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Running Head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

My Personal Philosophy of Education

Nicole Murley

Madonna University
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My personal philosophy of education is inspired by the progressive ideas of John Dewey

and Alfie Kohn. In contrast to the lecture style, teacher-centered, “traditional” approach to

education, characterized by repetitive drills and rote memorization, progressives like Dewey

believe that American schools should reflect the democratic society in which it is housed

(Boisvert, 1997). Dewey modeled his philosophy after the traditions of farmhouse education, in

which “a Sharing in family work helps occasion habits such as cooperation, industry, and

dependability. It also provides an initial context within which problems need to be solved by

research and experimentation” (Boisvert, 1997. p. 96). According to Kohn (2008), the

fundamental elements of progressivism are, “attending to the whole child,” “community,”

“collaboration,” “social justice,” “intrinsic motivation,” “deep understanding,” “active learning,”

and “taking kids seriously.”

The central tenet to my philosophy is the firm belief that every student can and should

experience success. It is my responsibility as a teacher to provide what students need to make

this a reality. In a poll of nearly 900 students enrolled in California community colleges, the

Student Support (Re)defined study found that, in order to be successful, students need to be

directed, with a goal in mind and a plan to achieve it; focused on their end goal; nurtured by

someone who wants them to succeed; engaged, actively participating in class and

extracurriculars; connected to their learning community; and valued, with opportunities to

contribute meaningfully to their community (Booth, Cooper, Karandjeff, Purnell, Schiorring, &

Willett, 2013). I believe the progressive values strongly align with the needs students indicated in

this survey. Therefore, I will use what I have learned from progressive philosophers to attend to

my students as complete individuals, to engage them in the classroom, and to create a supportive

learning community within my classroom.


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In order to ensure that all of my students are successful, I believe I need to focus on

supporting complete student development. According to progressivism, school should focus on

more than academic achievement, as educators are responsible for fostering development in the

whole child (Kohn, 2008). I firmly believe this extends not only to character education, but also

to physical and health education. Students learn healthy (or unhealthy) habits early that they will

carry with them the rest of their lives. As a teacher, I want to model healthy behaviors for my

students and encourage them to be active as much as possible.

I will also implement movement-based lesson activities in my classroom in order to

promote active learning. This practice will benefit my students’ cognitive development as much

as their physical development. While we know that physical inactivity leads to health

complications, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, studies have shown that “physically active

children outperform their less active peers in the classroom” (Hillman, 2014, p. 3). Movement-

based lessons promote experiential learning, which has been proven to stimulate brain

development. Further, experiences guide the brain’s pruning process of strengthening important

neural pathways and eliminating those that are rarely used (Hillman, 2014). I strongly believe

that students learn by doing rather than sitting still and trying to absorb information passively.

This is why I want students to be actively exploring critical questions, constructing ideas, and

experiencing those ideas through movement.

In addition to these classroom learning experiences, I believe students should be

immersed in extracurricular activities to further develop physically and socially. Some of the

most important parts of my education took place outside of the classroom. I was introduced to

athletics at a young age, and I played a variety of sports each year. My parents always

encouraged me to live an active lifestyle. In middle and high school, sports became an essential
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part of school life. Through participation in school athletics I was able to make friends and learn

valuable lessons about teamwork, sportsmanship, and dealing with failure.

In addition, I learned organization and time management skills as I participated in more

extra-curricular activities. I also pursued service leadership positions, in which I was able to

pursue both academic and personal interests on a deeper level. Finally, a few of my teachers were

also my coaches or club advisors, and they served as highly influential mentors when I was

feeling overwhelmed or when I was making college decisions. As a result of my experiences, I

was more invested in my education.

Because I know how important extracurricular involvement was in my success, I will

encourage my students to take on as many opportunities as possible. I can also offer extra

opportunities as a part of my class. For example, I will encourage my students to volunteer in

elementary schools, teaching science lessons based on what they are learning in class. I can

assess their knowledge accumulated over the year by hosting a science fair, encouraging students

to build, experiment, and explore. Finally, I think it is important to create shadowing

opportunities so that my students can explore careers within the discipline. I will need to network

with professionals in the area and with local elementary schools to provide these experiences for

my students, but the extra work will be well worth the reward.

In addition to developing students holistically, I want to teach my students to collaborate

successfully. Collaboration is another important aspect of the progressive philosophy, and for

good reason. Collaborative learning is shown to lead to the development of higher-order thinking

and leadership skills (Cornell University, 2015). Students become more confident working with

others, they become more responsible, and they take an active role in the learning process

(Cornell University, 2015). Most importantly, I believe collaboration is essential to prepare


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students for the future. As they grow, my students will need to handle difficult problems in

relationships, in their careers, and in their daily lives, and they will need communication and

group problem solving skills in order to succeed.

While collaborative learning can be a highly effective tool, it can be challenging to

implement successfully. I have used collaborative learning strategies as a Supplemental

Instructor for the chemistry courses at Madonna University. Often, when I ask students to work

together, they sit together but complete their work independently. When I used more structured

activities, such as a “think pair share” method, some students remained passive, waiting for a

student to share their work on the board for them to copy for each problem. I know that

collaboration is important, but in my classroom I will need to deliberately teach students how to

communicate, delegate roles, and contribute to the group if I am to be successful. I will also need

to structure these learning activities so that students are held accountable both individually and as

a group.

In conclusion, I believe that above all else, I need to support my students as they grow

into successful young people in every way that I can. If my students believe that I care for them,

and that they have the ability to succeed, then they will be able to flourish academically and

personally. I need to work with my students to create a learning community in which students

feel confident and capable enough to think critically and collaboratively. The only way that I will

be successful is if my students are successful. Teaching is a difficult task, but if I am able to

convince my students that success is possible, nothing can stop them from achieving their

potential throughout the rest of their lives.


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References

Boisvert, R. D. (1997). John Dewey. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press.

Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

Booth, K., Cooper, D., Karandjeff, K., Purnell, R., Schiorring, E., & Willett, T. (2013). What

students say they need to succeed: key themes from a study of student support. From

Student Support (Re)defined: What students say they need to succeed. The Research &

Planning Group for California Community Colleges [PDF].

Hillman, C. H. (2014). An introduction to the relation of physical activity to cognitive and brain

health, and scholastic achievement. Monographs Of The Society For Research In Child

Development, 79(4), 1-6.

Kohn, A. (2008). Progressive education: Why it’s hard to beat, but also hard to find.

Independent School [Internet]. Retrieved from

http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/progressive-education/

Cornell University (2015). Collaborative learning: group work [Internet]. Retrieved from

http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/collaborative-learning.html

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