EVANGELENE E. SANA Ph.D.

STUDENT

DR. MARIANE VILLARUEL SUBJECT PROFESSOR

FINAL EXAMINATION IN PHILOSOPHICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

1. Identify and critically compare two philosophical and two psychological views of learning relevant to your professional background. As I finished this subject in my Ph.D. course, although I found all the philosophies useful I arrived at these philosophical views of learning relevant to my profession: Essentialism focuses on teaching the essential elements of academic and moral knowledge. Essentialists urge that schools get back to the basics; they believe in a strong core curriculum and high academic standards. Perennialism focuses on the universal truths that have withstood the test of time. Perennialists urge that students read the Great Books and develop their understanding of the philosophical concepts that underlie human knowledge. Progressivism is based largely on the belief that lessons must be relevant to the students in order for them to learn. The curriculum of a progressivism school is built around the personal experiences, interests, and needs of the students. Social reconstructionists separated from progressivism because they desired more direct and immediate attention to societal ills. They are interested in combining study and social action, and believe that education can and should go hand in hand with ameliorating social problems. And lastly, Existentialism is derived from a powerful belief in human free will, and the need for individuals to shape their own futures. Students in existentialist classrooms control their own education. Students are encouraged to understand and appreciate their uniqueness and to assume responsibility for their actions. How are these philosophies relevant and be reflected in my teaching profession now? Essentialism and perennialism gives me the power to choose the lessons and topics suited to my students ability, organize the school day, and construct classroom activities. The k-12 curriculum reinforces a rigid implementation while viewing the students as vessels to be filled and disciplined in the proven strategies of the past. Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism view the learner as the central focus of classroom activities thus molding mee to be a more democratic teacher rather than authoritarian teacher as I am in the early yars of my teaching. Working with my student interests and needs, I will serve as guide and facilitator in assisting my students to reach their goals. The emphasis is on the future, and on preparing my students to be independent-thinking adults. Progressivists strive for relevant, hands-on learning especially I am teaching Science subject. As a Social reconstructionists I want my students to actively work to improve society not for the future only but what they can do now. And as an Existentialists I give my students complete freedom, and complete responsibility, with regard to their education. As to psychological views, I regard Constructivism, it has its roots in cognitive psychology, and is based on the idea that people construct their understanding of the world. As a Constructivist teacher I gauge my student's prior knowledge by giving them pre tests to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses then carefully orchestrate cues, classroom activities, and penetrating questions to push students to higher levels of understanding. B. F. Skinner advocated behaviorism as an effective teaching strategy and according to Skinner, rewards motivate students to learn, I always give different strategies of motivating my students such as games, in every lesson and I also try to keep them motivated up to the last minute of my lesson.

2. Compare and contrast the teacher-centered philosophies and student-centered philosophies. For you, which is more suitable to embrace to answer the problems and concerns of the quality of education here in our country? Justify your answer. Behind every school and every teacher is a set of related beliefs--a philosophy of education--that influences what and how students are taught. A philosophy of education represents answers to questions about the purpose of schooling, a teacher's role, and what should be taught and by what methods. Teacher-centered philosophies tend to be more authoritarian and conservative, and emphasize the values and knowledge that have survived through time. The major teacher-centered philosophies of education are essentialism and perennialism. Student-centered philosophies are more focused on individual needs, contemporary relevance, and preparing students for a changing future. School is seen as an institution that works with youth to improve society or help students realize their individuality. Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism place the learner at the center of the educational process: Students and teachers work together on determining what should be learned and how best to learn it. For me, I believe that student-centered approach is more suitable in our educational system which aims to overcome some of the problems inherent to more traditional forms of education by focusing on the learners needs rather than being teachers centered . This approach has many implications for the design and flexibility of curriculum and content, it also promotes interactive learning process. Student-centered learning is more appropriate to use since it is focused on each student's interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the teacher as a facilitator of learning. This classroom teaching method acknowledges student voice as central to the learning experience for every learner, and differs from many other learning methodologies. In a student-centered classroom, students choose what they will learn, how they will learn, and how they will assess their own learning. Teacher-centered learning has the teacher at its centre in an active role and students in a passive, receptive role. In a teacher-centered classroom, teachers choose what the students will learn, how the students will learn, and how the students will be assessed on their learning. Student-centered learning requires students to be active, responsible participants in their own learning. So if we are using student centered approach most of the time we teachers are helping students to prepare themselves for life not only for the future but for now and the future. Although teachers are still very important part of the learning process playing the role of facilitator. Our country needs citizens who are actively participating in this society towards development and not a passive individual waiting for the government to help. 3. Should an educational system incorporate the use of the latest and most sophisticated technologies in the process of education? To what extent can educators control the use and outcomes of technology and to what extent does technology control its users and especially educators? Although there has been a strong push to get educational technology into the hands of teachers and students, many obstacles to implementation still exist. I believe that an educational system must incorporate the use of technology in the process of education but not necessarily the latest and the most sophisticated technologies. Equipment may not be placed in easily accessible locations. Hardware and software often pose problems for teachers in the classroom, and just-in-time technical support may be unavailable. Teachers may lack the time and the motivation to learn technology skills. Professional development activities may not provide ongoing, hands-on training for teachers or practical strategies for implementing technology into lesson plans. Initial technology funding may not be sustained and thus not capable of providing

upgrades, maintenance, and ongoing professional development. Fortunately, these obstacles can be addressed and overcome. Access to technology is an important issue for teachers and students. Evidence indicates that when used effectively, "technology applications can support higher-order thinking by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts" (Means, Blando, Olson, Middleton, Morocco, Remz, & Zorfass, 1993). Instead of focusing on isolated, skills-based uses of technology, schools should promote the use of various technologies for sophisticated problem-solving and information-retrieving purposes (Means & Olson, 1995). new technology can be an appropriate vehicle for promoting meaningful, engaged learning. It allows students to work on authentic, meaningful, and challenging problems, similar to tasks performed by professionals in various disciplines; to interact with data in ways that allow student-directed learning; to build knowledge collaboratively; and to interact with professionals in the field. Technologies also can be used to promote the development of higher-order thinking skills and allow opportunities for teachers to act as facilitators or guides and often as a co-learner with the students.In the classroom, teachers can develop a myriad of technology-supported engaged learning projects that enable students to solve real-world problems, retrieve information from online resources, and connect with experts. Thus, before technology can be used effectively for engaged learning, the school needs to ensure that the technology supports the educational goals for students. The school's initial task is to develop a clear set of goals, expectations, and criteria for student learning based on national and state educational standards, a profile of the student population, and community concerns. Then the school can determine the types of technology that will support efforts to meet those goals. In other words, the learning goals should drive the technology use. Rather than using technology for technology's sake, the school can develop a vision of how technology can improve teaching and learning. 4.Discuss comparatively the theories of knowledge embedded in two of the following philosophical/educational traditions: Platonism, rationalism, idealism, realism empiricism, pragmatism, existentialism, progressivism, social constructivism, behaviorism. Philosophers say the key to understanding human life is answering the really philosophical questions such as why are we here? Where did we come from? Where will we go? And so on and so forth. This has truly been a debate for the ages in philosophy, one that has stimulated thinkers, philosophers, theologists and scientists for thousands of years, hence led emergence of idealism and realism as two major traditional philosophical schools of thought in the realm of philosophy. Platos Theory of Idealism: Plato is an important philosopher, who writes beautifully and with great power and elegance on Truth and Reality. His work is still profoundly important in today's Post modern world, and can be easily understood due to its simplicity of language and engaging style of dialogue. Plato as an idealists believes that material or physical universe is not complete expression of reality, the physical world is the manifestation of some great spirit behind it. While the physical and material world is destructible and changeable, the spirit behind it is indestructible and unchangeable Idealism in general is the metaphysical doctrine,(metaphysics is an area of philosophy that is concerned with questions about reality. It deals with questions like: what is reality? What is existence? Is the universe rationally designed or ultimately meaningless? The basic assumption of epistemological Idealism is that we only know our own ideas (representations or mental images) metaphysics also involves questions concerning ,Is human nature physical or spiritual

(mind-body problem)?Does a person make free choices or do events and conditions force one into determined decisions? So "idealism" in general is, metaphysical that a world of material objects containing no thought either could not exist as it is experienced, or would not be fully "real. Fundamental principles of Idealism are: Idea is real, man is supreme creation, God is the source of all knowledge and values are Absolute. Things that are abstract super natural or out of human mind are not the facts. Idealists point of view about knowledge is that the good knowledge is useful for the society. Idealists believe that ideas are the only true reality. It is not that all idealists reject matter (the material world), but rather they hold that the material world is characterized by change, instability and uncertainty. While some ideas are enduring. Thus idealism might be more correct descriptive term for this philosophy. Idealism believes that what is real is the idea of the object which is at the conscious level of our mind and not the object that we see which is a mere shadow of that idea. Material or physical world is not complete expression of reality. As a result, schools exist to sharpen the mind and intellectual processes. Aristotles Theory of Realism: Realism believes in the world as it is. It is based on the view that reality is what we observe. It believes that truth is what we sense and observe and that goodness is found in the order of the laws of nature. Realistic believe that the fact is something that is made an image in the human mind (Shahid, 2006.) As a result, schools exist to reveal the order of the world and universe. Students are taught factual information. Realism is the classical philosophy of education. Like other aspects of life the Realism also searches in education for the fact and reality in education. Realism discuses the three basic questions of philosophy that is: 1) What is good? 2) What is fact? 3) What is reality? Realistic educators say that knowledge is that what is good. Virtue. The fact is in the supernatural. The physical world is just an image of the reality. Reality is that what is never changing (permanent). So if it is like that then there should be uniform education in everywhere. Realistic philosophy says that they have a treasury of literature in their literature that is a good source of knowledge. One has to get knowledge from this treasury of literature. Aristotle is known as the father of the realistic approach. So what are the differences of idealism and realism? Are they different or the same? How did these two philosophies influenced the educational sector? Idealism and realism both are classic but two different doctrines of education. One is symbolist (Idealis) and the other is materialistic (realism) The source of knowledge in idealism is taken from the past literature that is usually abstract type of knowledge stressing the concept of supernatural (Metaphysical) phenomenon where the idealists focus upon the picture of an object in ones ideas. The teacher in the idealistic approach is autocratic who has more knowledge and pedagogical strength then the pupil. He/she has to select the content and learning experiences for the whatever he/she thinks is suitable and in effective for the students. On the other hand the idealism has fully stressed upon the objects and their ideas on the human mind. Both the philosophies have to well furnish the students cognitive strength that is useful to prepare him for the life and its challenges. The teacher in idealism has to face the pupil and to engage him in the discussion in his/her selected topic. The student learns by the discussion. This method is known as DebateorSocraticmethod. While Realists place enormous emphasis upon critical reason aided by observation and experimentation. Realists support the lecture method and other formal ways of teaching. The teacher lectures and the learner has a role of passive and obedient listener. The learning experiences or content in the idealism is chosen situational regarding the need of the learner where in the idealism these learning experiences are chosen from the literature that have been written by the great philosophers in the past. The learner in the realistic approach is a passive

factor that has to follow the teacher whatever the teacher says. He/she is a gentle and obedient in front of the teacher. The learner has to inculcate as much as he/she can and also can express his inculcated knowledge. He is a hardworking pupil. The same in idealism but here the learner is comparatively more active than that of the realism. The pupil can take participation in the discussion and debates. (Shahid, 2006). 5. Compare and contrast the view of the educated person developed by two of the following: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alfred North Whitehead, Richard Peters, John Holt, Jane Roland Martin. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Alfred North Whitehead Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) He is known as a revolutionary philosopher, who wrote against the contemporary social and political set up, hypocrisy, artificiality, cruelty, correlation, depotism prevalent at that time. The key notes of his philosophy is termed Naturalism, It contains his concepts of Natural state, Natural man and Natural civilization. Natural state is a simple farming community or state without the evils of large cities corrupt rulers, social classes and luxury. He believed that Goodness was innate and evils as acquired. About natural man he says, Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains In the words of Rousseau, Civilized man born, lives and dies in a state of slavery Natural man according to Rousseau is governed and directed by the laws of his own nature rather than those of social institutions. He believed the man would have been happier if he had been allowed to remain in his natural stage. He was against so called Civilization. By natural civilizations he meant the simple farming life. Rousseau God makes all the things good; man meddles with them and they become evil He declared Everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Author of nature, but everything degenerates in the hands of man. Rousseau remarked, Leave the child alone. Let him be a natural man rather than a civilized man. Let him have a state of nature rather than artificial surroundings that stunt the proper growth and arrest his natural development. Natural civilization id free from artificial surroundings and rigid barriers that pollute the goodness of our nature.Return to nature was his method to cure all troubles human nature his natural heritage is essentially good and must be given the full opportunities for fee development. He advocated the concept of liberty, equality and fraternity. He has given three fundamentals of the Nature considering them the best sources of education. Are as follows: 1. Isolation from society should be isolated from society and brought up by laws of nature. He should not be allowed to acquire the evils of the society. 2. Innate Tendencies of the child: In the words of Rousseau, the innate tendencies to primitive emotions, instinctive judgment and natural instinct are more reliable bases for action than the experience gained from the society .In this sense education means the spontaneous development of these innate tendencies of the child .3. Contact with Natural Environment is to make contact with the natural environment i.e hills, trees, plans birds, animals, woods, stones and physical forces. Thus the child should be brought up in natural environment. As a result of it he will automatically become a rational being and act according to the voice of his conscience.

Whitehead's general concept of the nature and aims of education has as its psychological corollary a conception of the rhythm of education that connects him with developmental educators such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121778). For Whitehead, education is a temporal, growth-oriented process, in which both student and subject matter move progressively. The concept of rhythm suggests an aesthetic dimension to the process, one analogous to music. Growth then is a part of physical and mental development, with a strong element of style understood as a central driving motif. There are three fundamental stages in this process, which Whitehead called the stage of romance, the stage of precision, and the stage of generalization. Romance is the first moment in the educational experience. All rich educational experiences begin with an immediate emotional involvement on the part of the learner. The primary acquisition of knowledge involves freshness, enthusiasm, and enjoyment of learning. The natural ferment of the living mind leads it to fix on those objects that strike it prereflectively as important for the fulfilling of some felt need on the part of the learner. All early learning experiences are of this kind and a curriculum ought to include appeals to the spirit of inquiry with which all children are natively endowed. The stage of precision concerns "exactness of formulation" (Whitehead 1929, p. 18), rather than the immediacy and breadth of relations involved in the romantic phase. Precision is discipline in the various languages and grammars of discrete subject matters, particularly science and technical subjects, including logic and spoken languages. It is the scholastic phase with which most students and teachers are familiar in organized schools and curricula. In isolation from the romantic impetus of education, precision can be barren, cold, and unfulfilling, and useless in the personal development of children. But precision is nevertheless a necessary element in a rich learning experience, and can neither substitute for romance, nor yield its place to romance. Generalization, the last rhythmic element of the learning process, is the incorporation of romance and precision into some general context of serviceable ideas and classifications. It is the moment of educational completeness and fruition, in which general ideas or, one may say, a philosophical outlook, both integrate the feelings and thoughts of the earlier moments of growth, and prepare the way for fresh experiences of excitement and romance, signaling a new beginning to the educational process. It is important to realize that these three rhythmic moments of the educational process characterize all stages of development, although each is typically associated with one period of growth. So, romance, precision, and generalization characterize the rich educational experience of a young child, the adolescent, and the adult, although the romantic period is more closely associated with infancy and young childhood, the stage of precision with adolescence, and generalization with young and mature adulthood. Education is not uniquely oriented to some future moment, but holds the present in an attitude of almost religious awe. It is "holy ground" (Whitehead 1929, p. 3), and each moment in a person's education ought to include all three rhythmical elements. Similarly, the subjects contained in a comprehensive curriculum need to comprise all three stages, at whatever point they are introduced to the student. Thus the young child can be introduced to language acquisition by a deft combination of appeal to the child's emotional involvement, its need for exactitude in detail, and the philosophical consideration of broad generalizations.