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Learning Philosophy 

 

Learning in general

 

One of the first questions that many educators ask when they are learning to teach is how people learn and, by extension, how the educator can design situations that help that happen. Learning became a significant focus of study in psychology during the early twentieth century as behaviorism rose to become a substantial school of thought. Today learning remains an essential concept in numerous areas of psychology, including cognitive, educational, and social. “Learning is an active process of constructing rather than acquiring knowledge” (Tan & Hung, 2003, p.49).

 

Teaching and learning

 

Learning is automatic, i.e., we see things, observe them, and then learn something new through our experiences in our day-to-day life. So, it is a continuous process and also a lifelong one. Learning can be intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious, for better or worse. On the other hand, Education refers to a formal, conservative process that helps develop abilities, attitudes, and different behavioral practical values in the society to which they belong to obtain social competence and optimum development of an individual’s potential.

Learning is a process that has a crucial role in shaping the structure of our personality and behavior of a person. Against education is a system of learning which aims at maximizing the all-around development of the student, as well as causing socialization of individuals to remove taboos and stereotypes from society.

 

As a learner

 

I have a long journey with education with different approaches from three other countries. I had my Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Russia. This was done with an old-school approach - lots of handwriting lectures, studying with books, and using digital devices only for learning engineering software in a limited time.  After that education, I had excellent theoretical knowledge, but it wasn’t enough to implement it in real-life work situations. 

Years later, I decided to pursue my education with a Master’s degree in Real Estate Investment at Latvian university. This experience was different since the program focused on real job projects and broadened my horizons to international markets.  

After moving to the States, I started to work at an Elementary school as a teacher assistant in a special education unit. It is my third year of teaching, and I am still exploring this new world of education. Research-based evidence from foremost educational thinkers supports what I believe about what matters: creating significant learning environments and giving learners opportunities to engage in authentic learning that involves choice, ownership, and voice in the outcome. 

What I have found beginning to work is giving learners a choice of how to prove their learning within certain constraints, boundaries, and guidelines.  This allows learners to express themselves in a way that offers individual voice, ownership, and accountability to learn the required content; it is a mixture of keeping true to what the standards require yet in a personalized and meaningful way.

 

Learning vs. teaching

 

My teaching philosophy lies in enhancing the development of critical thinking in students. I believe that the learning influence originates from the urge to find information about different life concepts. Since humans are naturally curious, it is relatively easy to support learning by guiding them to get answers to their questions. My teaching philosophy lies in the values of rational thinking. I believe in delivering legit information to students and reaching beyond their immediate questions in different subjects. I strive to teach through example and influence students to hunger for information beyond the classroom. Teachers require the development of curiosity to learn from their adult students to control effective learning. Curiosity guides the learning process in students, and it focuses on the objectives of the curriculum in use (Pratt 16).

 

The main aim of my teaching philosophy is to influence students to keep seeking answers. I believe in using an individual-based teaching approach; hence, allowing students to pose questions is the most feasible method of identifying their personal needs in learning. My goals in teaching include delivering quality information to clarify the principles that answer their questions. My practical approach to education is instrumental in helpfully providing theoretical knowledge to influence faster learning. Most teachers identify their students’ needs by reviewing their performances in different subjects, but I aim at identifying learning needs by encouraging students to communicate directly about their weaknesses (Barker and Annerstedt 6).

 

My learning theory

We are merely throwing information at students to pass a test in the current behaviorist education system.  Because of this, they are not allowed to connect the dots, making those meaningful connections that help learners retain content and its usefulness.

I take the constructivist approach to learning, which equates learning with creating meaning from experience, concentrating on the core areas of student motivation, and taking ownership that promotes accountability and deeper understanding.  I believe that education is about making those meaningful connections by bringing new ideas and information and connecting them to what learners already know. “Students must be able to realize that their achievements stretch beyond the classroom walls.  They bring to the classroom experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and curiosities, and authentic learning provides a means of bridging those elements with classroom learning” (Mims, 2003, p.1).

I associate myself with the most is the constructivist theory. In hindsight, this is why I created the innovation plan that I did. I can see that my wish for teachers to incorporate blended learning into their classrooms and me being available to help them do that directly correlates with my constructivist learning.

Learning ownership is key to meaningful and authentic learning.  It is human nature to take more pride in what is personally attached to our name than being told what the facts are and how the learning outcome should be so a test can be passed. 

I suggested that responsible teaching recognize the following principles:

• Encourage active learning.  People need to learn by doing wherever possible, rather than simply hearing or reading about how to do it.

• Allow people to have some control over their own learning.

• Build connections between what is being learned and learners’ experiences, moving over time toward more complex ideas.

• Encourage collaboration and conversation between learners.

 

 

References

 

Barker, Dean, Mikael Quennerstedt, and Claes Annerstedt. “Inter-student interactions and student learning in health and physical education: a post-Vygotskian analysis.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (2013): 1-18. Print.

 

Mims, C. (2003). Authentic learning: A practical introduction & guide for implementation.Meridian, 6(1). Retrieved from https://www.ced.ncsu.edu/meridian/index.php/meridian

 

Pratt, Daniel, D. Five Perspectives on Teaching in Adult and Higher Education, Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 2008. Print.

 

Tan, S. C., & Hung, D. (2003). Beyond information pumping: Creating a constructivist e-learning environment. Educational Technology, 42(5), 48-54.

 

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography

The following list of resources that influenced my beliefs on learning  

 

-Barker, Dean, Mikael Quennerstedt, and Claes Annerstedt. “Inter-student interactions and student learning in health and physical education: a post-Vygotskian analysis.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (2013): 1-18. Print. 

 

This paper aims to propose one way of conceptualizing individual learning in peer interaction.

 

-Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). COVA: Choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291

COVA recognizes that learners learn through choice, ownership, and vote in authentic learning environments. Educators are encouraged to create significant learning environments (CSLE)

based on the COVA framework to maximize student learning.

 

-Mims, C. (2003). Authentic learning: A practical introduction & guide for implementation.Meridian, 6(1). Retrieved from https://www.ced.ncsu.edu/meridian/index.php/meridian

 

In this article, Mims compares several learning theorists’ outlooks on the learning process and learning environments. This article explains how education should be student-driven, related to real-life issues, and have an active approach to engage and challenge the learners.

 

-Pratt, Daniel, D. Five Perspectives on Teaching in Adult and Higher Education, Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 2008. Print.

 

This book is a blend of theory and practice, derived from several years of studying the teaching of adults in North America. It presents five different perspectives on teaching adults. Perspectives are explained as "something we look through, rather than at” as we go about the business of teaching. Each perspective is described as an interrelated set of actions, intentions, and beliefs and then is illustrated within contexts of adult education practice.

 

-Tan, S. C., & Hung, D. (2003). Beyond information pumping: Creating a constructivist e-learning environment. Educational Technology, 42(5), 48-54.

 

In this article, Tan & Hung explain the importance and the benefits of constructivist learning environments. They spend much time talking about technology and e-learning, highlighting the ease of use, constant access, collaboration, feedback tools, etc. 

 

-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 discuss the need to incorporate passion, imagination, and constraint with play into the learning environment for children to learn in today’s ever-changing world.

 

-Wagner, T. (2015). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. New York, NY: Scribner.

Wagner explores how influential adults in the lives of children can help them become innovators, revealing how adults can spark creativity and be motivators. He establishes three forces that inspire innovators: play, passion, and purpose.