MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPY OF EDUCATION AND ITS

APPLICATION IN TEACHING THE TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

Brian Flannery G00323339

Submitted for the Bachelor of Science in Education (Design Graphics

and Construction)
to
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Letterfrack

Module Leader: Pauline Logue

Programme: Bachelor of Science in Education (Design Graphics and Construction)

Module Title: Education Studies

Date Submitted: 21/10/2016

ABSTRACT

This article is my teaching philosophy statement and involves my view on the impact theorists
in the field of philosophy, psychology and sociology have shaped the way I teach my lessons.
First off, what is a teaching philosophy statement? A teaching philosophy statement is a
narrative that includes: your idea of teaching and learning, a portrayal of how you teach and
reasoning for why you teach that way. (School, 2016)

The aim of my teaching philosophy statement is to look at the way psychologists such
as Piaget and Vygotsky have shaped the way I like to teach my class. I also look at how
philosopher such as Socrates and Pestalozzi shaped teaching to be the way it is today and the
impact they have had on the way we educate the students today. Finally, I look at sociologists
such as Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim and the way they looked at how a persons social status
can link up with the way a student is able to learn.

Throughout my teaching philosophy statement, I looked at various different books to

back up my research. I also used online documents to give me further information, thus,
allowing me to find trustworthy sources to back up all of my research involving psychology,
philosophy and sociology, and how it links in with the way we educate the students in present
day.

Within my teaching philosophy statement, I look at how theorists Socrates and

Pestalozzi have shaped my teaching by the way they presented their philosophy ideals. I then
go on to look at psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky and how they have moulded my
teaching methods from the work they did in their field of expertise. Finally, I look at Karl Marx
and Emile Durkheim and how they have shaped the way I teach different students with different
socioeconomic status.

Key words: Philosophy Statement, Psychology & Philosophy, Methodology,

Application in todays teaching practice.

2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4

2.PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION ........................................................................... 5

2.1 Socrates.................................................................................................................. 5

2.2 Pestalozzi ............................................................................................................... 6

3 PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION ........................................................................ 8

3.1 Piaget ..................................................................................................................... 8

3.2 Vygotsky................................................................................................................ 9

4 SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION11

4.1 Karl Marx..11

4.2 Emile Durkheim11

5. CONCLUSIONS12

6.LIST OF REFERANCES ....................................................................................... 13

3
1. INTRODUCTION

This is my teaching philosophy statement and contains my ideals of teaching shaped by

theorist within philosophy, psychology and sociology. So what is a philosophy statement?

A teaching philosophy is a statement of reflection and a

philosophical framework of your personal approach to teaching
and student learning. It explains the rationale behind what guides
your practice, what factors impact on you as an educator and
what values underlie your practice (O'Farrell, 2016)

Throughout my philosophy statement I look at the way philosophy, psychology and sociology
have shaped how I approach teaching and the various practices I use in teaching a class.

The aim of this Philosophy Statement is to present an informed opinion on the

Psychology, Philosophy and Sociology of education and how these three areas have shaped my
way of teaching the students Materials Technology: Wood, Technical Graphics, Construction
Studies and Design & Communication Graphics.

This is accomplished by analysing various different references and resources available

to me through literature such as books and journals. My philosophy statement is going to look
at various Psychology, Philosophy and sociology theorists and convey the effect they had on
education. What are the names we can associate with Psychology and what impact have they
had in the world of education? I look at the theorists and use their ideals to shape my own
teaching and make me a better educator. Who can I look up to for inspiration in education due
to their work in the area of philosophy, psychology and sociology and how have they moulded
education in the world today through their work. How do the theorists allow me as an educator
link a persons way of learning to how they will actually learn the syllabus and succeed in their
subject?

I begin by looking at Philosophers, Socrates and Pestalozzi. I look at how they shaped
the way we teach today through their studies of philosophy. I look at how their work has shaped
the way I teach and the various ways it helps me work with students. I then follow on to talk
about the psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky and how their work has shaped me as a
teacher to differentiate my lessons to suit the needs of a students ability to learn. Finally, I
look at Sociologists Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim looked at how people have different social
status and link this to the classroom. I do this by looking at how the students could be coming

4
 from a different socioeconomic status and they could have different needs when it comes to
learning and retaining information.

In the next section, Philosophy of Education, I look at how Socrates and Pestalozzis
work have shaped me as a teacher and shaped the way I set up my lessons.

2. PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Down through the years many Theorists have come up with various methods and theories for
teaching. This dates back thousands of years as we see Socrates is a very influential philosopher
and he dates back to 470-399BCE. Every teacher and every schools has its own philosophy of
education which influences the ethos of the school and how the students are taught. Philosophy
of education embodies answers to questions about the reasoning behind schooling, the teacher's
job, what is to be taught and by what methods. (Sadker, 1994)

2.1 SOCRATES (470-399 BCE)

Socrates was very influential as he used informal dialogue to teach his students. We are
aware of the work Socrates carried out through the writings of his student Plato who also
went on to be a very accomplished philosopher. Socrates was born in 470BC in Athens where
he went on to teach. He never formally said he was a teacher but he believed that Ancient
Greece was his classroom.

Socrates also taught his classes through the use of dialogue and not through writing,
this is known as Socratic Method This involves the use of questioning throughout the lesson
causing the students to lead the lesson. The Socratic Method makes the students think in a
disciplined, intellectual way, while constantly assisting the students by posing aiding questions
(Paul, R. and Elder 1997). This is a very clever way to teach the students as they arent even
aware that they are learning new knowledge but they are very engaged in the lesson. This could
be used very effectively in my own classroom when I am teaching as the students will be
leading the lessons without them even being aware of it. One of the key points is you must
have good classroom management strategies in place. One of the advantages to the Socratic

5
Method is that the students are being asked higher order questions which encourages the
students to learn through a technique of problem based learning. After asking a question, he
waited for an answer, then when the student answers he would reply with another question
which made the students think, thus making them critical thinkers. This is very helpful for a
teacher as it allows him/her to draw as much information from the students and give you as the
teacher a better understanding as to where the students are in terms of understanding the work
you are covering. It also helps you as the teacher as the students will think about what they are
asking and you will see they will ask you very sharp and intelligent questions. (P.10, Noddings,
1995)

Another aspect of Socratess work I found to be very interesting and useful is that he
tended to use questions to help a student see if they have an error in the way they are thinking
or whether they have given the wrong answer. This can almost lead to a debate between the
student and the teacher. Nel Noddings (1995) says this method can also be called destructive
cross examination as the questioning stays going until the teacher or the student or both sense
that the scrutiny has gone into as much detail as they can take it for that moment. (P.5,
Noddings, 1995)

I really like this as it allows the students to lead their own learning. All in all, I think
that Socrates was way ahead of his time as he was using techniques to teach thousands of years
ago which some teachers struggle to put into practice. He also had a great insight in how
questioning can help a student lead their own learning as if you question a student they will
think about an answer thy have given you and they will then come up with another more
improved idea.

In the next heading I talk about Pestalozzi and how he has impacted my methods of
teaching and the way I look at teaching as a practise

2.2 PESTALOZZI (1746-1827)

Pestalozzi was a very influential philosopher as he believed that a child will learn by the use of
their senses. Pestalozzi suggested that the curriculum should be the study of nature or the
environment to promote learning through the senses. (Jones, 2005).

6
 Something I also found to be very interesting about Pestalozzis work is that he refined
Rousseaus ideas and he developed the object lesson. Pestalozzi used the object lesson
where the lesson begins with the exhibition of and object and an invitation to the students to
describe it, tell how it works, and so on. (Rao, 2008) Interestingly we only associate an object
lesson with only a moral part of the lesson, for example if a person does something wrong but
they have the right intentions then a person might say that was an Object Lesson for him/her.
(P.10, Noddings, 1995). As a Materials Technology: Wood teacher this fits in to my teaching
very well as I can teach the entire chapter of wood identification purely through the students
senses. This can be done by means of touch, sight and smell as each wood species has a
different smell texture and appearance. Pestalozzi said Children should not be given ready-
made answers but should arrive at answers themselves (Smith, n.d.) and this is very evident
as he uses the students senses to help them find the answer. This fits into Technical Graphics
very well as you have to learn the theory but the student must have the ability to apply the
theory due to the variance in the questioning. It also applies as the purpose of Technical
Graphics is to improve a students visuospatial skills. This is taken from the Technical Graphics
syllabus; To stimulate the pupils creative imagination through developing their visuospatial
abilities. (Syllabus T. G., 2016)

The use of the senses also fits into the Materials Technology: Wood syllabus and is
something which can be utilized very well in the classroom. It works very effectively as the
students have to use their senses throughout the syllabus. The students make use of touch, sight,
smell and hearing whether it being able to identify timber or being able to hear if a machine is
being used correctly. Identify oak, pine, ash etc. through inspection of leaves and seeds.
(Syllabus M. T., 2016). This clearly indicates the students need to use their senses to identify
various species of timber.

Pestalozzi was also an avid believer in moral education as he felt that all of his lessons
should have had a moral point and not just cognitive ones. Nel Noddings (1995) wrote;

Pestalozzi followed Rousseau in recommending that children be

educated through the senses. He refined Rousseau's ideas and,
following John Locke, created an approach called the "object lesson."
18 An object lesson begins with the exhibition of an object and an
invitation to students to describe it, tell how it works, and so on. (P.19,
Noddings, 1995)

This has a very strong influence on my teaching as I also feel that a student should be very
morally correct as they have to be able to function in the world around them and not just a

7
 controlled environment like the school. I also believe that this is very important for students to
learn because they are not just learning how to study a curriculum but they are learning how
to be well rounded human beings. I feel as a teacher I should be giving them good examples
of how to be a morally correct person and lead them down the correct path.

3 PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION

3.1 JEAN PIAGET (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget was a constructivist who focused on giving the students individual tasks as
opposed to using group work to help the students learn. I think that is an effective way of
teaching as each student can work to their own strength but this method in my opinion can also
be criticized as the stronger students will excel and leave the weaker students behind as they
could work to their own strengths. I believe that if you put students into groups where you have
an even mix of strong and weak students you will see benefits as the weaker student is able to
feed off the knowledge the stronger student has as well as the teachers information.

Piaget was an advocate for discovery learning which meant that the products of learning
needed to be produced by an individual exploring their environment (Bentham, 2002). Piaget
combined this with how the mind works to get a deeper understanding on how a student will
take on the information they learn and how he can help them improve. Piaget developed four
stages in cognitive development. Piaget identified four stages in cognitive development:
sensory-motor, pre-operational, concrete, and formal (Pope, 2008). Piaget liked to allow the
student to learn through trial and error so that they could learn from their own mistakes and use
the new learning they gained in tasks they may have in the future. he child learns to use and
to represent objects by images, words and drawings. The child is able to form stable concepts
as well as mental reasoning and magical beliefs (Rice, 2011) This in my opinion shows that a
child is able to learn for themselves which in turn will make them better thinkers. I really like
this as I believe myself that a students best way to learn is if they make a mistake and it sets
them back on a deadline. This way the student learns that they do not want to make a mistake
again and they will use what they have learned in the future.

8
 Piaget for me fits in very well into my methodologies as a teacher as I believe that
student led learning is the best way for a student to learn and retain the information they have
learned, for example, if you pair up students and have them research a sub topic, they become
the expert in the topic they cover and this means they learn their work very well and thorough
allowing them to teach the other student/students in their group thoroughly. This can be utilised
very well when students are covering a topic like concrete in Construction Studies.

I am now going to talk about how another constructivist, Lev Vygotsky, and how he
used a social aspect to see how the students would respond and whether it has a positive or a
negative effect on the students learning.

3.2 LEV VYGOTSKY (1896-1934)

Vygotsky took inspiration from Piaget but he thought that the students would excel if
they had a social aspect brought into the lesson. Vygotsky stated that learning awakens in
children a variety of internal developmental processes that can operate only when they interact
with more competent people in their environment and in cooperation with their peers
(Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky did this by putting the students into groups and giving them
instructions so that they would get to the end of the task much sooner but they would also be
learning everything they needed to know. Vygotsky theorized that when children support each
other, they adapt a task and give support to each other to help complete the task (Tharpe &
Gallimore, 1988). This differed to Piagets purest method of letting the students guide their
own work to the completion of the task, therefore he didnt interfere with the students by
putting them into groups or have them working together at all. Vygotskys method in my
opinion is very advantageous as the students are a lot more active and they are learning
information from the rest of their group members as some students may have picked up
different points of information. It is also far superior to Piaget in my opinion as when the
students are given a target which they have to meet it helps them to stay on task with the work
they have to get done.

Something I also encountered was that Vygotsky used a method called Zone of
Proximal Development. Vygotsky defined it as:

9
 the distance between the actual developmental level as
determined by independent problem solving and the level of
potential development as determined through problem solving
under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable
peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).

Personally I think this is a fantastic method of helping the weaker students learn in the class.
This works very well as the weaker student can feed off the information the stronger student
has taken in from the class. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is said to be one of
Vygotskys most useful concepts as he believed that there was a difference between what a
student can learn by themselves and what they could learn from a more skilled individual
(Bentham, 2002). This creates a common level of knowledge throughout the classroom and
keeps everyone in the class on a par. I think this is a fantastic method of helping keep your
students on the same wave length and keeping them focused on the task in hand.

Vygotsky also looked at scaffolding which is supporting the students learning. This
fits in very well in our subject area as the students do all of the wok but the teacher only needs
to give the students concise guidelines to keep them on task and to reach the end goal sooner.
The use of scaffolding is very important for a teacher as it allows the class to lead the lesson
but with the aid of the teacher guiding them in the right direction. This can be seen in our
subject areas, for example in Materials Technology: Wood, we can scaffold the students
learning of wood identification by showing the timber they have to identify. This backs up the
students learning and solidifies their knowledge.

Now I am going to look at Sociology in education and how sociologists such as Karl
Marx and Emile Durkheim are able to be linked up with the students ability to learn the topics
being covered in the lessons.

10
4 SOCIOLOGY IN EDUCATION

4.1 KARL MARX (1818-1883)

Karl Marx was a German Sociologist who sought to convey the changes in the society
after the Industrial Revolution. He went on to write The Communist Manifesto along with
Frederick Engels which looked at the class difference within Capitalism. The Manifesto of
the Communist Party was written by Marx and Engels as the Communist Leagues programme
on the instruction of its Second Congress (London, November 29-December 8, 1847), which
signified a victory for the followers of a new proletarian line during the discussion of the
programme questions (Engels, 1848). He is known to be one of the most controversial thinkers
in history due to the breakdown of communication between nations due to the work he carried
out throughout his life.

Something Karl Marx believed in was that people should be treated as equals and that
there shouldnt be a divided between social classes due to your socio economic status. This in
my opinion fits in perfectly with the school environment as there is still a small bit of
communism to speak in schools. For example, in a lot of schools students have to wear a
uniform, they have the same books, they get the same treatment from the teachers. This in my
professional opinion is very beneficial as the students cannot be segregated due to their status
in society or where their family fits into society, within a school environment every students
falls into the same social status. This I evident when we look at the teachers attitude toward
inclusion as they do not separate the class into social statuses, everyone is treated as an equal
and they are put into groups where all the students are equal. (Leatherman & Niemeyer, 2004)

4.2 EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)

Durkheim was one of the founding people in sociology as he showed a strong interest
in social science when he was only young. Durkheim used the work carried out by
Auguste Comte as inspiration but he didnt use all of his work as he believed some of
Comtes work was a little vague. Durkheim believed that sociology had to study social

11
 facts and characteristics of social life that form a persons actions as an individual in
order to make sociology more scientific (Giddens et al., 2009, p. 11).

Durkheim had a theory of social solidarity and this for me is something to be

very influential. It looks at how cooperation is required for the continuation of society
in which we live. This is seen in industry where the fisherman catches the fish to feed
the factory worker who in turn will make the equipment the fisherman requires to catch
the fish (Boundless, 2016). This definitely something which can be used in education
and is something I like to use in my own teaching, as when teaching a class Design &
Communication Graphics, cooperation is vital for the class to succeed. This is due to
the fact that they need to help each other as a team in order for them all to achieve the
same goal, an honour in their subject. When teaching I like to use the system call Each
One, Teach One. This involves giving a student a topic each and they must teach their
separate topic to the other students in their group. This reflects the fisherman feeding
the factory worker given in the example above.

5 CONCLUSIONS

To conclude I have spoken about various philosophers, psychologists and sociologists and
how they have had an impact on the world of education. Through the information gained from
this teaching philosophy statement I can incorporate the theories the psychologists, Jean Piaget
and Lev Vygotsky, the philosophers, Socrates and Pestalozzi and the sociologists Karl Marx
and Emile Durkheim have proposed into my own teaching. These can all be influential in the
use of cooperative learning within the classroom but also the reinforcement used to ensure the
students retain the knowledge.

The use of theorists such as the ones named throughout this teaching philosophy
statement is crucial for the development of teaching and the progression of teaching in the
future. I believe that these theorists have a very strong impact on the way we teach as if we
didnt look at the likes of a students social background we wouldnt be able to take into
account the fact that the students may not be able to learn the same way as others. This allows
me as the teacher to come up with various differentiation strategies like putting up a word wall

12
 or using group work techniques to help with keeping a weaker student at the same pace of
learning to the stronger student. The use of the likes of Vygotskys Zone of Proximal
Development is something a teacher must incorporate into their classes as every student will
learn at a different pace. This for me is a perfect example of the reason why we use these key
thinkers to shape our teaching techniques as it keeps the class learning at the same pace but
also as equals.

6 LIST OF REFERENCES
Bentham, S. (2002). Psychology and Education. Routledge.

Boundless, (2016). Durkheim's Mechanical and Organic Solidarity. [online] Boundless.

Available at: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-
textbook/social-groups-and-organization-6/social-structure-in-the-global-perspective-
58/durkheim-s-mechanical-and-organic-solidarity-359-1108/ [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016].

Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum, R. and Carr, D. (2009). Introduction To Sociology. 7th
ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, p.11.

Leatherman, J. and Niemeyer, J. (2004). Teachers Attitudes Toward Inclusion: Factors

Influencing Classroom Practice: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education: Vol 26, No 1.
[online] Tandfonline.com. Available at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10901020590918979 [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016].

Noddings, N. (1995). Philosophy of Education. Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.

Tharpe, R. G. & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning, and
Schooling in a Social Context. New York: Cambridge University Press.

School, C. U. (2016). Cornell University Graduate School. Retrieved from

Gradschool.cornell.edu:http://gradschool.cornell.edu/career-services/teaching-philosophy-
statement

Smith, M. K. (n.d.). Infed. Retrieved from www.infed.org: http://infed.org/mobi/johann-

heinrich-pestalozzi-pedagogy-education-and-social-justice/

13
Sadker, D. (2016). Philosophy of Education. [online] Highered.mheducation.com. Available
at: http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072877723/student_view0/chapter9/index.html
[Accessed 19 Oct. 2016].

Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2009). The miniature guide to critical thinking. 1st ed. Dillon Beach,
Calif.: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and Society. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Engels, K. M. (1848). Manifesto of The Communist Party. Communist Party.

Jones, D. A. (2005). Elementary Education. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO Inc.

O'Farrell, D. C. (2016). Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement. Dublin: Trinity College

Dublin.

Pope, B. B. (2008). Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piagets and Vygotskys

Theories in Classrooms. Journal of Cross Disciplinary Perspective in Education, 60.

Rao, V. K. (2008). History of Education. New Delhi: S.B. NangiaA.P.H Publishing

Corporation.

Rice, K. E. (2011). Developmental Stages: Piaget's 4 Stages. Retrieved from The Neurotypical
Website: http://www.theneurotypical.com/piagets-four-stages.html

School, C. U. (2016). Teaching Philosophy Statement. Retrieved from Cornell University

Graduate School: http://gradschool.cornell.edu/career-services/teaching-philosophy-
statement

Syllabus, M. T. (2016). Materials Technology Syllabus. Dublin: Department of Education.

Syllabus, T. G. (2016). Technical Graphics Syllabus. Department of Education.

14
15