Philosophy of Teaching

            When one thinks of traditional learning they usually associate this with direct instruction. The teacher stands in front of the class, reads from the text, perhaps the students review the material and then write a paper or do a worksheet that covers the information they should have gained from the lesson. This technique will help the students retain facts and definitions; but, it does not develop critical thinking skills or cognitive structure (i.e. schema) within them. Critical thinking skills are the key to helping students become life long learners.

            Architects can demonstrate how the foundation plays a crucial role in the stability of any structure. If you have a solid foundation and build from the ground up - you will be able to create something that can withstand time. The same principle applies to education. Using constructivism a teacher will build their lessons on what the students already know. Constructivism is a philosophy of education that needs to be applied along with direct instruction.

            Direct instruction is part of the foundation of any learning. It is how you establish procedures in the classroom. Setting up classroom rules, having board work already in place when the students enter the room, or having expectations of how students should be completing assignments are examples of how direct instruction will benefit the academics of your class.

            In order to engage all students in the class it is important to teach, as well as, model the lesson for your students. This can best be done through differentiated learning. When dealing with students, including those with special needs, a teacher must take all learning levels into consideration when designing their lesson plans. Combining direct instruction and constructivism can only work with the proper use of differentiated instruction. This will engage the students and insure their academic success.

            The constructivist theory is when student can assimilate what they are learning by being able to draw on previous knowledge to apply it to the lesson. This idea is the underlying concept to Jean Piaget’s philosophy of education known as “cognitive constructivism”. He believed that not only was assimilation (being able to apply what students have learned to the outside world) necessary for adaptation to the world around children, they also needed accommodation to apply the concepts they learned. Piaget taught that there were various stages of cognitive development and that not until the child was 11 years of age would they reach the “formal operational” stage where they would be able to take abstract concepts and make logical sense of them. Many people disagreed with Piaget’s structure of cognitive learning due to the strict guidelines and timeframe it followed and the fact that some students never fully reach the formal operational stage.

            Piaget’s predecessor Lev Vygotsky believed that most learning comes out of social interactions or “social constructivism”. Through his research he proved that children tested higher on material when they worked in collaboration, rather than in isolation. He applied this concept to children working with adults. Through adult engagement, Vygotsky claimed that the child would refine their thought process, making the overall experience more effective. Jerome Bruner took Vygotsky’s research and applied it to the classroom for developing best teaching practices. He gives us four major aspects to consider:

• All children have a predisposition to learning

• A body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be understood by the learner

• Consider the most effective sequence to present material

• Understand the pacing of rewards and consequence

Howard Gardner proposes that there are eight multiple ways that people think and learn in his Multiple Intelligence Theory. His claim is that we need to teach children in a variety of ways to accommodate the different learning styles in order for them to really grasp the material on a deeper level. Gardner contends that anyone can possess a variety of these styles and that the various styles should be used in teacher’s lesson planning, depending on the subject. The eight multiple intelligences are linguistics, logical mathematics, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. He also says that if we are to address the differing areas of multiple intelligence, we need to redefine our process of assessment to accommodate the various styles of learning.

 Bruner, Piaget and Vygotsky have roots in progressivism which was first introduced by John Dewey in the early 1900’s. Dewey was a firm believer in teaching children a curriculum that will benefit them through individual problem solving in order that they may become better citizens. This is often referred to as student-centered teaching. It is still a matter of debate today, I believe because it takes more work on the part of the teacher. The argument against this type of philosophy is that it lacks content by focusing on children’s interests and that predetermined knowledge is what should be taught in schools.

As I have shown through my brief summaries of the various approaches to teaching/learning - to be a highly effective teacher involves applying aspects from numerous theories. One of the ways that teachers can implement constructivism in their lesson planning in any diverse classroom is to use the Planning Pyramid approach. As seen in the diagram below - this is a three tiered model of planning based on the various levels of learning that the students are presently at. The teacher will identify what all students will learn, what most students will learn and what some students will learn.