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Monday, April 11, 2016

LET Reviewer (7 Philosophies of Education

1. Essentialism 

               Why teach? - this philosophy contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire basic knowledge, skills and values. Teachers teach 'not to radically reshape society but rather to transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students needs to become model citizens".

               What to teach - Essentialist programs are academically rigorous. The emphasis is on academic content for students to learn the basic skills or the fundamental r's - reading, riting, rithmetic, right conduct - as thse are essential to the acquisition of the higher or more complex skills needed in preparation for adult life. The essentialist curriculum includes the traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational courses or other courses with watered down academic content. The teachers and administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn and place liitle emphasis on student interests, particularly when they divert time and attention from the academic curriculum. 

                How to Teach - Essentialists teachers emphasize mastery of subject matter. Try are expected to be intellectual and moral models of their students. They are seen as 'fountain of  information and as "paragon of virtue"' if ever there is such a person. To gain mastery of basic skills, teachers have to observe "core requirements, longer school day, a longer academic year.

                 With mastery of academic content as primary focus, teachers rely heavily on the use of prescribed textbook, the drill method and other methods that will enable them to cover as much academic content as possible like the lecture method. there is a heavy streess on memorization and discipline. 


2. Progessivism 
            Why teach - progressivist teachers teach to develop learners into becoming enlightened and intelligent citizens of a democratic society. this group of teachers teaches learners so they may live life fully NOW not to prepare them for adult life. 

                    What to teach - The Progressivist are identified with need-based and relevant curriculum. This is a curriculum that "responds to students' needs and that relates to students' personal lives and experiences " 

                     Progressivist accept the importance of life and the inevitability of change. For Progressivists everything else changes. Change is the only thing that does not change. Hence, progressivists teachers are more concerned with teaching the learners the skills to cope with change. Instead of occupying themselves with teaching facts or bits of information that are true today but become obseomorrow, they would rather focus their teaching on the teaching of skills or processes in gathering and evaluating information and in problem solving.

               The subjects that are given emphasis in progressivist schools are the "natural and social sciences, Teachers exposed students to many new sciecetific, technological, and social developments, reflecting the progressivist notion that progress and change are fundamental. In addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter outside of the schoolhouse."

               How to teach - Progressivists teachers employ experimental methods. They believe that one learns by doing. For John Dewey, the most popular advocate of progressivism, book learning is no substitute for actual experience. One experiential teaching method that progressivists teachers heavily rely on is the problem - solving metods. This problem - solving method make use of the scientific method.


3. Perennialism

               Why teach - We rational animals. Schools should, therefore, develop students' rational and moral powers. According to Aristotle, if we neglect the students' reasoning skills, we deprive them of the ability to use their higher faculties to control their passion and appetites.

               What to Teach - the prennialists curriculm is a universal one on the view that all human being possess the same essential nature. It is heavy on the humanities, on the general education. It is not a specialists curriculum but rather a general one. There is less emphasis on vocational and technical education. Philosopher Mortimer Adler claims that the "Great Books" of ancient and medieval as well as modern times are a repository of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which must initiate each generation". What the Perennialists teachers teach are lifted from the Great Books.

               How to teach - the Perenialists classroom are centered around teachers" The teachers do not allow the students' interests or experiences to substantially dictate what they teach. They apply whatever creative techniques and other tried and true methods which are believed to be most conducive to disciplining the students' minds. Students engaged in Socratic dialogues, or mutual inquiry sessions to develop an understanding of History's most timeless concepts".


4. Existentialism

               Why teach - The main concern of the existentialists is to "help students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accepts complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Since existence precedes essence the essentialists teacher's role is to help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they take in life and by creating an environment in which they freely choose their own prefered way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the existentialists demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind".

               What to Teach - In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options from which to choose. students are afforded great latitude in their choice of subject matter. The humanities, however, are given tremendous emphasis to "provide students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own creativity and self expression. Foe example, rather than emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon the action of historical individual, each of whom provides possible models for the students' own behaviour.

               How to Teach - Existentialists methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self-directed. It includes a great deal of individual contac with the teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly. To help students know themselves and their place in society, teachers employ values clarification strategy. In the use of such strategy, teachers remain non-judgmental and take care not to impose their values on their students since values are personal."


5. Behaviorism

                Why Teach - Behaviorists schools are concerned the modification and shaping of students' behaviour by providing for a favorable environment, since they believe that they are a product of thier environment. They are after students' who exhibit desirable behaviour in society.

               What to teach - because behaviorists look at "People and other animals...as complex combinations of matter that act only in response to internally or externally generated physical stimuli, behaviorists teachers teach students to respond favorably to various stimuli in the environment.

               How to teach - Behaviorists teachers "ought to arrange environmental conditions so that students can make the responses to stimuli. Physical variables like light, temperature, arrangement of furniture, size and quantity of visual aids have to be controlled to get the desired res[ponses from the learners. Teachers ought to make the stimuli clear and interesting to capture and hold the learners' attention. They ought to provide appropriate incentives to reinforce positive responses and weaken or eliminate negatives ones."


6. Linguistic Philosophy

               Why Teach - To develop the communication skills of the learner because the ability to articulate, to voice out the meaning and values of things that one obtains from his/her experience of life and the world is the very essence of man. It is tthrough his/her ability to express himself, herself clearly, to get his/her ideas across, to make known to others the bvalues that he/she has imbeded, the beauty that he/she has seen, the ugliness that he rejects and the truth that he/she has discovered. Teachers teach to develop in the learner the skill to send messages clearly and receive message correctly

               What to Teach - learners should be taught to communicate clearly- how to send clear, concise messages and how to receive and correctly understand messages sent. Communication takes place in three (3) ways - verbal, nonverbal, and paraverbal. Verbal component refers to the content of our message, the choice and arrangement of our words. This can be oral or written. Nonverbal component refers to the message we send through our body language while paraverbal component refers to how we say what we say - the tone, pacing and volume of our voices.

               How to teach - the most effective way to teach language and communication is the experiential may. Make them experience sending and receiving messages through verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal  manner. Teacher should make the classroom a place for the interplay of minds and hearts. The teacher facilitates dialogues among learners and between him/her and his/her students' because in the exchange of words there is also an exchange of ideas.


7. Contructivism

               Why Teach - to develop intrinsically motivated and independent learners adequeately equipped with learning skills for them to be able to construct knowledge and make meaning of them.

               What to teach - the learners are taught how to learn. They are taught learning processess and skills such as searching, critiquing and evaluating information, relating these pieces of information, reflecting on the same, making meaning out of them, drawing insight, posing questions, researching and constructing new knowledge out of these bits of information learned.

              How to teach - in the constructivists classroom, the teacher provides students with data or experience that allow them to hypothesize, predict, manipulate objects, pose questions, research, investigate, imagine, and invent. The constructivists classroom is interactive. It promotes dialogical exchange of ideas among learners and between teachers and learners. The teacher's role is to facilitate this process.


Source: The Teaching Profession
              Purita P. Bilbao, Ed.D


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