My Teaching Philosophy
I believed that every learner in my class should be an active participant who learns
by doing and being able to construct their knowledge based on their prior experiences.
My role as a teacher is to act as a facilitator, not a sage on the stage. Letting the students
explore and perform first-hand activities will be more meaningful to them which will help
them incorporate new ideas to their prior learning. I usually make the class more
interactive by integrating activities which are more student centered just like working in
groups, experimentation, role-playing and asking thought provoking questions. From
what I’ve observed incorporating real life scenarios and example during discussions make
the students more interested and driven to participate. Engaging students to their
psychological ties such as to their society and family would make their learning journeys
more meaningful and thereby make learning more memorable.
My teaching philosophy is anchored by these two educational philosophies,
progressivism and constructivism which are both student centered. Cabando-Zamora,
Windel (2015) emphasized that the focus of progressivism is the whole child rather than
the content of the teacher. This educational philosophy believes that students should test
ideas by vigorous experimentation. Teachers who are effective provide experiences so
that the students can learn by doing. Moreover, Tippet and Lee (2019) stated that for
progressivism, experience serves as the foundation from which knowledge emerge. Since
progressive education is concerned with the emergence (as opposed to transmission) of
knowledge, the learner must go through a transformative experience. On the other hand,
Magbuo and Tittlar (2019) stated that in a constructivist classroom, the learning environment is
described as highly engaging, student-centered, and democratic. The same author utilized Kolb’s model
of experiential learning which includes 4 stages; first the learner would have a concrete experience,
followed by a reflective observation, then move to abstract conceptualization, and down to the last stage
which is active experimentation. In addition,Magbuo and Tittlar (2019) asserted that Knowledge
is constructed based on personal experience, meaning, it is self-constructed and is feasible through
reflection.