Philosophy of Teaching

Students coming from diverse backgrounds learn in diverse ways, some auditory, some kinesthetic, and some visual. Diverse pedagogy provides students with a range of learning experiences, many that mirror the environment they will be working in beyond their college years. Students also learn at different rates. The leading goal, however, is a deep understanding of content and the ability to question, reason and make connections between themselves and the world, and all areas of content. The opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge in different formats is the key to scaffolding their learning.

It is the responsibility of the instructor to be comfortable in delivering instruction through a variety of methodologies including lecturing with the use of personal experiences, inquiry, hands-on exploration, small or large group formats, and especially in the geosciences, field study. A variety ensures students get the most well rounded education in the content in which they are engaged. The choice to use differing pedagogy allows students to effectively participate in a variety of work environments. Additionally, if we have a deep understanding of the content we are teaching, we know that it cannot be effectively disseminated through one methodology. The diversity of content implores the use of more than one instructional strategy. It is very important for instructors to be both knowledgeable and confident with the various learning theories of constructivism. It is within these theories that methods are presented to allow construction of knowledge, either socially in a community of learners or individually. Without understanding these theories and following the traditionalist methods of leading the class instead of participating and facilitating, the task of engaging the students becomes much more difficult, if it even occurs at all.

As a facilitator of learning, instructors have the ability to motivate students through a variety of means. One of these is differentiation in how we allow students to demonstrate their knowledge. There is a place for the traditional exam of core knowledge and principles. However, flexibility and choice in how we allow students to show what they know addresses varying learning styles and comfort level with content. Students have a responsibility to master content knowledge, but we have a responsibility to support and engage them by putting them in control of their own learning. We need to understand that the assessment of any knowledge should also be a learning experience for students, moving them from one level of understanding to another.

Personally, I attribute my advancement in education and career to the influence of several teachers and professors. I have partially modeled several aspects of my teaching to these individuals that helped peak my interest in science. Professionally, my experience teaching secondary education as well as developing and facilitating online professional development courses have helped me realize that my interest and passion is teaching pre-service and in-service primary and secondary educators. At this level, I can reach more students than being in a traditional secondary education classroom by having an influence on the educators that will teach them. Here I can peak their interest in performing and communicating science to their young students, challenge their content misconceptions, and model varied learning theories and teaching methods.

There are a large number of elementary/middle childhood educators with little or no content knowledge of the earth sciences. A personal goal, influenced from my collaborative work with the Ohio Department of Education and the eTech Ohio Commission is to complete my Doctoral research integrating the use of simulations to reduce common alternative conceptions in earth science education. It is through the use of interactive technology that students are able to grasp key concepts in scientific content. I also see a critical need to assist education students as well as entry level teachers in developing core content knowledge in the earth sciences as well as master engaging classroom methodologies in order to provide an environment of learner-centered, inquiry-based science lessons for their students. In order for teachers make connections for students in the classroom, they must first understand the impact the geological sciences have on our current environmental, economic and socially political affairs.

I believe that there is a great need for educators in science education, particularly focusing on the environmental and geosciences. With the current global focus on environmental change and exploration, I am extremely interested in the development of earth science outreach programs in the K-12 classrooms. Additionally, the demand for professional development opportunities for in-service teachers is growing rapidly with the higher levels of accountability being implemented by the State and Federal Departments of Education. With the impending increase in requirements for secondary science, the geosciences will become a necessary offering. More so, there is a great deal of earth science related topics found on the Ohio Achievement Test as well as the Ohio Graduation Test. Today, very few educators are highly experienced or qualified in the geosciences. This in turn affects the students understanding which increases opportunities for alternative conceptions, which affects an exponentially vast amount of individuals when the misconception lies with the teacher.

Progressivism in Today's Educational System

Constructivism requires active participation by the learner, together with the recognition of the social nature of learning. It seems clear that, with respect to extrapolating a theoretical stance on education, most types of constructivism are increasingly similar to modern forms of progressivism. In the spirit of progressivism, technology would fall into place as utilizing technology in the classroom is certainly changing the traditionalist viewpoint of how education works. We see the struggle today of getting the older generations ‘jumping on board’ with the new theories of teaching in technology-based classrooms. So for constructivism to be a modern form of progressivism (which took off in the late 19th century) then the technological change and learner-centered education should be going hand-in-hand.

A Constructivist Argument

Many learning theories have developed while trying to understand cognitive development in education. Researchers who focused on the instructional design of education, were driven by the individualistic needs of traditional education rather than what could be done to disseminate the knowledge of others. This Instructivist theory was a very objective and systematic way of educational approach, argued by what was taught had to be strategically presented within traditional classroom discourse accompanied by progressive and identifiable objectives. Special attention was also made to what prior knowledge was necessary to develop an effective learning environment. (Kanuka and Anderson, 1999)

A contrasting approach to learning theory was established with a viewpoint that the learner, not the content, should be the focus of the environment. This constructivist learning theory arose with varying degrees of cognitive development, socially and individually, from objective to subjective. The overlying theme of constructivism depicts learning as being communication specific with the focus being on the learner. However, even within constructivism there exists tension within the main theoretical foundation that leads to cognitive developmental change. The overlying strain is found in the debate between individually constructed reality and socially constructed reality; prior knowledge versus personal experience.

This constraint found deep within a single theory causes the focus of research to descend on one side or another into categorical views. The argument of experience before knowledge can cause one to write volumes, which can easily become the focus of an entire career. To ensure that this paper doesn’t get out of hand, one could make the initial assumption that experience will precede knowledge in cognitive development. Theoretically speaking, the argument aligns itself to include rationale of experience being the cause of knowledge and not vice-versa. For example, once one is born into this world, knowledge quickly follows experience, but it is the initial experience that shapes knowledge. For example, if one were to get burnt by a hot ember in a fireplace, then one would certainly retain that knowledge when they exposed to another experience of an open fire. There must be an initial experience that provides contextual understanding in order for knowledge to be obtained.

Social constructivists argue that knowledge is constructed collaboratively, and that experience is governed by this community of learning. Additionally, it is stated that no two individuals will perceive the exact same meaning from any given experience (Kanuka and Anderson, 1999). Contrasting realities will cause social experience to grow based upon the experience and knowledge of social networking. However, the more extreme constructivists will contest that knowledge is personally constructed and that knowledge is determined solely by individual experience (Cooper, 1993). This theory states that what we know is merely an assumption with a limited degree of certainty (Young, 1997). While we are young, our knowledge is weak, but as we grow in insight and experience, this knowledge develops to a more advanced degree of understanding. It is not a complete matter of objectivity or subjectivity, but as experiences occur, there is certainly a sense of bias included in our understanding.

Over time, a pattern of understanding emerges as we begin to interpret our social interactions (Wittengenstein, in Sprio, et al., 1991). These very social experiences are the root of our knowledge, causing knowledge to grow upon past experience and shape future experiences to come. Eventually, less experience is required to build our knowledge, as our ever-evolving collection of personal information will continue to build off of old experiences into even broader understandings. It only takes a child once to experience the discomfort of a hot stove top to provide them with the understanding not to touch it again. Who needs to re-experience the pain of being burned to understand not to touch a hot surface?

Once knowledge is created from experience, it becomes reality. Once this reality is challenged, dissonance is developed followed by a deeper understanding is created and expanded by additional cognitive experience. It is at this point that individuals can expound their experiential knowledge with others creating this collaborative learning community based on social constructivist theories.

A new focus

It has been some time since I have been here; a lot has changed for me and my epistemological growth. I am wrapping up my spring quarter having taken six courses of 17 hours. I certainly overloaded myself, but by doing so, I have pushed to understand my limits and to focus on the absolute core of what I am trying to accomplish. I now have a research focus! After speaking to Dr. Trundle, I have centered on the study of using earth science simulations in distance learning. I am spending my summer writing my first IRB to begin research on a separate but related study that will help me understand the entire idea of how research works; the do's and don't's. Dr. Irving has been great and very supportive. I am very fortunate to have the advisors I do, who are helping me to obtain MY goals, not just working on a branch of their own. I have also had the opportunity to put the rest of my coursework requirements down on paper, into a plan. I am now working to finalize my committee. I have just three weeks remaining in the spring quarter, a week break and right into the summer quarter and my first qualitative research course. The rig is beginning to move downhill at a much faster clip now. Somedays I need to stop myself in order to focus on the journey, not just the goal at the end. Working full-time during this process really takes a way a lot of what this journey has to offer. I wish I just had the opportunity to be a student. Regardless, I have learned so much about myself, so much about the theories surrounding cognitive process, all in such a short time...and I still have another year of coursework.