Jasmine Rizk

Professor Amy Good

EDUC 1511

1 November 2023

After learning about the many types of teaching philosophies, I reflected on a

teacher I had in high school who used the constructivist approach to teaching. Constructivism,

according to Indeed, is when “learners develop knowledge by building on the foundations of

previous learning.” What this approach does is acknowledge that all learners come from

different backgrounds and have different experiences, and with this, they share these

differences within a classroom. I had an English teacher in my junior year of high school who

would plan her teaching lessons according to constructivism. She would first have us consider

our personal experiences, culture, and differences and understand how the information we are

learning affects our foundation. The biggest lesson she taught us was to engage and constantly

reflect on our work actively. If separated into small book clubs, we’d know to engage with each

other socially and further reflect with our peers and individually on what we’ve learned and how

it can be connected to what we’ve previously learned. Reflection, to my teacher, seemed like the

biggest benefactor to her lessons, as she’d always remind us reflecting gives the mind a chance

to digest and understand new information fully. The article states a similar description here, “It's

also necessary for individuals to reflect actively on their learning so that they achieve a more

complete understanding of new ideas.” After reading about this approach in the module, I

realized it is highly effective for students to retain information when personal background and

prior knowledge are considered, especially in such diverse school environments; it makes

learning more meaningful. As a learner who experienced this approach, I found this line to be

accurate, “As learners develop, they become better and identifying relevant information,
classifying it mentally and weaving it into sophisticated systems of thought that incorporate

multiple simultaneous ideas.”

After taking the teaching philosophy quiz, my results showed

existentialism/humanism/romanticism to best correlate with my teaching approaches. These are

three philosophies that, if I had my own classroom, I would combine to teach. As a teacher, I

value self-direction when learning and guiding students through the facilitation of love and

competency for learning. This ties into existentialism because with this philosophy, I’d give my

students the freedom of personal choice as adult learners. When students are guided on the

path of free will with what they learn, they find more meaning in information and better

understand their interests as they grow intellectually. However, something I would make sure to

do is balance the power of freedom given to them with strictness, as too much leniency can also

confuse students with which path is best for them. Lastly, I am a deep romantic, so incorporating

the romantic approach would be a must. With this philosophy, students are yet again given the

freedom to choose what they want to learn; however, they are expected to learn them

independently. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I, as a teacher, won’t be there to support my

students. Instead, it teaches value in self-dependence and dealing with circumstances head-on

through self-centered approaches. A combination of these approaches would best help students

academically because they are being given opportunities to find, understand, and recraft

themselves as learners. Students are given support while also depending on themselves to

develop independent learning skills that will guide them to success. These philosophies will be

sustained and evolved because humans naturally tend to live in such ways already. Most people

enjoy the art of independence, and when allowed to learn with free will, they will retain

knowledge and enjoy it more. In my opinion, these are philosophies that will never die as

they’ve only supported the growth of learning, especially when combining their best factors.