Dhagat 1

Sandeep Dhagat
Professor Suk
EDUC 230-01 Education Field Experience
Fall 2017
Rationale Statement-Standard #1

Standard One: Learner Development

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and
development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical
areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences
(NJ Professional Standards for Teachers, 2014, p. 2).

Artifact: Personal Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

Date of Completion: December 11th, 2017 (Fall 2017)
Course Completed in: EDUC-230 Education Field Experience

Rationale Statement:
The personal philosophy of teaching and learning is an artifact that outlines the learning
theories and educational philosophies that would underpin my decisions regarding curriculum, learning
environment, classroom management, and the student-teacher relationship. In it I consider (1) the role
of essentialism in public education, (2) the future of employment as it relates to education, and (3)
personal anecdotes about the shortcomings of my own science education. Finally, I explain my
reasoning for choosing a progressivist philosophy of teaching coupled with a constructivist learning
theory as the basis of my classroom. The artifact demonstrates I understand how learning occurs--how
learners construct knowledge, acquire skills, and develop disciplined thinking processes--and how to use
instructional strategies that promote student learning (NJ Professional Standards for Teachers 1.ii.1,
2014, p. 2). Constructivism is the closest model cognitive psychologists have that accurately describes
how learning occurs, and progressivism uses experimentation and discovery learning to create the
disequilibrium required by constructivism. Instructional strategies I outline as highly favorable in my
future classroom labs, experiments, and projects best support student learning by activating the
drivers of disequilibrium.
The main memory that influenced my conception of good thinking and permeated in my
description of the need for a different science education model is my difficulty in a science research
program. In the Governors STEM Science program, college students like myself had to lead a group of
high school students in completing a novel research experiment. In all my academic endeavors, it was
easily the hardest thing I have ever done. While other college mentors benefited from having projects
gifted to them by their advising professors or lab heads, I had to create a project from scratch with
limited resources, access, or assistance. I spent hundreds of hours thinking of research problems our
team could answer, and although I eventually found one, it dawned on me how poorly high school
science courses prepared me. My philosophy of teaching reflects what I think science students today,
tomorrow, and hundreds of years in the future will require to succeed. That is, the ability to find
solvable problems, design methodologies to solve them, and evaluate the results of your protocols. This
is not an easy thing to do, but students will only be able to do it if they have sufficient practice.
 Dhagat 2

Clearly philosophies change over time as new research comes to light or cultural attitudes
change. Considering that I started my education curriculum as more of an essentialist and behaviorist, I
think its important to continually reflect on the experiences that inform our philosophies of teaching.
That said, I would include this artifact as a resource for students, parents, colleagues, and department
administrators to read and evaluate. I think it is important for everyone to understand why a teacher
does the thing they do, and a philosophy of teaching document does just that. It provides the
justification and reasons for essentially everything in the classroom, from management rules to grading
principles. Teachers should care about transparency, and having a philosophy of teaching and learning
resource for others to understand is part of building a working relationship with students, teachers, and
colleagues.

Reference

Professional Development in New Jersey. (2014, August 4). Retrieved from New Jersey State Department
of Education:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/profdev/profstand/teacherstandardscrosswalk.pdf