What is a Learning Philosophy and why is it important to me?
When tasked with this assignment I needed to be able to establish and define my beliefs, learning styles, and teaching methods, but why? According to The University of Minnesota, Center for Learning Innovation, “it can serve as a means of professional growth as it requires you to give examples of how you enact your philosophy, thus requiring you to consider the degree to which your teaching is congruent with your beliefs” (2022). When I first began reflecting on my beliefs in education and the type of learner it allowed me to clearly define my WHY. Learning which theory or theories I align with can help inform my decisions, but “particularly important when addressing many of the requirements of a learner in a digital age” (Bates, 2019). The classroom I am teaching in today is not the same as when I was sitting in a classroom as a student. As I reflect on the type of learning and teaching that was happening in the 1980s and 1990s, I realize it was in line with Behaviorism Theory. Educators provided us with information while we sat and memorized and regurgitated what we learned in the form of a pass or fail system, with no room to extend our knowledge through our discussions with peers. There was little to no connection on how we could apply it to our everyday lives. The information was usually straight out of textbooks and we were not given the opportunity to show what we learned.
My goal for my students became clearer when our team created our Innovation Plan. Our Innovation plan reinforced my teaching and learning philosophy toward a Constructivism theory. If we are to prepare our students to compete and thrive in real-world settings, to be critical thinkers, and contribute to problem-solving ideas, we must provide them with a learning environment that mimics these goals. While creating my Learning Manifesto and my WHY statement, I gained a whole new level of understanding while igniting my passion to create significant learning environments (CSLE) through blended learning which will give students choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (COVA), and equip them for a 21st-century world. I believe that this will help me provide a more equitable learning environment for my students.
Beliefs in learning in general:
Today we have a vast amount of knowledge at our fingertips. With the help of technology as a learning tool and the internet, we can harness digital learning. I believe digital learning, in our classrooms, must continue to be a pathway to knowledge acquisition. “To develop competence in an area of learning, students must have both a deep foundation of factual knowledge and a strong conceptual framework” (Donovan et al., 1999). I believe blended learning can offer teachers and students the best of both worlds, personalized learning, and technology. By incorporating this student-centered learning model, while nurturing their creativity and motivating their passions, we move away from the traditional teacher-centered model. By focusing our attention on student needs we can personalize and differentiate lessons.
Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education
Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education is my belief, goal, and passion for every student that comes through our campus. My mission is to give students back their voice in learning and create an environment where both students and teachers can collaborate to increase student engagement, motivation, and academic growth by giving students choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (COVA) (Harapnuik et al., 2018). “Authenticity in learning design is central to creating learning opportunities for students from which they can benefit and upon which they can draw once they leave formal learning behind.” (Harrington et al., 2010).
I believe that when students have a wider range of learning they can acquire new skills to apply in real-world situations.
Along with my colleagues, Erika Peña and Ileana Reyna, we began researching and creating a blended learning model in order to increase engagement in the classroom and offer students flexibility and self-paced learning through adaptive programs. We want to give students the best opportunity to thrive at their own pace and to allow them choice and voice on how they share their ideas. Our goal is to continue to support all learners' unique needs, by providing them authentic opportunities to invest in their own learning. Blended learning, CSLE, and COVA allow students the freedom to choose their own way of learning and showcase what they have learned. We want to move away from memorization and providing information and put students in charge of their own learning with teacher guidance. By giving the power back to the learner, they will gain skills that will help them grow for the jobs of the future.
Beliefs about the relationship between teaching and learning:
I didn’t know it then, but my Kindergarten teacher had one of the biggest impacts on me and why I wanted to pursue education as a profession and my beliefs about learning. As I started to reflect on questions, such as sharing a favorite school memory or favorite teacher, I always reflected on my Kinder teacher, Mrs. Casas. When I was younger and in elementary, I had delayed speech. Mrs. Casas was always there as my champion. She made sure I knew, I mattered. She provided me with extra opportunities to build my self-esteem, asked me to assist in leading class activities, and helped me with my speech. She allowed me to flourish and love learning. I knew I wanted to provide that same nurturing support for other kids. I knew I wanted to serve my community by teaching and providing a safe learning environment where all students could focus on being kids, flourish and develop their talents.
I believe in building relationships with colleagues, students, and parents in order to build trusting and respectful relationships. This will then transfer into developing safe learning spaces on campus, and in the classroom and extend the learning at home. Collaboration with each of these entities builds a partnership and mutual respect for learning. As an educator we must spend time observing other teachers' classrooms, experienced or new, we all have talents and something valuable to share. We must borrow ideas and make them our own, ask questions, and make suggestions. Every day is a new day to try something new so be a risk-taker and step out of your comfort zone.
I believe in developing and strengthening my craft in teaching
Learning Theories:
After reflecting on my methods and style I align more with the Humanism and Constructivists theories more than others. I feel the importance of building relationships and trust to be at the forefront of any successful classroom community and student success. Every day you get to see students grow, share in their successes, ignite their passion for learning, build a classroom family, and be a part of theirs. believe without building the best lessons will not matter until students know they matter.
Unfortunately, we can not just eliminate the Behaviorist theory from schools. Many schools still rely heavily on basing student performance on a collection of test scores and grades, drilling skills, positive reinforcement, and reward systems. This system misses the target of preparing our students for real-world learning. If we were to take an in-depth look at servicing the personalized academic needs, then we can measure progress and not just ability.
References
Bates, T. (2019, March 18). Learning theories and online learning. Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/
Donovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D., & Pelligrino, J. W. (1999). How People Learn Bridging Research and Practice. NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9457/how-people-learn-bridging-research-and-practice
Harapnuik, D. (2021, November 10). Four keys to understanding learning theories. It’s About Learning- Creating Significant Learning Environments. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=6344
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning [eBook]. Creative Commons License. http://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.pdf
Harrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & York, R. O. (2010). A guide to authentic E-learning [electronic resource] / Jan Herrington, Thomas C. Reeves, Ron Oliver York: Routledge, 2010 [E-book]. Routledge.
University of Minnesota. (2022, April 12) Center for Educational Innovation, Writing your Teaching Philosophy. https://cei.umn.edu/writing-your-teaching-philosophy
Annotated Bibliography
The annotated bibliography is a culmination of resources I used as guidance for my Learning Philosophy but were not used as cited resources.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Dweck enlists the power of developing a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. She uses examples of how research has shown proven success when a growth mindset is adopted.
Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Horn and Staker explain how blended learning can transform learning. When blend learning is used online learning and in-person learning technology can become a powerful tool to personalize instruction.
Learning Project Team of HKU. (2018). What teachers should know about learning theories. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from
https://kb.edu.hku.hk/learning_theory_history/
The Learning Project Team revies the earning theories mostly used in philosophy, such as Behaviorism, Humanism, Cognitivism, Cognitive Constructivism, and Social Constructivism. Examples of each is provded.
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
Thomas and Brown tap into a new culture of learning that incorporates passion, imagination, and play in the learning environments
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