Kristina Pantoja ED 310 10 October 24, 2012 Philosophy of Education On Learning As a future educator, I believe that each child

is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited (Plutarch). Each child has an innate curiosity about the world around them and it is my job as an educator to share with them the wonders of our world through education. I hope to further ignite each childs curiosities and give them resources and tools to help them reach their full academic potential so that they may continue to ask questions and explore. I believe that learning is not an action in which information is transferred from the teacher to the student. Rather, I believe that each child has a desire to learn more about the world around because of their curiosities of things unknown. As humans, we desire to know the unknown, thus leading us to be educated. Through education, knowledge is acquired. Children cannot learn if the action is passive and dry, but instead they learn when their curiosities lead them to a new discovery in which they can build on. When building on knowledge, the level of learning and understanding changes. According to Blooms Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain, learning moves up on a scale from being able to simply recall or recognize facts to more complex and abstract mental thinking levels. The domains move from knowledge all the way to evaluation/creation. Children need to go through this continuum in order to properly learn something. Knowing the definition and memorizing information is not enough to learn the material. As children move through this continuum, they build on knowledge already acquired and can then further their understanding of a concept or issue. Their learning becomes full-circle when they can make connections and create something new based on the knowledge they have learned. I firmly believe that higher-level thinking like exhibited in Blooms Taxonomy is essential for children to become educated individuals who build on their curiosities in order to acquire more knowledge. I also believe children need to be aware of their internal thinking during the learning process. This is known as metacognition. Children who can think about their thinking are selfaware of the processes in which their thinking goes through when acquiring new information. With their awareness, they are able to lead their learning and acquire more knowledge in a more complete manner. Children can then plan the way to approach a learning task, monitor comprehension, and evaluate the progress towards the completion of a task. Similarly, maintaining motivation complete a task is also a metacognitive skill. The ability to become aware of distracting stimuli both internal and external and sustain effort over time requires one to be aware of what distracts them and what motivates them to continue working. I believe that being actively metacognitive is an important skill that aids in learning and building on new knowledge to create conclusions.

On Teaching Teaching is not a science with a specific formula, but rather a compilation of methods and theories that aid to make learning all-encompassing. Teachers need to be properly trained and equipped to know what methods and theories work from classroom to classroom. Each set of students is a community that cannot be replicated and therefore demands a different set of methods and theories for learning to take place. Finally, teaching is creative. As stated above, there is not a set formula for teaching, but instead an attitude of flexibility and creativity. There many be times in the classroom where a lesson flops or a student that continually does not understand the material. Teachers work with students at their level. I will meet them there. I also believe that teachers are life-long learners who want to share their love for knowledge and learning with their students. Teachers are not adults who stand in front of a classroom and copy information from a text book. Teachers get excited about new information and always keep their fire for learning ignited by furthering their education in multiple different ways; not just for classroom purposes. In the words of Dutch researcher Max Van Manen, It is a crucial feature of teaching that the educator understands a childs learning and development in the context of the larger biography of the student (1997, p. 39) It is essential for teachers to know the student as a whole, not just in the classroom. School is a small part of a childs life and without the knowledge of other parts of their life, the teacher is at a disadvantage when it comes to educating that child. On Classroom Management I believe the organization and methodology of Positive Classroom Discipline has many, not all, components that I see to be fit in a practical classroom environment. Positive Classroom Discipline uses proximity, negative reinforcement, incentives, and body language to a maintain classroom. The system must be positive and affirm the student, economical, self eliminating and self perpetuating, low key, supportive, and invisible within the classroom. The system is not exhaustive and if trained properly, students will not notice the system at all. In this method it is important to arrange the classroom so the teacher has access to students all of the time. This arrangement must also fit the personality of the instructor. Second, it is important to establish rules that contain positive language and can be consistently and quickly enforceable. An example is, raise your hand to speak.Third, it is essential to create and teach a daily routine for students to follow that becomes second nature to them. Forth, students must be able to understanding nonverbal behavior modification cues that the teacher provides by limit setting. The rest of the steps are used for more severe discipline issues and can be used as needed. Classroom management also has much to do with strategy. Strategy defines the way in which the fire inside each student is built. If the fire is built upon sand, it will not thrive. However, if it is built upon dry wood, leaves, and fresh kindling, it will likely burst into hot flames. Strategy is everything in a classroom. Without well thought-out strategy with defined

purposes and objectives, students will not survive within a classroom. Lack of strategy will be like the fire built upon sand, causing the fire to go out and become cold.

Works Cited Liska Carger, Chris. "Attending to New Voices." Educational Leadership Apr. (1997): 39-43. Print.