Having been an educator for a decade, and putting a halt on teaching to pursue a PhD, I believe that my teaching philosophies guides who I am as an educator. This is essential for the success of the students, and how they understand the topics being taught to them.
I have been used to giving lectures in the classroom, which is still the case most of the time. Lectures are important in order to impart what I know to the students. However, that is not always the case. Aside from giving lectures, I believe that Project-Based Learning (PBL) can bring out the best in students. This is one philosophy that I use in the classroom; PBL makes the students more responsible in their learning. According to an article by Marcus Guido (2022), PBL or project-based instruction is a student-centered teaching method that encourages learning through engaging, real-world, and curriculum-related questions. This encourages students to apply skills and knowledge they’ve developed inside the classroom, and also allows them to have their own approaches to develop an answer.
PBL goes beyond teacher-led instruction, and it makes the students to think more critically. Guido adds that PBL helps teach students creative problem-solving skills and how to build independent learning, not just depending on the teacher for the lectures. Thus, I use PBL most of the time in order for my students to gain skills that they can use even beyond the classroom. Aside from giving them lectures, I allow them to think critically, usually through brainstorming within themselves about a certain topic we are discussing in class. This makes them more active in the learning process, as they interact not only with me during lectures, but also among themselves.
Complementing PBL, my teaching philosophy mainly subscribes to constructivism, which explains that knowledge is subjective in nature. Learning and knowledge goes beyond memorizing textbooks and lecture notes. Through interactions with teachers and their fellow classmates, students will be able to learn in a more holistic manner. Furthermore, constructivism also means that students actively participate in discovery-based learning, which is essentially PBL. The students discover some more knowledge on their own, and not just from the teachers’ classroom lectures. Students can be more motivated to learn this way, when they take an active role in learning; they construct their own knowledge and meaning, rather than passively taking in the information.
Through constructivism, the students can analyze what is being taught to them on their own, in a more independent manner. In my case, I provide guidelines to my students. Even though I want them to learn independently through PBL and the constructivist approach to teaching, I still believe that as a teacher, I am responsible for the students’ learning in many ways. Through guiding the students, I am able to supervise their learning in the classroom; since students learn at different levels (some are fast learners compared to others, for example), I have to ensure that no one is left behind in the classroom. Therefore, I believe that, through my teaching experience the past decade, both Project-Based Learning and constructivism complement each other when teaching my students.
Hi Raul, thanks for the reflection on your philosophy. As a constructivist, I agree that learning occurs through active participation and interaction with subject content, learning materials and other resources available to enhance understanding of the concept. This also includes human resources; however, in such a situation, the teacher becomes a facilitator of knowledge. I feel one of the teaching approaches under this school of thought is inquiry-based learning, which is expanded through project-based learning and experiential learning. As an educator, I have always used a project-based approach as a way of encouraging inquiry-based science teaching in my class and this has always yielded postive results in enhancing students conceptual understanding.
Hi Raul Chebat
Your introduction clearly reflects your experience as a teacher, and the balance you establish between traditional lectures and a variety of student-centered approaches, such as project-based learning, helps create a rich teaching environment. In your description, you’ve shown that you acknowledge the role of lectures in your teaching method, while noting some of its limitations. The work you’ve done to include project-based learning is an alternative kind of active learning. Those who incorporate project-based learning can help you create a great classroom environment by incorporating problem-solving strategy and active learning skills that are also taught in the classroom. Similarly, projects also integrate guidelines and a variety of structures into this learning. This ensures that students have support during the task and makes the learning process easier.
Thanku
Prabhdeep kaur
Hi Raul,
Thank you for sharing your teaching and learning strategies from lecturer perspective, it was certainly different. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in considering your learners pace while teaching them to be independent learners. Certainly, effective learning takes place when there is a balance and I think combing both the constructivist theory and PBL, is an excellent approach, especially for learners of a mature age. Looking forward to learning more from you.
Regards,
Latoya
Hello Raul,
As an educator, I can see and feel that you always want to give your best in educating your students. There are many ways that teachers can do. One of the things that I learned from your blog is through PBL (Project-Based Learning). Sometimes I apply PBL to my high-school students. Hoping they can have great discussions with their team members as well as think out of the box to solve challenges. Your blog has inspired me in understanding how things work and for sure to always give my best effort in teaching students. Thank you raul!:)