Educational Philosophy for Math Teacher

Educational Philosophy
An educational philosophy guides a teacher’s practice in the classroom since it is used for decision making. Creating an educational philosophy is an important part of becoming a teacher or educator. This is primarily because the philosophy provides the teacher’s vision of education and his/her teaching practice. Lewis (2019) states that an educational philosophy is a teacher’s personal statement that show his/her guiding principles on teaching. This personal statement conveys the teacher’s personal beliefs and thoughts about education. It plays an important role in the lives of many teachers or educators in relation to crafting teachings. This paper provides my personal philosophy of education based on my personal information, educational experience, the results of my philosophy survey, and theorists/philosophers.
Personal Philosophy of Education
My personal philosophy of education is based on the belief that students are ultimately responsible for their own learning and development. While learning is a by-product of complex interactions with different materials and professionals, students should take personal responsibility for their own learning. I believe that students should be empowered and encouraged to become active learners rather than passive learners as part of taking personal responsibility for their own learning. My belief that students are ultimately responsible for their own learning is shaped by my educational experience. Based on my experiences, I have found that students with improved performances and outcomes are those who take personal responsibility for their own learning. Throughout my journey as an educator, I have learned that by becoming active learners, students enhance their mastery of learning concepts and content, which becomes the premise for their academic success and achievements. Therefore, taking personal responsibility for one’s own learning promotes active learning and enhances academic success and achievements.
I also believe that teachers and students should be reflective in the teaching and learning processes in order to make them more meaningful. In this case, teachers should not only be competent regarding the content of their discipline, but also become knowledgeable on teaching and learning processes. This enables the teacher to adopt suitable classroom management strategies and take risks for improvements in teaching practice and for the benefit of all students. On the other hand, students should be reflective in their learning since it enhances their ability to master learning concepts and content. Through reflection, students enhance their understanding of learning materials and helps them to conduct further research on what they are learning. Additionally, reflection enhances students’ learning abilities as they strive to achieve better results or performances.
Philosophy Survey Results and Theorists
As an educator, I would like to be a math teacher. I find math to be an interested and necessary subject in everyday life. Math concepts are applied in nearly every facet of life since its linked to problem solving in real world. Moreover, math concepts and skills are the basis of critical thinking, which is regarded as an important 21st Century skill for all learners. Therefore, through learning math, students will understand how math skills are applicable to the real world beyond solving math problems on paper.
The development of my personal philosophy of education for teaching math entailed completing an educational philosophies self-assessment and identifying theorists or philosophers who inform my teaching practice. My highest score in the assessment indicated that my beliefs and attitudes toward education are influenced by Reconstructionism/Critical Theory, which is based on the idea that students learn better through experience rather than lecture (Simon, n.d.). Social reconstructionists believe that learning institutions should take the lead in reconstructing the society as part of developing a better world. Therefore, the role of schools in the society goes beyond simply transmitting knowledge and involves transforming the society. As a social reconstructionist, I believe that students learn better through experience instead of being told something. I believe that this is the premise with which students take personal responsibility for their own learning and embrace reflection as an important part of the learning process. Therefore, my teaching of math will entail providing students numerous opportunities to learn through experience. I will adopt practice-based experiential teaching strategy rather than simply using lecture method to teach. During this process, my role as a teacher will entail being a facilitator who guides students’ learning instead of being a dispenser of information or knowledge.
Since my highest score in the self-assessment was Reconstructionism/Critical Theory, one of the theorists or philosophers who influence my philosophy of education is Theodore Brameld, the founder of social reconstructionism. This theory was created based on his belief that education plays an important role in molding human beings into a united and compassionate society (Brameld, 2008). The second theorist who has influenced my philosophy of education is Paulo Freire who viewed teaching and learning as processes of inquiry through which the student must invent and reinvent the world (Latriz, 2016). Based on this view, I believe that through taking personal responsibility for their own learning and embracing reflection, students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills that they can utilize to invent and reinvent the world. I believe that changing the society for the better though molding people is the ultimate goal of education. My personal philosophy of education has also been influenced by George Counts who advocated for social reconstructionism. This educational theorist or philosopher viewed education as a means for preparing students to create a better world and a new social order.
References
Brameld, T. (2008, January 30). Reconstructionism as Radical Philosophy of Education: A Reappraisal. The Educational Forum, 47(1), 67-76.
Latriz, C. (2016, May 12). Reconstructionism. Retrieved April 29, 2019, from https://www.slideshare.net/CarloLatriz/reconstructionism-61949112
Lewis, B. (2019, March 22). 10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Design Your Educational Philosophy. Retrieved April 29, 2019, from https://www.thoughtco.com/design-your-educational-philosophy-2081733
Simon, L. (n.d.). Reconstructionism. Retrieved from Elon University website: http://facstaff.elon.edu/simonl/Rec.doc