BECOMING A TEACHER, 7e
Chapter 3
Developing a
Teaching
Philosophy
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What is an Educational
Philosophy?
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Determines Your
Educational Philosophy?
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Teachers must ask several vital questions
about their work
Teachers’ behavior is strongly connected to
personal beliefs about:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
3.1 What Determines Your
Educational Philosophy?
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
Educational Philosophies Video

Identify similarities/differences in educational
philosophies of…
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Joyce Madsen’s
Leonia Townsend’s
Lynda Hootman’s
Trent Eaton’s
Explain how the educational philosophies impact
what happens in the classroom.
Explain the importance of having a philosophy of
education and describe their own.
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Metaphysics

Concerned with explaining the nature of
_______

Important because the school curriculum is
based on what we know about reality.
Go to this website for examples:
http://www.spiritustemporis.com/metaphysics/examples.html
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Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Epistemology
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This focuses on ___________
There are 5 ways of knowing about the
world:
1. Knowing based on ____________
 2. Knowing based on _____________
 3. Knowing based on _______________
 4. Knowing based on ___________and
______________
 5. Knowing based on _________________
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Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Axiology
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Study of __________
Teachers have an interest not only in the
__________ of knowledge but the __________
that becomes possible because of that
knowledge
What values should teachers encourage students to
adopt?
 What values does a truly educated person hold?

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For examples:
http://www.resultsuk.co.uk/axiologywhatisit.htm
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Ethics

Focuses on what is good and evil,
_________, just and unjust.

Knowledge of ethics can help the teacher
solve ethical dilemmas in the classroom.
(See P. 85)
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Aesthetics

This is the branch concerned with values
related to _________

Is teaching an art or a science?
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Branches of
Philosophy?

Logic
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Concerned with the process of ________;
identifies rules that enable the thinker to reach valid
conclusions
______ thinking – requires the thinker to move from
a general principle to a specific conclusion.
______ thinking – requires the thinker to move from
the specific to the general. Known as discovery
teaching.
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What are Five Modern Philosophical
Orientations to Teaching?
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Perennialism
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Essentialism
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Stresses students’ intellectual growth in the ______
and __________.
Students must be taught a common core of
knowledge taught in a systematic, ___________ way
Progressivism

Education should be ______-centered rather than
focused on the teacher or the content area
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What are Five Modern Philosophical
Orientations to Teaching?

Existentialism
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Focuses on the experiences of the _______
Social Reconstructionism

Believes that schools should take the lead in
________ or __________ society
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Psychological Orientations Have
Influenced Teaching Philosophies?
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Humanistic Psychology
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Behaviorism
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Emphasizes __________ _________, choice, awareness, and personal
responsibility
Based on the principle that desirable human behavior can be the product of
_______ rather than accident
Constructivism

Focuses on processes of learning rather than on learning behavior. Students
________ knowledge rather than receiving knowledge

“Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves,
and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly, we keep them
from reinventing it themselves.” _________
Check out these links: http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
Page 286 in our textbook
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
How Can You Develop Your
Educational Philosophy?

Most teachers develop an eclectic philosophy of
education
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A unique ______ of two or more philosophies
Teachers need to identify their beliefs and values
about the following:

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
1.
2.
3.
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon