Philosophy of Teaching and Learning Educational Psychology - Section X St. Thomas University Professor S. Wood Amanda Schriver
Schriver 2 As a future teacher I have many theories of what teaching and learning should look like, however, it is important to be able to have an open mind on new possible teaching and learning methods. Upon completing my first internship at Priestman Street School and completing the Educational Psychology course I have strengthened my previous views and have also gained new ones as well. Both these experiences have made me discover the importance of many small things that I had never thought of before; these small things included the importance of structure, authority, student motivation, and classroom management. Structure is a very important thing in creating an effective learning environment, but sometimes too much structure can have more negative effects than positive ones. During my internship I found that my cooperating teacher had a very structured system in her classroom, but there were times when I felt the students could have managed with less. The activities and assignments my students completed were very structured, and with subjects like Literacy and Math a lot of structure is needed at such an early age because they are still somewhat unfamiliar with the subject matter. However, during the times when my teacher had them complete art projects I found that she gave too much structure on how to create the crafts and activities. This allowed little room for the students own creativity to come out. I agree with Piaget s Cognitive Theory when it discusses that it is important for teachers to demonstrate expectations to students, but they should also be able to form their own schemas and ways of thinking throughout the learning process (Woolfolk, Winne, Perry, N. E. & Shapka, 2009, pp. 31-41). I believe that students should have the freedom to complete a task more ways than one and develop their own ways of learning and discovering new ideas. Students will benefit by learning in their own style and producing their own work rather than a copy of what the teacher has produced. Therefore,
Schriver 3 although structure is important in some subject areas, there are moments when a bit more flexibility may be more beneficial. My classroom during my internship also had a very structured set of rules and routines. The students were very good at following these routines and rules, and I think it is because my cooperating stresses them so much. I believe it is highly important to have a good structured set of rules and routines; however, I think it is also important to collaborate with the children in creating these routines and rules. Collaboration is important in Vygotsky has a very social constructivist view on learning and believes that collaboration is very important to children to gain new knowledge (Vygotsky, 1978). I agree completely with Vygotsky on this and think that collaboration is very important when creating a communal and positive learning environment. The more involved the students are in creating the rules the more apt they are to follow them and agree with them. I don t believe my teacher collaborated with her students when developing the rules and routines, but overall the routines and rules are generally successfully followed by the students. In my past educational experiences I do not recall the teachers collaborating much with us regarding rules and routines of the classroom; however, when I have my own classroom I would like to collaborate when creating the rules and routines and help to build a strongly structured set of each. Another important aspect of the classroom is the roles of the teacher and the learners. I believe that it is important for students to be able to have a voice in the classroom. Students opinions and ideas need to be heard in order to have an effective learning environment. The teacher s role should be to teach and guide the students and offer help when it is required. Vygotsky s theory of scaffolding states that students should be provided with individualized support that allows them to build on prior knowledge as well as create new ideas (Vygotsky,
Schriver 4 1978). When a teacher serves as a facilitator rather than an instructor they allow the child to develop their own ideas and they are there to support them individually and teach them as individuals rather than as a whole group. Prensky also discusses the idea of the changing paradigm of education. The changing paradigm is the idea that education should be preparing students for their future and allowing them to follow their interests (Prensky, 2007). This allows them to learn things that will be applicable to them in later life and allows them to share their views along the way (Prensky, 2007). It is important for teachers to treat and teach each student as an individual in a way that it going to be most beneficial to them. When students have the chance to voice their own ideas and opinions it allows them to develop a sense of self and build on their creativity. When teachers share the stage with the students in the classroom it helps to build a stronger sense of community in the classroom. The more students have a chance to talk and discuss things among one another the more comfortable and confident they will become in the classroom. Throughout the Educational Psychology course we studied a variety of constructivist theories and I believe that Doolittle does a great job at compiling these. Constructivism is the theory that knowledge is constructed through one s own beliefs and experiences. The theories she includes are cognitive, radical and social. Cognitive constructivism emphasizes the idea of knowledge being developed through mental constructions of reality. Radical constructivism emphasize that knowledge is being developed experience and realism. Lastly, social constructivism emphasizes that knowledge is based through social interactions and social expectations. It is important for teachers and students to understand their expectations and I believe that a teacher is effective if they teach students individually in a way that is beneficial to all. Doolittle
Schriver 5 (1999) created a common constructivist pedagogy that lists important points that relate to how a teacher can effectively teach, guide and assess students. I strongly agree with Doolittle s points in this article and believe that it is something important for present and future teachers to take into consideration. The first point that Doolittle (1999) discusses states that, Learning should take place in authentic and real-world environments, this means that students should build knowledge by relating the material to real-world situations and events. If material is relatable the students have a higher chance of understanding and remembering it. This idea leads into another point that Doolittle (1999) makes when stating that, Content and skills should be made relevant to the learner, material will be more interesting for students if it s relevant to their interests. If a student enjoys a particular subject or activity they should be able to build on that while developing new knowledge. Doolittle (1999) also states that, Learning should involve social negotiation and mediation. This point is very important and means that students need to develop knowledge through social interaction. The ability to perform in a social setting is very important to many careers and also teaches students to learn through other perspectives while developing their own. This relates back to the idea of letting students have their own voice, when students have developed their own voice they can more confidently share their views and ideas with others, therefore, helping to build a community in the classroom that includes a variety of perspectives of individuals rather than just the teacher s perspective. Doolittle (1999) makes the point that Students should be encouraged to become selfregulatory, self-mediated and self-aware. This is an idea that can be related back to Kohn and the importance of motivating students. Students need to be motivated to achieve at their fullest potential, however, Kohn says that there are wrong and right ways to go about this. I agree with Kohn that the students should not be motivated for a grade, but should be motivated because they
Schriver 6 are interested and enjoy what they are doing. Kohn suggests that teachers should praise the students work and not necessarily the student s abilities (Kohn, 1993) Kohn (1993) states that if you reward student behaviour it will lead to the student losing interest in the actual material and focus on the reward whether it is a good grade, praise or a something physical like stickers or candy for example. However, the problem with Kohn s ideas is that they are very idealistic and are not necessarily able to be applied to the real-world. Sometimes students need rewards for doing well to keep their motivation up and their confidence. It is unrealistic to never reward a child for doing something great; however, the teacher should try to emphasize the quality of work and praise the work and not specifically the child. Kohn (1993) also discusses punishment and how punishing students will only have temporary results. Although this may be true in some circumstances, elementary students need discipline and sometimes this requires punishment to some extent. Young children have not fully developed the sense of right and wrong so when something unacceptable is done they should know that it will not be tolerated. However, like rewards, punishment should be focused on the act that is being punished and not the student. A teacher should never belittle a student for something they have done. Instead the teacher should focus on teaching the child the consequences of their actions. I can recall from my experiences in High school that when a teacher punished students it never had a long lasting effect on them. The students who got suspended would be suspended again later in the year and most of them enjoyed being suspended because it meant they didn t have to come to school. However, with elementary it is a bit different because it is rare for a child to be suspended, they would most likely be punished by having to miss their recess, which for some students is devastating but for others they really do not mind. In my internship at Priestman Street School we had one student who had to stay in at recess a couple times for misbehaving and he really did not seem to mind it
Schriver 7 because he did not like going out at recess anyway. Therefore, this form of punishment did not have much of an effect on him. Another important aspect in the classroom is the environment, both physical and emotional. The physical environment of a classroom should be well organized, clean and welcoming. My classroom at Priestman Street School excelled in the physical environment aspect. My teacher had an amazing classroom; it was well organized and well taken care of. I discovered many ways to organize and decorate a classroom effectively. The resources available to the students were endless and easy to access and this is very important. The emotional environment of a classroom is also very important when creating an effective learning community. I want my students to feel safe and comfortable in my classroom. I think it s important to make your classroom feel like a community where students can come and be themselves and not be afraid of being embarrassed, criticized or feeling inferior. There were times in my internship when I had to deal with emotional problems in the classroom where some students were saying they didn t like another. When this happens in the classroom the teacher needs to explain to them that in the classroom we are all friends and being mean to one another will not be tolerated. My cooperating teacher defines herself as a strict teacher, but also as very loving. I am a very caring person myself and I respected these qualities in her. I found it hard to find the strict part of me because I am not one to raise my voice and nobody wants to be known as the mean teacher. Eventually I began to discover my own teacher voice and the students began to gain more respect for my as an authority figure. When creating a positive emotional environment for students teachers must also consider gender, culture and religion. Sadker (2002) discusses many important aspects of gender in the
Schriver 8 classroom. As teachers we need to be aware of gender biases and try to avoid falling into the typical stereotyping that is associated with gender (Sadker, 2002). It is important to stay gender neutral in the classroom and treat each child equally regardless of their gender. During my internship I did notice that my teacher had some gender biases, but they did not seem to have a negative impact on the children. In high school I can remember many times when females and males were compared and treated differently. These gender biases were highly prevalent in physical education classes. There were higher expectations for the males in physical endurance than there was for the females. At times this made me feel inferior which makes my opinions on the topic of gender even stronger. Culture and religion are also topics that we need to be aware of in the classroom. Many classrooms are becoming more and more diverse as far as culture, race and religion go, what was once the majority is now becoming a minority in some areas (Nieto, 1999). As mentioned before, as teachers, we need to make the learning environment as communal and welcoming as possible for everyone. It is important to understand and respect individuals beliefs and practices inside the classroom. If students have problems in particular areas due to a language barrier it is important for teachers to find help and focus on how their strong skills can be related and beneficial to their weaker ones. For instance if a student is having difficulty writing or reading English, but is very strong in math you can incorporate practicing their English into math by giving written or oral word math problems. Every teacher has unique views of how they think an effective classroom should look and I believe that my views have been strengthened in regards to my first internship and the Educational Psychology class. I feel as though I have learned a lot about how to be an effective teacher. I am also willing to try new things and therefore am interested in learning about others
Schriver 9 new and old. However being the perfect teacher in every area is very idealistic, therefore, it is important for new teachers to build one step at a time working up to creating the perfect learning experience that is most beneficial for all students. What works for one teacher may not always work for another and it is important for every teacher to develop their own views and own ideas as long as they are the most effective ones for the students.
Schriver 10 References Doolittle, P. (1999). Contructivism and online education. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. http://edpsychserver.ed.vt.edu/tohe/text/doo2.pdf Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards. New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Company, (pp. 49-67). Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes. Creating multicultural learning communities. NY: Teachers College Press. Prensky, M. (2007). Changing paradigms: From being taught to learning on your own with guidance. Educational Psychoology, July/August. Sadker, D. (2002). An educator s primer on the gender war. Phi Delta Kappan, 48(3) 235-240. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Woolfolk, A. E., Winne, P. H., Perry, N. E. & Shapka, J. (2009) (4 th Can. Ed.) Educational Psychology. New York: Pearson.
Schriver 11 Educational Psychology Philosophy Summary As a future teacher I have many theories of what teaching and learning should look like, however, it is important to be able to have an open mind on new possible teaching and learning methods. I have discovered the importance of many small things that I had never thought of before; these small things included the importance of structure, authority, student motivation, and classroom management. Structure is a very important thing in creating an effective learning environment, but sometimes too much structure can have more negative effects than positive ones. It is important for teachers to demonstrate expectations to students, but they should also be able to form their own schemas and ways of thinking throughout the learning process. I believe that students should have the freedom to complete a task more ways than one and develop their own ways of learning and discovering new ideas. Students will benefit by learning in their own style and producing their own work rather than a copy of what the teacher has produced. I also believe it is highly important to have a good structured set of rules and routines; however, I think it is also important to collaborate with the children in creating these routines and rules. The more involved the students are in creating the rules the more apt they are to follow them and agree with them. Another aspect that I find important is for students to be able to have a voice in the classroom. This can happen when the teacher steps back from being an instructor into the role of being more of a facilitator. When a teacher serves as a facilitator rather than an instructor they allow the child to develop their own ideas and they are there to support them individually and teach them as individuals rather than as a whole group.
Schriver 12 It is also important to me that students are motivated and excited to learn for the right reasons. The right reasons involve the students wanting to develop new skills and knowledge and also build on prior knowledge. To motivate students you have to reward their work rather than rewarding them personally. This can be done simply by finding things in every task they do that are both good and bad. An example would be I really like your ideas here, but how could you expand on them?. It is very important to create a classroom with a positive emotional environment. When students are comfortable and confident they have a better chance of succeeding. To do this the classroom must be free from gender, cultural, racial and religious biases. The teacher must teach to all students individually in a way that is most beneficial to them. Overall there are many important aspects to creating the best learning environment and experience for students. The most important thing is to have an open mind and be open to trying something new even if it may be out of your comfort zone. Students are learning, but we as teachers are also learning new things every day about how to become better educators.