We interviewed five educators about their teaching philosophy as well as their vision for the future of education in America. Here is what they had to say.

1. Reflections on Teaching
Education Today
Heather Barton
Jasmine Colona
Gerald Welch
MTE/501
2015, April 6
Christine Hernandez

2. Education in America
We interviewed five educators about
where they thought education was
headed in the future as well as how their
personal experiences influenced their
philosophy on education. Here is a
summary of their teaching philosophies
and opinion on the current state of
education in America. Are we on the
bus to nowhere, or are we headed in the
right direction?

3. Educator Profiles
Ms. Gibby
First Grade Teacher, Mokapu Elementary
Ms. Johansson
Lower School Principal, Le Jardin Academy
Ms. Rabb-Patterson
Fifth Grade Teacher, Bridgeway Island K-8
Ms. Shigehara
Lower School Vice Principal, Le Jardin Academy
Ms. Smith
Fourth Grade Teacher, Le Jardin Academy

4. Educational Philosophies
Essentialism
Pragmatism
Socratic Method
Progressivism
Multiple Intelligences

5. Essentialism
Click on the video
icon to listen to
E.D. Hersch argue
for Essentialism:
According to the Common Core Standards Initiative, the standards are “learning
goals [that] outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each
grade” (Common Core Standards Initiative). Just as its name suggests, this
knowledge is considered core, basic or essential knowledge that every citizen should
possess. Ms. Gibby, Ms. Rabb-Patterson and Ms. Shigehara support Common Core
Standards. However, Ms. Smith prefers to teach conceptually and somewhat rejects
the idea that students must acquire a fixed set of knowledge (D. Smith, personal
communication, April 2, 2015).

6. Pragmatism
Ms. Rabb-Patterson, Ms. Gibby, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Shigehara all feel that
students need to have the necessary tools and skills in order to be successful
in society and when making important decisions.
Socratic Method
“Socrates is famous for creating the Socratic method of teaching still used by
many teachers today who ask a series of questions that lead the student to a
certain conclusion” (Hall et all 198). Ms. Johansson, Ms. Shigehara and Ms.
Smith all adhere to the teacher-led inquiry method, which has its roots in the
Socratic method.

7. Progressivism & Constructivisim
Progressivism and Constructivism are
two tightly interconnected theories on
how students best learn and most
teachers who ascribe to one will ascribe
to the other. Ms. Smith, Ms. Shigehara
and Ms. Gibby feel that learning should
be student driven and inquiry based.
Teachers who value student-driven
inquiry usually use a lot of collaborative
work in the classroom so that she can
circulate and facilitate each group.

8. Multiple Intelligences
Click on the video
icon to see what
Howard Gardner
has to say about
his theory of
multiple
intelligences:
Visual-Spatial, Bodily-kinesthetic,
Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal,
Linguistic, Logical -Mathematical
Ms. Rabb-Patterson (personal communication,
April 2, 2015) feels with so many types of
learners, we need to give students arts, music, and
hands on learning.

9. Trending Ideas and Issues
Home-School Communication
Technology
Standards
Collaboration
Globalization
Assessments

10. Technology
The use of technology in the classroom has become a fast growing trend. Although there are many
advantages to using technology there are also an equal amount of disadvantages. Both Ms. Rabb-
Patterson and Ms. Johansson feel that the use of personal devices will be the norm in the
classroom versus having textbooks. In a TED Talk, Sal Khan spoke about the value of flipped
teaching and how it can transform math class from a passive lecture to a stimulating and
collaborative experience (Khan).
Disadvantages:
● Students lose interest in non-technological activities.
● It’s a distraction for students.
● Teachers spend valuable time teaching students how to use
the technology, instead of focusing on the content to be
learned.
● Students write academic papers with “text talk” language.

11. Standards
Ms. Gibby (personal communication, April 2, 2015), Ms.
Rabb-Patterson (personal communication April 2, 2015)
and Ms. Shigehara (April 2, 2015) support standards
based curriculum.
Click on the
video icon to see
what the
common core
state standards
are all about:

12. Collaboration
“Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual,
engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning” (Cornell University).
“Make[s] learning fun” (Hall et all 395).
See how the College
Preparatory School in
Oakland, California uses
collaboration:
Ms. Smith stated that students need to learn how to effectively collaborate
in order to succeed in the workforce (D. Smith, personal communication,
April 2, 2015). Ms. Johansson stated that in the future, student desks
would be on wheels so that they could form different groups throughout
the day, depending on the activity at hand (M. Johansson, personal
communication, April 2, 2015). Both teachers believe that collaboration
leads to deeper and more meaningful learning. Collaboration is one of the
hallmarks of Progressivism (Cohen) and a widely accepted approach
among educators.

13. Globalization
The Common Core Standards Initiative
acknowledged that American students must be
able to compete in a globalized economy
(CCSI). Similar to the Common Core
Validation Committee, Ms. Smith feels that it is
important for American students to be able to
compete internationally for jobs. She also
believes that children need to be able to
collaborate with people from different cultures
“in order to solve the world’s problems” (D.
Smith, personal communication, April 2, 2015).

14. Home-School Communication
Growing up Ms. Gibby stated that there was no communication
between her teacher and her parents unless it was to express bad
behavior (personal communication, April 4, 2015). Both Ms. Gibby
and Ms. Rabb-Patterson feel that parents should be involved in their
children’s education. Ms. Rabb-Patterson feels that education is not
just the responsibility of the teacher. It is a true partnership that
involves student, parent, and teacher (Personal Communication, April
3, 2015).
This video
explains the
importance of
communication
between the teacher
and the parents,
and the impact that
communication has
on the student.

15. Assessments
Ms. Gibby (personal communication, April 2, 2015) feels there is
too many assessments, while Ms. Rabb-Patterson (personal
communication, April 2, 2015) feels there is teaching to the test.
Click on the
video icon to
see what
Smarter
Balance
Assessments
are all about:

16. Education in America
Educators today have a wealth of knowledge thanks to the discoveries of
our predecessors, and as Ms. Shigehara pointed out, education has been
like a pendulum that swings back and forth for the past hundred years or
so (L. Shigehara, personal communication April 2, 2015). Just like all
educators, our interview subjects each had her own personal philosophy
of teaching. In fact, each teacher seemed to draw from multiple teaching
and psychological theories in order to develop one comprehensive and
complex personal teaching philosophy.

17. References
Cohen, L. (1999). Oregon State University School of Education. Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html
Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2012). “Collaborative Learning. Group Work.” Retrieved from
http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/collaborative-learning.html#impact
DC Public Schools. (2012). “Three-minute video explaining the common core state standards.” Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0
Council of the Great City Schools. (2012, November 2). Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0
Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center. (n.d.) Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Northern Illinois
University. Retrieved from http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/learning/howard_gardner_theory_multiple_intelligences.pdf
Gardner, H. (n.d.) Howard Gardner of The Multiple Intelligence Theory. Edutopia. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2QtSbP4FRg
Hall, G., Quinn, L., Gollnick, D. (2014). Introduction to Teaching: Making a Difference in Student Learning. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Hirsch, E. D. (2013). E. D. Hirsch Interview. Retrieved from Akshata Rao https://youtu.be/N4Xf7LtN-Yg

18. References - Contd.
Igoa, C. (2011, July). he importance of home-school connection. Available from YouTube website:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=410&v=Eelv2jdpLOA
Khan, S. (2011). Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education. TED Talks, Inc. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/nTFEUsudhfs
Mosley, S. (2015). The dark side of tech in education. Examiner. Retrieved from: www.examiner.com/article/the-dark-
side-of-tech-education
Santrock, J. (2005). Adolescence. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Publishing.
Ready Washington. (2015). “What are Smarter Balanced Assessments?”. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kFGqmYXbEs
Section III Philosophical Perspectives in Education. (1999). “Educational Philosophies. Prgressivism”. Retrieved from:
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html
University of Phoenix. (n.d.) Philosophical and Educational Perspectives Interview. Retrieved from
https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/materials/ip/curriculum/education/mte501/r5/philosophical-educational-
perspectives/index.html