Teaching Methods in the Field of Education

Teaching Methods In the field of education there are many aspects that teachers have to understand in order to be effective educators. The current essay will compare and contrast the terms philosophy, ideology, and theory applied to the teaching profession. Philosophy is defined as all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts, the sciences and liberal arts exclusive of medicine law and theology.

(Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.) Considering the definition how does philosophy apply to the teaching profession? As educators one has the task of teaching subject matter to his or her students. Philosophy encompasses all learning exclusive of those mentioned above, therefore it is easy to state that philosophy and the teaching profession goes hand in hand. Teachers teach content to a student; the student is learning the content that the teacher is teaching them, it is equilibrium; one could question if teaching could exist without the role of philosophy.

Heyting, Lenzen & White (2001), explain that the philosophy of education cannot simply be reduced to a technical knowhow. It was also stated that the history of philosophy demonstrates an uninterrupted concern for systematic issues, which in turn results in questions of how to do philosophy. Firstly, a methodical approach should ascertain verifiable truth of the results of its application. Because philosophers - unlike empirical researchers - are not inclined to simply adopt a specific view of what 'true knowledge' entails, they tend to relate methodological considerations to fundamental epistemological questions.

Therefore, differing opinions on methodological issues, and consequently a plurality of methods, seem to be unavoidable. (Heyting, Lenzen, & White, 2001, p. 1) Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Ideology as visionary theorizing, a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture; a manner or the content of thinking characteristics of an individual, group, or culture.(Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.) Regan (2002) helps clarify and explain the question of ideology through quoting the philosopher Richard Pratte.

The question of what is ideology is answered by stating that the term ideology has been obscured by diverse users, yet it is central to current discussions concerning economics and political programs as well as being fundamental to the understanding of the role and future of American public education. Ideology is a patterning of ideas or beliefs that characterize someone's thoughts.(p.

29) The role of the teacher/educator is to teach the student how to find the meaning in what they are learning, to go beyond the written word and apply what they have learned to real world situations. However, educators can only hope that students can make the real world connects, this is not something that is guaranteed through coursework, discussions, or exams.

Theory is defined as the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another; abstract thought or speculation; the general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a science, or an art; a belief, policy, or procedure proposed of followed as the basis of action. (Merriam-Webster Online, n.d., entry 1) Theory related to the teaching profession in several ways.

First when an educator is in school to learn the skills needed to teach there are theories that he or she must learn to apply to the classroom that they will be teaching. Once an educator has learned the skills necessary to make those applications they in turn must teach their students those same techniques to allow the learner.