Educational Philosophy Darrin Brown

When teachers or researchers in the educational field think of an educational

philosophy the first thing that comes to mind is what the purpose of education is and
what the role of education in society is. This is what guides my practice and what I am
looking teach the learners in my classroom. My teaching philosophy largely comes from
the educational philosophy of John Locke and Plato. Theorists such as Albert Bandura
and his social learning theory are also deep rooted in my educational philosophy. I firmly
believe that teachers should be using technology in the class whenever possible and
teach learners about sustainable development cross curriculum.
I believe that teachers and learners are on an ongoing process of growing and
learning together. The classroom is a democracy and learners should have a say in how
the classroom is run. There are some rules such as industrial arts safety rules that are
set out in stone. Teachers should respect and get respect from their learners. The
purpose of education to me as a future teacher is that all learners learn at their own
pace and as a teacher I have to be aware of the multiple types of learners in my
classroom. As well as being able to make the learners fell comfortable in the classroom.
In order to achieve this, the educator should start off the school year by setting out clear
and defined rules for the classroom, however as the year moves on the teacher will look
at how things are going and slowly hand over control of the classroom to the learners.
As this happens the teacher becomes less of a dictator and more of a guider of how the
classroom should be ran. The goals of a teacher in the classroom are to help the
learners in the classroom reach their full potential and to challenge the learners in order
for them to reach new highs in their educational learning. As an educator I have nothing
but the highest respect for each of the learners that enter my classroom and I want
nothing but success for each of them. My role as a teacher is to be able to mentor and
answer questions that my learners have as well as being able to connect with the full
range of diverse learners in the classroom. My goal as a teacher is to help learners
learn about each other and break down the barriers that society has created about
learning about the other.
As a teacher, I strongly believe that learners learn the best when they can apply it to
actual real life situations. The teacher must find ways to relate the subject or topic to the

Educational Philosophy Darrin Brown

learner using cross curriculum learning and literacy. Educational ideas such as using
problem based learning and universal design for learning work extremely well in
classroom setting to help learner development. The role of the teacher should be to act
as a guide or mentor to the learners in the classroom because when learners are
responsible for their own learning they will work twice as hard to archive success. The
goals I set out for my learners in my classroom are to assign topics to the learner during
the school year and have them present and research for the class because that way the
learner is not only responsible for the success of their learning but also for the success
of their peers. It is the role of the teacher to have learners understand the design loop
process for success in a 21st century classroom. I also believe learners should be able
to ask questions and question things in a safe place and my classroom is a safe
environment to ask and seek answers without fear of judgement.
Teachers must always be aware that different learners needing different stimuli is
a key factor in understanding and developing learning. The main educational theory I
use is the theory of social learning theory. The social learning theory has one main
objective and that is for the teacher to be a role model and show model behaviour,
attitude and promote outcomes that they see should be followed in the classroom.
Teachers are role models in the classroom and as such leave a positive impact on the
learner. I believe that learners can learn new information and behaviors by watching
other people. Known as observational learning or through modeling, this type of learning
can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviors found In the classroom. I firmly
believe teachers should get to know their learners personally so the teacher can find the
best way to reach the learners in the classroom.
Another educational theory that I would use in the classroom is the theory of
humanistic education, which in this learning theory is to enhance the learners personal
growth and self-actualization. In this learning theory the learner is self-motivated and
they assume the role of learning. A good use for this theory is in the industrial arts labs.
Where the learner would be responsible for project design, finishing and processes of
the project. The teacher in an industrial arts lab in grades 5-12 is there to guide the
learner to what the finished product could or should be. The industrial arts teacher role

Educational Philosophy Darrin Brown

in learning is to help apply real life situations for the learner to learn and provide as
much cross curriculum learning as possible. This is what is what I believe is the core of
industrial arts and learning in the 21st century. I also believe that these two learning
theories are what works the best in my classroom for what I would like to achieve for the
students which would be for the learners to leave as positive members of society.