1. My Educational Philosophy
Beth Dror, 2015
Constructivist learning theory rightly reminds us that children are active creators of their
own knowledge. The best learning activities require them to activate prior knowledge, ask
questions, explore, experiment, and solve real world problems, after which they assess,
reflect on, and ideally apply what they've discovered. The teacher's role is to understand
students' background knowledge and facilitate the process of building on it by igniting natural
curiosity about the world and how things work. Using inquiry-based learning, students
formulate ideas and questions, test them, and draw conclusions from their findings, which
they eagerly share in a variety of formats. The key is that students are active participants and
engaged observers during the learning process. Constructivist theory provides the rationale
for creating a child-centered, developmentally appropriate curriculum that incorporates
teaching methods which meet children's ability and need to construct their own meaning from
learning.
Constructivist theory is the basis of the activities and units I've planned. In 4th
grade,
my students researched many facets of the Wild West, from main characters to key events to
geographical components and accompanying issues, culminating in a student-run living
history day, Wild West Day. In 2nd
grade, my students, inspired by their natural curiosity about
mammals and plants, engaged in an interdisciplinary unit on Henri Rousseau and the Zoo
which included research and field studies along with multiple opportunities to share their
research and findings. Students benefit from studying topics at their own pace and informed
by their interests.
Learning best occurs in a supportive classroom environment where students
experience daily success and encouragement and the teacher is aware of the progress of
each student. I am sensitive to the unique social and developmental needs of children. I want
every student to feel valued and respected as a unique member of the class, as well as have
ownership in the success of his/her classroom community. I believe that a classroom busy
with the buzz of learners, creators, and explorers should be a primary goal of elementary
education. My goal is to instill a wonder of the world in children through all the subjects we
explore, to make their classroom a vibrant place to learn and grow each day.
Innovative teaching methodologies and programs have always appealed to me as an
educator. As such, I greatly value professional development. Examples of programs I was
introduced to as a teacher and became passionate about include DBAE (Discipline Based
Arts Education, Getty), Lucy Calkins' Reading and Writing Workshops, and University of
Chicago Everyday Math.