My teaching philosophy reflects my firm belief that learning takes place best through doing: i.e. constructivism. With the application of concept acquisition being the focal point. In today’s technology age, I see my role as an educator as the missing link between the student and the know-where as much as being the guiding facilitator of learning and a “representative of a knowledge community” (Bates, 2019, p. 171).
I strive to be open to new technology application ideas in the classroom: either through self-investigation or through learning from my peers in the workplace community of practice. I always think of how I can apply it to my field of work (English as Second Language teaching) either as an educational tool or as a reference aid my students can access when they need it. I believe that in today’s fast-paced working and learning environments, utilizing the connectivism element of storing knowledge (in this case, reference tools for later use) in non-human appliances is a necessity to facilitate learning. Also, every student comes to the classroom with their own background, prior knowledge, culture and language usage. Therefore, providing options for them to pursue their own learning provides students with more and better learning opportunities.
Students and technology are inseparable in adult-learning. Therefore, embracing it instead of fighting it will be the better option, as argued by Polly et al. (2018). By moving education onto platforms where students can connect and communicate outside of the classroom, I shall provide a channel where learning can occur “through interaction, negotiation, and collaboration” (Polly et al., 2018) as students deal with challenging and stimulating curricula.
Forums and other chat platforms are less formal ways for students to communicate and connect amongst themselves and with the teacher. By being less formal, students can express their true nature easier, ultimately fulfilling the social presence need in the community of inquiry model (Bates, 2015). To address the teaching presence need, I shall provide structured activities to facilitate and direct all the processes needed to bring about personally meaningful learning. Also, just being available to address student needs and concerns goes a long way in promoting a healthy learning environment. Discussion forums and journals where students can share their ideas, opinions and reflections on educational activities will be an easy way to cultivate cognitive presence in the learning environment.
Students will also have the opportunity to connect with students with similar learning interests by setting up forums, other technology platforms (such as Discord), or face-to-face clubs. I shall encourage them to form these online or physical groups to share these interests as well as any helpful tools and resources that address their needs. This will create a second community of practice (the first being the one to which I, as a teacher, belong) as defined by Wegner (2000, as cited in Bates, 2019) as they are connected by their shared interests, partake in shared activities as they pursue their common learning goals, and put their learning into practice (communicating in English in society).
Overall, my approach is that the learner and the teacher are a team, learning from one another and adding to the overall learning experience as shared by the entire class, cohort, and department. I also believe that technology is there to make our lives easier and more enriched, and neglecting it as an educational tool is a massive injustice.
References
Bates, A. W. (2019). Teaching in a digital-age – Second edition. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2
Polly, D., Allman, B., Casto, A. and Norwood, J., 2018. Sociocultural Perspectives of Learning. In R. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology (1st ed.). Available at https://lidtfoundations.pressbooks.com/chapter/sociocultural-learning/ .
Bates, A. W. (2019). Teaching in a digital-age - Second edition. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2 Polly, D., Allman, B., Casto, A. and Norwood, J., 2018. Sociocultural Perspectives of Learning. In R. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology (1st ed.). Available at https://lidtfoundations.pressbooks.com/chapter/sociocultural-learning/ .
Hi Ruhann,
I absolutely agree with you that we should work with our colleagues to find new applications to use in the classroom that could help our students’ learning. I think it’s also important to take into consideration students’ desires and needs. Have one of your students ever approached you about an application that you did not know about and you decided to use in the classroom? I think we can also learn from our students about applications that may be useful for them and try them out in the classroom. I know we work with different ages, but I think it’s important to emphasize to my young students that we can learn from anyone and teachers do not know everything. I understand that some cultures believe the teacher knows everything and they should be looked up to, so it can be difficult for some students to grasp this concept that we can learn something from everyone. Other ideas of ours may also not align with other cultures thinking, so we may have to accommodate to our students’ needs.
Gurreet
I totally agree with you about applying constructvisim as i personally believe in same and really appreciate about your thinking on engaging students to indulge the required knowledge and the idea to connect all of them according to their interest. It will ultimately boost them to learn more with curiosity and with fun.
Hi, Ruhan
I agree with you as the best approach is constructivism. As the students gain knowledge learning by doing.yes we should always learn by our surrounding things and people. I also, learn lots of new things from my co-workers and school leader. Technology always makes learning interesting and entertaining for students as to when I introduce my student’s smart class, they were very excited about it to explore new ways to learn.
Hello Ruhann,
Thank you for your thoughts. I really enjoyed reading your teaching philosophy. Many educators nowadays are adopting a flipped-classroom approach. Technology has played a vital role in achieving this. Your metaphoric explanation of the role of educators in students’ life is so apt. I too strongly believe that educators are the “facilitators of learning.” It is, therefore, important to understand the backgrounds of students and thereby assimilate students in an environment that facilitates learning. In this modern era, connectivism learning is becoming popular as it allows the students to form learning communities and networks thereby engaging them in collaborative learning. Technology has definitely enabled teachers to adopt newer teaching methodologies making teaching as well as the learning process enriching for instructors and students. I strongly believe in the concept of mutual learning rather than the teacher being a sole transmitter of knowledge.
Regards,
Sarabjit