Here’s a challenge. Try to come up with a twitter style (140 characters or less) educational philosophy statement. Here’s mine:
Learning should be a continuous process that invites multiple perspectives, reflective practice, and new, sometimes unplanned, experiences.
Now to tease it apart:
Learning
Many educational philosophy statements start out with the individual’s beliefs about ‘teaching’. But learning doesn’t happen because you were taught. Good teaching helps, but it’s just one type of experience that helps you to gain knowledge. The learning part is the whole shebang.
Should be
This simply implies that it isn’t always! Right?
Continuous process
We are never finished learning. I notice that dog trainers who refer to their learning as a credential are usually completely missing the point. 😉
Invites
This is the opposite of being required to do something. An invitation is attractive, evokes curiosity, and is optional.
Multiple perspectives
This suggests we should always ask questions, and seek information about different views. Learning is not about acceptance and agreement.
Reflective practice
This seems self explanatory, but what is key here is that reflective practice becomes a habit. Your goal should always be to improve your work, and therefore your profession. It’s not something you check off a list; it’s a proactive way of working and learning.
New experiences
Reading and observing are essential, but there’s no replacement for the doing. The ability to transfer knowledge and skills to new contexts is essential, and allows us to advance and refine our learning.
Unplanned experiences
My favourite part! Embrace the unexpected, bust out of the curriculum, venture into unknown territory, learn from mistakes, avoid making a path…