Being a Teacher

Dr Dennis Francis
Commonwealth Education Trust

Foundations of Teaching for

Learning
Course 2: Being a Teacher
Week 1: What is a Teacher?
Lecture 1.4: Developing a Philosophy of
Education

Asking Important Questions

When we ask ourselves questions about important
basic issues in education, such as:
What does it mean to be a teacher?
What are the most important things that we
should teach?
How do we learn?

we are asking ourselves Philosophical

So a Philosophy of
Education is?
a study of general and fundamental
problems of education, with questions such as:
What is knowledge?
What is the value of education?
What is reality?

The Study of Knowledge

The philosophical study of knowledge is called
Epistemology.
Epistemology in education asks questions about
knowledge such as
What is knowledge?
How do we know what we know?
How did we acquire that knowledge?

The Study of Values

The philosophical study of values is called axiology.
Axiology in education asks questions about values
such as
What is the purpose of education?
What do we value about education?
Should some elements of the curriculum be valued
more than others?

The Study of Reality

The philosophical study of reality is called
metaphysics
Metaphysics in education asks questions about
reality such as
What does it mean to be a teacher?
Is reality only the things we can sense (see or touch)?
Is the physical world a figment of our imagination?

Forming your own Philosophy

of Education
Some questions you might consider in doing this are:

What do you believe are the purposes of Education?

Should everyone have access to education?
Should students or teachers direct learning?
What content/skills should be taught at school?
How should schools teach content and skills?
How should learning be measured?

Some Things to Think About

Who is the best teacher that you have
seen?
What skills, qualities or values made this
person a great teacher?
Do any of this teachers skills, qualities or
values appear in your own teaching?

Your Teaching Philosophy

Identifies your thinking at a particular time.
Gives you a starting point to examine your
own teaching practices.
Allows you to monitor your development as a
teacher.
Is a personal document that should reflect
and represent you as an individual.

Questions to Consider when Developing your

Teaching Philosophy

What do I believe about teaching?

What do I believe about learning?
What motivates me to learn something new?
Would that work for my students?
What do I expect to be the outcomes of my teaching?
What is the student-teacher relationship that I would like to achieve?
How do I know when I have taught successfully?
What elements are part of my most successful teaching achievements?
What values do I want to impart to my students?

A Statement of Teaching Philosophy

should be

Short.
Clear.
Personal.
Contain the words you really care about.
Show your strengths.
Represent your current level of experience and
practice.
Help you to improve in the future.

Some Things To Do Next

Ask your colleagues at school what their philosophy of
education is?
Write your own one or two page statement of your philosophy
of education and teaching.
As you go through the rest of this programme, think about the
big questions that help you to understand how you see
teaching, learning, relationships, assessment and so on.
How has your philosophy influenced what you believe about
these things?

Foundations of Teaching for

Learning
Copyright Notice
Week 1, Lecture 4
Slides

Commonwealth Education Trust. All Rights Reserved.

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