 Electronic PortfolioThe University of Pennsylvania's Science Teacher Institute Master of Integrated Science Education Program |
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| Understanding
of Science Education Theory & Literature – The participant has grown to have a stronger understanding of important education literature and theory. |
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Related Course: EDUC 545 - LEADERSHIP FOR MIDDLE LEVEL SCIENCE
In Jennifer Pizzo's Leadership course we were required to develop our professional philosophy of eductaion. I say "develop" because it was an assignemnt that we worked on throughout the year-long course. The first draft of my philosophy states my educational beliefs with a little background information of how I came to have these ideas. By the final draft, I was able to state my ideas about education and present research that also validates my thoughts.
I chose to include my professional philosophy as evidence of my growth in this rubric area because my philosophy evolved as a result of the educational literature that I read. My original philosophy of education does not at all address this rubric category, but over time we researched educational literature and theories to see what other educators had to say about our ideas and beliefs. My philosohy spoke on several issues including multiple intelligence, student grouping, class size, motivating students, and discipline. So after reading and learning what the research said about those topics I was able to use that information to support and justify my philosophy. We also had to find research that opposed our beliefs. That was an interesting step in research that I do not normally consider, but it was important to see what the other side has to say.
This assignment was influential to me in that I learned how to use research to strengthen the validity of my practices. As a teacher I have sometimes had to explain the reasoning behind some of the activities I do in my class or the decisions I make in regards to teaching. I usually just present my point of view, but after going through this process I learned that I am usually not alone in my thinking, and can use research to either justify what I do or possibly make me rethink my practices.
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