Fred Hawley

Teaching Philosophy for EDUC 452

I chose to become a technology education teacher for two reasons: the first is that I love building things and working on projects; the second is that I love passing on my skills and knowledge to others.  As a tech. ed. teacher, I want to create a positive learning environment where students can feel confident and safe working with tools.  The first step is to demystify hands-on work and create a positive learning environment where students can feel safe working with tools.  The next step is to build students’ confidence in their ability to design and make projects.  By prioritising the process of designing and making, I will work towards “creating”, with a focus on inquiry and project based learning.  Students will develop their skills and knowledge through work on independent and collaborative projects.

For project based learning to be successful, I believe that it is necessary to support students with more structured instruction.  Bloom’s Taxonomy illustrates this point by positioning “create” at the top of a hierarchy, supported by lower order levels of learning.  When I am planning a unit, I begin with a project and design demonstrations, assignments, activities, and quizzes to prepare students for that project.  For example, in a grade 9 woodwork class that I taught during my practicum, the project for a unit was box with a carving on the lid.  The class began with demonstrations and safety tests, followed by a simple carving assignment and a design assignment.  Upon completion of the tests and assignments that ensured a base of knowledge, students began working on their independent project, which followed an inquiry-based learning model as students experimented with different techniques and designed their own carvings.  This philosophy translates to social studies subjects by focusing teaching around project based work such as comics, posters, videos, or participating in debates. In tech. ed., a focus on projects is built into most subjects.  For example, in woodwork, there are safety tests and occasional quizzes but the goal is to learn through work on projects.

Over the course of a unit, students should have opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in multiple ways and to not rely on only one project mark for the bulk of the assessment.  This can be achieved by including formative assessment throughout the design process, and can have the added benefit of structuring students’ work based on the design process model.  The design process model, when applied to teaching, is students progressing through defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, making, and sharing (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2016).  By emphasising formative assessment and not focusing solely on summative assessment, it is possible to encourage a growth mindset, as students can learn by revising and reworking their projects instead of receiving a grade and moving on.

As I have gained experience in classrooms, my perception of my role as a teacher has shifted towards a more student driven approach.  The new curriculum in BC frames ADST education in the model of the design process.  This way of looking at ADST education suggests a focus on inquiry-based learning, where design is included in every project, and students have opportunities to improve their work throughout the designing and making process.  It will be a challenge for teachers to find the balance where students have sufficient structure and guidance to work safely and with confidence.  I learned during my practicum that finding that balance is an art.  I hope that throughout my career I will continue to improve.

 

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2016).  Applied Design, Skills, and

Technologies.  BC’s New Curriculum.  Accessed at: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/9