Running head: PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

Philosophy Statement
Sauer, Brittney
EDUC 201
Foundations of Education
Instructor: Egbert

Philosophy Statement

Philosophy Statement 1

Running head: PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

Philosophy Statement 2

Philosophy in education is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and

learning. Every teacher develops a base for their own philosophy, and continue to build and
develop on that base throughout their career. Your teaching philosophy discusses how you
incorporate your personal beliefs about education in your classroom.
The philosophies in the book that best describes my personality are Information
Processing and Humanism. Information Processing focuses on how the mind of the individual
works. In this theory the mind is compared to a computer in that it uses symbols to encode,
process, remember, and retrieve information. It explains how information is learned and proposes
strategies to improve processing and memory. Humanism is focused on the potential for growth,
and becoming the best one can possibly be. Beliefs among this philosophy is that human beings
can control their own destiny, people are inherently good and will strive for a better world,
people are free to act but must be responsible, behavior is the consequence of human choice, and
people posses unlimited potential for growth and development. Humans have the natural
tendency to learn. By providing students with encouraging, supportive, and nourishing
environments they will flourish.
According to my philosophical beliefs all schools should teach students about how their
minds work. Teaching them the best ways to learn the material, study in order to retain the
information, and how to retrieve the information they have learned based on their mind.
Humanism focuses on giving the students the reins, but providing them with the path in which to
take. The process of learning is simply that, a process. It takes time to unfold and students will
create the pace at which they are able to do that.
The role of the teacher is to see the students as individuals. Understand that every
individual has a different mind and way of learning. The teacher should guide her students, but

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let them set the pace at which works best for them. The role of a teacher is to teach and make
sure that what is being taught is being learned by every students. The teacher must build
relationships with the students to understand and get to know the students and how their mind
works. However, the students role is to also build that relationship with their teacher. Students
must also put forth the effort to learn and have a will to become the best they can become. Also,
to have a desire to strive for better and to not give up.
I learn best through visual learning and hands on activities. Subject material should be
taught using more hands on activities, group activities, and group discussion. It should not be
based on teacher lecturing. Teacher instruction time should be minimal in the classroom and
more focused on guided and individual practice. Teachers need to take into consideration of how
the students in that class learn best, and understand this may change from year to year or class to
class.
Having a philosophical belief in teaching is necessary. Being able to identify and
understand your own personal philosophy is the first step in becoming the best teacher you can
be. Information Processing and Humanism directly reflect my philosophical beliefs in teaching.
These beliefs are what my classroom will be built around and demonstrated every day in the
classroom.