JamieLang

KansasStateUniversity

EpiphanyofLearningLetter
EDCI803

Dearstudents,

Youmightbewonderingwhywedothethingswedointhisclass.YoumightbequestioningwhyIdont
standupinfrontoftheclassandlectureliketheteachersyoumayhavehadbeforeortheonesyouseeon
televisionandinmovies.YoumightgetfrustratedattimeswhenIsimplywontjustgiveyoutheanswerortell
youwhattodo.Thenagain,youmightenjoytheexplorationandproblemsolvingyougettodoinclass.Letme
explainmyphilosophyofteachingitwillshedsomelightonwhywedothethingswedo.
Ornsteinwrotethatphilosophybecomesthecriterionfordeterminingtheaims,means,andendsof
curriculum(2011,p.6).Myphilosophyofteachinghasevolvedovertimeandhasbeeninfluencedbymyown
experiencesasastudent,mytimeworkinginbusiness,andmytrainingandexperienceinteaching.Now,
imaginethetraditionalclassroom.Studentsaresittinginrows,theteacherisatthefrontoftheclassleading
thegroupthroughalecture.Somestudentsreallyenjoythismethodofinstructionandcangainalotfromit.I
wascompletelycaptivatedbyCaesarsGallicWars,geometry,trigonometricidentities,andevenCiceros
essayonoldage.ItwasnotuntilyearslaterthatIlearnedabouttheuttermiserymostofmyclassmates
enduredinthesameenvironment(Noddings,1983,p.166).Whatworksforonestudentwillnotworkforall.
Itispossibleforeachstudentintheclasstohaveadifferentexperienceeventhoughtheexternalconditions
appeartobethesame(Tyler,1949,location996)Itismyjob,astheteacher,toensurethatallstudentsare
abletolearnthematerialinmyclassandItrulybelievetherearenounteachablechildren.Thereareonly
schoolsandteachersandparentswhofailtoteachthem(Adler,1982,p.161).Eachoneofyoucansucceed,
butnotifItakethesameapproachwitheveryoneofyou.YouaredifferentpeopleandIneedtotreatyouthat
way.
Youareallindividualswithdifferentinterests,experiences,andgoals.Iwanttogiveyouchoicesin
whatyouaccomplishinthisclasssothatyourworkherecanreflectthoseuniquequalitiesineachofyou.
Whenchildrenmustallstudythesamematerialandstrivetomeetthesamestandards,itbecomesinfinitely
easiertosortandgradethem(Noddings,1983,pp.16667).Ibelievethatyouaremorethansimply
somethingtobesortedandgraded.Youdeservemorethanhavingtheonlymeasureofsuccess[be]a
competitiveoneacomparisonofresultsintherecitationorintheexaminationtoseewhichchildhas

succeededingettingaheadofothers(Dewey,1915,p.13).So,Iwillgiveeachofyoutheopportunityto
makechoicesinwhatyoulearn,howyoulearnit,andhowyoushowwhatyouknow.
Yourpersonalexperienceswillgreatlyinfluenceyourclassroomexperienceandhowyouinteractwith
thecontentandactivitiesthatwedo.thingsrarelycomewithin[your]experienceunlesstheytouch,intimately
andobviously,[your]ownwellbeing,orthatof[your]familyandfriends(Dewey,1902,location24).Partofmy
jobistohelpyourelatethecurriculumtothosepersonalanduniqueexperiences.Icantdothatbyteaching
eachandeveryoneofyouthesameway.IfItakethetraditionalapproachoflecturingyouandnotallowing
youtochoosesomeaspectsoftheassignment,thematerialbecomesabstractandunrelatable,stretching
backindefinitelyintime,andextendingoutwardindefinitelyintospace(Dewey,1902,location24).
So,myprocessfordevelopingthematerialwedointhisclassstartswiththegoals.Ibeginmyfinding
standardsthatIwouldlikeeachofyoutoachieveandIwriteobjectives,whichyouwillseeontheboarddaily.
Then,Itrytofindwaystoidentifyifyouhaveachievedthatobjective.Sometimesthesetaketheformoftests,
quizzes,andpapers,butmoreoftenthannot,theyareprojects.Somestudentsdonottestwelleventhough
theyknowthematerial,andIwanttogiveeachofyouafairchanceatdemonstratingthatyouhavelearned
thematerial.
Then,Itrytobrainstormsomeactivitiestohelpyoulearnthematerial.Ialwayslearnedbetterbydoing
handsonactivities,butIrealizethatnotallstudentslearnbestthatway.So,Ialsocreateandcuratevideosto
supplementthehandsonactivitiesandcompilesomeonlineresourcesforyoutoreference.Thevideosare
goodbecausetheyallowyoutopauseandreplayifyoumisssomething.YoucantdothatifIstandupinthe
frontoftheclassandlecturetoyou.EachandeveryresourceIgiveyou,whetheritsahandsonactivity,a
video,oralinktoawebsite,isinsupportofourobjectives.OnceIhaveallmyactivitiesplannedout,Idecide
whichonesareabsolutelyessentialtomeetingtheobjectivesandsequencetheminawaythatmakessense
andkeepsyouchallengedasyougoalong.Allofthesethingshappenbeforeyouevenstepintheroom.
Whenyoucometoclassthisyear,eachdayyouwillhavealistofactivitiestochoosefrom.Do
whicheveronesyoufeellikeonthatday.Findsomethingthatpiquesyourinterest.Takeaslongasyouneed
togetthroughit.Whatmattersisthatyoumasterthecontent,nothowquicklythisprocesshappens.Ifyouturn
itinanditsnotquiteright,Iwillgiveitbacktoyouandaskyoutotrysomethingsdifferently.Onceyouve

masteredtheconcept,youcanmoveontosomethingnew.Youwillhavechoiceandautonomyinthisclass
bothinwhatassignmentsyoucompleteandhowyoucompletethem.Everysingleassignmentandproject
givesyoutheopportunitytomakeityourown,sopleasepersonalizeit.Itwillmakethecoursemore
meaningfulandengaging,Ipromise.AllIaskisthatyoucometoclasswithanopenmindandbereadytotake
controlofyourownlearning.

Happylearning,

JamieLang

References

Adler,M.(1982).
Thepaideiaproposal.
InFlinders&Thornton(Ed.),Thecurriculumstudiesreader(2nded.)
[Kindleedition].RoutledgeFalmer

Dewey,J.(1915).
Theschoolandsociety.
Chicago,IL:TheUniversityofChicagoPress.Retrievedfrom
https://archive.org/details/schoolsociety00dewerich

Dewey,J.(1902).
Thechildandthecurriculum
[Kindleversion].Chicago,IL:TheUniversityofChicagoPress.
RetrievedfromAmazon.com

Ornstein,B.(2011).Chapter1,PhilosophyasaBasisforCurriculumDecision,inA.C.Ornstein,E.F.Pajak,&
S.B.Ornstein,
ContemporaryIssuesinCurriculum(
5thed.).Pearson.(Electroniccopyavailableon
KStateOnline)

Noddings,N.(1983).Thefalsepromiseofthepaideia:Acriticalreviewofthepaideiaproposal.InFlinders&
Thornton(Ed.),
Thecurriculumstudiesreader
(2nded.)[Kindleedition].RoutledgeFalmer

Tyler,R.(1949)
Basicprinciplesofcurriculumandinstruction
[Kindleversion].Chicago,IL:TheUniversityof
ChicagoPress.RetrievedfromAmazon.com