Here is my philosophy of education I most recently submitted:Education for today’s learner must be engaging, relevant to real life and be student centered. Students must be challenged to uncover information and solve problems that reveal learning. The teacher must work hard to craft learning experiences for students that motivate them to be self learners. Students may be working together with other students in their class, students in other classes, and/or students from around the world. The educator guides and facilitates learning to- ward identified learning goals. The educator of today’s learner must set high expectations for ALL students and believe that ALL students can learn.
That is the philosophy I have for educating today's learner, and I would suppose that my beliefs about the purpose of school must support it.
As my own children are approaching public school, I have been working to figure out just what I expect school to be for them. I want them to be great thinkers, great friends, great readers, questioners, respectful ~ all around great people. I know school isn't the only place for them to learn about life, but since they will be spending so much time there, of course I expect that school will do part of the job of preparing them for life. I believe our children deserve schools that respect them as people, encourage them as learners and support them to be the best they can be. School and education serve many purposes, but the one purpose I do not believe schools should make their focus is on producing workers. I am more interested in schools producing great and thoughtful people.
Schools must provide students with courses that combine learning into activities that are relevant to real life. When subjects are taught in isolation, students have difficulty determining not only how the subjects fit together, but how they fit into any of it. Coursework done through project based, problem based, and/or inquiry based learning exposes students to the subject area content in the context of real life.
Students, in my opinion, learn better when they can organize their learning by combining the learned information to make sense of the world and their place in it. Burrello explains that it is not just a matter of changing the structure and culture of schools, but rather there needs to be a shift in thinking. He writes, "...learners are actively engaged in constructing new knowledge that helps them make sense of the world around them." (p. 121) Educators must shift their thinking and focus on the needs of the learners and how to meet those needs through carefully planned and executed activities.
As an instructional technology specialist, I work with teachers every day to move them toward a shift in practice. Specifically with regard to technology use in education, teachers have seen technology as a way to produce a product. With the pressures of time and testing, teachers have difficulty realizing that the true place for technology is embedded in all that is happening when learning. The learning is in the process, not the product. Technology is an additional way to increase the depth of learning during the process of learning. When the focus is on the content and process, the product is the learning.
In the end, I was thrilled with Burrello's statement, "The purpose of education is to support and empower, challenge and inspire all learners to become members of a community that understands that learning is the key to the good life." (121-122)
Reference:
Burrello, L., C. (2001). Educating All Students Together. Corwin Press, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, CA
Assignment: What are your philosophical beliefs about the purpose of school, about what subjects should be taught, and about how students learn? How does your work demonstrate your belief?
Photo from the Great quotes about Learning and Change Flickr Group.
