RONATO, JOHN CARL STA.

AGATA (MAED ENGLISH 1) EDUC 511 Methods of College Teaching Module 2: Preparing to Teach: Prerequisite to Teaching Dr. Miriam A. Janeo Thursdays, 5:30 9:30 pm
1. Craft your own philosophy of teaching/education and explain.

I believe that teaching is not only a profession but also a lifetime commitment; that the success of learning does not solely depend on strong adherence to disciplines and on the attainment of linear objectives but on the determination of outcomes based on learner needs and the individualization of instruction to meet their specific learning styles; that every individual can learn and learn not at the same time or manner and they deserve fair and equal opportunities for them to develop and share their unique skills and abilities; and, that I, as a teacher, catalyst, facilitator, manager and leader is responsible to the realization of these goals so the learners will reach their full potential and become productive and effective individuals when they assume future societal roles.

I am a strong supporter of outcomes-based education (OBE). My philosophy in teaching is drawn out from its three premises developed by William Spady (Spady, 1994 in Killen, 2000). We, in the teaching field, are most responsible for what our learners become after a program of study and it is our crucial task to help shape these individuals to develop their character and instill in them the values that they need as people living in a society. After four or five years in college or university, they are expected to manifest the skills and attitudes for them to function effectively in the society and this should be the foundation why we are teaching them. One of the many dilemmas in higher education is that institutions are being mandated by authorities to follow pre-specified competencies/outcomes and in schools most especially, we are prescribed to follow the curriculum which consequently limits the autonomy of the teachers to design a more appropriate framework based on the needs of the students. But why not localize these competencies/outcomes to meet the specific needs of the society or community where they are in, i.e., in urban and rural areas? Teachers should also be given equity in administrative decision-making since they are the ones who have first-hand experiences as to what is truly happening in schools today. As teachers, one of our shortcomings is we have the propensity to strictly follow the syllabus since it is much easier that way. We often neglect to provide meaningful learning experiences along the process because coming up with new and motivating activities related to the their specialization or field of study would be additional workload for us. But then when we see the quality of our graduates we often blame them because they fail to meet our expectations. That is why our methods and techniques in teaching should be based on the principles of experiential learning. We

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RONATO, JOHN CARL STA. AGATA (MAED ENGLISH 1) provide pathways for them to develop essential skills, e.g., analytical abilities, cooperativeness, honesty, conscientiousness and the like through real-life experiences and practical application of the principles and theories they learned in school and not just teach them technical skills which is in fact somewhat secondary to the personality and character that many companies are primarily looking for in an applicant. Individualizing instruction may be difficult and task-laden but this should be the ideal goal of every teacher. It would be unfair to the rest of the learners if our expectations and standards are limited to a few and the number of opportunities to succeed is a narrow road for everyone and unhealthy competition and narcissism is the only key. I have personally encountered teachers during college who do not even help their students to pass and they implicitly and continually compare them to other students and they only provide little avenues for the rest of the students to show their abilities. They are highly authoritative and the students suffer its effects. The only way they do to motivate the students or engage them is through fear. They detest failure; this is not what expresses dedication and empathy in teachers. Our approaches to teaching must exceed the traditional and transitional goals of education. It should be transformational that centers on the total development and need of the individual and the core of education is not only the acquisition of purely technical skills. The desired results should at least be desirable and we will achieve these if we change our mindset and look at the specific needs of our students. Reference Killen, R. (2000). Outcomes-based education: Principles and possibilities. Unpublished manuscript, University of Newcastle, Faculty of Education.

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