Educational Philosophy

I have a passion for teaching, my passion comes from the love I have for learning and helping others do the same. I believe that doing this will only lead to a better life, a better future for those who choose to take part. It is important to have those who care teach, when we have those who care teach our children the classrooms would be filled with motivation and enthusiasm. Based on my educational philosophy, I am will perform more activities in the ranges of existentialism, progressivism and reconstruction/critical thinking theory.
Existentialism is the importance of individual responsibility. As I researched each category in which I fall highest under I realized how fairly accurate they can be. As I previously stated, existentialism is showing the kids independency. When a child is put to make their own decisions knowing with every action there will always be a reaction, the students will begin to feel as if they are the experts. Making a student feel this way can change their life. The reason I say this is because many students think “They” (those we never see only hear about on television) are the experts because they make all the decisions and determine what happens. When you allow the student to think for themselves and create their own leaderships they will then interact and react a lot more effectively. Reason they will react more effectively are because they want to “know what is going on” so that they are able to stand up and speak or correct someone when it is time.
Progressivism is allowing the student to relate classroom activities with real life experiences. This can be a very effective way in teaching a student. No matter how old the child is they can always learn from hands-on experiences. For instance, if I was teaching a lesson on solar power, given the proper materials, I would take the students outside and allow them to construct experiments with their solar panels. This will give them hands on experience of how it works and what it can be used for. Following this strategy allows the students to be engaged on hands on and outdoor activities versus staying in a cold room reading about it in a book.
Reconstruction/critical theory is taking reality and introducing it into the classroom. It is hard many times to follow this however; just like the others it is very effective. I believe that education starts with the outside walls of the school. When a child is driven to school and driven home ending the day at home, the child can be “Albert Einstein Jr.” and still not be very intelligent. It is not to say the child is uneducated or does not know how to read write or count, it just means they are lost on what goes on beyond the walls of school and outside the comfort of one’s own home. It is very important for the students to learn basic arithmetic etc. but it is equally crucial for them to be exposed to the world beyond the four walls. For instance, if you have two students from two different nationalities and exposure, you may run into a culture clash due to the lack of education on the world. What I mean by this is that when the child does not get exposed to reality (the fact that there is starvation happening, or kids killing others for their own survival) they may be able to understand why their county is such a melting pot beyond that, they may just appreciate the things they now take for granted!

Digital storytelling

A digital story is an online book of pictures which you narrate. Digital stories are a bit more hands on and interesting than just a power point or paperback book. It is an appealing way to create a story. For example, if you have a fourth grade class and you want them to construct a digital story on their own with minimum professional assistance, they will explore and open their creativity side of their brain. You would be surprised with the outcomes of the student’s digital stories. As one who has had the opportunity to work hands on with creating a digital story, I have been able to experience the fun creativity that goes on. Beyond this activity being fun, it is also a great educational example to the students showing them that they too can be a novelist in their own form. A simple story made with the new technologies today can mean a lot to one student. For example, imagine you had a class where your lesson was English based; you want to find a fun but educational way to get around teaching the students how to right sentences and create their own book or story without having to just right it on paper. With the digital story they will be able to first right it then illustrating and typing it up at the end. Once the work is done they are then able to keep the wonderful work they did and show it to their parents. A digital story gives the opportunity for both the teacher and the student to open up and use their thinking hats to create an amazing story. Beyond using the “digital story” for storytelling, this mechanism can also be used for presentations. For instance, if you were giving a presentation and wanted to get the crowd engaged you could simply move away from the traditional power points and narrate your own presentation. This would give the presenter space to be creative with not only his/her audience but also with his/her presentation. For instance, if he or she has a long day of presentations, they could narrate most of their presentation beforehand so that all they had to do is play their presentations with pre spoken narrations. A digital story is an online form of a story or presentation which can be utilized as a motivator for the students when they are learning how to write a story, they become the experts, they turn into the novelist!

Telecollaborative lesson

A telocollaborative lesson is a lesson in which is held online. Basically a telocollaborative lesson is an online educational project. It is very similar if not the same as any other lesson plan. The major differences is that the telocollaborative lesson consist of online communication and education versus the one on one “face to face” education (traditional). A great example of a telocollaborative lesson is an online course. Many people take online courses because it is most convenient. One does not have to attend a physical classroom anymore. Now it is possible for one to just sit in the comfort of one’s own home and join a classroom chat. This is the form of a telocollaborative lesson, a teacher sets up a curricular goal for the class to comply by, just as an objective, and the goal is intended to measure the students. The telocollaborative lesson helps to keep updated without needing to physically be present. The teacher can just create a syllabus; just as in a traditional classroom and have the students attend online sessions where everyone must attend a chat at a certain time. The lesson is not only intended to create online classrooms but also to create communication across the world. For instance, it is also used for business purposes. When one is holding up an online business and needs to communicate with the employees selling on their site, they can easily conduct an online meeting, they will telocollaborate. A telocollaborative lesson as I have stated above, is similar to a traditional course it contains very similar procedures as a behaviorist or constructivist plan. The main differences in the three plans are that a behaviorist plan is a traditional strict plan, a constructivist plan, is a active hand on plan, and lastly, a telocollaborative plan is a online course. Other than the positive aspects of a telocollaborative lesson as I have stated above, there are also a few down falls. Constructing a telecollaborative lesson takes away from the one on one time many need with the teacher. For instance, as a active and attentive student, though I try to do more than ninety percent of my assignments on my on most of the time I need that extra ten percent one on one with the professor. However, not everyone is the same but it still commits to one of the few negative aspects of constructing a telecollaborative lesson.

Cooperative/ collaborative learning

Cooperative/ collaborative learning is a process where the teacher assigns a groups and a project for each group to construct. In this project each student will have an individual grade but have to work as a group to complete the assignment. This allows the students to interact with others in the classroom. Beyond strengthening the student’s social skills, this activity also allows the students to share both their strengths and get assistance from their peers on their weaknesses. Constructing a cooperative/ collaborative learning assignment allows the student to open up and more so it allows the student to hold a responsibility. The student should be informed prior to the instructions of the group assignment that each student has their own individual responsibility to the group; if they fail to comply with the assignment they are not only hurting themselves but the students in their group. By informing the students of this ahead of time they will gain a larger interest because they are now aware that should they mess up, the students will then look down on him or her. Cooperative/ collaborative learning is a great way to teach and be taught. Many times in a group assignment the teacher asks each group to share what they have done to the teacher individually or the class entirely. When this is done the teacher will see that the student’s will sometimes share information he or she may not have known. In this assignment students hold on a great challenge, as I stated previously, these students are aware of the responsibility they hold therefore, they are given more of a challenge when they are completing their assignment. A collaborative lesson plan not only helps the student through the assignment with the assistance of classmates, it also assists the student with learning to deal with problems which may occur throughout the assignment just as in everyday life. For instance, if the group has five members and each member is designated to one specific subject (depending on the assignment), one member leaves the school, now there are only four members and the work from the fifth member is not complete. What will the group do? These are real life issues they will have to learn to deal with starting now. If they are able to work out the problem in a fair manner then they have learned how to be equal and work through last minute crises. Collaborative learning helps the student academically socialize in the class, help others with their strengths, get assistance with their weaknesses, learn to solve real life issues and plenty more! Collaborative learning is usually placed in a constructivist lesson. It is a great experience for both the student and the teacher. The student gets to move around and the teacher gets to see the students talents beyond their individual practice!

Inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-based learning correlates in many ways with a constructivist lesson plan. Inquiry-based learning is when the teacher does not allow his or herself to teach all day but also involves the student in the process as well. When the student is involved he or she may want more and more to understand what is going on so that when that student is asked a question he or she will be able to answer it and make their fellow classmates and the teacher proud. For example, a couple of months ago I invited the children from the Children’s Home Society of Florida (a shelter for abandon or neglected children) to Miami Dade College Wolfson campus for a night of “arts and crafts”. Because we had little to do in a large amount of time, I had to come up with an activity quick. I sat all the children in a circle, placed a chair on one end of the circle and instead of sitting in that chair and reading to them I asked that they read to each other. When the children realized how “cool” it was to be the one sitting on the chair doing the reading they were all ready to get called on so that they can read to the crowd. Even though many of them did not know how to read, they tried their best and the crowd helped them. Because I stepped back and allowed them to host the activity they were so excited and asked me if they can keep the books to read to the rest of the children at the shelter (the babies). Even though it was not a “lesson” or something panned, the children still learned that they, just as the teacher have a voice they can use. Most importantly, the children learned how to take turns and listen to their peers when they were reading because they knew they wanted their peers to give them the same silence and attention. That is just one small example of inquiry-based learning beyond the classroom, involving the child is key to keeping them interested. Just as children, adults like myself, feel sometimes like the teacher “has no one else to babble to so they do it in the classroom” and that can not only get boring but be a waste of time. However, if the teacher spends less time talking and instead allowing the children to talk they may just find the class a lot more interesting and choose to be more involved. INVOLVEMENT is the key to a successful class. Not keeping the student interested or involving them will just push them away or have them there physically but you would have lost them mentally the moment you spent more than fifty percent of your time in the class “teaching” (talking and not allowing room for the student to respond). As an educator one will be more than surprised to hear what their students have to say, who knows they may just teach you something one day!

Constructivist Lesson

Unlike many lesson plans, the constructivist lesson plan is structured to keep both the student and the teacher “on their toes” throughout the lesson. A constructivist lesson plan does not expect the student to have prior knowledge of what they are going to learn. Instead, it starts from scratch and allows space to construct several ways of learning. For instance, during a constructivist lesson plan, the student will engage in several different activities involving the same lesson such as, group activities, games, or even entire groups as a class. When the teacher teaches a constructivist lesson plan the students are a lot more engaged and in many cases learn a lot more. As a student in higher education I also like the constructivist lesson plan, in my opinion it is a lot more interesting, hands on and cooperative. Teaching a constructivist activity includes the following, the student is not expected to have prior knowledge on the subject, activities are constructed in several different ways, staying active and reflect, and most of all keep the students socially connected with their peers. It is important to keep a class full of students happy! One great way to do that is to switch the agenda up once in a while. I would assume that it would not be a great idea to hold a constructivist activity every class. However, if you learn to switch things up every so often, then the student will look forward to that activity because he or she knows it will be fun and engaging and the best part about it is that beyond the students getting involved, they are learning! Here is an example of a constructivist lesson plan, you have a classroom of second grade student, they are just learning how to add inches, feet, graphing etc. You bring in several different types of candy and distribute a little package which contains two cookies, one long twizzler, ten miniature Hershey kisses, and a small bag of M&M’s to each group. Now that you have coordinated your groups and distributed all of your candy you are now ready to begin the lesson. First, you assign a group leader, then you allow the leader of each group choose who will be in charge of what candy. At this point the children have created sub groups; now as the teacher you give them the work. On the board you will have two different projects, the first one will have the miniature heresy’s, they will measure the candy to find out that each candy equals one inch, then the next one- the M&M’s will create a bar graph on their different color M&M’s, lastly, the cookies and twizzlers will be measured and compared. Once each sub group has completed their mini project they will get back into their larger groups where they will discuss their results. Once they have shared their results each sub group will come up and present their results and experience. This will give the entire class a chance to compare their work with others, work together, socialize, and most importantly, in the end they would know how to measure, make comparisons or construct a bar graph. Finally, as a reward, the students will be allowed to discuss upon themselves who will get to take which candy home. This would conclude your constructivist activity!

Compare Behaviorist and Constructivist lesson plans

The behaviorist lesson plan and the constructivist lesson plan are set up in the same format but in many ways are different. Both plans are set up with a goal and intention to better the student’s knowledge of the content. However, they both have a form of planning. The behaviorist plan begins with an objective, a goal which is set out for the students to reach. The constructivist plan does not set any goal or expectation before the children are exposed to the material. I believe this here is the biggest and most important difference from the two. Besides the different forms of goal orienting, the two plans differ in examination as well, the behaviorist plan does not construct an examination for the student whereas, the constructivist plan examines the student before they begin the material so that the educator has a clearer picture of what level each student is currently on. I believe it is very important to incorporate examinations to determine what the child has learned or where they begin. Although I am a terrible test taker and do not do well when examinations come around, I still believe that an exam here and there will give the teacher the opportunity to know how their class is doing not just as a whole but also as an individual. In my opinion I believe that both plans have their pros and cons just as anything else would in this world. The behaviorist plan is great because the educator is able to incorporate several types of learning from individual practice to guided practice, independent practice ending at group practice. However, the plan does not include examinations; as I have stated previously, examination is one of the most important ways in determining the student’s progress as an individual. Constructivist plan is great because this plan requires an examination prior to the assignment so the teacher is aware of who is capable and who he or she may have to slow down for. As a student who was not always on the top, I appreciate the examinations which are considered by the teachers once the results come in because they are able to know what your greatness is and what your weaknesses are. For example, is a student enters a math class without prior math classes he or she is now behind the rest of the class. The teacher will never know this unless he or she takes into consideration a full examination. Otherwise, the teacher will fall under the impression that the student is just lazy or not concerned which many times is not the case. However, the constructivist plan does not include different types of learning; it is only concerned of the individual’s achievements independently. This runs into a major problem because not every student learns the same. When the student’s are only being exposed to one learning style then the student is being stripped from the opportunity of several different learning styles which may even be one which the student adapts to or learns better with.