EducationalPhilosophy

GlennJacobson

TIE592
Cunningham

Frommyperspectiveeducationisevolvingfromasourceofknowledgetodrawfromtoa
vehiclethatcanbeusedtonavigatethroughthevastamountofknowledgeavailabletousat
thisexcitingtime.Wearealllearnersallofthetime,yettheprocessoflearningisnotlinear.
Thismeanslearnersareunpredictableandsusceptibletodramaticchangedependantupon
whattheyaretaughtandthemethodsusedtofacilitatestudentlearning.Toguidemyown
learninganddrivemyinstructionIhaveadoptedthreecorebeliefsthatoptimizethe
effectivenessofanylearningexperience.Theseidealsaredevelopingacaringcommunity,
nurturingauthenticunderstanding,andencouragingmetacognitionforallstudents.Also,since
weareall21stcenturylearnersnowwemustalsoaccepttheresponsibilityfortheeffectiveand
innovativeuseoftechnology.Asaneducatororstudenttechnologyiscurrentlyourmost
powerfultoolthatmaybelimitedonlybytheuserscreativity.Therefore,onlybystrivingtowards
technologicalfluencyandhavingthecouragetotakeriskswilllearnersbetrulyinnovative.

Asisthemostbasicpsychologicaltheorieswillexplain,anegativeenvironmentcanbea
limitingfactorcognitivedevelopmentinyouth.Therefore,constructinganinvitingphysical
environmentandnurturingculturalatmospherewillallowstudentsthefreedomtofeel
comfortableenoughtoexperimentandlearnthroughbothsuccessandmistakes.Thebestway
toestablishthisistointroduce,model,andencouragetheideaofGrowthMindset.Equipping
studentswithstrategiestodevelopgritandpersevereinchallengingsituationswillhelpthem
bemoresociallysensitiveandpersonallysuccessful.Buildingrapportthroughmutualrespectis
thecornerstonetostudentteacherandstudentstudentrelationships.Frommyexperiencethe
bestwaytogainastudent'strustistobehonestwithyourintentionstohelpthemdevelopas
bothalearnerandaperson.ManyoftheseinformallessonsthatIteachtakeplacebymodeling
thebehaviorbacktothestudentsatalltimes.Byattemptingtoalwaysremaincalmandpositive
wheninteractingwithstudentsoradults,evenindifficultsituations,trustandrespectis
garnered.Oncethefoundationofrespectislaidfunlearningexperiencescanbebuiltuponthe
firmrelationship.Yes,learningshouldbefun,forboththestudentandtheteacher.

AfirmbeliefIholdabouteducationalinstructionisthatitshouldbeconceptualandauthentic.
Topicsshouldbeguidedbystandards,butdrivenbypracticalapplicationofstrategieswithin
realworldscenarios.Alsoimportantissharingthepurposeforthelessonorunitwiththe
students.Beingtransparentabouttheintendedoutcomeforthelearningexperiencesoffers
studentsopportunitiestotakedifferentpathways,yetreachthesamegoal.Initialintroductionto
contentisbestdonebyofferingsomecontentknowledgethroughexplicitmodeling.Ifindthat
presentingathinkaloudtothestudentsgivesthemachancetoseehowtoapproachatopic
mentallyonceworkingindependently.Offeringsmallgrouppracticewithstudentdiscoursealso
allowsforanexperiencethatfostersthinkinghabitstobepracticedandshared.Aftermodeling
andpracticetakeplacesomesortofformativeassessmentneedstobeconductedtodetermine
whichstudentsrequireenrichmentopportunitiesorateacherguidedintervention.Iagreewith
VygotskystheoryoftheProximalZoneofDevelopmentandfeelthatnearlyallcontentcanbe
modifiedtofitastudentattheirlevelofunderstanding.Suchinstructionalpracticeswillinsure
thateverystudentisbeingreachedandallowstheteachertogroupsstudentstoaddress
specificlearningneeds.


EducationalPhilosophy
GlennJacobson

TIE592
Cunningham

Teachingstudentshowtothinkhasbeenmybiggestchallengeasaclassroominstructorover
thepastnineyears.Ithastaughtmetofocusonimpartinganalyticthinkingskilluponmy
studentsandhasmadememorereflective.Whenteachingastudenttothinktheresultsarenot
immediatelyaccessible,thereforeitisessentialtocloselyobservethestudentsthemselvesand
theirworkforsignsofunderstanding.Ivefoundthattheuseoftechnologyforprogress
monitoringandindividualstudentpracticehelpsbygivingstudentsachancetosafelyattempt
thinkingstrategies.Likewiseitprovidesteacherswithawealthofdataandmeanstohoneinon
areaswherethestudentsmayneedadditionalsupport.Oftenbuiltinsupportisofferedbythe
softwareproviderintheformoftips,videotutorials,andevenlivechats.Whileitishelpful,there
isstillnocomparisontotheindividualattentionofateacher.Idoseetechnologyastheprimary
toolforpromotingcollegeandcareerdirectedlearningandunderstandthatitmustbewielded
responsibly.Teachingandmodelingdigitalcitizenshipisakeycomponenttoasuccessful
studentlearningexperiencesthatwillfollowthemintotheiradultlives.

MuchofwhatIstrivetododealswiththemetacognitionofeithertheteacherorstudentandI
expectthistrendtocontinue.OfmycurrentandstillbuddinggoalsIplantoreimaginehow
learningtakesplaceinsideandoutsideoftheclassroom.Iwanttotakeashotatflippingmy
classroom,oratleastafewstrategicclassperiods,tomaximizemytimefacilitatinglearning
insteadofpresentingcontent.Sincestudentswillnotalwaysbeundermytutelageitisofthe
utmostimportancethatIteachthemhowtolearnontheirown.ThismeansthatIempower
studentstobeabletoapproachissuesorchallengeswiththetoolsoftechnology,practical
problemsolvingskills,andanopenmind.ThemoreIamguidingstudentlearningofan
authenticnaturethebettertheyllbepreparedtohandlewhattheyfaceinlifeasanadult.AsI
plan,teach,andreflectIkeeptheTPACKmodelinmind.IknowthatIwillnotalwaysbe
harmoniouslybalancingthevariouscategoriesofknowledge.Yet,ifIplan,prepare,andpresent
theproperlearningopportunitiesmystudentscanmakethepossibilityareality.