My Learning Philosophy

Introduction

Before we begin, I must note that this philosophy and school vision is a work in progress and will
always be in flux. I chose to title this “My Learning Philosophy” as I feel that this is a truer representation
of what this philosophy is to me. A learning philosophy statement not only illustrates how I am as a
learner, but will also directly relate to how I will carry out my role as a teacher and a citizen. The
philosophy that fits best with my beliefs of understanding of education is that of Holism. I believe that
this practice balances the positive attributes of many other theories and aims to create an educational
system that develops inquisitive, innovative and compassionate students.

The School

I envision this school to be surrounded by different types of vegetation and nature, such as a forested
region, a small prairie reserve, and a green space for athletic activities. The building itself would be
environmentally sustainable with classrooms that had the ability to open to each other and the outdoors.
There would be common spaces both inside and outside of the building to promote community and to be
used for school gatherings. With the improvement of, and increased usage of, technology today it would
be important to have updated technology accessible to all the students in the school.

I believe that there are many important goals of education, the core ones being; social justice, life
experience, self-knowledge and an intrinsic desire to learn. To try and achieve these goals the subjects in
this school would be different from those within a traditional school. I would break the learning into six
areas; Health and Wellness, Academics, Construction, Environmental Studies, Household Skills and
Creative Expression. The traditional subjects fit well into either a few or all of these new areas of study.
The current SLO’s would likely not all fit into these new areas but the ones that do are relevant and
practical in students’ lives. The information that they learn at school will help them to develop as
individuals and as members of society whom have a connection with the land and the global community.

Balance through Holism

Holism is an attitude or perspective that that recognizes the dynamic interconnected life of the
learners and the world that surrounds them. In order for teachers to have a wholistic relationship with
fellow educators and learners they must be their whole selves and they must see their students as such
(Miller, 2004). A holistic perspective incorporates parts of many different models of education as it
believes that there are truths in each. These different partial truths of each model must be in balance with
each other and a teacher must be dynamic in meeting the needs of different situations (Miller, 2004). The
four pillars of learning described by Mahomoudi et al. (2012) (learning to learn, learning to do, learning
to live together and learning to be) are themes that nicely accommodate my previously stated goals for
education.

Learning to learn is described by Mahomoudi et al. (2012) as the curious, natural act of
consciously seeking knowledge for the sake of exploring. This pillar emphasizes the ability that students
are self-motivated to and have the required skills for directing their own learning (Mahomoudi et al.,
2012). This parallels my personal goal for education of an intrinsic desire for learning. This is similar to
what Simpson (2014) argues in her article, she believes that there must be student consent surrounding the
information being taught instead of information being thrust upon them. The concepts of intrinsic leaning
and consent will be incorporated into my school throughout the subjects. Since the subjects are so broad
there are a lot of directions that one could go with their research within the area. Giving students the
freedom and choice to learn what they are interested in will give them the motivation and interest to
pursue the knowledge on their own. With their own pursuit of knowledge, the information they find will
be a lot more relevant and meaningful to them, encouraging a sense of understanding instead of
memorization.

Learning to do is the application of knowledge to practical situations. Some of the skills of this
pillar are time management, collaboration and problem solving – which are applied to either vocational
and professional work or to interpersonal work for social change (Mahomoudi et al., 2012). This pillar
satisfies both my social justice and life experience personal goals for education, making it valuable for a
just and effective school. If students are learning about a place, peoples or culture they should go to the
land to experience it first-hand (Simpson, 2014). As a teacher I want to foster an environment where
everyone’s voice can be heard and respected, this requires work for both teacher and student to develop
their skills of open-mindedness (hooks, 1994). Hands-on learning and social justice action are experiences
that can be incorporated into many if not all the proposed subjects at my school. I think that giving
students the ability to practically apply the knowledge that they learn is critical for making a school
effective as it solidifies the knowledge that students have researched and gives them an opportunity to
remember it through the kinesthetic act. Learning to do also promotes a just school as it incorporates the
importance of action towards social change, creating a space where all students feel comfortable voicing
their thoughts.

Learning to live together is the critical ability for people to learn to respect and live in unison
with other humans and nature. One must understand the diversity of human’s beliefs and experiences and
also recognize the commonalities between us so that humans can band together to resolve conflict and
world issues (Mahomoudi et al., 2012). This ties into my personal education goal of social justice and
even has implications for global citizenship as well. I hope to build the necessary skills needed to create a
true multicultural classroom and society. By developing an honest and accepting community and helping
students deal with the, sometimes uncomfortable shift in views students will be able to learn from and
about each other. Creating a more accepting society is a critical component to this pillar that would be
imbedded in all the subjects at my school so that all the students felt free to participate. Living together
would have a particular focus in environmental studies to highlight the deteriorating relationship we have
with the world itself. I believe that this pillar clearly develops a just school as it encourages people to
understand and respect all humans and their diversity creating a more inclusive and peaceful society. In a
less obvious way this pillar also acts to create a more effective school as with a more accepting
environment for students who are marginalized to be free to participate, getting a deeper experience from
their own education and deepening other students’ perspectives as well.

Learning to be is the act of discovering the true nature of humans and the wholeness of yourself.
This pillar essentially involves learning what it is to be human and what is needed to reach ones’ full
potential (Mahomoudi et al., 2012). This correlates with my personal goal of self-knowledge and life
experience. I believe that students must be able to self-reflect and observing the world around them so
that the intelligence inside them will grow. This is especially important for indigenous students who must
delve back into their culture and onto their land in order to understand themselves (Simpson, 2014). The
experience of self-reflection and mindfulness play an underlying role in all the six subjects as students
find areas of study that teach them about themselves, their culture or humans in general. With a greater
understanding of themselves students can be more effective at reaching their full potential. Giving
students the skills to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world is a just cause as it will
hopefully help them to become more self-confident individuals that are able to express their thoughts and
beliefs.
 Student Outcomes and Assessment

As a teacher, my goal is that students value the learning itself over the arbitrary grade that they
receive. To model this to my students I will use student self-assessment so that they will be able to reflect
on their work and develop skills of personal constructive criticism. This skill will encourage students to
always strive to meet the standards they know they are capable of rather than mine. For example,
experiential learning is one of the most memorable ways of learning and it would benefit from a student-
directed assessment (Teaching and Learning Services, 2014). I think introducing students to inquiry based
learning would provide a different form of assessment and would prove to be beneficial as it allows them
to direct and assess their own learning. This method comes with great benefit, as students are able to learn
the skills of accountability, public speaking, reflection and learn further by teaching their topic to
classmates. Projects based learning or short papers are good ways to develop deeper understanding of
topics and acquire life skills such as time management, communication and problem solving. I never want
to trick my students with any form of assessment, I plan to always be transparent and have documentation
to show students where and how they will be assessed.

Adaptations

“Fair is not everyone getting the same thing, fair is everyone getting what they need to be
successful,”-Anonymous. Not all students are at the same level of understanding and that is okay with me,
in order to meet this challenge with assessment I will implement differentiated practices that can be
completed by students of multiple learning levels. For different learners I could provide more frequent,
shorter quizzes, adapted test questions, verbal responses, or a hands-on-project focused on their related
interests. Another method is a layered curriculum; this assessment practice offers multiple assignments in
three levels of increasing depth of understanding. Students are able to choose to do what assignments they
want to do so long as they meet certain requirements, which would vary depending on the situation and
students. Each student has different abilities, and as a teacher I must be flexible and provide the
appropriate adaptation for that individual.

To Learn is to Grow

I believe that a holistic attitude forms a balanced educational experience that encourages students
to have an understanding of themselves, their connections to the world and the skills to navigate it. I think
the greatest thing about holism is the balance it creates from the many educational perspectives out there
and by design is just and effective. Giving students the power of choice and hands-on experiences, in an
accepting environment, will not only help them develop their understanding of themselves and
appreciation for their worldly relationships but the knowledge they learn will be deeply rooted,
understood and useful.

“I am a learner and I am a teacher. Simple. The two, for me, are inseparable and part of the
whole,” – Peter Skillen. I think that is a very important thing for me to remember as I go through a career
as a teacher. I will seek to learn more by reading academic works, talking to colleagues and experts and
exposing myself to different practices. To me, learning is fun and the more we learn, the more we realize
that there is so much more to learn. The world is so wide and immense that we could continuously be in a
state of learning. “Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.”– John Dewey. So… to
live is to learn, and to learn is to grow. If I am to grow, I must live!