Chapter 3 BLOG

I am reading along in the chapter and get to the section on Philosophical Foundations of Education. The paragraph says that “dominant systems of through and governing ideologies are closely aligned with the policies and curricula in schools,” (Diaz-Rico, p. 35). My mind is running thinking of all of the ways our society and government put constraints on what they consider learning to be. My head is nodding and I am thinking that this is wrong. The next paragraph, however, says that the United States is different because our Constitution protects us. I disagree with this assertion. Schools are struggling to meet the needs of all learners while trying to keep up with the government’s idea of what learning really is. While we use various techniques and are constantly learning new strategies for reaching our students, I feel that we are still on the fence between Traditionalism and Progressivism. “Traditional schooling features an emphasis on the authority of the teacher and school administration; learning is based on the discipline of bodies and acquisition of a predetermined body of authorized knowledge…,” (Diaz-Rico, p. 23).

Aside from this, I was drawn to the constructivist view of learning. The focus is to aid student in creating their own knowledge. There is conversation, problem solving, questions being asked; it is an active learning environment. Since we, as educators, are frequently on a time constraint to progress through the material I wanted to find some information about how to incorporate this active learning into my classroom. I found an article called Hands-on Activities. It describes this constructivist-based learning environment and talks about the benefits to ELs. Find the article at: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/13352


Response to Peers:
I agree with the constructivist view and acknowledge that students can create their own learning. “We may continue to work on the students’ behaviors, however using this teaching strategy focuses more on the students taking responsibility for their own learning. The students themselves will drive the content of lessons and the instructional strategies used,” she says. Michelle is absolutely right! I am curious, though, how much are our students willing to take responsibility for their own learning? Is that even what we are training them to do? When reading Jose Tapia’s BLOG, I was struck by his comments on the humanistic perspective. He says, “I feel that this is true because learning has to be staged in an environment that is inviting and safe for the pupil. We cannot expect our students to learn if they are not comfortable within their environment or feel threaten or incompetent.”