From the preschool classroom to the college lecture hall, every educator has beliefs, theories, and ideas about teaching and learning. These elements serve to inform the organization of curriculum, the manner in which instruction is delivered, the character of the classroom environment, and the methods and techniques used to assess the learning progress of students. In essence, they form the foundation of the teacher's philosophy of education.
The Nature of the Learner
Every student is a unique individual with an inherently complex nature and a drive to learn that draws upon a number of different factors. "Every child is a multidimensional human being, a person with a heart, a mind, and a soul, with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and capacities that must be embraced if productive growth and learning is to take place" (Ayers, 2001; xiii). A student's desire to learn is driven by his or her level of intrinsic motivation, which in turn is influenced by his or her level of interest in the subject matter. Interest in the subject matter has a great deal to do with the nature of intelligence, which is best explained by Howard Gardener's multiple intelligence theory. Gardener's theory maintains that all individuals posses at least eight relatively independent forms of intelligence. "The strength of each intelligence and the ways in which [they] interact to solve problems or fashion products," however, "can differ greatly across individuals, and across cultures as well" (McGilly, 1995; 108). The different combinations of intelligences housed within each student results in a diverse range of interests expressed among students. Within the nature of the learner there exists a relationship between a student's interest, intrinsic motivation, and desire to learn. A student with a high level of interest in a subject will also have a high level of intrinsic motivation, and thus will have a great desire to learn.
The educational philosophy known as progressivism is compatible with this view of the learner. "Progressivism favors the scientific method of teaching and learning, allows for the beliefs of individuals, and stresses programs of student involvement that help students learn how to think" (Johnson et al., 1994; 396). Because progressivism allows the student the opportunity to pursue his or her own beliefs, that student's level of interest in the subject matter is increased. This, as it turns out, has positive implications for learning: "When interest is activated, learners are thought to process information using more elaboration and to establish more cross references resulting in a quantitatively superior representation of the information and better future recall" (Sandoval, 1995; 367). The progressive theory thus promotes learning by embracing the interests of the learner.
The Nature of the Subject Matter
Along with the nature of the learner, the nature of the subject matter helps to inform educational philosophy. Subject matter is best viewed as an interwoven and related collection of skills, concepts, theories, and ideas, and it plays a key role in the learning process. "There is no ability to see or hear or remember something in general: there is only the ability to see or hear or remember something. To talk about training a power, mental or physical, in general, apart from the subject matter involved in its exercise, is nonsense" (Dewey, 1916; 65). In order for learning to be truly meaningful to the student, the subject matter must be framed within a specific rather than general context, and that context should be connected to others in order to form a larger body of knowledge.
While the subject matter plays a central role in forming this connected larger body of knowledge, the student's social experiences also contribute to knowledge formation. "Isolation of subject matter from a social context is the chief obstruction in current practice to securing a general training of the mind" (Dewey, 1916; 67). A form of education for pluralism - known as multicultural education - provides a social context in which to explore the subject matter on a deeper level. "For example, the curriculum is organized around concepts basic to each discipline, but content elaborating on those concepts is drawn from the experiences and perspectives of several different [cultural] groups" (Grant & Sleeter, 1997; 70). In this way, social human experiences help weave together broad concepts into an interrelated and cohesive whole body of knowledge.
Once again, the educational philosophy of progressivism complements this view of the nature of the subject matter. The theory of progressivism views curriculum as experience-centered or student-centered. "And because life experience determines curriculum content, all types of content must be permitted" (Johnson et al., 1994; 396). Ultimately, "the goal should be to enable students to view concepts and issues from more than one perspective and from the point of view of the culture, ethnic, and racial groups that were the most cogently influenced by, the event, the issue, or concept being studied" (Banks, 1997; 237). The theory of progressivism also values flexibility in curriculum design, which is necessary in order to teach from multiple perspectives. This flexibility allows the organization of curriculum to be centered on traditional subjects (i.e. math, science, reading, writing, history, etc.), while less traditional subjects (i.e. subjects of social experiences and social studies) that are of great interest to students can be added in to help create a more complete, whole body of knowledge.
The Nature of the Learning Process
Just as student experience plays an important role in influencing the nature of the subject matter, it also affects the nature of the learning process. Students are not all the same; they have different backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences. At the practical level, one must acknowledge that "any uniform educational approach is likely to serve only a minority of children" (Gardner, 1995; 208). The learning process, therefore, works most effectively for most students when these differences are taken into account rather than denied or ignored. Embracing these differences in students leads to the recognition that students also learn in different ways. The learning process, therefore, must strive to deliver curriculum in a variety of ways. Methods of delivery may range from telling a story to a formal discussion to an artistic exploration to some kind of "hand-on" experiment. This kind of pluralistic approach is sensitive to the various learning styles of students, and thus promotes an effective process of learning.
The progressive educational philosophy supports this view of the nature of the learning process. This theory recognizes that the student is capable of drawing on his or her diverse set of experiences to make a valuable contribution to the learning process. "Any progressive lesson allows students to give some of their own input in ways that influence the direction of the lesson" (Johnson et al., 1994; 397). While progressivism acknowledges the diverse nature of the student, the theory of constructivism goes one step further. Construvtivism "focuses on the personalized way a learner internalizes, shapes, or transforms information" (Johnson et al., 1994; 404). Constructivist theory directly addresses the diverse learning styles of students. Thus, in combination, the progressive and constructivist educational philosophies help define the nature of the learning process.
Behavior (Disposition and Attitude) Exhibited by the Teacher
In order to carry out the educational philosophy outlined in the above paragraphs, the teacher should display behaviors associated with a democratic philosophical position. Teachers operating from such a position exhibit certain behaviors that help promote learning in the classroom. First, teachers exhibit a willingness to allow a student to pursue some of his or her own interests in the classroom. By tapping into a student's personal interests, the teacher engages that student's intrinsic motivation, which helps to propel that student's desire to learn. Second, teachers must combine both structure and flexibility in curriculum planning in order to create subject matter that values a student's personal experiences. By incorporating a student's experiences, the subject matter is made more meaningful to the student. Increased meaning helps the students form connections between subjects to create a more cohesive, whole body of knowledge. Third, teachers must not just recognize but embrace the diversity housed both within and between students. Embracing diversity allows the teacher to take a pluralistic approach to the learning process and to guide students toward more meaningful learning activities.
While these behaviors help to explicitly contribute to students' positive educational experience, other more subtle components of a teacher's personality also play a role in shaping what students experience in the classroom. In many ways, teaching is a reflection of the soul. "When we teach, we animate inert knowledge with qualities of our own personality and spirit that affect, or ought to affect, out students" (Banner & Cannon, 1997, 2). For this reason, it is essential for a teacher to embody positive human traits - order, patience, enthusiasm, character, curiosity, kindness, and compassion - to help her students learn how to embody those traits, too.
For a teacher, education does not end when she is given a college diploma; education is a way of life and a continuous, reciprocal process of learning. As a teacher interacts with her students over time, she will learn from them just as they will learn from her. As time progresses, her philosophy of education will change as the beliefs, theories, and ideas that help inform the way she organizes curriculum, the manner in which she delivers instruction, the character of her classroom environment, and the methods and techniques she use to assess the learning progress of her students become better defined.
References
Ayers, W. (2001). To teach: the journey of a teacher. New York: Teachers College Press.
Banks, J.A. (1997). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In J.A. Banks & C.A.M.
Banks (Eds), Multicultural education: issues and perspectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Banner, J.M. & Cannon, H.C. (1997). The element of teaching. New Haven: Yale University.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: The Free Press.
Gardner, H. (1995, November). Reflections on Multiple Intelligences: Myths and Messages. Phi Delta Kappan, 208.
Grant, C.A. & Banks, Sleeter, C.E. (1997). Race, class, gender, and disability in the classroom. In J.A. Banks & C.A.M. Banks (Eds), Multicultural education: issues and perspectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Johnson, J. A., Dupuis, V. L., Mufial, D., & Hall, G. (1994). Introduction to the foundation of American education. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon
McGilly, M. K. (1995). Classroom lessons: integrating cognitive theory and classroom practice. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Sandoval, J. (1995). Teaching in subject matter areas: science. Davis: University of California.