ILI Blog - Week 3 - Educational Philosophy

Questions
What is your general philosophy of teaching and learning? How have your previous educational experiences affected your philosophy? What is critical thinking? What is reflective practice? Why are these important? Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any.

Answers
"Question everything" is probably the basis of my teaching and learning philosophy, informing both reflective practice ("How is this going? Is this effective? What's going wrong or working really well? What have I mistakenly assumed?") and critical thinking (for myself and my students).

Critical thinking is not just passively accepting whatever you're told, whatever you hear or see or read or experience, but is actively considering context, construction, chronology, etc. - understanding the why and how of information and stories being transmitted across various media. Reflective practice is being aware of what you are doing, critically examining it, being flexible and open to change and criticism, recording your thoughts about your practice and reflecting on them, all towards the goal of improving teaching and learning.

I believe that both teaching and learning are most effective when they are engaging, relevant, hands-on, transformative, subversive, meaningful, and social. My teaching needs to connect with learners, personally and academically, as they learn how to not just take what's fed to them at face value, without critical examination - not to reject everything, but make sure they pay attention to who is saying what, how it's being said and why, what the context and purpose is, and the veracity and bias - then process, create, and share their own information and stories. As a teacher, I need to treat my learners with respect, praise effort, encourage exploration, scaffold responsibility, and build community.

I have had teachers that have challenged my thinking and beliefs, have fired up my passion for subjects, and have shown investment in my success. Listening to the educators around me, as well as experts from a variety of informative fields (psychology, etc.), I have become aware of the complex, interpersonal, and deep societal importance and impact of education on individuals, society, and our future. All of these experiences have made me committed to helping everyone learn, grow, and do good and well, in school and in life.