PHILOSOPHY OF CURRICULUM TEACHING AND LEARNING
Introduction
This article aims at exploring education from a philosophical point of view of an experienced teacher of kindergarten, who is aspiring to be a lecturer in education. I think learning occurs with the participation of students when they take an active part in the process of acquisition of knowledge (Brookfield, 89). It is opposed to another scenario where some people are just but spectators like funs in a football match. Learning can be said to be the change in behavior due to the past experiences of a student. According to my experience, during the learning session, the center is the student. Learning, therefore, occurs with maximum participation of students as they take in and participate in hands-on activities as instructed by the teacher (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 21).
Finally, the calumniation of a very learning session must include a test, which can be verbal, written, or practical to provide the teacher with the feedback and assurance that learning has occurred. The closure must, therefore, occur in students regularly and frequently (Seiverlmg & Richard, 48). Here, they are free to share and explain all that has been acquired during the learning process. During the closure, they are expected to formulate, conceptualize, organize, and summarize all that has been learned to their group mates (Seiverling & Richard, 45). The role of the teacher during the closure is to facilitate the process (Brookfield, 76).
Teaching, on the other hand, refers to the process of providing clear and concise instruction to learners in a way that is logical and simple depending on the level of the learners being taught. I can facilitate the learning process by allowing students to express their ideas that can be nurtured and developed into facts (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 25). As a teacher, I can improve and enrich classroom experience by allowing students to participate actively in the learning process while guiding them in what to do and what not to do to come up with the most accurate observation and conclusion. The teacher can always challenge the students intellectually by posing leading questions or questions that require deep investigation of the subject matter (Brookfield, 73).
As I grow in the teaching profession, I have come to accept five core requirements that the teacher must work on during teaching (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 23). The first one is specifying the lesson objectives, make several pre-instruction decisions, explain the main task ahead of the students and how interdependent they are to the task, monitor the learning process and provide assistance to students during task development as this may help them sharpen their skills and assist them to acquire necessary insights. Provide evaluation to the learned procedure or concept by the end of the lesson for certainty (Seiverling & Richard, 54).
My views on aims, men, and ends of education are that different curricula have different expected ends. For the various ends to be achieved, the curriculum designers must develop a means and aim to achieve them, either separately or collectively. Students who aim at acquiring vocational skills must be exposed to practically oriented learning as early as kindergarten, with only core units like mathematics, literacy, and numeracy alongside as opposed to their counterparts in the theoretical approach. I believe that the end of learning should be practical and directly productive and industrial, hence my choice of the vocational curriculum (Seiverling & Richard, 73).
The major contents among my students at kindergarten include numeracy, literacy, computer games, social work and physically involving skills like dancing, singing, ballgames, and running. For every skill, I set their goals for students to achieve for every lesson, and the goals are specific for every lesson and subject, measurable, achievable, and realistic, and time-bound (Seiverling & Richard, 26). Through my personal experience, I have learned that the goals should vary depending on individual differences between the children. As a result, I provide each child with tasks that are commensurate to their predetermined ability in the past (Seiverling & Richard, 67).
To restate my philosophy, learning takes place in class when the learners take an active part in the process. The ultimate goal of learning is to cause a change in behavior and to apply learned concepts for survival. To operationalize my philosophy, I allow learning sessions to be more learner-centered by varying learning approaches and goals according to the ability of every student in my class (Seiverling & Richard, 65). The main characteristics of my learners that I consider mostly are their diversity inability to grasp differently. Some are slow learners while others grasp very fast, prompting me to always provide each learner with different objectives according to their abilities (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 27).
I have been a teacher of kindergarten for the last three years. During my career, I have met several obstacles that have enriched my teaching experience (Seiverling & Richard, 37). The challenges include handling students with varied abilities at the same time. My personal goal is to be the perfect teacher in the field of education, to teach in a college in handling older students aspiring to be teachers in the future, which means, I am aspiring to be a college lecturer in the future and even to hold the position of a principal. I have made several arrangements on my way towards achieving this goal; I have made a personal effort to do a master’s course in education (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 23).
Summary
Learning is defined as the change in behaviors due to one’s experience. It should be student based and learning objectives, approach, and goals should be set according to the ability of various learners. The main contents I teach to my kindergarten pupils include numeracy, literacy, computer games, social work and physically involving skills like dancing, singing, ballgames, and running. I aspire to complete my master’s degree and acquire a job of lecturing student teachers in college.
Works cited
Brookfield, S. (1990). The Skillful Teacher, 1990, pp. 18-19. Web
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., and Holubec, E.J. (1994). Cooperative Learning in the
Classroom: Association for Supervision and Curriculum. Print.
Seiverling, C and Richard F. (1980), Educational Quality Assessment: Getting out EQA Results.
Harrisburg, p A: Pennsylvania Department of Education.