Philosophies Regarding Ways of Teaching and Properly

¶ … philosophies regarding ways of teaching and properly inducing learning in students. Not all of these methodologies, however, are congruent with one another. Thus, it is best for a student of education, especially one who is preparing to enter the professional field as a teacher, to develop his or her own particular ideology regarding the style of teaching that he or she will attempt to incorporate. Doing so will not only draw from such an individual's own personal experience, but also from the knowledge and abundance of literature on this subject previously denoted by other noteworthy professionals within this field. By amalgamating these concepts, it is possible for a potential teacher to readily identify his or her core beliefs and translate them into a style of pedagogy which will ultimately provide benefits to students. After a careful consideration of my personal cosmology and worldview, as well as aspects of educational philosophy, instructional practice, diversity and relationships between instructors and their students, I posit the notion that I will utilize self-esteem-based teaching style that readily embraces diversity and fundamental biblical morals.

Worldview & Philosophy of Life

My personal worldview has been tremendously impacted by my belief in Christian attributes of kindness, compassion, and caring. Moreover, I subscribe to the belief that there is something of the divinity (Christ) in all people, which certainly influences the way they process information and ultimately learn. As such, I will attempt to utilize these facets of individuality to my advantage by attempting to embrace diversity and implementing a differentiated method of instruction as much as applicable. My particular value system is widely based on helping others; I think that doing so is what validates the existence of the individual. I would like for my students to internalize this value while learning, and recognize the fact that they are doing so to become self-sufficient and in turn help others. There is an innate beauty in helping others, and in granting those others the means to help more people.

Philosophy of Schools & Learning

In attempting to help my students by providing them access to a solid education and an appreciation for knowledge, I ascribe to the notion that each individual functions as a tabula rasa (Bunch, 1994, p. 175). Although I realize that students will bring their own experiences into whatever they encounter in life, I think that approaching the didactic process from this basis enables me to treat all students as individuals, respect diversity, and give them an equal opportunity to learn and grow accordingly. I am a firm adherent to the notion of positive reinforcement, and believe that encouragement and constructive criticism is the primary means by which students can enjoy the learning process and realize their part in it (Behav, 2006) -- that as a cog that must absorb knowledge so that they in turn can one day spread it.

Instructional Practice

I believe that I can best utilize positive reinforcement and utilize the fact that each student will start my class with a blank slate by utilizing the Socratic method as much as possible. I realize that this method may not be applicable for certain concepts for especially young learners. Still, I am convinced that by asking meaningful, leading questions (Sanford, 2003) I can get the entire class to benefit from the experiences and responses of the students as individuals by using this methodology. Furthermore, employing the Socratic method will grant me plenty of opportunity to reward students for insight, and to enable them to see that it is their input that is furthering our discussions and thus their learning. In this way, I will be able to utilize positive reinforcement that is instrumental to self-esteem.

Teacher-Learner Relationships

As my invocation of the Socratic method implies, I think the relationships between teacher and learner should be dynamic. I believe the teacher can learn from the student, and vice versa, and that students can learn from each other as well. However, I believe that this sort of dynamic teacher learner relationship only works best with the proper authority imputed to the pedagogue, and copious amounts of discipline restraining the learners from attempting to take advantage of such a relationship. Primarily, the role of the teacher is to encourage and bring about the learning of the students by using positive reinforcement and provoking thought among them about issues that are relevant to life.