Educational Philosophies in the Classroom

In class, last week, we learned about the many different educational philosophies and why they are important. The philosophies that we studied were perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, existentialism and reconstructionism. All of these philosophies are a set of beliefs that influence how and what students are taught. The first two, perennialism and essentialism are teacher-centered philosophies where the teacher has more of the power to choose the curriculum and to plan the school day and classroom activities. The last three are student-centered philosophies where the teacher and student work together to create a curriculum best suited for that child.

To learn of these theories in class, Dr. Smirnova broke us up into groups to practice a technique called the jigsaw puzzle, a cooperative learning technique where everyone plays a part and when we come together , the whole picture is formed.

This is how it works:

1. We will create 5 base groups of 5.
2. Each of your team members will get a topic (a philosophical trend) to explore, prepare materials to teach the rest of the group on.
3. When coming to class you will get in the expert groups -- people responsible for the specific trend to share what you will found out and how you will teach your groups about the topic. (5-10 min)
4. Return to your base group and teach your members about the topic. Make sure you taught well and check how well your peers understood the concepts you taught them about.
5. Summarize what you learned by generalizing the content and sharing your insights about it.
6. Take a test, quiz or self-check on the topic.
7. Celebrate Learning!

I loved this method! In class, I was paired with three other girls and we were each assigned a philosophy, mine was reconstructionism. First, I met with my expert group, from whom I got a few ideas that I hadn't thought of and was then ready to present. In our groups, it was interesting because we all presented our philosophy in different ways with different handouts. Sally started the group, suggesting that we all listen first before filling out our graphs. This was a great suggestion which we all followed. In the end, I felt very informed on all of the philosophies plus I had plenty of handouts to refer back to later. I will definitely use the Jigsaw method when I have a classroom of my own. It is a wonderful way to learn, get to know your peers and feel comfortable in the classroom.

Through the many exercises, I feel that the philosophies I identify with most are essentialism and progressivism with a touch of reconstructionism. I believe that the core subject are very important with a strong emphasis on the basic skills such as reading , writing and arithmetic. Yet, I like the hands on approach with progressivism that focuses on the students needs. What I enjoy about reconstructionism is community based learning where the world is brought into the classroom.