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1My Learning & Teaching Philosophy

A statement of my teaching convictions, identity and values

Submitted to Jill Downing(Unit Coordinator)

Theories of Learning and TeachingEAL110 Task 2

University of Tasmania, Australia

Introduction

• This teaching and learning statement underscores my my teaching and learning philosophy statement.

• The statement is based on four components namely, conceptualisation of learning (how I believe learning occurs), conceptualisation of teaching (how I facilitate learning in my teaching practice) and how I develop goals for my students focusing on how I develop goals for my learners.

• This philosophy of teaching and learning is a web based application created through www.slideshare.net.

My identity and background

My name is Richard Mafuriranwa , born and bred

in Zimbabwe, Africa. I am a Christian Minister & Bible Teacher and

and a disciple of Archbishop & Apostle Dr Ezekiel H. Guti

(Erwin, G (199); http://fifmi.org/content/archbishop-dr-eh-guti) founder of Zimbabwe

Assemblies of God Africa – ZAOGA, also known as Forward In Faith Ministries International – FIFMI (www.fifmi.org), described as “one of Africa’s most vital religious movements “ [that is] “recasting the shape and character of world Christianity” (Maxwell 2006, p.3). Apostle Ezekiel is one of the most popular religious personalities in Zimbabwe if not in the world with a ministry that has an international presence of over 120 countries and states globally (Musoni 2013). •Just as Plato, the ancient sage was a student of Socrates (Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy) , Joshua was a student of Moses (Ex 14.23), Elisha was a disciple of Elijah (2 Kings 3.11) and Paul was tutored under Gamaliel, who himself was a teacher of the law and was honoured by all the people (Acts 22.3; Acts 5.34), to be effective teacher one must be a protégé of an accomplished teacher.

My identity and background

•I am the Resident Pastor of FIFMI Tasmania, a world wide ministry started by Apostle Ezekiel H. Guti in 1960 and has an international presence of over 120 nations and states.

• I am currently the Resident Pastor for Forward in Faith in Tasmania and the Director of the church’s leadership training college in Australia known as Australia Multination For Christ College (AMFCC) which has campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Correspondence Division. I have taught in primary school and Bible Colleges in Africa.•AMFCC is an internal leadership training college for Forward in Faith Ministries International Australia and has so far held two graduation ceremonies. You may view the first graduation ceremony on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNzDmU2Jqe4

Malcolm Knowles (1913- 1997)

•I believe in educating, empowering and equipping learners from all walks of life so that they can be able to maximise their potential.• I agree with Malcolm Knowells, the father of andragogy (adult learning) who observes that the teacher is to be a facilitator of learning (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011)

My Learning & Teaching Philosophy

• I generally subscribe to behaviourism as a learning theory that holds that behaviour change is the evidence that learning has occurred and that reward or punishment can either increase or decrease good and bad behaviour (Greene & Hicks 1984).

• Behaviourism appeals to my teaching philosophy which is basically teacher-oriented but both in pedagogy [child learning] and andragogy [adult learning] (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner 2007).

• I also subscribe to the theory of cognitivism as a learning theory which opens up the black box of the mind and regards students/learners as information processers (computers).

• As information processors, students actively explore and process information as they receive it as compared to the passive perspective of the behaviourist perspective (Bell 2010).

• My students actively engage in new material through discovery learning and activities that challenge them to explore relationships, properties and principles of what they will be learning.

• My teaching and learning philosophy is thus rich in that students actively take ownership of the learning process instead of being zombie recipients of knowledge which I give to them as the teacher.

• Because of its more student- centred approach, the social constructivist perspective is also evident in my teaching and learning philosophy.

• The social constructivist model of learning holds that learning happens in social situations through interaction and association (Curzon & Tummons 2013).

• This approach assumes that great and long lasting memory in students occurs in social situations. Such situations are everywhere.

• The humanistic perspective also underlies my learning and teaching philosophy.

• This view seeks to empower learners to be in charge of their learning, and to motivate students to achieve their own educational goals (Elias & Merriam 1995).

• Drawing from the wisdom of Knowles, I seek to empower students to be creative and draw from their life’s experiences and not just be passive recipients of knowledge.

• I also have a disposition for situated learning which occurs in communities of practice as proposed by Wenger (Wenger 2002).

• Communities of practice are "groups of people who share a concern or a passion they do and learn how to do better as they interact regularly" (Wenger 1998).

• Novices begin from the outskirts of the group until they become experts in their own right through involvement (Lave 1991).

Conceptualisation of learning: (how I believe learning occurs)

• In order to be a competent and relevant educator, I need to embrace the diverse ethnicity of my students, their strengths and weaknesses as well as their experiences.

• I should be aware of the differences between pedagogy and andragogy so that I will not treat my learners as children but as adults who have the efficacy to achieve their own educational goals (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011).

• I believe learning occurs when good behaviour is rewarded while bad behaviour is deterred through punishment. For example learners who do well in tutorials and class projects may get incentives such as lollies while late assignment submissions will attract a 5% mark deduction per day to deter the bad practice of assignment submission (Greene & Hicks 1984).

Conceptualisation of teaching: (how I facilitate the learning process)

• My teaching philosophy is underpinned on facilitating the learning process of students by being ‘a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage’ to my students’ learning process (King 1993). Good teachers are not only teachers perse but facilitators of the learning process.

• A teacher tells, a facilitator asks; a teacher lectures from the front, a facilitator supports from behind; a teacher gives answers according to a set curriculum, a facilitator fosters a conducive learning environment for learners to arrive at their own conclusions; a teacher gives a monologue, a facilitator creates dialogue with the learners (Naomi & Githua 2013).

Conceptualisation of learning: (how I believe learning occurs)

• I agree with the learning theorist John Dewey (1859-1952) who believed that effective learning is a result of four components namely aims, the teacher, the learner and a relevant curriculum (Eisner 1983).

• These four pillars are indispensable components of learning without which proper learning does not take place.

• In covering course material, it is always essential to begin from the known to the unknown as espoused by David Ausubel - 1918-2008 (Novak, 1998) and to employ the Vygoskian concepts of Zonal of Proximity (ZPD – the difference between what students can do alone and with my assistance or that of peers – the More Knowlegable Other (MKO) concept and scaffolding - a skill of instructing leaners to absorb new information in a progressive manner (Mcleod 2007).

Conceptualisation of learning: (how I believe learning occurs)

• I strongly agree with Nikos Kazantzakis who says that an ideal teacher is one who uses himself as a bridge over which he/she invites his students to cross, after having facilitated their crossing, he joyfully collapses while encouraging his learners to create bridges of their own (Kean & Embi 2011).

• Through facilitation, I am able to guide the learning of my students in an actively reciprocal and interactive manner such that I will also learn alongside and together with them. I demonstrate the sage on the side skill by fostering group activities, seminars, simulations workshops, tutorials, and class feedbacks through the web where I encourage and challenge students to learn cognitively through teacher and peer help using Lev Vygosky’s concepts of the MKO and ZPD (Vygotski 1978). From a constructivist andragogic perspective, adult students usually learn better using a hands-on approach and by experimentation, and not just by rote or being passively given information by the teacher.

Conceptualisation of learning: (how I believe learning occurs)

• Learning is achieved through a variety of technologies including video clips, images and power points conveyed to learners through blended learning and traditional classroom environments.

• As proposed by Abraham Maslow, students’ basic needs (eg food, safety, respect, love) should be taken care of first before meeting their high level needs (eg self-esteem, fulfilment, self-respect etc) (Oxford & Shearin 1994).

• It is also essential from a humanistic point of view to ensure that my students have tea and lunch breaks in between learning sessions. Further, classrooms should have adequate student seating, air circulation and proper safety procedures put in place.

Conclusion

• The foregoing has been a discussion of my teaching and learning philosophy in terms of the conceptualisation of learning, conceptualisation of teaching and goal formulation conveyed through a web based application.

• The journey of my teaching career will be a continuous process underpinned on a diversity of learning theories depending with the context of my learners. The passion I have of becoming a better teacher is the driving force in my commitment to continuous development.

• I am committed to grow and learn in a reciprocal manner together with my learners as a sage by their side and not a sage on the stage. I will always be on the hunt for opportunities of learning in order to continuously improve my teaching approach.

Goals: (How I will develop them and what they will achieve)

• As a contemporary teacher, it is imperative to appreciate how teaching styles have evolved over the years through formulation of various theories. Students need to actively engage in information through a critical reflection of the information instead of sticking to the traditional method of learning by rote. Learners should be able to think critically and process information by opening up the black box of their mind.

• My goal as a teacher is to empower learners to have the efficacy to complete assigned tasks and assessments which should be constructively aligned to achieve learning aims and outcomes as proposed by John Biggs (Biggs 1999).

• My lesson plans will be well prepared and will have clear aims, objectives, and relevant teaching methods, innovative web based technologies and strategies which engage learners in the learning process.

• By the end of each course, my students should be be able to apply the knowledge they will have acquired to their everyday lives and workplace situations. They should be able to think outside the box and critically evaluate information they come across.

• After completion of each course, students should be able to use their cognitive process as an evidence that learning has taking place.

References

• Bell, F. (2010). Connectivism: Its place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology- enabled learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3), 98-118.

• Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1), 57-75.

• Curzon, L. B., & Tummons, J. (2013). Teaching in Further Education: An outline of principles and practice. (7th ed.). London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.

• Eisner, E. (1983). " Educational Objectives: Help or Hindrance?" Elliott Eisner [1967]. American Journal of Education, 549-560.

• Erwin, G (1999). Christ for All nations, Dallas, Texas.

• King, A., (1993). From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side. College Teaching, Vol. 41, pp30-35• Greene, J. and Hicks, C. (1984) "Basic Cognitive Processes: Open Guides to Psychology". Open

University Press: Milton Keynes

• Kean, A. C., & Embi, M. A. (2011). Using active engagement strategy to promote learning awareness and self-monitoring. International Journal of Learning and Development, 1(1), Pages-91.

• Knowles, M., Holton, E., Swanson, R. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (7th ed.). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Knowles Malcolm (1913- 1997)

• Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge university press.

• Naomi, M. W., & Githua, B. N. (2013). Effects of jigsaw cooperative learning strategy on students’s achievement in secondary school mathematics in Laikipia East District, Kenya. Science, 2(3).

References

• McLeod, S. A. (2011). Bandura - Social Learning Theory<http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html<(2 September 2014)

• Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Oxford, R., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding the theoretical framework. The modern language journal, 78(1), 12-28.

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy >http://plato.stanford.edu/> (24/10/14)

• Vygotskii, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

• Wenger, E. (2002). Communities of practice. Encyclopedia of the social sciences, 1, 2339-2342.

Images

• Knowels M http://www.chrismorton.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Knowles-e1343624103625.gif (30 October 2014)