Helena believes that her main goal as a teacher is to transfer the knowledge and values that her students will need to do well when they graduate and move into society. She strives to have her students learn to be academically proficient and to instill her students with values such as respect, diligence, and practicality. Based on what you have learned, Helena would rely on
teacher-centered philosophies.
An essentialist would argue that essentialism
is an effective way to help develop a common culture among Americans.
John Dewey founded a famous experimental school to test his ideas. That school was
the Laboratory School.
When schools use education as a means to sort students so that those judged to be the most gifted are helped to rise to the highest levels of society while the less fortunate are allowed sink to society's lower levels, they are engaging in
social Darwinism.
Which of the following educators might have said, "I believe in praxis: When students take action that is based on sound theory and actions, they have the potential to change the world for the better"?
Paulo Freire
The Socratic method involves
questioning the student to draw out answers.
Which of the following educators channeled his frustrations regarding his own difficulties with school into the founding of Summerhill, an existentialist school where students decide what and when to learn?
A. S. Neill
A teacher at your school believes children should be made to reason deductively; another teacher favors lots of hands-on learning activities. These teachers appear to hold different views of
epistemology.
If Barbara teaches according to the tenets of behaviorism, she
believes that controlling the environment is the key to getting students to learn
Western models of education vary from other parts of the world in that
Western societies value credentials, such as certification and degrees.
A teacher imparting a lesson in inductive reasoning might
show children a series of examples and ask them to notice a common pattern among those examples.
Which of the following is considered a "teacher-centered" philosophy?
essentialism
A teacher who teaches through the Socratic method
uses questions and counter arguments to get students to think more deeply about important issues.
A person who argues that Cartesian dualism is central to the idea of education is arguing that
educational emphasis should be placed both on the physical world and on the mind because it is that combination that is reality.
Why is the "back-to-basics" movement associated with the teaching philosophy of essentialism?
Both the "back-to-basics" movement and essentialism value training in core academic principals and knowledge and seek to instill a common culture and patriotism.
In the existentialist classroom, the curriculum is
chosen by the student for self-directed learning.
Which of the following educators has argued for an inclusive model of essentialism that he refers to as "core knowledge"?
E. D. Hirsch Jr.
Which of the following is true regarding constructivism?
It is a philosophy that relies on the idea that students are constantly attempting to assimilate new information.
Why do perennialists support the use of Great Books as a core building block of their curriculum?
They seek to impart the enduring themes and questions that span the ages, and they believe the Great Books are the best source to explore these themes
When a teacher is engaging the class in a project to reform the American election system so that the process is more fair and inclusive, she is utilizing the idea behind
political philosophy.
Jane Roland Martin argued that
there is a disconnect between intellectual development and the ability to love and care for a family.
"Students learn best not by sitting in a closed room but by opening the doors and windows of experience to the world around us." This quote reflects the tenets of
progressivism.
Which educational philosopher argues that a progressive education can result in the development of an ethic of care in students?
Nel Noddings
In his development of a social reconstructionist philosophy, Paulo Freire combated which philosophy in particular that he believed schools were currently endorsing?
social Darwinism
Why might existentialists deemphasize math and the natural sciences in their teaching curriculum?
These subject matters are less fruitful for promoting self-awareness.
Although there are different philosophies of education, a general consensus has emerged among educators about what are the most appropriate philosophies.
False; Different philosophies of education have arisen because there are different views regarding the purpose of education, the role of the teacher, the nature of curriculum and assessment, and the method of instruction.
Philosophers who believe that the innermost reality is that of the mind follow idealism.
True; Considering the metaphysical question "What is real?" idealists assert that reality exists in the minds of those who perceive it and that which exists can be known only through and as ideas.
Essentialism has been the dominant political philosophy in American schools since the World War II.
True; Factors such as the launching of Sputnik in 1957, the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, standardized testing mandated by No Child Left Behind, intense global economic pressure, and increased immigration to the United States have all kept essentialism center-stage.
The Coalition of Essential Schools is the purest example of essentialism in American education.
False; Although the schools in the Coalition of Essential Schools promote intellectual rigor, test students for mastery of information, and emphasize strong thinking skills across subjects, they are not pure examples of essentialism.
Existentialists believe in the power of a real or "existing" curriculum to guide learning.
False; Existentialism focuses on each individual student as the center of instruction and the final judge of what should be learned. There is no fixed curriculum.
Social reconstructionists believe that it is not enough to tell students about the importance of solving the world's problems; teachers must allow students to decide for themselves what problems they want to address and how to go about solving them.
True; A social reconstructionist teacher must model democratic principles. Students and teachers are expected to live and learn in a democratic culture; the students themselves must select educational objectives and social priorities.
Jane Roland Martin coined the term "Domephobia" to describe how she perceives gender bias in schools and the larger society.
true; Domephobia, the fear of things domestic, is Jane Roland Martin's word for gender bias in schools and in society.
Behaviorists believe each person has the free will to develop as he or she sees fit.
False; Behaviorists believe that much of what we believe to be free will is really an illusion. Student learning can be built around rewards, and educators who can effectively organize these rewards will be successful.
The doctrine of the Golden Mean, or the notion that virtue lies in a middle ground between two extremes, was promoted by Plato.
False; Although he studied under Plato, it was Aristotle who promoted the doctrine of the Golden Mean.
Advocates of a purist model believe that blending student-centered philosophies with a demanding traditional curriculum can enhance the learning process and teach students to be more proactive about learning a core curriculum.
False; Purists believe that blending philosophies like these can actually dilute student learning.
Academy
A classical secondary school in colonial America that emphasized elements of Latin and English grammar schools and by the nineteenth century became more of a college preparatory school. Also the name of the ancient Greek school founded by Plato.
aesthetics
The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of beauty and judgments about it.
back-to-basics
During the 1980s, a revival of the back-to-basics movement evolved out of concern for declining test scores in math, science, reading, and other areas. Although there is not a precise definition of back to basics, many consider it to include increased emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic, fewer electives, and more rigorous grading.
behaviorism
A psychological theory that interprets human behavior in terms of stimuli-response.
behavior modification
A strategy to alter behavior in a desired direction through the use of rewards.
Cartesian dualism
The belief that reality is composed of both materialism and idealism, body and mind.
constructivism
With roots in cognitive psychology, an educational approach built on the idea that people construct their understanding of the world. Constructivist teachers gauge a student's prior knowledge, then carefully orchestrate cues, classroom activities, and penetrating questions to push students to higher levels of understanding.
core curriculum
A central body of knowledge that schools require all students to study.
deductive reasoning
Working from a general rule to identify particular examples and applications to that rule
empiricism
The philosophy that maintains that sensory experiences, such as seeing, hearing, and touching, are the ultimate sources of all human knowledge. Empiricists believe that we experience the external world by sensory perception; then, through reflection, we conceptualize ideas that help us interpret the world.
epistemology
The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of knowledge and learning.
essentialism
An educational philosophy that emphasizes basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, geography, and language.
ethics
The branch of philosophy that examines questions of right and wrong, good and bad.
ethnocentrism
The tendency to view one's own culture as superior to others, or to fail to consider other cultures in a fair manner.
existentialism
A philosophy that emphasizes the ability of an individual to determine the course and nature of his or her life and the importance of personal decision making.
Golden Mean
The doctrine put forth by Aristotle asserting that virtue lies in the middle ground between two extremes.
Great Books
The heart of the perennialists' curriculum that includes great works of the past in literature, philosophy, science, and other areas.
idealism
A doctrine holding that knowledge is derived from ideas and emphasizing moral and spiritual reality as a preeminent source of explanation.
inductive reasoning
Drawing generalizations based on the observation of specific examples.
informal education
A practice that, in many cultures, augments or takes the place of formal schooling as children learn adult roles through observation, conversation, assisting, and imitating.
Laboratory School
Schools often associated with a teacher preparation institution for practice teaching, demonstration, research, or innovation.
logic
The branch of philosophy that deals with reasoning. Logic defines the rules of reasoning, focuses on how to move from one set of assumptions to valid conclusions, and examines the rules of inference that enable us to frame our propositions and arguments.
materialism
A philosophy focused on scientific observation and the belief that existence is experienced only in the physical realm.
metaphysics
The area of philosophy that examines the nature of reality.
oral tradition
Spoken language is the primary method for instruction in several cultures around the world. Word problems are used to teach reasoning, proverbs to instill wisdom, and stories to teach lessons about nature, history, religion, and social customs.
perennialism
The philosophy that emphasizes rationality as the major purpose of education. It asserts that the essential truths are recurring and universally true; it stresses Great Books.
philosophy
The love of or search for wisdom; the quest to understand the meaning of life.
political philosophy
An approach to analyzing how past and present societies are arranged and governed and how better societies may be created in the future.
pragmatism
A philosophical belief that asserts truth is what works and rejects other views of reality.
praxis
The doctrine that actions should be based on sound theory and values. (It is no accident that the term praxis is also the name given to the teacher competency tests required by many states.)
progressivism
An educational philosophy that organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and real-world experiences of students.
rationalism
The philosophy that emphasizes the power of reason and the principles of logic to derive statements about the world. Rationalists encourage schools to emphasize teaching mathematics, because mathematics involves reason and logic.
scaffolding
Taking from the construction field, scaffolding provides support to help a student build understanding. The teacher might use cues or encouragement or well-formulated questions to assist a student in solving a problem or mastering a concept.
social Darwinism
A belief similar to Darwin's notion of "survival of the fittest," that contends that society is a natural sorting system which rewards the talented and places the less deserving at the bottom of the social and economic pecking order.
social reconstructionism
A view of education as a way to improve the quality of life, to reduce the chances of conflict, and to create a more humane world. Also called social reconstructionism.
Socratic method
An educational strategy attributed to Socrates in which a teacher encourages a student's discovery of truth by questions.
