I believe that learning is continuous and that the purpose of education is to prepare students to be life-long learners. As a teacher, I plan to be a guide and facilitator of learning and to treat each student based on their individual needs. I want to help students come to conclusions on subjects through their own investigation of a topic and to be able to relate that material to their own life circumstances. I believe that learning is innate in all students, but it is the teacher’s responsibility to awaken each student’s desire to learn and to encourage new ideas and welcome challenges.
As a progressivist, I believe that the curriculum should always focus on the needs of the students. The world is constantly changing and therefore knowledge and what we learn changes too. Students need to be able to look to great ideas of the past but also learn how to move through new challenges of the present and future. It is the teacher’s job to let students work together and develop a deep understanding of the material through their own discovery. This enables students to learn in their unique way and therefore construct the material so that it makes sense to them. Constructivism will help propel my progressive classroom by letting students take their existing knowledge, combine it with new experiences and therefore retain new knowledge in a more meaningful way.
I will construct my classroom to represent Vygotsky’s view of cooperative learning because I believe that students learn best when they are working together. I will encourage them to help each other through challenges, thereby facilitating not only cognitive development, but also social development. The teacher and the students will work together to decide what is important to learn. In a classroom, a teacher should provide the framework and basics of knowledge and then let the students fill in the picture.
In my classroom, I expect respectfulness and understanding of each other’s differences. Students are responsible for their work and actions and must learn how to take ownership of the choices they make. I want each student to feel safe and comfortable enough to express ideas. I believe in the humanistic approach and will strive to be empathetic, genuine and warm, as Carl Rogers suggests. Each student has their own needs and it is my job to make sure that they are met. Above all, I want to teach students to love learning and to constantly explore and question the world around them.
As a progressivist, I believe that the curriculum should always focus on the needs of the students. The world is constantly changing and therefore knowledge and what we learn changes too. Students need to be able to look to great ideas of the past but also learn how to move through new challenges of the present and future. It is the teacher’s job to let students work together and develop a deep understanding of the material through their own discovery. This enables students to learn in their unique way and therefore construct the material so that it makes sense to them. Constructivism will help propel my progressive classroom by letting students take their existing knowledge, combine it with new experiences and therefore retain new knowledge in a more meaningful way.
I will construct my classroom to represent Vygotsky’s view of cooperative learning because I believe that students learn best when they are working together. I will encourage them to help each other through challenges, thereby facilitating not only cognitive development, but also social development. The teacher and the students will work together to decide what is important to learn. In a classroom, a teacher should provide the framework and basics of knowledge and then let the students fill in the picture.
In my classroom, I expect respectfulness and understanding of each other’s differences. Students are responsible for their work and actions and must learn how to take ownership of the choices they make. I want each student to feel safe and comfortable enough to express ideas. I believe in the humanistic approach and will strive to be empathetic, genuine and warm, as Carl Rogers suggests. Each student has their own needs and it is my job to make sure that they are met. Above all, I want to teach students to love learning and to constantly explore and question the world around them.