Eucational Philosophy:

I base my Educational Philosophy on an integrated understanding of the underlying assumptions of the great minds in education from the past:

From John Dewy, I draw:

a deep commitment to the spirit of the learner. I believe that the whole person should be considered in all aspects of Education.

From Piaget, I draw

my commitment to synergistic learning, where the construction of knowledge grows from the readiness of the learner and their interaction with new information and new opportunities. I know that not all information is known and I work with others to create new knowledge, using a strong foundation of what is known in the world to uncover the yet to be discovered.

I believe as Froebel proclaimed,

that the teachers should be the model of human dignity and cultural values.

From a Herbartian viewpoint, one of those cultural values must be

the celebration of the integration of all knowledge and the hallmark of education as a moral opportunity to advance human nature.

In alignment with Comenius, I believe

that learning should be joyful.

From Lawrence Kohlberg, I draw

my readiness to accept people for who they are while providing opportunities for them to enhance their development.

From John Holt, I draw

my belief in learning as a social activity and one that requires multiple opportunities to explore new learning using independent as well as group work.

I know student-centered and learner driven curriculum

that is evaluated through performance based assessment and documented through meaningful and real world materials such as portfolios makes for the most enriched learning environment.

From Erickson, I draw

my beliefs that learning accomplishments should be celebrated and recognized through publication in a peer arena.

From Gardner, I draw

my understanding of the multiple talents and multiple learning styles of learners and my commitment to enabling learners to use their strengths to explore and grow stronger in their weaker abilities.

From Montessori, I draw

my commitment to learners of all abilities levels, backgrounds and ethnicities and remember to respect diversity while incrementally providing challenges to learners to move them forward in their own time frames.

I believe as Vygotsky indicated,

that learning must be scaffolded to provide intellectual support to the learner.

As Socrates asserted,

that questioning is the tool for probing for truth.

As Pestalozzi determined, I believe

all learners of every age benefit from concrete situations and opportunities to learn through our senses.

     I also recreate and reinvent my educational Philosophy as I read and explore as a learner and adopt and adapt emerging ideas in the field of education. I am cautious not to jump on a bandwagon, but to find what makes sense of what I know to be true, while staying open to perspectives that are different from my own.

From Nell Noddings, I am coming to understand

the importance of family and community and their impact on the learner and the growing importance of Service Learning in Institutions to provide for a rich learning environment.

From Roland Barth, I am developing

inventive ways of solving the structural and bureaucratic challenges faced by students in a changing society.

     I plan to continue to adapt and reconstruct my Educational Philosophy, based on the history of what I know to be true, while leaving opportunities for my understanding of what may be possible to continue to develop.

Penny Haun's Ten Commandments of Teaching:

1. Value what learners mean over what they say.
2. Listen.
3. Say, "Yes" and provide support. "No" is for moral issues.
4. Help each learner each day find success.
5. Be your best self for others and yourself.
6. Learn from your mistakes.
7. Listen closely to your critics and make lemonade from lemons.
8. Forgive others, forgive yourself and move forward together.
9. Value what is happening in the mind. It is where learning occurs.
10. Be a learner yourself each day and share the joy of learning.

Educational Links:

CGS 1100 On-Line Syllabus Spring Term 2002


Shelly Cashman's Discovering Computers 2002 Web Site

On-Line Forms:

Sample CLAST Math for Education Majors:

Learning Styles OnLine-Alpha/Beta Testing: