learning theories week 4

terms

 evidence

if

 then

 because

As I form my own philosophy of education I am running into some hurdles.  While some are merely speed bumps others feel like mountains.   One problem in particular is based in my scientific background.  All of the theories that we are learning about are different.  There may be some unifying ideas between them there are also very diverse ideological views available concerning education.  The scientist in me wants to find the “unifying theory.”  Unfortunately that seems to be almost impossible.  So many theories offer small pieces of evidence that work well to describe educational theory.  Piaget, for instance, offers learning stages that all humans go through.  While this part of his theory sounds relevant and applicable he then states that people go through them in at a pace that can be correlated to age.  I find that statement to be counter intuitive.  It leaves no room for child prodigies or exceptional cases.  It does not take into consideration the effects that society can have on your educational experience.  A child denied food will not perform at the same level as a middle class student of the same age, for instance.

            What I am realizing as I build a foundation for my own pedagogy, is that these theories all exist to some degree simultaneously.  The key to refining my own core beliefs on  is to borrow from many theories into a complete hybrid of my own.

            I have enjoyed the afternoon studying Paulo Freire.  It has lead me to add his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed to my Kindle.  As a student interested in political strife and social injustice I found his theories to be directly in line with my thinking.  A theme that we have received in Zacks class on Mondays is that school was originally formed here in the US with the intention of “Americanizing” the youth of the country.  This has been a common theme throughout history for many cultures and countries.  Hitler had youth programs and Americans had boarding schools for Native Americans.  Even the public school systems of America teach students to be complacent by making them sit through 8 hours of school everyday in preparation for a job later in life.  Public schools get so caught up in trying to finance their system by way of standardized tests that they forget to teach their students what it means to be critical of their society they live in.

           

            I would like to incorporate this thinking into my future science classrooms.  I left the business world in order to do something meaningful with my life.  Teaching students to question the world they live in is exactly the kind of pedagogy I want to work at.  This is highly relevant to science in particular because we are dealing with serious issues of social injustice in regards to the environment, overpopulation, global warming, genetic experimentation and cloning, and so many other issues where the poor are left out of decision-making and yet bear the brunt of the costs associated with the problem.

            One poignant part of Freire’s critical pedagogy is the addition of a vision for a better future.   I believe that science holds the key to forming a better picture of our societies future.  Direct application of the scientific method to social concern is where we will find the most relevant inclusion of science to that end.  Including social justice in my curriculum will let my students examine social injustice through the lens of scientific inquiry.  By developing those skills in my students I will be able to provide the hope for a better future.

Theory to practice 2

      If students are to learn technological literacy in the classroom, then it is important to foster the ideals of self-determination theory such as, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, because these values provide the students with an intrinsic motivation to succeed separate from weaker external forces pushing them towards academic success.
     Vicki Davis's students becom self-deterministic by always walking around the class guiding students into the path of what they are looking for, but never just telling them what to do.  She supports their learning and gives it validation by letting them teach her and tailoring the work to match individual student needs and interests.  For instance she had no idea how to use the terraforming aspect of the software when they began the class.  She let the students teach themselves and, in effect, her how to use it.  This provided the students with ownership of their education.  They took the initiative and accomplished learning on their own seperate from the teachers knowledge base.  In addition, she took the time to make her students teach the class how to do things.  By making the students the teachers they now have an important role in the class.  Passivity is not acceptable in that classroom context.  I also appreciated the fact that she made the students look up words on-line if they did not know them already.  In todays world a huge tome of a dictionary is unneccessary and impractical.  It is much better to teach students to take a proactive, technologically superior, step towards independence.

Theory to practice 3

     If an educator wishes to teach their students the values of an active democracy, a social conscious, and the ability to speak up for the oppressed people of the world then they should practice critical pedagogy as described by Freire because these pedagogical skills allow children to discover and recognize their own ability to overcome oppression.  It is important to recognize that children as well as adults are in need of this kind of education.  Many of us assume that education for social justice has to begin with children.  This is a false assumption.  Freire began educating adults before he started to write Pedagogy of the oppressed.  While it is important to not leave children out it is equally important to not forget about their parents.

Link to the Spreadsheet

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AioeJWfqj6l3dG1CNnNiZjUzR0hSSk9VS0daRkZrMHc&hl=en_US&authkey=CIuxpWQ