Philosophy of Education/Training

As Instructional Designers/Instructors we should know our Philosophy of Education/Training. But what is Philosophy of Education? Is it the process that we follow in order to achieve some results? Is it our believes of how the people learn? Is it the method we contact a class? A lot of explanations can be given from different perspectives.

In my opinion, philosophy of education/training is our approach to guiding learners along the path of knowledge. My philosophy of education/training can be expressed by the educational progressivism and constructivism pedagogy. The main principle of the educational progressivism is that humans are social animals who learn best in real-time activities with other people, and one-step further that people learn best by interacting each other (social constructionist pedagogy).

Based in the John Dewey's model of learning, as a trainer/instructor I should:

1. Become aware of the goal,
   
2. Define the objectives,
   
3. Propose hypotheses to achieve the goal,
   
4. Evaluate the consequences of the hypotheses from one's past experience, and
5. Test most likely solution

After finding my philosophy of education/training the next challenge was to define how will I practical use it? The answer in this question has to do with the answers in four other questions:

1. What is the purpose of the philosophy?
2. What are the instructors and learners perspectives?
3. What are the key elements of the philosophy?
4. What tools I will use in order to achieve the desirable results?
   

In my opinion, the purpose of education is enhancing individual effectiveness in society and giving learners’ practical knowledge and problem-solving skills. We should keep in mind that interest and experience are key elements in learning. Furthermore, we should guide learners through educational experiences. Using discussion and not lecture as well as, experimental and project method as tools to teach our learners.

What is your philosophy of education/training?