My Philosophy of Education

The only way to have an effective classroom is to foster a warm, comfortable climate and a friendly, accepting culture. Students will not learn if they do not feel safe—physically or emotionally—in the schoolroom. This responsibility also falls on the teacher. Through classroom management techniques, the teacher can assume a kind but firm manner that keeps students under control but allows them to feel comfortable in the class. Once a solid foundation has been established in the classroom, learning can occur. I follow a constructivist approach to science education.

Science is a dynamic process that requires continual challenging of the status quo. My approach to science education mirrors this by encouraging students to develop their own understanding of scientific concepts by replacing previous beliefs (misconceptions) with the accepted view. “Learning science” must include learning to question current theories and understanding, along with learning what those theories are. Physics’ long history of radical paradigm shifts shows us that if we keep pushing and questioning, we can always find a better description of what we observe around us. It is important for students to understand that this is part of science itself but also part of their own science education.

One of the primary tenets of constructivism is that students enter the classroom full of scientific knowledge and ideas about science. Some of these ideas are things that they have learned, correctly or not, in previous science courses and some are observations or “common sense” gleaned from everyday life. Students are not the blank slates that teachers sometimes wish they were; instead, teachers must address students’ prior knowledge before they can teach them new material. Constructivism reminds us that we must be aware of students’ prior knowledge and how it might affect our teaching. We must always be on the lookout for misconceptions and be ready to address them.

As a teacher, simply monitoring for misconceptions will not make your students successful learners. Lecturing at the students and assigning textbook readings will not graft information onto them. Instead, students must be actively engaged in their own learning—forming (constructing) their own ideas. Constructivism suggests many alternatives to the traditional lecture and textbook method (although lectures and textbooks can sometimes be effective). It is the teacher’s responsibility to scaffold students’ learning and help them develop their own knowledge.

One research-based practice for inducing student learning is the use of predictions and discrepant events to challenge a student’s thinking. This method helps teachers debunk student misunderstandings by providing an example that contradicts their understandings and providing an opportunity to replace the misconception with the currently accepted model. This also involves students in their own learning so that they are more likely to remember it past the next quiz.

Inquiry-based activities are also an effective way to produce student understanding. When we require students to develop their own laboratory procedures or derive the formulas and relationships presented in the textbook, it requires them to think at a deeper level and it results in increased understanding. In physics, it is very useful to use an inquiry approach to labs so that instead of the typical cookbook instructions, students decide how and why they are performing the experiment and with support and minimal direction from the teacher, they are able to confirm historical findings and laws of nature. This not only increases understanding (with respect to cookbook labs) but it also gives students a feeling of accomplishment and empowerment because they are in charge of their own education.