Discussion assignment:
Part 1: Read the following narrative
Setting the Stage: Rethinking Curriculum Design
How long have American schools organized and delivered instruction to our children in a traditional manner based on age and subject? Traditional learning is face-to-face teaching and learning most of us grew up with in K-12 education. It is synchronous whereby everyone must be in the same room at the same time to make the learning experience happen for everyone. Students move vertically from grade to grade until graduation at the end of grade 12. Can this change?
As the world changes it’s important to understand that change is a necessity of growth .. knowing that change is hard. change is complex. Change is risky. Nevertheless, we must change the way schooling is designed because NOT changing in an ever-changing world is the most significant risk of all. The Covid-19 crisis shined a spotlight on significant flaws in our current ways of teaching and learning, exposing how dependent students have become on adults to direct their learning and how damaging our assessment practices are for intrinsic motivation for learning.
Curriculum and instructional design must be re-thought because of the scale and pace of change taking place in our world. The speed and degree to which technology, economics, information, politics, climate, and population patterns are changing, have affected human interaction and behavior with potentially devastating consequences (Bostrom, 2019). While the anatomy of the brain has remained relatively stable in the past few thousand years, the tools and technology that are used to make meaning of the world and our lives have had a major impact on how students think and interact. We have entered an era when a need for a spirit of inquiry and innovation is required to help us navigate the increasingly complex, interconnected world, and solve transdisciplinary problems of the 21st century and beyond. Students require new sense-making tools so that they can understand complexity leading to an overwhelming need to teach our children to be adaptable, flexible, lifelong learners.
Part 2: Reflection and response: Begin to formulate your Philosophy of Teaching Statement:
- a. Read the following C&I Philosophy (This is NOT a Philosophy of Teaching Statement but rather a Curriculum statement to frame your thinking)
Curriculum and Instructional Philosophy.pdfDownload Curriculum and Instructional Philosophy.pdf
- Reflect on the readings from your text, the articles, and video,
Part 3: Write your Philosophy of Teaching Statement incorporating what you have learned from Taba and Tyler’s research.
Writing your Philosophy
A philosophy of teaching statement is a narrative that includes:
- A personal vision for teaching and learning.
- A description of teaching strategies or approaches implemented.
- Justification for those strategies, focusing on evidence-based practice. (citations required)
An effective teaching philosophy demonstrates that an instructor is reflective and purposeful about teaching, communicates instructional goals and corresponding actions in the classroom, and points to and weaves together themes, materials, and activities.
Use the resource below to help guide your narrative:
Sample Writing your Teaching PhilosophyLinks to an external site.
Sample 2 Writing your Teaching PhilosophyLinks to an external site.
Please use APA 7 formatting:
- Include a cover page formatted as outlined by NSU in your resource section
- Times New Roman
- 12pt font
- Double spaced
- Cite at least 2 references in your philosophy that support your beliefs from the material in Module 1
- Include a reference section at the end of your philosophy statement
- Use proper headings (bold, indentations)
Discussion 2: Philosophy of Teaching
My philosophy of teaching is that all students are unique in one way or the other; however, they must have a stimulating learning environment where they can develop and grow mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically (Shucksmith & Nisbet, 2019). In my teaching practice, I desire to create such an atmosphere that will allow the student to meet their full potential. A teacher must understand his/her students, including how they develop and learn. I understand that students do not learn the same way or at the same rate (Shucksmith & Nisbet, 2019). As a teacher, there is a need to be diverse in ideas and be flexible to deal with different kinds of students.
The curriculum must provide room for different learning styles. Some of the teaching and learning styles include visual learning, auditory learning, reading/writing learning, and kinesthetic learning (GCU, 2020). All these styles of learning should be incorporated into the curriculum to ensure no child is left behind. Using diverse approaches to teaching is important because students are different.
My role as a teacher will be to assist children in developing their potential and learning style. I also ensure that the content is relevant to the students’ lives (Shucksmith & Nisbet, 2019). Education is changing due to several external sources of pressure; therefore, the curriculum must incorporate current technology to enable flexible learning.
My beliefs
- Every student is unique
- All students can learn.
- A teacher is under an obligation to make learning possible, flexible, and relevant to all students by developing an effective curriculum.
References
GCU. (2020). How to Recognize and Support Learning Styles in the Classroom. https://www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/how-recognize-and-support-learning-styles-classroom
Shucksmith, J., & Nisbet, J. (2019). Learning strategies. Routledge.