Progressivism Teaching
Philosophical Essay
As a student myself, I know how boring it can be for a teacher to stand in front of the classroom and lecture. It seems like they talk forever and usually my mind drifts into the unknown, counting the dots on the ceiling. It is unfortunate that many students today are subject to this form of teaching and learning. I believe that the most effective teaching method involves assignments that directly relate to the students’ lives, problem-based learning and activities that impact students physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The teaching philosophy that includes all of these learning tools is progressivism. According to our textbook, “progressivism is an educational philosophy emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual development.” This method of teaching involves the students in interactive learning while increasing their desire for knowledge. Once they realize that the information being taught actually relates to them, they will invest their time and energy in learning more. In the scenario given in the textbook, the American History class does not seem interested in the subject at hand. The students are not volunteering to answer questions, and most often they just want the teacher to give them the correct answer. Using progressivism as my teaching method I will engage the students in learning by relating the material to their lives, including problem-based learning activities, and impacting them physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally.
The first method I will use to get my American History students excited about learning the material will be relating the lessons to their lives. When I ask them questions, they often want me to describe every bit of information in the problem to them until I basically give them the answer to the question. The answer to the question seems to be exactly what they want. The students appear to have no desire to learn and will often say, “C’mon, just tell us what you
As a student myself, I know how boring it can be for a teacher to stand in front of the classroom and lecture. It seems like they talk forever and usually my mind drifts into the unknown, counting the dots on the ceiling. It is unfortunate that many students today are subject to this form of teaching and learning. I believe that the most effective teaching method involves assignments that directly relate to the students’ lives, problem-based learning and activities that impact students physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The teaching philosophy that includes all of these learning tools is progressivism. According to our textbook, “progressivism is an educational philosophy emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual development.” This method of teaching involves the students in interactive learning while increasing their desire for knowledge. Once they realize that the information being taught actually relates to them, they will invest their time and energy in learning more. In the scenario given in the textbook, the American History class does not seem interested in the subject at hand. The students are not volunteering to answer questions, and most often they just want the teacher to give them the correct answer. Using progressivism as my teaching method I will engage the students in learning by relating the material to their lives, including problem-based learning activities, and impacting them physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally.
The first method I will use to get my American History students excited about learning the material will be relating the lessons to their lives. When I ask them questions, they often want me to describe every bit of information in the problem to them until I basically give them the answer to the question. The answer to the question seems to be exactly what they want. The students appear to have no desire to learn and will often say, “C’mon, just tell us what you