Philosophy of Education Statement 1

EDU 770: Educational Psychology & Classroom Management:

Philosophy of Education Statement
Amanda Gunnell
Touro University Graduate School of Education
Philosophy of Education Statement 2

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

- Albert Einstein

The Role of the Teacher

A teacher plays many roles in the main production of a student's academic life. A few of

those roles include being the Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Editor, Production Designer, and

so on. The teacher must create a classroom environment that is safe and consistent for students

to foster learning and growth. They must inspire the students to think like scientists and

engineers to build on their prior knowledge without hindering the artistic nature of creativity. A

teacher creates meaningful lessons and can adapt or scaffold them to lead their students to the

zone of proximal development. The teacher understands their students learning styles and

constructs collaborative groups to enhance the students learning potential. In order to achieve all

of these, the teacher always has a management plan in place and plans for everything that can

occur in the classroom. Most of all, a teacher is not ashamed to collaborate with other colleagues

for the betterment of the students. Collaborating with other colleagues about teaching strategies

and ways to improve a lesson/unit are key elements to the success of the students and the teacher.

As Production Designer, the teacher storyboards the visual progression throughout the

academic year. This serves as a template throughout the year when the teacher needs to edit,

refine, and scaffold lessons. When the teacher assumes the role of the Screenwriter, appropriate

dialogue is carefully crafted for the students to help shape the sequence of events within the

classroom and create a safe learning environment for all. One of the most important roles of the

teacher during the production is being the Director and collaborating ideas with other colleagues

to improve the performance of the students. The Director inspires the students to build upon
Philosophy of Education Statement 3

their prior knowledge, reach outside their comfort zone, and collaborate with the other actors to

reach the contents core and set the stage. The role of the Producer is also very important because

without management the main production will fall apart and the performance will not be

superior. The Producer has a clear management plan from start to finish and each person in the

production can rely on the consistency of the plan. The teacher builds upon the actors prior

information of a subject to stretch the mind further. In doing so, the role they are assuming is

that of a set designer, art director, and costume designer. Providing visuals, props, and visual

context to expand abstract ideas for the students helps to scaffold their thinking to explore

outside the box and helps them reach the next level of engagement. According to Holton and

Clarke, Scaffolding is the building upon other information to form new understanding. As the

Casting Director, the teacher constructs meaningful collaborative groups to help the students co-

construct knowledge and stretch each others thinking outside the box. The Casting Director

knows that a successful collaborative group will improve the actors performance. The teacher

pays keen attention to each actor and casts them in the best roles for their strengths, weaknesses,

and learning styles. Lev Vygotsky states that a groups cognitive development stems from social

interactions through guided learning within the zone of proximal development as partners co-

construct knowledge.

Teachers facilitate discussions to extend and stretch their students knowledge even

further. Leading discussions prepares students for future challenges while at the same time

building their confidence in the content. According to the BSCS 5E Instructional Model,

learning is dynamic and interactive. A successful performance relies on the teachers ability to

get students in their zone of proximal development, adapt lessons to keep their students engaged,
Philosophy of Education Statement 4

and stretch their students knowledge beyond what they imagined possible.

The Role of the Student

The students role in the main production is to be a key actor in the classes performance.

Every actor has an important key role in the overall performance of the class. It is imperative for

students to collaborate with each other to put on a superior performance. They must bring their

prior knowledge of the subject being taught to the classroom to help make predictions and

hypothesize to help explore their ideas further with questioning, reasoning, and research.

Students relate what they're learning to the real-world to make the content meaningful and

expand on their knowledge efficiently through group and peer collaboration. Collaborative

groups ask each other leading questions to help engage in the content and expand on their

teachers leading questions. According to Bruner this style is called Discovery teaching and

involves the students discovering what is in their own heads rather than telling them what is out

there. Bruner emphasizes that a students understanding, rather than performance, means testing

their knowledge of information via multiple-choice or short-answer questions and that this

approach simply is not good enough to expand their knowledge.

Information or knowledge must be structured so that students can relate the content to the

real-world, expand and deepen their prior knowledge more efficiently, and go beyond what is

simply given to them in a textbook. As a method to achieve this goal, Bruner proposes his

famous spiral curriculum and discovery learning. Spiral curriculum based on Bruner's work are

the following: students revisit a concept throughout the year, concepts get more complex, and

new learning is connected to old learning by relating it to prior knowledge. Discovery learning

is supported by the work of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert. They believe this
Philosophy of Education Statement 5

type of learning actively engages students, helps them stay motivated, gives them a sense of

independence and responsibility, helps to develop their creativity and problem solving skills, and

tailors a learning experience for each student.

The Role of the Environment

The role of the environment in the main production is to set the stage and create a place

that encourages the actors to give their best academy award winning performances. The Set

Designer will design scenery and stage sets to fully immerses the audience and the actors in the

production. When the teacher provides visuals, props, and visual context to explain abstract

ideas for the students it helps them reach the next level of engagement and improves their

performance. Decorating the classroom with students work, visual aids for learning, classroom

procedures, and the teachers expectations helps communicate to the students what they are

responsible for and what the teacher values. The Producer ensures a successful classroom

environment is in place to provide a set of procedures, routines, expectations, and management

plans for the classroom and behaviors.

The consistency of routines, procedures, and plans creates a sense of trust between the

students and the teacher. An organized classroom helps students feel safe and engaged in

learning. The management plan outlines the procedures, procedures create consistency, and

consistency helps students trust what is being taught to them. The management plan helps

convey to the students that the teacher cares and is competent which fosters an effective learning

environment. According to Wong & Wong, effective teachers teach their students how to be

responsible for appropriate procedures. Having a predictable environment for the students helps

manage learning instead of having to manage behavior. It helps students perform better when
Philosophy of Education Statement 6

they have a sense of responsibility and know the teachers expectations.

The Role of the Parent

The role of the Parents in the main production is to be an avid audience member, the

actors Talent Agent, and Acting Coach. They are not only there to support their favorite actor,

their child, but to support all actors in the performance. The Parents investment in the

production as the talent agent is to support, defend, and promote the interests of the actor. The

Talent Agent helps the Casting Director understand the actors strengths, interests, and learning

styles (acting techniques) to land them an appropriate role in the main production. An Acting

Coach helps the actor develop their skills, gives advice, mentors, helps to improve acting

performance, and prepares the actor for auditions and better roles. They help the teacher produce

a successful performance and encourage the student to practice and rehearse for better roles. As

an audience member, the Parent is their child's biggest fan and can be their best critic. They can

provide constructive criticism to help their child improve current and future performances.

Parents teach their child important values such as being on time, respectful, caring,

committed, and dedicated. These values are also important to the other actors and the teacher

because the performance is on the line. When one actor doesn't show up, the performance of

each collaborative group is altered. When Parents invest in the quality of the performance then

all actors benefit. Parents, students, and teachers all share a symbiotic relationship, if you will,

and we work together to benefit everyones role in the grand performance.

Philosophy of Education Statement 7

References

Wong, Harry & Wong, Rosemary. (2014). The Classroom Management Book. Harry Wong

Publications, Inc.

McLeod, S. A. (2014). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

Holton, D., & Clarke D. (2006). Scaffolding and Metacognition. International Journal of

Mathematical Education in Science & Technology, 37(2), 127-143. doi:

10.1080/00207390500285818

Takaya, Keiichi. (2008). Jerome Bruners Theory of Education: From Early Bruner to Later

Bruner. Retrieved from

http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/8931/mod_resource/content/1/7su.pdf