Es Essay Lee Hehir
Es Essay Lee Hehir
Es Essay Lee Hehir
Logue
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1. INTRODUCTION
My name is Mr. Lee Hehir and I am a third year pre-service teacher in ATU, in the course
I will define philosophy, break down my values and beliefs as well as diving into some
theories and strategies from well-known philosophers. The philosophy of education is the
structured, in-depth study of education, its purposes, and shortcomings. Philosophers and
educators have discussed and debated the philosophy of education since the time of ancient
Greek philosopher Plato. Some of the fundamental questions that the philosophy of education
proposes include why should individuals be educated, what kind of knowledge should be
taught, and how does learning occur. (Ruth, Michael, 2022, Abstract.) I believe philosophy of
education focuses on how learners are thought, assessed, corrected and the impact education
can have on students in the outside world not just in the classroom.
Here I will discuss my own personal values and beliefs. I believe that setting strong values as
an educator is key to success in the classroom in order to get the most out of your students.
Trust , respect , care are my three biggest values I like to set in my classroom as an up and
coming teacher and here I will explain each of their importance. Fairness, openness and
honesty are all values embodied in the core value of trust. All of which are key to a healthy
classroom environment. Showing mature human behaviour to role model for the students,
working authentically in collaboration with pupils, parents, management, teachers and other
Having respect is vital in a classroom in order to allow students and teacher to have a mutual
professional relationship amongst one another. Respect in the classroom allows students to
feel open and comfortable while communicating with the teacher i.e. when questioning,
struggling with topic or even general conversations. In the school placement handbook it
indicates that respect is demonstration respect for the whole school community, developing in
self and pupils, an awareness of cultural values, demonstrating respectful empathy and regard
for pupils. (School Placement Handbook, 2022, pg7) I personally believe deeply in the
importance of care in the classroom. The legal duty of the teacher in charge is too fulfil the
care of the pupils. It is not hard to see that what goes on at home definitely does have an
impact on students behaviour and attentiveness in the classroom. Its key to be alert to
warning signs such as modified behaviour and or indicators of special educational needs.
In this segment I will discuss two educational theories and their applications to the classroom.
First I will dive into the works of Socrates and his inspiring theories and applications still
used in classrooms today. Second we will look into Constructivist theory and its application.
Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher born in 470 BC who’s theories and thinking have
helped pave the way education is today. Although Socrates was never a professional teacher
the way he taught/ preached by the streets is still seen in classrooms all these years later,
many of these techniques I will continuously use myself as a teacher. Myself , like many of
you I’m sure, spent hours upon hours sitting in a classroom writing notes or listening to a
teacher lecture on with no real interaction, that will never be the case in my classroom as I
Education Studies Assignment: Academic Essay Dr Pauline
Logue
plan to follow in Socrates footsteps and teach through dialog and not writing. This can be
applied by using class discussions, questioning or class debates. ( Logue, 2022, p.5) Socratic
questioning is a theory of his where you would start by asking an easy question then
following it up with another allowing the students to think for themselves and break it down.
Doing this allows the students and so called know it all lecturer / teacher to become equal
level of participants in the conversation. ( Fisher, 2021, p7) Having looked at Socrates now
Here I will discuss constructivist learning and how its applied. Plato , Vygotsky, Bruner and
Papert are all well-known philosophers who started this theory. The spiral curriculum is one
constructivist teaching method with I believe in. I believe its concept has always impacted
students for the better and will continue to do so if used correctly. The spiral curriculum is
based on Bruner’s idea that education should be cumulative, with new levels of knowledge
(IQTEFL,2022,https://www.iqtefl.com/post/educational-theory-of-the-month-spiral-
curriculum-jerome-bruner) Spiral theory is applied by starting a topic and keep going back to
it to recap and revise until students have mastered the topic. The zone of proximal
the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level
collaboration with more capable peers. (Media and information literacy in higher
education,2017,p.86)
(Lets go learn,2022)
Constructivist theory focuses on the workings of the mind , this is called cognitivism. It is
used to build on previous learning and to add to your knowledge and skills. Common ways of
achieving this would be recapping, making artefacts and using visual aids and props to help
students visuals tasks (Logue,2022,p.15) the idea is that students will remember more and
more by revisiting the topic in more than one way, for example the first time you could use
Education Studies Assignment: Academic Essay Dr Pauline
Logue
Socrates Socratic questioning to begin the topic and secondly using different artifacts or
After examining the works of Socrates and constructivist learning I would now like to
conclude my essay.
1. CONCLUSION
application to the technical classroom I would like to recap the main aims of this essay. Three
main points I would like my readers take away from this essay are your values and beliefs
and how your values and belief play a roll in the development of young students. The
methods of constructivist learning and its roll in the classroom as well as Socrates’s
mythologies and theories and how they are still so widely used today in modern classrooms. I
2. LIST OF REFERENCES
Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers, The teaching council, 2016, pg8
pg7, ATU
pg7, ATU
Spiral Curriculum. By: Purdy, Elizabeth R., PhD, Salem Press Encyclopaedia, 2021.
P6
IQTEFL,2022,https://www.iqtefl.com/post/educational-theory-of-the-month-spiral-
curriculum-jerome-bruner
(Lets go learn,2022,https://www.letsgolearn.com/reading-assessment/what-is-the-
zone-of-proximal-development/