Educational Philosophy

A Journey

by Pamela Klem

chronicled in words and images

A Long and Winding Road

Great Wall of China: Image from www.fantom-xp.com courtesy of Creative Commons

Click on the bornes to visit the stops along the way!

Go to End

Piaget’s Stages of Human Development

• Universal stages of cognitive capacities

• Stages are hierarchical - capacities in each stage build on the experiences in prior stages

• Children progress as they’re ready: cannot be “rushed” through the stages

SensorimotorBirth to age 2

Formal OperationsAge 12 to Adulthood

Concrete OperationsAge 7 to 11-12

PreoperationalAge 2 to 6-7

Big Book

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More On Piaget’s Stages

SensorimotorBirth to age 2

Formal OperationsAge 12 to Adulthood

Concrete OperationsAge 7 to 11-12

PreoperationalAge 2 to 6-7

Babies make physical “shemes”through motor interactions with

environment

Children demonstrate conservation ofnumber, can differentiate own perspective

from others’, can reason deductively

Children make mental representationsof unseen objects; begin to recognize

categories and patterns

Humans are able to think abstractly.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Universal stages of emotional development• Stages are hierarchical - individuals cannot

focus on higher level needs until needs at lower levels have been met

• Individuals progress through stages on their own time: cannot be “rushed” through the stages

• Not everyone reaches highest stages

SelfActualization

Esteem Needs

Belonging Needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs Big Book

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More on Maslow’s Hierarchy

SelfActualization

Esteem Needs

Belonging Needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs

Attainment of Full Potential

Recognition & Respect of OthersSelf-Respect, Confidence

Family Attachments;Community Ties

Physical Safety;Stability, Order

Food and Shelter

Sayers’ Lost Tools of Learning

• Universal stages of cognitive capacities

• Stages are hierarchical - capacities in each stage build on the skills and knowledge accumulated in previous stages

• Children progress as they’re ready: cannot be “rushed” through the stages

Rhetoric(or “Poetic”) Stage

High School to Adulthood

Dialectic(or “Pert”) Stage

Middle School Years

Grammar(or “Poll Parrot”) StageEarly Elementary Years

More

Seminal Essay

More on Sayers’ Tools of Learning

Rhetoric(or “Poetic”) Stage

High School to Adulthood

Dialectic(or “Pert”) Stage

Middle School Years

Grammar(or “Poll Parrot”) StageEarly Elementary Years

Amassing factual information;Mastering discrete skills;

Absorbing stories and poetry;Developing ear for language and music;

eye for art

Organizing and analyzing information;Mastering mechanics of writing;Learning multistage and abstract

mathematics; studying logic

Evaluating and synthesizing learnings;Expressing own ideas clearly and

persuasively

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Classification of learning activities according to cognitive complexity

• Levels are hierarchical - each level builds on information or skills of preceding level

• Subsequent educators have used model to argue that higher levels are more desirable

Application

Evaluation

Synthesis

Knowledge

Analysis

Comprehension

Big Book

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More on Bloom’s Taxonomy

Application

Evaluation

Synthesis

Knowledge

Analysis

Comprehension

Memorize, recall, reproduce

Judge, appraise, critique

Recognize, classify, identify

Demonstrate, employ, solve

Contrast, compare, differentiate

Summarize, integrate

Holt’s Organic Learning

How Children Learn:• Naturally: Trust them; they want

to learn and will do so organically• Independently: Give them time,

space, materials and freedom -- and assist only when they ask for it

• Through observation and replication: Let them observe you at your own work; they will be curious and motivated to follow your example

Emma collecting bugs

Big Book

Montessori Method

• Children “know what they need to know”

• Prepared environment: physical space and materials carefully organized and maintained

• Sensory materials: specifically designed to be sequenced and self-correcting

• Within those parameters, students choose own activities; role of adult is to facilitate, not teach

• Multiple age classes based on developmental “sensitive periods”

Big BookStella’s sensory demonstration of

multiple ways to add tp 10

Yolen’s Magic

• Model of life well lived– Written hundreds (literally) of

books– Generous with time to schools,

support to charitable causes, and credit to other authors and illustrators

• Advocate of storytelling, folklore and myth for people of all ages

– Medium for content, cautionary message

– Hooks youngsters on narrative and primes them for classics later

– Source of joy.

Big Book

Jonah, reading The Girl in the Golden Bower,by Jane Yolen

Steiner’s Principles of Waldorf Education

• First school in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919 -- subsequently grew into educational movement

• Based on developmental stages of child, but:– Child centered curriculum

– Teacher led instruction

• Content emphasis on storytelling, myths, legends, classic literature

• Method emphasis on art, music, rhythm; beautiful surroundings Learning through the Hand

Infancy - Age 5

AbstractLearning

Learning through the EyeAges 8-12

Learning through the EarAges 6-7

Emma

• Eldest – now 13• Taught me importance

of fantasy in children’s development

• Classic Holt child: self-directed, intrinsically motivated

• (Currently completing parenting book due to publisher by June!)

Emma, directing cousins and brother in original drama

Jonah

• Middle – now 9• Taught me importance of

connection with nature to help kids stay grounded and calm

• Thrives on order, consistent structure, teacher-led instruction – to my initial disbelief and even dismay

• Struggled with reading; now successfully remediated

• Forced me to re-think my natural inclination for child-led pedagogies

Jonah, Last Child in the Woods

Stella

• Youngest – now 5• Taught me importance of sensory

learning• Classic Montessori child: loves

working independently, is drawn to manipulative materials, is motivated to practice same activity over and over until she achieves mastery

• Taught me not to step in and help too quickly: “children have the right to struggle”

Stella, working on geometric solids

Mille Bornes

• Bornes is French for “roadside distance markers”

• Mille Bornes, or “Thousand Markers,” is a classic card game in which players compete in an imaginary 1000k race

• The theorists, educators and particularly my kids who’ve helped me find my bearings along my journey thus far have been my bornes!

What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been…Where I am Now

My Educational Philosophy:

• Developmental stages based on cognitive evolution

• Hierarchy of learning:– Background knowledge before analysis– Content before evaluation– Discrete skills before integrative ones– (puts me close to Sayers)

• Simultaneous nurturing of heart and soul:– Stories, legends, myths & poetry– Drama and fantasy– Music and art– Nature– (brings me back towards, but not to, Holt)Sensory Stage

Infancy to age 5-6

Synthesis&

EvaluationHigh School ++

Logical StageMiddle School Years

Concrete StagePrimary School Years