GMIT EXAMINATIONS 2013/2014

Programme: Year: Module:

DTE 4 4 Professional Studies

Internal Examiner(s):

Pauline Logue Collins Kevin Maye

Submission

Student:

Shane Fleming G00277980

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
My personal educational beliefs are that everyone has the right to an education no matter what age, race or sex you are. Everyone has the right to an education and the right to achieve their best in life. Tell me, I will forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me and I will understand (Capel, Leask, & Turner, 2009, p. 9) Everyone can be educated no matter if you have students with special needs or have a gifted child in the classroom, the trick is to motivate the students and get the students involved in the lesson, either by teacher led or student led activities. I believe that there is no better subject to increase your skill and design strengths that in woodwork and technical drawing. Each student can express their own design and creativity in their projects. In woodwork I believe that there is no better place for discovery learning to emerge and develop than in the four walls of the woodwork room and technical graphics room. I believe that my subjects help develop the students oracy and graphicy and are proven to develop and improve the students spatial awareness and hand eye coordination. In my future teaching I will base my lessons around discovery learning getting the students involved in problem solving activities either in groups or on their own. I believe teaching through questioning is the best method to achieve this. Asking questions in lower order and building them up to higher order, as exercised in both my teaching practices I am a strong believer in this as it gets the students minds active and more involved in the lesson being taught. I am strongly against teachers standing up on top of the room lecturing/preaching to the students as was done traditionally. Times have changed and so have the students with this so must teachers. I believe in modern society that discovery learning and active learning are the future in teaching. I believe in my classroom that there should be a friendly atmosphere. Where there is a level of respect shown both ways between student - teacher and teacher - student. Good teacher student relationships are based on mutual respect. The student respects the teacher for his or hers teaching skills, personal qualities, knowledge and professionalism; and the teacher respects each students as an individual, and that students attempts to learn. (Petty, Teaching Today A Practial Guide (4th edition), 2009, p. 98) My educational influences are John Dewey (1859-1952) who believe that Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself He believed in: Discovery Learning Active Learning Pupil centred Learning Another educational influence was my own woodwork teacher in school. I didnt realise at the time the teaching strategies that he used but now I have studied and researched different types. I now know why my class had so much respect for him. Each day he shown a passion for the subject and made every lesson exciting and engaging. FROM LITTLE ACORNS MIGHTY OAKS DO GROW