Philosophy of Education Statement

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RUNNING Head: Philosophy of Education Statement 1 EDSN 600: History and Philosophy of Education Crystal Wood December 17, 2023

2 Throughout the semester our candidate learning outcomes have been presented through our readings and discussion posts. The candidate learning outcomes, describe a balanced, effective teacher when to comes to instructing their students and growing professionally. Being able to gain an understanding of how education began and the changes that have happened over the years has been helpful in discovering and learning where I stand as a person and professionally. Going through the candidate learning outcomes in the end will help me to become a more effective teacher. The reflexive praxis of the candidate learning outcomes states that as an instructor I must reflect on my practices, while utilizing resources to help me grow professionally, which includes educational research, my pedagogical approach, and my professional ethic. If there is one thing that I have learned throughout this semester is my beliefs play a big role and influence the way I teach. As a teacher I must be culturally responsive to the students in my classroom. In the classroom there will be students from all different backgrounds, and I cannot let my beliefs hinder students from learning and growing. Our “beliefs are critical components of culturally responsive teaching” (Gay,2010, p.216). What I believe can have an impact on the students, so instead I want to create a culturally responsive classroom environment where all students are engaged and are able to learn from each other. Each culture has something to offer and has different approaches to learning. When teaching, if I notice that a student is quiet and not engaging, I need to dig deeper to understand what is going on, it could be in their culture they have learned to be quiet and not that they are not paying attention. As a teacher I need to know my students’ cultures to be able to develop a culturally responsive classroom. This was discussed when we looked at the struggles of the African Americans and Native Americans had, two groups of people who taught me a lot of about being sensitive to culture needs and identities.

3 When looking at the African American population W.E.B Dubois felt, that with the right leadership, individuals he called the “talented tenth”, could inspire and “socially conscious leadership. These individuals would constitute an intellectual vanguard, challenging racist oppression with the ideals of democracy, legal principals of equity and fairness, and appeals to the nation’s moral conscience” (Rury, 2020, p. 103). For this to be possible and for change to occur, as an instructor, I need to know the struggles they have come from. This can be said about the Native Americans who had to give up their identity completely. Native American’s were forced to give up their cultural identity and assimilate to white society. Schooling was used to, “. . . change the lifestyles and beliefs of American Indians, to eradicate their traditional culture and replace it with the Christian and capitalist values” (Rury, 2020, p. 108). As an instructor, I must be aware of all my students’ culture backgrounds, bring their unique experience into the classroom and create a learning environment that is welcoming for everyone. In the learner centeredness candidate learning outcomes are directed by evidence-based principles of equity, inclusion, and diversity. Having a learning centered approach is learning from one another. During instruction there should be a give and take between myself as the instructor and the students. According to Gay (2010), as instructors we should try to model students and teachers interacting with each other in multiple ways and at different levels, this is effective teaching and learning since it also encompasses more than academic skill development (p.218). I believe that each person learns differently, and each culture has something to offer. For me that means to be able to develop an engaging classroom by offering a variety of teaching methods and having multiple learning opportunities to be able to learn from each other. This is likely able to assist the class to become engaged since they will feel comfortable not only with me but with their classmates. The experience of learning from each other’s culture allows each

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4 of us to learn from one another. It expands our knowledge beyond the academic. As the instructor I also went to reflect on my own theory of practice, as I start to develop mine, knowing it will continue to change over time. Educators develop their own theory of practice, “through reflection on their own teaching and learning, they weave theory and practice together and create the fabric of their own cultural practice of teaching and learning” (Shepel, 2019). The way I teach will change based on the students I have. Each student is unique, having just one method of teaching is not going to always engage the students, there are different types of learners, and I must be aware of how each student learns to be effective enough to get them engaged in the curriculum. By developing an engaging culturally responsive classroom environment, I am learning from the students, which helps me to continue to learn and put the students first. In the discipline of knowledge candidate learning outcome, means that as an instructor I will apply knowledge, strategies, and concepts across domains to engage the individuals I teach and promote critical thinking and creativity. It is taking the time to reflect on my knowledge and ways of teaching as an instructor. According to Shepel (2019), when it comes to reflecting it is socially constructed, since it was formed in shared cognition among the community of learners and then consciousness internalized. This is students and the instructor working together by sharing ideas and thoughts, this in turn causes us to reflect on what was said and the learning experience. We can then take the information we learned and process it, learning if the teaching method used was effective and if not, how can I change or modify the teaching method to benefit all students. When students are engaged and involved in the curriculum, they are most likely to learn. When a student does not seem engaged and you have ruled out other factors such as cultural background, then it is time to take a moment to reflect to note what worked, what went okay and what didn’t work. Based off the notes, as the instructor I can modify my method of

5 teaching and learn new strategies that may be helpful in teaching the curriculum. I ideally would like to create a democratic classroom, where all students have a voice and create critical thinking moments. To develop a democratic classroom, “. . . we must introduce our students to the types of experiences that lead to critical conversations about current social and controversial issues that are relevant to content studies” (Koonce, 2020, p.58). It lays the foundation for developing a respectful, empathetic, and tolerant classroom environment. Dewey had laid the groundwork for democratic classrooms, he felt that “. . . democratic schools provide the foundation for students to actively participate in a democratic way of life, and to do so, the educational curriculum must be structured to engage students in authentic real-life experiences that will empower them to maintain such a way of life beyond schools’ walls” (Koonce, 2020, p.57). To develop a democratic classroom, is having a shared power between teacher and students, students have a voice, all ideas and contributions are respected, deliberate sharing of diverse views even about challenging issues, dialogue and decision making by the group, and a growth of the whole self, including students’ critical awareness (Marschall, 2021). Students should have voice, be involved in what they are learning and be able to become critical thinkers. They should be able to take the knowledge they have gained to be able to apply it to the world and their circumstances. This brings me to the next candidate learning outcome of professional commitment to action, which is demonstrating attitudes, knowledge, professional ethics, and skills that will contribute to the well-being and success of my students. As an instructor, I believe that not one student or population is above the rest, all students should have access to the same education. In the classroom as mentioned above, there are students from all different cultural and ethnic backgrounds; some are from well-to-do families or families that struggle to get by.

6 Unfortunately, there are times, due to opportunity gaps and achievement gaps, students do not get the education they deserve. The situations people are born into, such as their race, socioeconomic status, where they live, predetermines the opportunities they will have in life, not being given the chance to achieve their best potential. It brings our attention to the conditions and obstacles that students could face throughout their schooling (Mooney et al., 2018). The type of schooling is predetermined, as Professor Welner explains it has “children learn when they have opportunities to learn. When denied those opportunities, they fall behind, and we get devastating achievement gaps. But when they are provided with rich opportunities to learn, they thrive and the achievement gaps close” (Stroud, 2017). The achievement gap refers to the difference between lower income students and those living in rural areas and their well-off peers (Mooney et al., 2018). This leads to not everyone having the same learning experiences in and out of school. For this to change, as the instructor I will hold all my students to the same high standards. I will use as mentioned above use a variety of teaching methods to help my students to learn and be engaged. If I notice a student struggling, I will take the time to figure out what is going on, it could be my teaching methods or maybe they just don’t understand, in this case I will figure out supports to be help the student and, in this way, all my students are given a chance to succeed no matter their circumstances. As the instructor I want to equip my students with the opportunity to gain the knowledge they need to succeed. When given the chance to succeed with the right resources and opportunities, students that may seem at less of a disadvantage can achieve anything. They need a chance to be able to show they can. This brings me to the last candidate learning outcome, data literacy and research. This is to be to plan, select, evaluate, and implement summative and formative assessments, including those that are technology based to be able to monitor students’ understanding, progress, and

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7 behavior. Schools and the quality of education has changed over time to what it is today. The quality of education offered in district schools varied dramatically from district to district, though the level of instruction was often not high. District schools were often boring places where little was taught and learned” (Johnson et al., 2012, p.83). Fast forward to today with the common core curriculum, which was like Mann’s view. Mann and others encouraged another option to district school, “. . . improved common school system could provide all children with knowledge and skills necessary for success in this new industrialized world of the nineteenth century” (Johnson et al., 2012, p.85). His view was like today’s school and the common core curriculum where all students learn the same, with the use of standardized test. Then with the no child left behind act (NCLB) it was more focused on teaching to test according to Koonce (2020). It hindered students. Instead of helping students to excel in all areas, teaching became focused on teaching math and reading. Another issue with NCLB was that states got to decide what it meant to be proficient and which tests to use (Klein, 2023). Teachers had to evolve to meet the needs of the students and of the government. As the instructor I plan to use the knowledge I have gained to be able to assess my students using a variety of methods such as grading, assignments that are geared towards my students’ level and knowledge and using technology to aid in instruction. Technology can be a useful tool, it gives students more access to information, they can access the course materials online, submit assignments online and can be used in the curriculum. Instead of focusing funds more on just how to test, funds could be used to go towards continuing research using technology, along “. . . with better resources, innovative teaching styles, and effective teaching practices” (Koonce,2020, p.39). With the use of a variety of assessments and technology, I will be able to develop an instructional method that will work for my students and be able to meet the students at their level.

8 As I wrote this paper analyzing all five candidate learning outcomes, it has been eye opening for me. The candidate learning outcomes have shown me where my views are as an instructor and how I will continue to grow throughout the rest of my education and when I am out teaching. It gave me understanding of what I hope for my students, in the end I want to be able create enriched learning environment that will allow them to succeed. References

9 Gay, G. (2010). A Personal Case of Culturally Responsive Teaching Praxis. In Culturally responsive teaching theory, research, and Practice (pp. 215–235). essay, Teachers College Press, Teachers College, Columbia University. Johnson, T. W., & Reed, R. F. (Eds.) (2012). “Local versus centralized control of schooling.” Philosophical documents in education (4 th Ed.). New York: Pearson. Klein, A. (2023, June 21). No child left behind: An overview . Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04 Koonce, G. L. (Ed.) (2020). Are Truly Democratic Classrooms Possible? In Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues (20th Ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Learning and T Lampert-Shepel, E. (2019, March 28). Learning to reflect: Developing reflexive praxis. Retrieved from https://learningandteachingexchange.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/learning-to reflect- developing-reflexive-praxis/ Marschall, C. (2021, July 27). The power of a Democratic classroom . Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/power-democratic-classroom/ Mooney, T., Kramer, M., & co-CEO, F. (2018, May 11). Why we say “opportunity gap” instead of “Achievement gap.” Teach For America. https://www.teachforamerica.org/one-day/top- issues/why-we-say-opportunity-gap-instead-of-achievement-gap Rury, J. L. (2020). Education and Social Change: Counter in the History of American Schooling. New York: Routledge.

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10 Stroud, Garris. (2017, November 22). Achievement gaps are just the symptom. opportunity gaps are the real problem. Achievement Gaps Are Just the Symptom. Opportunity Gaps Are the Real Problem. https://www.edpost.com/stories/achievement-gaps-are-just-the-symptom- opportunity-gaps-are-the-real-problem

Philosophy of Education Statement

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