Discussion Questions

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Discussion Questions

On which specific philosophy or philosophies is your philosophy based and why?

Modern classrooms have grown in terms of diversity levels among the teachers and students. Various philosophies have been developed over the years in relation to the evolving educational needs in the modern classrooms. Some of the philosophies used may be instructor centered or student centered all with the objective of providing students with the highest level of quality education. Progressivism is essential in classroom instruction as it provides avenues for solution development through collaborations among students with the assistance of their instructors. Progressivism is based on the ideology that all ideas within the classroom should be based on tests through experiments and that learning is because of finding answers from questions (Ozmon, and Craver 23).

This is relative to modern learning in that there is need to focus on enabling students to gain skills and knowledge to conduct tests by themselves and to understand answers for their questions. From such they are able to develop knowledge and skills from questions. This is essential for diverse classroom as it provides avenues for students to establish individual beliefs and promotion of interaction of students all of which is essential for their progress in both classroom and non-classroom settings.

Another essential philosophy is application of behaviorism as means of influencing student achievement. Behaviorism is based on the belief that alteration and enhancement of external environment provides students with an avenue to change their misbehavior. This is due to the reaction to external stimuli that determines their levels of engagement in classroom instruction. Enhancing classroom and institution environments results in enhanced student engagement, interaction, educational and extracurricular achievement (Ozmon, and Craver 26).

Constructivism is also applicable in classroom instruction in that it relates to the development of content and the environment for student instruction. This is relative to behaviorism in that both provide avenues for developing enhanced environments for healthy student engagement, instruction and interaction towards higher levels of student educational achievement. The three philosophies, constructivism, behaviorism and progressivism can be combined towards optimized content and curriculum development and student achievement. A multifaceted approach in student instruction yields higher levels of results for both the teacher and the students than using a single approach (Ozmon, and Craver 32).

How you believe your philosophy helps guide you as a teacher?

Progressivism and behaviorism are considered as part of modernist thinking in then field of education. They provide avenues for enhancing student achievement through engagement and understanding the needs of students. The two approaches are essential for developing curriculum content in that they provide avenues for achieving various instructional objectives. Progressivism is also based on the need to focus on the student as whole rather than focusing on the development of content. This moves the instructor away from the traditional focus on content towards enhancing student interaction and engagement in classroom based instruction. It moves educational focus away from the instructor towards the students. The students are engaged through higher levels of focus on ideas and activities through experiments. It is easier for students to understand content through active participation in the form activities and experiments. In addition, this provides them with avenues for relating the content with activities and social life resulting in higher levels of student achievement (Ozmon, and Craver 36).

In addition, this is effective in that it results in questions to the teacher by the students in relation to their respective world experiences. It is an active means of ensuring that the students are engaged in a path of constant discovery of new issues. It is an effective strategy for the teacher towards developing students who are solution oriented with active problem-solving skills and knowledge. This provides a guide for an instructor to provide students with experiences that ensure students understand the content through active engagement in classroom activities. In addition, it becomes easy for the teacher to develop learning content given that this is derived from their respective questions and interests. This provides an avenue for achieving the highest level of student engagement, interaction and educational achievement in the modern classroom setting (Ozmon, and Craver 41).

The emphasis placed by the teacher is on the process of gaining new knowledge and understanding on questions. John Dewey in his pedagogical works on education provides that school and instructors should enhance the way of life of citizens through experiences of democracy and freedom. In addition, planning of content and classroom based activities should be done with the help of students , shared decision making , student selected topic areas among others form some of the main guides towards instruction using progressivism ideology. Behaviorism is another strategy that would be essential in guiding modern instructors towards enhanced student achievement. It relies on the need to enhance the environment of student instruction. The environment induces different student reactions towards content developed by instructors. Enhanced environments provide minimal distractions towards classroom-based instructions resulting high levels of student achievement (Ozmon, and Craver 43).

How your philosophy would benefit students

Majority of instructions in the United States’ classrooms has been based on constructivism mainly in science and mathematics fields. The primary ideology in this philosophical framework has been that content is constructed by humans. Majority of knowledge and skills gained is because of individual skills and knowledge construction. The three philosophies, constructivism, behaviorism and progressivism can be combined towards optimized content and curriculum development and student achievement. Constructivism combined with progressivism provides for involvement of students in decision-making process and content selection and development. This is essential towards increasing focus on contents of interests and skills of interests among students (Ozmon, and Craver 47).

From a constructivism perspective, two main processes stand out:

1. An individual student or learner is provided with an avenue for constructing his or her individual cognitive understanding of the content material
2. Constructivism of public disciplines of knowledge is all part of human constructions to the development of different disciplines.

Student achievement and student development stand out as the most important objectives of using philosophical frameworks in instruction. Developing skills and knowledge among students towards developing solutions for problems in both classroom and social contexts is achieved using the multifaceted approach. It provides the avenue for assuming a service learning approach whereby students are driven to provide service to the community through their knowledge and skills gained in the classroom. In essence, they are driven to become solution-oriented individuals.

Changing misbehavior among students is important towards developing individuals that have a high regard for their ethical and moral conduct in both classroom and social settings. A behavioral approach enables students to assume new attitudes, behavior and belief systems that is essential in developing a health culture among the students. They are able to understand and respect diversity within their respective classroom settings. Developing new behavior among students is because of illustrating the importance of appropriate ethical and moral conduct in both classroom and social settings. This is largely attributed to the teacher conducting him or herself in a professional manner. Students take hidden messages in the form of teacher conduct and values and apply such values in their respective interactions with the teachers and their peers (Ozmon, and Craver 49).

How your philosophy relate to ODE teacher standards.

Progressivism is highly appropriate towards the Ohio Department of Education Teaching And Learning Proficiency Standards. Teaching and Learning to Proficiency in the state of Oregon has been driven towards enhancing the levels of student ownership in their learning processes and activities. This provides a means of enhancing student achievement levels to the desired state standards. The growing number of schools, Ohio school districts, and student diversity has resulted in the need by institutions and the respective teachers to develop and implement appropriate strategies. Such strategies demand that students demonstrate that they understand the skills and knowledge gained in classrooms as contained in the Ohio Academic Content Standards (Ozmon, and Craver 54).

Current standards provide avenues for ensuring that teacher practices are professional and geared towards ensuring the highest level of education quality. The standards provide that teachers should be able to understand that student development and learning with respect to diversity in the classroom. Constructivism and progressivism provide avenues for achieving high levels of student achievement and development with respect to diversity. This is achieved through provision of avenues for enabling students to create content that suits their needs with considerations of culture and other various social factors. Providing students with the avenues to select their content is based on understanding their respective cultures, ages, needs, strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, this is also relative to the standard that demands that all teachers understand their respective content areas and responsibilities in such content areas. Such knowledge is essential to provide students with an opportunity towards selecting strategies and areas that they have high interests. In addition, progressivism, constructivism and behaviorism also provide avenues for teachers to develop appropriate assessment techniques with respect to ensuring that students gain appropriate knowledge and skills essential for their educational achievement and development. This is essential towards providing students with tests and assessments that would develop their experiences. It contributes to their understanding of content knowledge and skills within a respective content area (Ozmon, and Craver 69).

In addition, from a behavioral perspective, creating an enabling environment is a means of providing individual students with avenues to achieve their full potential. Furthermore, creation of environments that enhance student achievement and development of all students is achieved given that enabling environments are provided by instructors. This is also achieved when the instructor assumes responsibility for individual professional development, involvement and performance as a member within a growing learning community. Moreover, changing the behavior of students is achieved through communication, and collaboration with the students, educators, administrators, parents and the community towards supporting student education. This achieves the overall goal of achieving an appropriate environment that enhances student respect for diversity, enhancement of student engagement and interactions towards high student achievement and development.

Work Cited

Ozmon, Howard, and Samuel M. Craver. Philosophical Foundations of Education. Columbus: Merrill Pub. Co, 1986. Print.