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Uploaded byGail E. Bentley, Ph.D., M.Ed., LPC-S
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GEB-PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Gail Bentley's philosophy of education focuses on critical thinking skills, relevance to life outside the classroom, and honoring multiple learning styles. She believes education should develop problem solving abilities rather than just memorizing facts. Classroom learning should be applicable to students' lives and consider their developmental experiences. Teachers should address different learning styles to make material more interesting and easier to understand. Both teachers and students share responsibilities in the learning process to support different styles and adapt instruction. Bentley finds that teaching and learning have an exponential impact on her knowledge as she integrates new information with life experiences.

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PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION: GAIL BENTLEY, Ph.D., M.Ed., LPC-S Gandhi once said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.” This quote is meaningful to me because I do not think of education as the mere acquisition of facts, rather it is the ability to use knowledge in deliberate, beneficial ways. My personal intention as both a student and a teacher is to focus attention on thoughts that help me and my students to address practical problems of development across the life span. As all knowledge is related to its context I approach the classroom with three main priorities; critical thinking skills, relevance to life outside the classroom, and honoring multiple learning styles. Critical thinking skills are vital for integrating facts into knowledge. This level of thinking leads to ideas for solving problems through cooperation and involvement, rather than simply committing facts to memory. The value of lifelong learning is the development of skills related to course work, thus leading to the development of problem solving strategies. These skills can develop through class discussions, small group work, or individual reflexive writing. Any of these methods can lead to convictions based on the critical thinking process. This process helps one to “own” their convictions which are now based on informed opinions. The ability to analyze unfolding social events develops as creative and critical thinking skills are enhanced, creating the capability to use new knowledge in beneficial research or interventions in professional life. One of the primary goals of education should be relevance. What is learned in the classroom should be applicable to the life of the student, and the life of the student should be valued in the classroom so that a blending can take place. In this way the information discovered in the class has a much greater potential to alter the personal developmental trajectory of the student. For myself, I want research and theory to guide the intervention strategies that I use in my work. In order for this to happen, my core therapeutic knowledge must be integrated in the context of my personal development and then expanded to the developmental experiences and contexts of my clients as I incorporate new knowledge from the classroom and personal study. This process requires time and opportunity for feedback, evaluation, and revision to achieve an acceptable level of mastery. Mastery of the subjects studied can mean the difference between a fulfilling career and just a job. Learning style differences can create considerable difficulties for educators. I believe any subject can be interesting, and that any interesting
subject can be boring. Classroom presentation can have a huge impact on the student’s experience with the subject. Yet I do not think the teacher holds sole responsibility for being the classroom “entertainer”. Scholarship carries with it a responsibility for both teachers and students. Teachers who are able to address multiple learning styles can certainly make a class more interesting and thus make the material more relevant and easier to learn. Students however also have responsibilities in the learning process, to take the time to discover how they best learn, and determine ways they can adapt the classroom format to support their learning styles. As an educator I hope to find ways to enable students to put the course content in the context that they find the most stimulating. This give and take process with learning styles represents a mutual respect between the teacher and the student. The term “second half” is used in business and chess to describe the point when an exponentially growing factor begins to have a significant impact on the overall strategy of the game. In the second half of my life I am finding that teaching and learning are having an exponential impact on my knowledge base. As I learn new things I have a lifetime of experience to relate it to and my understanding of various elements spreads out and integrates across those experiences. I anticipate that this process will continue to have a significant positive impact upon my developmental trajectory. March 2014