Reflection #8- Educational philosophy

We all have different thoughts and approaches to education. This creates our educational philosophy or outlook. My educational philosophy would be a constructivist one. The constructivist approach stresses that we all, as learners, create our own interpretation or reality of things based on our past experiences. It states learning as an interpretation of the world around us, and our process of creating meaning. A constructivist approach in education is one that emphasizes hands on activities that help students connect to reality and the real world. In contrast to a behaviorist approach, it gives students the opportunity to think on their own, rather than having a teacher guide them through a lesson. Having students work in groups sparks their curiosity and motivation. It fuels the brain to process and work harder. Constructivism prepares students to face difficult situations and teaches them how to resolve them. It focuses on the learner setting goals and trying to reach them. I like constructivism because it stresses attention towards communication and interaction without such focus on the accomplishment of the lesson. It suggests that through assimilation, learners place their experiences into an already existing framework without actually changing the framework. Students will use their already existent perception of the world and combine them with their experiences in order to learn. I think the best way to focus on a students learning is to have them actually learn on their own through interaction and problem solving. Having students attempt and see results on their own is the best way to ensure learning. Constructivism focuses on accommodation as the use of failure leading to learning. We act on the expectation that the world works in one way that we believe. If we see it goes against our beliefs and violates or expectations, we fail, but yet, we learn from it. Constructivism focuses on HOW things happen, not paying much attention to students following the instruction and understanding the lecture. It is an active learning process, which has always been my favorite when it comes to instruction. Constructivism gives students responsibility and motivation towards learning. It makes them responsible for their capacity and speed of learning, depending on their participation and enthusiasm.