Educational Philosophy

Last week I had to write my educational philosophy as a part of another assignment.  I found that this task seemed rather daunting at first. How do you sum up what you believe about education in a few paragraphs?  What to include and what to leave out?  I actually spent several days pondering on what I really believed about how to teach and what my personal feelings were about teaching.  This is the final draft of my educational philosophy. I am sure it will change over time, but today this is what I believe about teaching:

Over the course of a lifetime, I have been both educated and trained.  As a soldier I was trained and as a college student I have been educated.  Since I work for the Army, I have a dual role as trainer and educator.  As a trainer I am responsible for ensuring that my students are capable of performing tasks to a measurable standard, but as an educator, it is my ultimate responsibility to ignite a spark that challenges students to think critically, to pursue knowledge and to acquire lifelong learning skills. 

Over the last few years, I have had the responsibility of training and educating my peers.  As a staff and faculty instructor, I teach newly assigned instructors and training developers how to do my job, essentially.   When teaching adults, especially your peers, it is essential to communicate well.  It is an absolute must to be accessible and respectful.  It is imperative to foster an atmosphere that is both professional, yet comfortable. Commonly, in the military classroom, the instructor can be rather lofty and arrogant, when teaching peers; one cannot afford to alienate students by creating a wall between student and facilitator.  Openness in communication and trust are critical. Honest feedback is also important. 

Students come to this classroom with a need to acquire skills to manage a classroom and deliver information, but I also have a responsibility to educate them in that there is far more to teaching than just delivery of information.  I believe that students should be challenged to think beyond what they have been taught and seek more information. Student should be challenged to apply the facts and principles that they are given.  I believe it is important to provide a safe place for new instructors and developers to explore teaching and writing techniques and receive honest feedback on their presentations. I often refer to my students as "delicate flowers" and remind my fellow instructors that feedback does not have to be harsh to be effective.   The main points I hope to convey to any new instructor is that:  1. There is a method to why we teach as we do.  Research and practice dictate how some task or topics are best conveyed.  Doing is always better than just talking.  Show students what right looks like and observe them practice.   2. As an instructor, never stop improving.  Just because you teach well and your students like you, you should continue to stay current in your field, improve your facilitation skills, challenge yourself to try new teaching or writing techniques. 

As a trainer of peers, it is my ultimate responsibility to practice what I preach.  If I hold my students to a high standard (and I do) then I should model appropriate behavior.  I must stay current in my field and never stop learning and improving.  I must continue to learn how to improve my classroom and how to integrate new technology and tools into how I teach.  I must share this information with my peers, both inside my classroom and within my working groups.  Taking on new challenges as a manager, trainer, teacher and colleague is my main goal.  To do as I was trained in the Army so many years ago:  “lead by example”.