Assignment for an Education Course
So I was doing this assignment for my education course about assessing what I believe my educational philosophy about teaching and learning is... here is what I came up with, and I find it quite interesting!
Philosophy about teaching and learning:
My philosophy about teaching and learning is an interesting one. I believe that teaching and learning coincide with one another. You cannot learn without teaching. Teaching is the way in which you learn. Yes, one may understand the material taught by the teacher, but it is the active participation in the material that allows the student to learn. I have had this philosophy for many years now because I have experienced it. With my desire to be a teacher, I did something I called "practice teaching". It was the way in which I studied. I would listen and take notes about what I did in class the day of then at home I would teach myself the lesson again like I was the teacher teaching my students. This is how I studied and I learned from it because I was reiterating what my teacher had taught and I was reviewing what I did not understand so that I could go back to my teacher, ask a question, and understand the material. Another time this occurs is during my time as a religious education teacher, or catechist. When I was in the program as a student, I felt as if I did not learn much. However, when I started to teach in the program, I learned more about my faith than I ever would have thought possible. It was that ability for me to teach the material that allowed me to learn.
Students do not learn just by listening to a lecture in a class from the teacher. They learn through active participation with the material. Lecturing does not allow for intellectual development. When a teacher gives a lecture, it is telling students information, but does not allow for the students to process it. The active participation in the class, however, allows for increased learning in the course material.
Thoughts anyone?!?!