Progressivism: My Teaching Philosophy

Every teacher has to have some belief or philosophy that is present in his or her style of teaching. I myself am about a year away from becoming a certified teacher and developing upon some beliefs of how my teaching will lead to worthwhile learning.  However, I have not really thought about what type of teaching philosophy I have.

After recently taking a survey on teaching philosophies, I have discovered that I share a lot of ideas with the traditionally American philosophy of Progressivism. The philosophy that is most closely related to progressivism is pragmatism. Pragmatism is a philosophy that is associated with such philosophers as William James and John Dewey. I plan to discuss what being a Progressivist means to my teaching curriculum, my role as a teacher, and my teaching methods.

A progressivist curriculum emphasizes such things as problem solving and creating skills needed in today's world. Dewey views education as a continuous growth and thus he demands of schools that they “present the studies in relation to one another and link available knowledge with the live context beyond the classroom” (240). I agree with these ideas because people are continuously learning in today's changing world and education does not just end once a person is out of school. People need to use their continual knowledge to adjust to the changes in life. If a student is able to learn how to link what he/she knows or has learned, then that student is going to be able to apply this skill to everyday life. The curriculum of a progressivist should be built around the personal experiences and needs of the students and the teacher should present lessons to students as if they are being faced with a real-life situation.

The role of the teacher in a progressive classroom is to guide the students through their development of critical thinking skills. One way for a teacher to do this is through questioning his/her students. In a progressive classroom, the teacher also creates practical activities that would guide the students through problem solving and show them how this is relevant to their lives outside of the classroom.  Progressivist teaching methods also include such things as guided discovery and hands on learning. Not only do the students discuss what they are learning, but they also experience it through role-playing.

The students learning environment would consist of group work and discussions. Students will do group work and activities as a class. It is a relaxed and very democratic environment for the students where their assessment would be based on engaging in real world activities. Students should be prepared in the classroom for analyzing and solving the types of problems they will face outside the classroom. The students will also receive continuous feedback and the monitoring of their progress will be relaxed and informal. The end result of a progressive classroom is going to be the creation of a student who is prepared to take the knowledge they have learned in a classroom and apply it to the real world.