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TEACHING PHILOSOPHY


Allison Beres
Westminster Choir College
Princeton, New Jersey



Introduction

From kindergarten to high school, I never had an affinity for group projects, especially
when my teachers assigned groups. I preferred to work on my own so I could get my work done
in a timely fashion that coincided with my busy schedule. Specifically in tenth grade when my
algebra teacher assigned the class to work in groups, I found that I learned more from my peers
than my teachers. My teacher simply taught material from text books and expected the class to
retain every ounce of information that she planted in our heads. There was no asking about what
we may possibly already know about this new material or any connections to our own
knowledge at all. My peers and I - similar in age and at a relatively comparable skill level -
shared a similar wealth of knowledge from our life experiences thus far. While working together
on this algebra project, we were able to apply what we already knew to our process of learning
this new information through open discussion facilitated by us the students. They helped me
think outside of the box when I was most definitely stuck inside of it. I was then able to apply
these communication, teamwork, and analysis skills to my other coursework and developed my
own problem-solving strategies that best suited my learning style and abilities.
Today, I am not entirely fond of group projects, but I have realized that working with my
peers has truly made me a better person and student. The skills and knowledge that I attained in
public school before college still help me to this day. While teachers are able to feed their
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students information, it is not until students create their own meaning through their previous life
experiences and knowledge that they really grasp new material. As students create their own
knowledge, they are able to apply it not only to other coursework, but also to life.


Integrative Learning

State standards usually prescribe teachers a curriculum which shapes the learning and
knowledge of their students. This is ultimately restrictive towards what and how students have
the ability to learn. McCourt (2005), states kids have stuff in their heads so dark and deep its
beyond our comprehension (p. 218). By strictly abiding by a set curriculum, teachers are doing
nothing more than depositing information into their students heads. Freire (1970), coined the
term banking to describe this ongoing relationship of students to teachers, where teachers
deposit information into what they perceive to be no more than ignorant receptacles of
information. Many teachers who comply with this idea of banking disregard any bit of
knowledge or insight that a student has to offer, completely unaware of the possibility of
knowledge lying within their students. Without digging deeper into the minds of students and
learning from and about their life experiences, teachers are not able to fully extend the
knowledge and experiences of their students.
I believe that teaching and learning should integrate students own life experiences. Two
late philosophers, John Dewey (1959) and Paolo Freire (1970), have both heavily influenced my
philosophy of teaching. After a thorough review of their philosophies and research, I have coined
the term, integrative learning, for my own philosophy. Dewey (1959), states, there is an
intimate and necessary relation between the process of actual experience and education (p. 7).
My philosophy views teaching and learning as an integration of new material with previous
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knowledge and experiences and aims to change ones perception of the current educational
process. Through this integration, teachers have the ability to dismantle the ongoing practices of
students being inferior to teachers and their teachers knowledge. McLaren (2009), refers to this
process of domination over subordinate groups through generally accepted social practices as
hegemony. In a hegemonic society, there is an us vs. them mentality, where the other is
marginalized and undervalued. As seen in education, teachers knowledge undermines that of the
students.
Dewey (in Felice, 2014), posits If we teach todays students as we taught yesterdays,
we rob them of tomorrow. Integrating the life experiences of students into the classroom
removes this current hegemonic practice. Students hone in on what they already know and use it
to their highest advantage when learning new material. Through the integration of students life
experiences in the classroom curriculum, teachers and students together have a greater chance for
successful learning. This results in students discovering meaning for themselves, epitomizing
this idea of student-centered, integrative learning.


Classroom Curriculum

Dewey (in Felice, 2014), suggests four ways that students are able learn in the classroom,
each of which provide students with opportunities to integrate their knowledge and experiences
into new learning. These ways of learning should be an essential part of the classroom
curriculum and lesson planning. Students begin their learning by experimentation. Kincheloe
(2008), believes that we must promote students as researchers who engage in critical analysis of
the forces that shape the world (p. 16). Opportunities for exploration and individual research
foster this sense of experimentation and analysis. Kincheloe (2008), also suggests such critical
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analysis engenders healthy and creative skepticism on the part of students (p. 16). Students can
experiment with their own ideas and beliefs through research, especially through the use of
technology. With a wide array of technology at their fingertips, students are able to conduct their
own research, formulating their own opinions and ideas as students and members of society.
Technology, while a controversial issue in classrooms across the nation, is a useful tool in
allowing students to experiment and conduct their own research. Richtel (2011), states that the
use of technology in the classroom aims to go far beyond gadgets to transform the very nature
of the classroom, turning the teacher into a guide instead of a lecturer. However, while this
technology has helped children grow in their learning, there is truly no way to measure students
achievements (Richtel, 2011). This issue of immeasurability creates even more controversy with
the use of technology in that school budgets must have valid reasoning and proper funds to allow
for the purchase of such costly devices.
As a part of a social group, students are also able to thrive in their learning. These groups
evoke intelligent conversation and insightful dialogue through which children build off of each
other and create their own understanding. Nonetheless, the idea of having students talk in groups
may be scary to some teachers, especially those with trouble with classroom management. To
prepare their students to fully engage in intelligent conversation, teachers and students together
can set rules and expectations for such discussions. By being a part of this process, students are
likely to invest more of themselves and their own knowledge in the conversations.
Students gain a higher-level of individual thinking as they apply what they already know
from their experiences and create meaning for themselves. However, teachers should also be
fully engaged in this conversational learning process with the students. Abrahams (2014a)
proposes the questions What might they become? and What might we become together?
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Learning is a process shared by both students and teachers in which both parties grow together
and as individuals. As teachers, we bring our own values and beliefs into the classroom and share
them with our students, fostering a profound dialogue that changes the way we and our students
think, feel, and act. Campbell (2010), asserts what children say and do is at least partly linked
with the social beliefs and practices of parents, teachers, older siblings, and other adults that
hover nearby, calling this process cultural transmission (p. 49). Teachers and students
together engage in a cooperative classroom dialogue. Freire asserts:
Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a
new term emerges: teacher-student with students-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-
one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while
being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. In this
process, arguments based on "authority" are no longer valid; in order to function, authority must
be on the side of freedom, not against it. Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught.
People teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking
education are "owned" by the teacher. (p. 67)

Classroom dialogue brings students and teachers together, eliminating the established
hegemonic practices. Through dialogue, students integrate what they already know with what
they are in the process of learning. Teachers and students alike learn together. This dialogue
fosters a stronger relationship between teachers and students, allowing for more open
communication and trust throughout the learning experience.
Students can also learn by using their creativity to solve their own problems. A teacher
can directly facilitate this creativity through lesson planning. Abrahams (2014b), outlines an
effective classroom lesson plan, beginning with a focusing question which encourages creative
thinking and help[s] students conceptualize the theme of the lesson (p. 21). This directly
correlates with the previously mentioned ideas of experimentation and problem posing and
solving. With this focusing question, teachers allow their students to reflect on their previous
knowledge and experiment with new knowledge. It gives them an opportunity to think critically.
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Because there is really no right or wrong answer to these questions, this promotes a dialogue in
the classroom. Through classroom discussion, teachers and students alike may alter their
perceptions of a given topic or idea.
Abrahams (2014b) also introduces four objectives for his lesson plan format:
instructional, behavioral, cognitive, and experimental. These objectives establish expectations for
students, which also facilitate dialogue and effective communication between students and
teachers. Objectives in a lesson plan provide for more efficient teachers and allow students to set
goals for themselves. With the inclusion of formative and summative assessment, teachers are
able to assess the overall success of the students, while in the process reflecting upon their own
effectiveness as a teacher and mentor throughout the lesson. At the center of this lesson plan is
the learning of students through an interactive learning process. The integration of their world
and life experiences in this lesson format is essential to promoting their individual creativity and
knowledge. Through this process, students are able to construct their own meaning and make
learning entirely personal.
Finally, Dewey (in Felice 2014) believes that the child, contrary to the lesson and
material, is the center of the teachers attention. The teacher should acknowledge and cultivate
the individual strengths of each student in the classroom through an integrative curriculum. The
learning of students involves much more than feeding them information. Teachers should take
time to recognize who students are outside of the classroom, what activities make up their daily
lives, and observe not just interactions with people, but with classroom material as well. In doing
so, teachers are able to fully accommodate their students learning capacities, allowing students
minds to grow and expand. Dewey (in Simpson, Jackson, & Aycock, 2005), compares the
growth of students to that of seeds, whereas seeds have limited growth, the growth of the
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student is nearly unlimited (p. 79). Through experimentation, classroom discussion, and
creative thinking, teachers are presenting students with opportunities to integrate their lives into
the classroom and cultivate a richness of knowledge.
Through this cultivation and expansion of knowledge, students are able to achieve what
Wink (2011) describes as conscientization where we know that we know (p. 57). In this
process of conscientization, students and teachers gain confidence in what they already know.
Students work with the knowledge they have to create new meaning for themselves and
understand new material in a way that makes sense for them. Dewey (in Simpson, Jackson, &
Aycock, 2005), states The aim of education is the development of individuals to the utmost of
their potentialities (p. 81). For me, this integrative classroom curriculum really highlights
students utmost abilities. It is successful when students and teachers come together, share
knowledge and life experiences, and are comfortable enough to ask questions and hold open
discussions. The ultimate goal in this idea of an integrative curriculum is to incorporate students
life experiences in classroom learning to heighten their abilities and overall learning experience.


Conclusions

In retrospect, I realize that I would not be where I am today without the help of my
friends and peers throughout my public school education. They taught me that learning is more
than just memorizing and repeating information, but it involves a great deal of collaboration and
communication - something that many of my teachers didnt express very well, if at all. Being an
educator requires the ability to think for oneself and act wisely knowing that every single
action changes the lives of hundreds, maybe even thousands of students. What is of most value in
education is not how well a student can memorize and regurgitate information, but how much
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knowledge students are able to retain through their own learning and creation of meaning. As
teachers, it is our ethical responsibility to help students understand subject material in a way that
is conducive to their individual needs and learning styles with respect to their entirety of life
experiences thus far.


(2184 words)


References

Abrahams, F. (2014a). What is critical pedagogy [PowerPoint]. Available from
https://rider.instructure.com/courses/3881/wiki/week-1?module_item_id=146783

Abrahams, F. (2014b). Planning the perfect music lesson: Aligning instructional design to the
lesson plan model.

Campbell, P.S. (2010). Songs in their heads: Music and its meaning in childrens lives. New
York: Oxford University Press

Dewey, J. (1959). Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan

Felice, C. (2014). John Dewey: Progressivism and pragmatism in America. [PowerPoint slides].

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). New York, NY:
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Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Critical pedagogy. New York: Peter Lang.

McCourt, F. (2005). Teacher man: A memoir. New York: Scribner

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Simpson, D.J., Jackson, M.J.B., & Aycock, J.C. (2005). John Dewey and the art of teaching:
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Wink, J. (2011). Critical pedagogy: Notes from the real world (4
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