Educational Philosophy

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Educational Philosophy

• The Enduring WHY
• or
• The BIG Understanding

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Go To Your Teachable Curriculum Document and
Transcribe the Mission and Goal Statements

• Put into practical language
• Use this document for goal reference
• (Toggle to pg 1 lecture notes-Ministry's
  Educational Philosophy

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Review the Literature

• Antecedent Foundations of Our Educational
  Philosophies
• Professionalism is based on (1) technical skill,
  (2) theoretical knowledge on which the skill is
  anchored, and (3) acceptance by a community of
  other professionals
• Transmission-Transaction-Transformation
  Educational Philosophy

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We have philosophies that tell us how to transfer
knowledge

• PEDAGOGIES ARE THE EDUCATIONAL TOOLS WE USE
• FOUNDATIONS ARE THE BASIC,IDENTIFIABLE
  CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUBJECT
• WE NEED THE RESEARCH TO HELP US CHOOSE

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The Science is in the Literature

• The Literature is the lifeblood of education.
  Ongoing research as evidenced in texts or
  periodicals is the process through which the
  profession refines and renews itself. Research,
  when properly conducted, makes predictions of
  performance outcomes, codifies pedagogy and
  evaluates the effectiveness of this pedagogy.
  This application of empirical method is the
  criterion that separates the technician from the
  professional.

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The SCIENCE

• We have used the knowledge base about teaching
  to identify and create models of teaching and
  learning that increase student capabilitywe
  succeed by helping our teachers inquire more
  powerfully into our common knowledge base, into
  their own learning, and into the learning of
  their students. (Joyce, Weil Calhoun, 2000)

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TRENDING

• In the 1920s, 1930s, and the 1940sschools had
  adopted the assembly line model as multipurpose,
  and multileveled classrooms that slowly gave way
  to discrete, but contiguous grade levelsby
  standardizing instruction time administrators
  could ensure that all rooms were being utilized
  efficiently (Taylor)

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Connecting Philosophy to Theory and Practice

• Philosophy-allows you to understand the how and
  the why classroom practice and school
  decision-making is influenced
• The primary (historical) balance is between more
  rigorous course study (content) and attention to
  the personal and emotional needs of the student.

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Our History

• In the 1920s, 1930s, and the 1940sschools
  adopted the assembly line model as multipurpose,
  and multileveled classrooms slowly gave way to
  discrete, but contiguous grade levelsby
  standardizing instruction time administrators
  could ensure that all rooms were being utilized
  efficiently

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• The pre-ordering of tasks, by managers for
  workers, is the most prominent single element in
  modern scientific management (Bobbett), 1918).
  An element that remains intrinsic to the lesson
  planning devices taught prospective teachers in
  their methods courses. It assumes the ends
  should be fixed prior to the implementation of
  means. Efficiency then is measured in terms of
  the number of specific ends achieved and the time
  needed for achievement.

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The Philosophers

• The language and thought of industrialism has
  permeated American social thought and school
  curriculum the learning model underlying the
  curriculum posited what Bruner (1973) calls a
  deficit hypothesis. This hypothesis
  Calvinist in tone assumes that humans by nature
  have deficits

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The Philosophers

• Piaget and Chomsky each stated that the primary
  emphasis in any competence model is not on
  deficits of being but on the powers of
  Becoming. Chomsky (1971) analyzedthe concept
  of grades is nothing but a device for expressing,
  indeed measuring, the performance deficit

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The Philosophers

• For Charters (1923), curriculum thought must
  emanate from a matching of ideals with
  activities. However, in practice, the industrial
  activities themselves became the ideals of
  educationEducation and Curriculum was now
  thoroughly grounded in the goals of industrial
  societys activities

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The Philosophers

• John Dewey sees educational ends arising within
  a process of experiential activity, with learning
  as a by-product of that activity Tyler sees
  educational ends set prior to experience, with
  learning as a specifically intended, directed,
  and controlled outcome one that can be
  measured. Post-modernism (Doll) curricular
  thought rejects this concept that knowledge can
  exist independent of the knower and further that
  this knowledge can be discovered and validated.
  In other words, educational goals cannot be
  separated from curricular goals and stated
  autonomously merely to satisfy the publics
  fearful concerns for uncertainty.

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• Ralph Tylers (1950s) foundations of curriculum
  planning (1) chosen purposes, (2) provided
  experiences, (3) effective organization, (4)
  evaluation - are modern/industrialist design
  applications, created to reduce fear of chaotic
  results by imposing control on the educational
  process (Doll) .

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Philosophy of Education

• An exploration of the historical development of
  educational perspectives will assist the teacher
  candidate in understanding the foundations upon
  which teaching practice has evolved. You will
  explore, reflect upon and critically analyze
  various educational philosophies. You will
  examine how these approaches to educational
  philosophy relate, complement, or challenge your
  own personal perspectives about teaching and
  learning. You will also reflect upon your
  evolving theories-in-use and to examine how these
  theories impact upon your teaching practices, or
  your praxis. This will help you begin to
  construct, reconstruct and explain your living
  personal philosophy of education.

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Critical Perspectives

• Critique - It is a conceit, which underlies our
  modernist concept of curriculum we only allow
  one type of knowing a rational, definitional
  knowing. Not appreciating the impact of learned
  language (Serres,) intuition, feelings and
  experiences (Descartes) (Newton).

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Critical Perspectives

• Donald Schon(1991) describes curriculum as
  technical rationality if it describes a
  learning process characterized by a linear,
  reductionist, scientific, and a taxonomic view
  of knowledge. He is describing the concept of
  practical knowledge as being no more than an
  application of theoretical knowledge. In his
  study of competent practitioners he finds
  emerging a reflective practice that is
  experientially based and is constantly being
  refined. (Sounds like rethinking Wiggins et
  al) He states that technical rationality is
  incomplete in that it can only address problem
  solving and not problem finding and
  problem-framing. Therefore, reflective practice
  is an emergent, post-modern epistemology.

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Critical Perspectives

• Critiquesciences simplistic and seductive
  allureStephen Gould (1981) the myopia of the
  modernists view of science came from the mistaken
  belief that physics is the ultimate science,
  and that by reducing all to physics and
  quantifiable causes, one is dealing with the
  principles underlying reality.

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Transmission-knowledge transfer philosophical
model

• Transmission the function of education is to
  transmit atomistic facts, skills and values to
  students using the appropriate pedagogy
  (expository, didactic, direct instruction
  techniques, i.e. lectures and recitation).
• Teaching strategies that are highly structured,
  repeatable and specific. . Lectures explain in a
  logical fashion proceeding from simple ideas to
  ideas.
• Students are motivated by extrinsic factors the
  teacher is in absolute control.
• Extrinsic motivators- report cards, curiosity
  empathy with teacher.
• Characteristics - Students have shared learning
  characteristics. Learning objectives are very
  specific content based byte-sized or right
  - sized for 40minute periods. (Fix, 02)

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Pedagogical Models

• Therefore The Concept Attainment model (Joyce
  et al, 1986) of teaching presents organized
  information over a wide range of areas. (Direct
  Didactic-DD)

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Pedagogical Models

• The Inductive Thinking (Ibid.) model persuades
  or induces students to find and organize data,
  create names for concepts and to explore new
  ways to gather, organize and test the validity of
  data and test the relationships amongst data.
  (hypotheses - ID)

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Pedagogical Models

• Guided Inquiry (Heuristics) engages students by
  through causal reasoningif A then B.therefore
  if B then only A etc (logic) (Socratic
  questioning) teaching the skills required for
  careful questioning, building concepts and
  hypotheses.

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Pedagogical Models

• Advanced Organizers provides a cognitive
  structure for the synthesis of lecture, readings
  and mixed media presentations.

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Pedagogical Models

• Memorization or mnemonic techniques

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Pedagogical Models

• Cognitive Developmental Model instruction is
  adjusted to the stage of maturity and then
  efforts are expended to increase the students
  rate of development.

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Pedagogical Models

• Scientific Inquiry teaching using the
  scientific method, using the foundations of the
  particular discipline and only the basic
  information relative to that discipline.

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Pedagogical Models

• Nondirective more or less using the teacher as
  a partner to clarify goals and develop research.

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Pedagogical Models

• Synectics creativity groups, thinking and
  acting outside the box, individual and
  cooperative learning is facilitated.

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Pedagogical Models

• Awareness Training induces reflection,
  interpersonal relationships, and self-image,
  experimentation or limited risks situations.

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Philosophers

• Plato
• Aristotle
• Socrates
• Mortimer Adler
• E.D. Hirsch
• Theodore Sizer
• Augustine
• Aquinas

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Philosophers

• Abelard
• William of Ockham
• Francis Bacon
• Descartes
• Newton
• John Locke
• Rousseau
• Maslow

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Readings

• W. Hare J. Portelli, (2003) Philosophic
  issues, Case Studies, and Teacher Education, in
  What to Do? Case Studies for Educators. pp1-16.
• Krishnamurti, J. (1981) Education and the
  Significance of Life, pp.9-16.
• Osbourne, K. (1999) A Guide to the Canadian
  School Debate, pp.3-27.
• R. Simon (1992) Teachers as Cultural
  Workers,pp.35-53.
• Dunn, Sheila G.(2005). Philosophical Foundations
  of Education.pp.155-249.

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Philosophers

• Friederich Froebel
• John Dewey
• Michel Foucault
• Thoreau
• Piaget
• Emerson
• Sartre
• Lev Vygostky