My Teaching Philosophy

My perception of eduction is based on the premise that a teacher's main purpose is to help students excel and succeed. I want students to enjoy learning, and ignite a passion for knowledge that follows them throughout life. As teachers, we have to incorporate a greater variety of ways to instruct besides direct instruction, among these are peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and discovery learning. Bringing tactile experiences into the classroom is a technique I wish to explore, especially as a social studies teacher. I do not agree with teaching a curriculum geared totally towards Western culture. Such a mode of education can be seen as outdated due to the emergence of an ever-changing globally connected society. Learning has to be culturally diverse, and not just because it is politically correct. The fact is that our classrooms are culturally diverse. Learning should reflect who the learner is and become a tool to facilitate self-realization. Students should understand our globalized world better because it will be up to them to solve problems that threaten our interconnected world. Understanding different cultures, and how society has arrived to this point will be important to our future students.

My learning process is based on determining various ways to motivate students to become self-regulated and responsible for their learning. I want to encourage students to constantly assess how an activity is helping them gain understanding, while concomitantly incorporating technology. When students arrive at school from their homes, we as teachers are competing for their attention with televisions, games, cell phones, and internet. In the past, schools and classrooms may had been a more captivating place, but now we need to find more ways to engage the "net generation." Students need more technology, whether it be enhancing their computer skills with discovery learning and inquiry lessons or keeping their focus with SMARTboards and computers activities. I keep a list of web 2.0 tools that have been touted as optimal mediums for learning with technology. Preparing students for tomorrow and the technological world is a goal in which I wish to implement in my lesson planning.

Teaching is a science, and we as teachers must be able to think, act, and instruct scientifically. Our instructional decisions have to be based on empirically driven data that is well documented and proven to work effectively. We have to understand more thoroughly how the brain operates, and more importantly how the brain thinks. A classroom should be viewed as a laboratory where the experiment of learning is taking place, and if knowledge is not being attained, then other modes of instruction should be exhausted to make our experiment successful. Using various strategies to enhance memory, organization, and higher-order thinking should be the goals of our scientific experiment. Making students a part of our learning experiment is also in my tenets. They should understand the techniques that increases their brain power, and make each and ever learner a scientist in their own worlds.

Return of the Blog

I am continuing this blog in order to continue developing  my teaching skills.  After my first and second student-teaching placements, I have been thinking about some of the students I encountered and how I can better engage them in social studies.  I still come in contact with the same students when I substitute, and understanding their interests and their intellects is key to teaching in the constructivist method.  I want to be able to connect new information to old.  So what do they think about?  Where do their preconceptions come from?  

In one lesson that I taught while student teaching, I asked the students about their parents, and the jobs that they do.  It was a constructivist moment.  Children were learning about each other, and experiencing a whole gamut of alternate viewpoints.  I felt I was tapping into an emotional energy, and asked the students to realize how parents struggle to meet their needs. Next, I tried to get the students to imagine the government as almost like an extended family. It helps people in certain ways when they want.  It defends us from harm, and tries to look after our overall well-being. They seemed amused by this concept, but I tried to make them see things in a different light.  

Another method I used to make students think was to ask them if they had ever experienced oppression, or injustice in their lives.  I didn't get much of a reply.  They are young, and maybe they had not been exposed to such malevolence.  This intro was connected to slavery, and how the Constitution did not guarantee rights for those in bondage.  It was a difficult subject to teach.  I want to try to implement it again.  Some classes are not prone to talk about things as much. Still, that doesn't mean they are not thinking about their own experiences.  And that is my goal.   

Summary of the Summer--This is Hot!!!

Hello,

Now is the time to tell everyone what I learned in this course. I have spent many hours behind the computer, and learned so many things about teaching in a very short time. The internet is the place to go to keep up to date on education.  Computer based learning definitely requires perseverance. I learned that if there is a possibility that something will go wrong, then it will. Always have a backup plan! If you are going to present anything online, make sure you post it in several places on the Internet. Keep a record of all your passwords and nicknames on the computer, and please--"don't get aggravated." Remember Kenneth Robinson's video "Paradigm Shift;" the insignificance of our planet in relation to the size of the universe dwarfs any problems that we face in our microscopic lives. Besides that, Robinson truly believes that our education system is not fulfilling our society's needs. Our education system seems to be build on the premise of preparing our students to work in factories. But societies needs have changed and we need people that can think more creatively to solve the many problems that we face and will encounter in the future. I mention Robinson's critical assertions because I think that a main theme of our course was devoted to the need of our system to change, and change now.

In taking this course I realized that our school system is changing because our society is changing. We studied educational philosophies, and I realized that our old ways of schooling with a more authoritarian philosophy is not helping our students. We need to lean more towards student-centered learning. Newer philosophies such as humanism, and constructivism are pervading our schools, and for good reason. Kids are losing interest in education, and they need to be given an opportunity to make more decisions about their learning. New learning, in the constructivist perspective requires self-regulation and the building of conceptual structures through reflection and abstraction. Concept development and deep understanding is the foci.
This perspective is consistent with the constructivist tendency to explore multiple truths, representations, perspectives and realities.

As teachers, we need encourage more student initiated questions, independent thought, and interaction between students. In our more cliche methods, the goal of the learner was to regurgitate the accepted explanation. We need to make more of an impact and foster ingenuity and creativity. Technology is increasingly being touted as an optimal medium for the application of constructivist principles. And, the computer-based learning environment allows for student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content when needed. Other theories we studied were differentiated intruction, which I think goes hand and hand with constructivist theory. Differentiated instruction is formed around the precepts that
1. No two children are alike.
2. No two children learn in an identical way.
3. An enriched environment for one student is not enriched for another.
4. In the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves (constuct their own knowledge).
The most important thing about differentiation is the need to know the learners. Curricular goals may be similar for all students, however, methodologies employed in a classroom must be varied to suit the individual needs of all children. Consistent with constuctivism, differentiation allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for their learning, and also provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning. Here is four ways to differentiate:
1. Content--content can be described as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes we want children to learn. Differentiation in content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher cna identify the students strengths. Another way to differentiate content is simply to permit students to accelerate this rate of progress.
2. Process and Activities--Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts. Giving students alternate paths to manipulate the ideas is embedded in this concept. (Graphic organizers, maps, diagrams, or charts to allow them to display their comprehension of concepts is a good way to implement this idea).
3. The Product--Differentiating the product means varying the complexity of the product that students create to demonstrate mastery of concepts. Students working below grade level may have reduced performance expectations, while students above grade level may be asded to produce work that requires more advanced thinking. It is also motivating to offer a choice to students.
4. The Environment/Learning Style-- lighting/ posters / visual distrators/ seating / and mixing learning styles and multiple intelligences are key to differentiation.

A topic I was interested in deeply was the curriculum, and the factors that impact its design.  There are various form of curricula in schools all operating simultaneously.  One should come to the conclusion that learning is all connected.  Here are some ways of interpreting the vast elements of curriculum:

1. Explicit--courses offered, syllabi, tests given, materials used. 

2. Implicit--the "hidden curriculum" emerges incidentally from the interactions between the students and the physical.  For instance the building of social/ communication skills. 

3. Extracurricular or Cocurriculum--student activities, sports, clubs, students government, and the school newspaper. Encourages student self-esteem, and civic participation, improves race relations, and raises children's aspirations. 

Curricula throughout the nation are undergoing scrutiny and a major theme that I studied in depth was multiculturalism, and how to integrate it throughout the school.  "Global Education" investigates world topics that span national borders including conflict reduction and ecology. Global education is a growing curricular phenomenon.  Websites now available to students focus on international issues form child labor and animal migration to confronting intolerance and racism.  

Next focusing on technology was a important part of the learning process in this course.  Many new methods in education include the use of technology to enhance collaboration and communication in a world of gadgetry. Students are constantly ingrained in some sort of social networking, and finding ways to incorporate these tool in the education process should be a priority. Web 2.0 has many features; here are some:

                Web 2.0=

Student centered learning/ multi-sensory stimulation/ multi-path progression/ multi-media/ collaborative work/ information exchange/

Active/ exploratory/ inquiry based, critical thinking/ proactive/ planned/ authentic / real world/ 

Information=created --shared-- remixed-- repurposed-- repurposed--passed along. 

Vocabulary = images, video, multimedia, music, visual. 

Theses concepts were put to work on the "School of the Future" project, which I enjoyed tremendously.  There motto was "Infuse Technology anywhere, anytime." The school of the future project even insisted on integrating technology into the fabric of community life. Adult education programs, training courses, and community involvement to relay the importance a school has on the community. 

Change --The Slogan of the Century

For the last part of my dynamic summary of Nature of schools I will talk about change.  Again using Ken Robinson's video "Changing Paradigms"as a reference our present century will undergo the biggest changes in the history of civilization.  Many schools are not keeping up with public demands.  When change becomes necessary here's a way to implement your plan:

--Identify what it is in your control to change.

--Identify your options

--create a support system

--examine your attitude.

--Remain flexible

--give your self a break (for a little bit!)

--strive to achieve balance & perspective. 

The hardest thing to change is the hardening of attitudes. Take advice and don't take a setback personal. Confidence comes from conquering "fear of change."  Here are some more things to keep in mind.  We must convince ourselves to change from:

Being Closed    to  Being Open

Denying Feelings to Expressing Feelings

Being Defensive to Accepting Feedback

Convention  to Experimentation

Being Suspicious to Trusting others

Being Guarded to Being Spontaneous

Avoiding Conflict to Facing Conflict

Being Rigid to Being Flexible/ Sincere/ self-aware. 

Change is permeating every aspect of our society.  So what kind of challenges are we facing? What kinds of students are we teaching? Ladies and gentlemen, they are not the same today as when we grew up.  We have entered the "Knowledge Age."  

1. Every two -- three years our knowledge base doubles!

2. High-Schoolers have been exposed to more information than their grandparents have been in a lifetime!

3. More change is expected in the next 3 decades than in the last 3 centuries!

So what do our students need to be able to do?  Preparing them for a changing world requires that they are adaptable and able to handle information in an effective manner. 

They need to be able to speak well, write well, analyze. With information they should be able to validate, synthesize, gain leverage, communicate, and collaborate. Having our students familiarize themselves with technology to do these things will be important.  

Community Letter-Reaching Out.

Hello Friends, 

Here is my first attempt at writing a community letter regarding diversity in our towns, and cities.  

REMEMBER, JUST TAP THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT. 

Thank you, Ian. 

School of the Future

Greetings to class,

This is our group creation for our wk. III project.

This is my back-up (in case we can't raise this image on Thursday's online class). One needs "Inspiration" downloaded in order to view this on their home computer. Inspiration is a great program that creates the best graphic organizers in my opinion. Elementary teachers are probably more familiar with "Kidspiration" which is the sister program of "Inspiration." We combined our efforts on this program and this is what we came up with.

The school of the future is something to ponder. We are beginning to get a glimpse of what lies beyond "the painted veil" of future education.  Our country, and our world is changing. Watching the videos from "Innovations" was interesting.  Beginning with the U.S., we are changing from a industrial based economy into an information driven society. Manufacturing is going overseas, especially to powerhouses like China, and Singapore. And, even though many aspects of our educational system are viewed as inadequate, (especially math and science), the United States continues to hold a leading edge over the rest of the world. Can we actually attribute this to our dilapidated educational system? Perhaps we are doing something right after all. Many nations are trying to understand our educational system, and the creativity it fosters. Yong Jo, a speaker from "innovations" explains the concepts of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is more important than math or science scores.

I think it is obvious that our system does not need a complete overhaul. Still innovation and reform will have to be priorities to make sure that our communities remain competitive with the international arena. Companies will move to other countries if there is a chance to make money. America needs to adapt and lead the way in innovation (and education ). We have to find a way to remain indispensable in the global supply chain. I think that Americans have an advantage just growing up in the United States. For instance Chinese architects might have trouble building a new hotel or shopping mall because they've never seen one in real life. Many Chinese firms hire American architects because they have clearer visions of what a shopping mall should look like. Don't forget to give credit to our schools for keeping our people creative and competitive(thank you teachers!). Remember teachers are our "secret weapons" according to Dr. Michael Lomex president of UNCF. Still, don't rest on your laurels, our competitors are making strides everyday.

The Future is Technology.

Hi Cyberfriends,

It's time to pen (or type) a new blog entry.  I've added a picture of the moon to relay the idea that no human being has been beyond the moon (at least physically).  And it was forty years ago that Neil Armstrong first set foot on its barren surface. Technology has come a long way, and since the beginning of time, the moon was considered far out of the reach of man (and woman).  Things that were considered impossible are now general knowledge.  And its said by Nasa that the first people that will walk on Mars have already been born.  This is an interesting idea. Imagine if one of the students in our classes is one of them.  Technology is what will enable use to break our current boundaries, both in the solar system, and in the classroom. 

Technology must be used correctly to enable students to engage our future.  And, the problem with the future is that no one knows what it will look like.  As Kenneth Robinson mentioned in his talk on TED--"Do Schools Kill Creativity", no one know what our world will look like even 5 years from now.  How do we prepare our students for this unknown world?   I guess by making them versatile and adaptable to their environments.  Literacy is still a main component of education and always has been.  Whether its through books, newspapers, or computers people will still need to read in order to thrive in a new world.  As far as what I do with technology, I look at things on the internet and read, read, read.  The constant focus on math and science is irrelevant if a person doesn't have advanced reading skills.  And why should we focus on math and science?  Are they the only jobs that will be available in the future?

Another main argument that I've heard in education is the emphasis on getting computers in the classroom.  I really don't think it's that pressing.  Children have to learn to crawl before they walk.  Putting a child behind a computer screen, and individualizing their learning may not be the right method, especially for elementary.  What about the "implicit curriculum,"and teaching children social skills.  What happen to the days when kids went bowling, or played games together?  People are becoming more encased in their own worlds because of technology.  And I guess the counter-argument to that would be--we have to prepare students for the workplace.  However, I think that people with no computer background can generally catch on in a few weeks, or a few months.  We have to teach our students to learn.  If they become great learners, they can adjust to any environment.  

I think technology is naturally one more tool we can use to engender skill in literacy, math, science, etc.  Giving students different media to learn a topic in history/social studies will be a priority.  Whether it be a book, an overhead, a dvd, or an internet access.  I think that the way the system is with all the high-stakes testing constrains the kind of things we can do with computers.   An inquiry or student-centered lesson is hard to incorporate when teachers must teach a specific body of information in such a short span of time.  Computers are great investigative tools, especially when completing some sort of project.  As teacher, I guess having resources to direct students to should be a priority.  

Week II: The Constructivists Strike Back

Hello Again, 

I guess I'll start week II with a little architectural background.  I've included a picture of our high-school in Newburgh--NFA.  What's interesting about the schools in the city of Newburgh is they all face the Hudson River or East. There are different explanations why this is.  One reason is to "catch the first rays of light" in the morning.  I've heard others say that the Masons(a group whom many of our founding fathers belonged) had a hand in constructing the schools to face the East, and Egypt, where the first masters of architecture began with the building of the pyramids and other colossal projects.  It's interesting how our buildings mimic the past monuments in our history.  It reminds me that knowledge is transmitted through thousands of years of time.  

The knowledge and information that society passes down to us has a strong impact on how we think and act.  We learned about Social Constructivism, and the influence society has on the learner.  In our readings we are asked to question the nature of knowledge itself.  Is knowledge absolute, separate from the knower, and corresponding to a knowable, external reality, or is it constructed by and part of the knower and relative to the individual experience (Constructivism, from Philosophy to Practice)? I think that it is a little of both.  One does not invent their own language, and system of measurement and numerical representation.  Society and family impose or transmit their systems on people.  Still, for an individual, information has to be internalized before it becomes knowledge, and that's where  I see the principles of constructivism regain their validity.  Every person has different origins, and points of view that reappear when connecting to new knowledge.  For instance say I'm a Republican-Conservative-- I'm always going to see things from that point of view.  And when introduced to new issues and topics, I'm always going to try argue in favor of Conservatism.  The same thing would go if I was a liberal, or an anarchist.  We seem to construct our knowledge around different principles, whether they be religious, political, or cultural.  Still, I think that knowledge can be separated from the individual.  Whether that that individual exists or not the number 3 will always be the number 3.  And no individual is going to change that. 

Constructivism is a fascinating premise.  We must remember that our students are coming to our classes from multiple backgrounds and points of view.  Finding ways to reach 30 different people in one class is very challenging.  I think that's way teaching a recurrent body of knowledge is important.  If students learn on their own then why do we need schools?  Society may blight individuality, but when it comes down to it, society is the invention that has enabled our species to survive.  I think the nature of schools is to teach a pluralistic, multi-ethnic society to function together and in harmony (among other things).  Constructivism has many different outlooks and varieties. I agree with the premise that concept development and deep understanding is the focus.  Students have to take the initiative to develop deep understanding by "the building of conceptual structures" (Von Glaserfeld).  And I think that these "conceptual structures" are influenced by the individual and society.