence them in a negative way. At the same time all teachers should be continually reflecting inwardly to make oneself accountable to their profession. Teachers have a great responsibility to see that every child in their care receive and education based on truth. This only can be achieved by understanding that absolute truth exists. There is a great debate in this country as to whether absolute truth exists. To make that statement that there is no absolute truth is completely illogical. There are indeed absolute realities and standards that define what is true and what is not. Therefore, actions can be deemed right or wrong by how each compares to those absolute standards. Educators have the ability to share the absolute truth to their students in many areas of study. Christian educators believe the Bible when it says that Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” and that He is the ultimate manifestation of truth and the only way one can get to heaven (John 14:6). Another example of the existence of absolute truth is found in the human conscience, that feeling within them that tells them that things should be a certain way that some things are just wrong. In the Holy Bible, book of Romans...
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