Part I: Personal Philosophy of Education

My philosophy of education reads as follows:

Any person can learn, given the opportunity.  An individual will advance much faster provided the right environment and resources are provided.  Education should encourage intellectual stimulation (critical thinking and creativity), physical wellness, social-emotional wellness, ethics, and spiritual wellness.  Schooling should educate students to serve society and God’s greater purpose, and schooling should be less restrictive than it currently is. All these are to be anchored in biblical foundations.

My philosophy of education is a product of my entire educational journey, but it was especially honed during the PhD program when and I got exposed to more various philosophies of education by people such as Ellen G. White, John Dewey, and a host of individuals I have admired along the way. 

Ellen G. White’s philosophy, to a great extent, influenced and shaped my philosophy of education.  White believed that the Bible is the foundation for each discipline of education and that Christian education is the primary vehicle for the transmission of values that lead a learner to redemption.  Like me, White believed that education should impart more than academic knowledge.  Education should provide a balanced development of the whole person, including the spiritual, physical, intellectual, and social-emotional realms.  Agents of education working in concert prepare learners to be good citizens in the world and for eternity.

Impressed by Ellen G. White, my philosophy of education thus, goes further to state that education serves the society, the student, and God’s purpose for man when it focuses on the holistic growth of the student: mentally, physically, morally, and spiritually.  This is what White (1903) means when she states, “True education means more than the perusal of a certain course of study. It means more than a preparation for the life that now is. It has to do with the whole being, and with the whole period of existence possible to man. It is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers. It prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come” (p. 13).  This means true education cannot avoid the central questions of the purpose of human life.  It ought to lead to redemption, and at the same time, prepare oneself for service here on earth.  This holistic philosophy of education can and should be embraced by both public and private institutions. 

John Dewey has also influenced my philosophy of education.  He believed that learning was active and school unnecessarily long and restrictive.  His idea was that children attend school to do things and to live in a community, both of which give them the capacity to contribute to society. 

In developing my philosophy of education, one concern I have had over the years is the effect or impact of sending children to school early.  I believe that there are empirical studies relating anxiety, stress, depression, mental health, high school and college attrition to children early start of formal education.  I believe that introducing children too early to formal education is a false start to education.  It eliminates the opportunity for children to explore their natural environments and interact with nature, activities that can stimulate a child’s curiosity and critical thinking.  Early formal education thus distorts the young creative mind. This is my opinion and over time may affect my philosophy of education.  Currently I have not had opportunity to examine current empirical studies to corroborate my view.

The development of my philosophy of education grew during my pursuit of the PhD.  I took several courses which, in combination, contributed to my philosophy of education.  These courses included EDCI 547 Foundations of Curriculum Development and EDAL 570 Principles of Educational Supervision.  However, the class that was most influential was EDFN 500 Philosophical Foundations of Education and Psychology. This course examined the philosophical and theological grounding of major worldviews.  I was able to critique the impact of naturalism and postmodernism on education, psychology, and religion from a Christian perspective.  As part of the course requirements, I watched the movie Gandhi.  Mahatma Gandhi also believed in the all-round development of a person through holistic education.  According to him, people are truly educated when they are able to draw the best from within.  The course and the movie introduced me to Gandhi, and consequently, I have learned more about him on my own, including his philosophy of education, which I believe is equally sound.  I have also admired Nelson Mandela, who believed that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.  

As a demonstration of my philosophy of education, and self-development, I have designed and taught lessons on research ethics, which have helped me to hone my knowledge and skills in this area.  I have delivered over 52 IRB and responsible of conduct in research in various schools and classrooms across campus being employed in 2013. This has been tremendously helpful for educating the AU research community and in assuring compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations for conducting research with human subjects.  Student evaluations demonstrating my level of growth are provided in this portfolio. 

Student Evaluations

In an effort to determine my growth in instruction delivery, I collected student evaluations for my classroom IRB/Research ethics presentations:

Student Evaluation 1              Student Evaluation 2              Student Evaluation 3  

           

Student Evaluation 4              Student Evaluation 5              Student Evaluation 6

Student Evaluation 7              Student Evaluation 8              Student Evaluation 9

Student Evaluation 10            Student Evaluation 11           Student Evaluation 12

Student Evaluation 13            Student Evaluation 14

These evaluations are comprised of eight questions using a Likert scale ranging from 4 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree) and an additional six open-ended questions.  Under each of the scaled questions, the students also had room to make remarks. 

Basic analysis of the student evaluation results reveals that 100% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that I made students aware of the IRB/ethics expected learning outcomes.  Some students remarked that I “introduced the topic clearly.” One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that I was knowledgeable about the subject matter.  Some students remarked, “I was quite impressed by his dedication to and knowledge of the subject,” “He was knowledgeable, which is why I wanted to hear more,” and that I was “helpful answering questions.”  One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that my presentation was well organized.  One student remarked, “Yes, well organized, the material was easy to understand.” One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that my presentation style kept students’ attention.  Some of the students remarked, “I enjoyed the case studies and examples—very engaging”; “He started with an attention grabber”; and “Very relevant.”  One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that I was interested in their ideas and opinions.  Some of them remarked, “He asked us about our research proposals and expressed excitement about them; he encouraged students to participate and was enthusiastic.” One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that I was able to answer questions posed by students.  One hundred percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that my presentation was interactive.  When asked to rate my overall presentation or teaching ability on a Likert scale ranging from 4 (excellent) 3 (good), 2 (fair), and 1 (poor), 90% of the students rated my abilities as excellent and 10% rated them good. Some students remarked, “The teacher made the content easy, relatable, and gave it the importance and attention needed.  His teaching style is excellent.”

The open-ended questions encompassed what the students perceived to be my strengths and weaknesses, what they liked about my presentation, what they liked the most about my presentation, what they would like to change about my presentation, and any other additional comments they would like to provide.  These were their responses:

Strengths

·         Had great tone in his voice and kept us focused

·         Interactive

·         Easy to follow (challenging topic).

·         Presentation kept attention of students.  Presenter was knowledgeable about subject.  Presentation included handouts to keep students interested.

·         Kept class engaged

·         He was very knowledgeable in the subjects, ethics and approval

·         Content was well prepared

·         He was good and knew the information

·         Creative, knowledgeable, interactive, enjoyable, funny

·         Great mix of information with some storytelling breaks

·         He made the information interactive and relevant.  He provoked student feedback.  He was able to answer our questions and connected back to topic.

·         Teaching style, interactive, knowledgeable, passionate about subject

·         Interactive, interesting, knowledgeable, good stories

Weaknesses

·         Time was short

·         I cannot recall any glaring weaknesses.  I just remember wanting to hear more about the Stanford experiment, from him, b/c he is better versed in the matter than us.

·         Need another class (a lot of information)

What they liked about the presentation

·         Informative

·         Very well done

·         The list of unethical studies and reviewing how the IRB standards were broken

·         Addresses issues, interesting subject, interactive

What they liked the most about the presentation

·         That he made sure we all understood each step

·         He established some nice rapport with us by sharing personal stories

·         Very clearly and tangibly gave us tools for the IRB process

·         I enjoyed the different cases we discussed and questions to provoke understanding.

·         Very good presentation, I enjoyed it very much

·         The real life stories and applications

What they would like to change about the presentation

·         Have more time to cover more material because it was interesting

·         Explain the process of submission before, during, and after approval

Additional comments about the presentation

·         Overall, good content, good interaction between class and teacher.  It’s the most we’ve talked in the class all semester.

·         Please come again

In general, the student ratings of my presentations were very positive, providing significant evidence of my growth.

At Andrews University, the mission statement inspires students to seek knowledge, affirm faith, and change the world.  True education is that which is founded on strong biblical foundations.  At Andrews University I have shaped and honed my philosophy. 

In this portfolio, I provide additional evidence of my growth.  These include but are not limited to two book reviews, critiques of existentialism and naturalism, a reading report on the book Education by Ellen White, a journal report, and lectures. 


 Reflection:
 
     1.  Personal Philosophy and Conceptual Framework 

     2.  Reading Reflection:  My Pedagogic Creed: John Dewey
     3.  Reflection Paper:  Understanding Curriculum as a Historical Text
     4.  Understanding Curriculum as a Phenomenological Text

     

Book Reviews:

1. Philosophy and Education: An Introduction in Christian Perspective 
2. Foundational Issues in Christian Education: An Introduction in Evangelical Perspectives

Critique:

1. Existentialism 
2. Naturalism
3. Curriculum
4. Physical Education
5. Technology Curriculum

Other:
      1.  Doing the Right Thing or Doing Things Right
      2.  Getting Rid of Poor Teachers
      3.  No Marks Case

References

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Knight, G. (1989). Philosophy and education: An introduction in Christian 
            perspective (3rd ed.). Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University.

Pazimo, R. W. (1997). Foundational issues in Christian education: An introduction in

evangelical perspectives (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. 

White, E. G. (1952). The Adventist home. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald
            Publishing Association.

White, E. G. (1903).  Education. Oakland, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association.