Philosophy of Education Essay

EDU 224 Foundations of Teaching and Learning

Learning Outcomes

We want you to leave EDU 224 with a good idea of the teacher that you would like to become. Course goals assessed by this assignment are as follows.

1. Construct, demonstrate, and apply knowledge of important concepts in educational history, philosophy, finance, governance, and the law.

3. Develop an emerging Philosophy of Education. (Describe the kind of teacher you want to become in detail and connect that vision to class learning.)

4. Prepare for a successful job search and first years of classroom practice through preparation of important documents, engagement in public speaking, and participation in educational organizations.

Assignment Description

Please produce an informal, first-person essay outlining your philosophy of education, your beliefs about teaching and learning. This paper will be an example of your baseline thinking, and will be revisited and revised in future education classes and even as you begin work in your teaching career.

As the basis for your thinking, please use personal experiences, current knowledge of EDU 224 class and textbook information, related readings or texts, and your vision of the teacher that you hope to become. You will be expected to include at least two quotations (cited using APA format) and specific knowledge of material in chapters 5 and 6 of Teachers, Schools, and Societies, including the specific philosophies of education and theories of learning.

A teaching philosophy is a very broad personal statement which addresses your foundational beliefs and how those beliefs affect your ideas about curriculum, instruction and environment, and professionalism. Please use the following questions to guide your thinking and structure.

Overview

  • What philosophy or philosophies describe you best? Why?
  • How do you define learning? Why?
  • What are the purpose(s) of education?

Curriculum

  • What content and skills are important? Why?
  • Who should get what content and/or skills? Why?

Instruction and Environment

  • How should your content be taught? What methods should be used? Why?
  • What are the proper roles of students and teachers? Who should have the power in a classroom? Why?
  • How should learning be measured?

Professionalism

  • What do you believe about teacher leadership?
  • What kinds of power will you use in and outside your classroom? Why?

Do not assume that what you do as a teacher is commonplace. Instead, describing your teaching philosophy will help you realize how unique it is. Refining this statement is critical and is best accomplished through collaboration, i.e., discuss the content of this statement both before and after you write it with colleagues, mentors, advisors, students and others. Remember, a teaching philosophy is a work in progress; it will change as you develop as a teacher.

General Formatting Suggestions

You may experiment with the format for this assignment. There is no right or wrong way to write a philosophy statement, which is why it is so challenging for most people to write one. While we have asked you to write an essay, you may have a better idea about how to develop and share your philosophy of education. You may decide to include a narrative, a play, a question/answer format,links, or a presentation. Please remember, however, that your product with be assessed with the same assignment rubric, so be sure to meet the criteria.

It is generally 3-4 pages in length. For some purposes, an extended description is appropriate, but length should suit the context.

Use first-person. Writing in first-person is most common and is the easiest for your audience to read.

Most statements should avoid technical terms and favor language and concepts that can be broadly appreciated. A general rule is that the statement should be written with the audience in mind. It may be helpful to have someone from your field read your statement and give you some guidance on any discipline-specific jargon and issues to include or exclude.

Use APA citation style.

Include teaching strategies and methods to help people “see” you in the classroom. It is not possible in many cases for your reader to come to your class to actually watch you teach. By including very specific examples of teaching strategies, assignments, discussions, etc, you are able to let your reader take a mental “peek” into your classroom. Help them to visualize what you do in the classroom and the exchange between you and your students. For example, can your readers picture in their minds the learning environment you will create for your students?

Make it memorable and unique. If you are submitting this document as part of a job application, remember that your readers on the search committee are seeing many of these documents. What is going to set you apart? What about you are they going to remember? What brings a teaching philosophy to life is the extent to which it creates a vivid portrait of a person who is intentional about teaching practices and committed to his/her career.

For samples and ideas, please see the Ohio State University Center for Advancement of Teaching website at