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Teaching Philosophy

Samantha M. Smith

College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

CIG 697: Culminating Experience

Dr. April Douglass

April 1, 2023
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Teaching Philosophy

I believe that my teaching philosophy mostly closely aligns with the constructivist

philosophy of education. Constructivism is inherently “the belief that learning occurs only when

the learner ties newly acquired information to previously gained understandings” (Henson, 2006,

p. 4-5). The core of my constructivist beliefs in education stem from a desire for students to be

placed at the center of their learning, thus allowing them to be active rather than passive learners

in the classroom. In being active participants in their educational experiences, students should be

given opportunities to both incorporate and connect their personal backgrounds and experiences

to what is being taught to them. In doing so, students will view their education as more

meaningful, creating successful and empowered learners in the process.

Constructivist ideals have effective means in literacy education. Literacy has historically

been connected to the ability to read and write, but “has evolved to encompass multidimensional

abilities such as listening, speaking, viewing, and performing, along with cultural and societal

factors that can facilitate or constrain literacy development” (Munger, 2016, p. 60). These

evolved abilities stem from the view that student experience and background should be

considered when it pertains to literacy, giving way to implementing constructivist learning

approaches within literacy education. Examples of this may include involving a student’s

linguistic, cultural, and lived experiences in literacy education and allowing them to tie these

experiences into their reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and performing skills. By

implementing experiences into literacy instruction, teachers give students the ability to construct

their own knowledge in their literacy journey, making them active players in their learning.

To facilitate the application of constructivism within pedagogical practice, I find John

Dewey’s theories to be an important resource to reference. Dewey, who is often credited as one
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of the key contributors to the constructivist philosophy, adopted the theory of cognitive

constructivism. With this theory, Dewey rejected the traditionalist means of rote memorization in

learning and instead embraced the use of prior knowledge to create new knowledge. Students

again use previous experience to create new knowledge, though with cognitive constructivism,

emphasis is placed on making sense of the learning. Additionally, Dewey believed that “schools

and classrooms should be representative of real life situations, allowing children to participate in

learning activities interchangeably and flexibly in a variety of social settings” (Williams, 2017, p.

92). In other words, Dewey believed that students should be able to construct knowledge, make

sense of that knowledge, and then apply that knowledge to real world situations.

Dewey’s beliefs have both supported and impacted my teaching philosophy. In terms of

support, Dewey’s theory directly aligns with my views of constructivism as they originate from

the same idea of integrating student experience and learning. To support this integration, students

should be given opportunities to connect their cultural identities and personal experiences into

their learning so that they can find meaning in and make sense of the subject matter being taught

to them. Additionally, Dewey’s theory has directly impacted my teaching practices within my

classroom. Like Dewey, I aim to place my students at the center of their learning through

background and experience, making them take on more active roles in their education. With

literacy education specifically, I include many opportunities for students to use schema to

connect with the lessons and reading passages we work on. For example, I will elicit prior

knowledge at the start of the lesson by asking what students already know about the reading

topic, what they remember about the topic, and whether they can relate to any of the same

feelings, experiences, thoughts, or actions of a character in a story. Through these practices, I

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help my students blend their schema into the texts and then use that schema to connect and make

sense of the reading.

In addition to Dewey’s cognitive constructivism, I also look to Lev Vygotsky's social

constructivism theory as an influential source to my teaching philosophy. This theory holds the

same core beliefs of constructivism, but instead places a greater emphasis on the social aspects of

learning through language, culture, and collaboration. Akpan et al. (2020) further explain that the

learning concepts in social constructivism “are transmitted by means of language, interpreted and

understood by experience and interactions within a cultural setting” (p. 50) and that knowledge

“is not only socially constructed but co-constructed” (p. 50). Here, Vygotsky asserted that

learning and social interaction allow students to gain more understanding of their world and what

they are learning because they can incorporate both their experiences and their peers’

experiences to create new knowledge. The nature of social constructivism then shifts from

individual ways of learning to collaborative ways of learning facilitated by the teacher.

In reference to my constructivist philosophy, Vygotsky’s theory directly supports my

views of education and learning in the classroom. Like Dewey’s theory of cognitive

constructivism, Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism is a branch of constructivism that

places greater emphasis on a student’s experiences and prior knowledge in order to create new

knowledge. Through social constructivism, students are still able to construct their own

knowledge and ideas within their learning, though through discussion and social interaction with

their peers. To directly support this theory in my classroom, I have made collaborative learning

an integral part of my literacy teaching practice. In addition to eliciting prior knowledge with

texts, as discussed with cognitive constructivism, I also give students opportunities to share that

knowledge with their classmates. This comes in the form of partner discussion, whole group
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discussion, and digital tools such as Jamboard and Peardeck. Furthermore, I aim to incorporate

lessons, texts, and projects that require group work. These types of group assignments and

readings allow for the sharing of knowledge between students through both their and their peers'

experiences. By including social constructivism within my literacy instruction, I aim to have my

students co-construct knowledge in the classroom, giving them a greater sense of what they are

learning, what they can teach their classmates, and what their classmates can teach them.

The final theorist that aligns with my constructivist philosophy is Gloria Ladson-Billings’

theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. Ladson-Billings (1995) stated that this “theoretical model

not only addresses student achievement but also helps students to accept and affirm their cultural

identity while developing critical perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other

institutions) perpetuate” (p. 469). It contains three distinct components that involve student

learning through academic success, cultural competence to formulate identity, and the ability to

recognize and resist inequality (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Though not a direct branch of

constructivism, Ladson-Billings’ theory contains constructivist ideals at its core. Namely,

culturally relevant pedagogy aims to emphasize a student’s cultural identity and experiences

within their learning. The difference, though, focuses on learners whose cultural identities and

experiences have been traditionally excluded from learning, specifically Black students, and

aims to help those students connect their learning to their experiences.

As with Dewey and Vygotsky’s theories, Ladson-Billings’ theory of culturally relevant

pedagogy supports both my teaching philosophy and my instructional practices. As previously

stated, culturally relevant pedagogy contains ideals related to constructivism. One of the goals of

this theory is to acknowledge and emphasize the multiple identities and experiences in a

classroom, much like constructivism that aims to incorporate student experience into learning.
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Additionally, Ladson-Billings’ theory has impacted my literacy instructional practices. To uphold

this theory in my classroom, I frequently seek to include literacy materials and lessons that are

relevant to my students’ cultures, backgrounds, and experiences such as personal narratives and

books about different cultures. I also recognize that my students have varying literacy abilities

and knowledge that can lend to their success even if they do not align with traditional definitions

of literacy. Lastly, I hold high expectations for all of my students regardless of literacy

achievement level or background, empowering them to succeed and grow on their own level. In

implementing these practices within my classroom, I am able to give my students the opportunity

to weave their identities and prior knowledge into their literacy instruction so that they may

construct their own interpretations of what they are learning.

To support Dewey’s, Vygotsky's, and Ladson-Billings’ theories within my teaching

practices, my classroom is organized in a way that focuses on student experience and

collaboration. Regarding Dewey’s theory of cognitive constructivism, I heavily stress utilizing

schema and real world application in my instruction. Every lesson has integrated opportunities

for students to share their background knowledge of a text topic as well as ways they can use the

skills gained in the lesson outside of the classroom. To support Vygotsky's theory of social

constructivism, I organize every lesson around various forms of collaboration and discussion.

Students are given many opportunities to share knowledge, problem solve, and help peers

through collaboration. Additionally, students are placed in groups so that the work presented in

class is primarily completed with one or more classmates. Finally, Ladson-Billings’ theory of

culturally relevant pedagogy is supported in my classroom as well. Lessons designed around

students’ cultural backgrounds, traditions, and personal histories allow students to connect

themselves to what they are learning. When students are able to see themselves in curricula, they
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are then given the opportunity to share their own interests and knowledge with others, while also

learning about the knowledge of their peers. As a result of organizing my classroom around

Dewey’s, Vygotsky's, and Ladson-Billings’ learning theories, my students can apply their

experiences and backgrounds to their learning, thus making them more active learners in the

process.

As the completion of my master’s program nears, there are several future goals I hope to

complete in regards to my teaching philosophy and practice. First, I plan to continue to deepen

my knowledge of constructivism so that I may be better able to structure my classroom around

this philosophy. This deepening of knowledge will help me recognize various ways of

implementing student-centered learning within my classroom and how they may be best utilized

amongst students. Becoming more educated in constructivism will give my students the effective

means of constructing new knowledge while being accountable in their learning. Further, I plan

to research additional ways of incorporating cognitive constructivism, social constructivism, and

culturally relevant pedagogy within my literacy instruction. Having a variety of constructivist

strategies interwoven into my teaching will create a more effective means of utilizing student

knowledge and experience. In completing both of these goals, I hope to become a competent and

successful teacher that emphasizes the importance of constructivism and student background.
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References

Akpan, V. I., Igwe, U. A., Mpamah, I. B. I., & Okoro, C. O. (2020). Social Constructivism:

Implications On Teaching and Learning. British Journal of Education, 8(8), 49–56.

Retrieved March 26, 2023, from

https://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Social-Constructivism.pdf.

Henson, K. T. (2006). Curriculum planning: Integrating multiculturalism, constructivism, and

education reform. Waveland Press, Inc.

Ladson-Billings, G. 1995a. Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American

Educational Research Journal 32 (3): 465–491.

Munger, K. A. (2016). Types of literacy assessment: Principles, procedures, and applications. In

Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice (pp.

59–74). essay, Open SUNY Textbooks.

Williams, M. K. (2017). John Dewey in the 21st Century. Journal of Inquiry & Action in

Education, 9(1), 91–102. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1158258.pdf.