The Aspects of Pedagogy - Case Study Example

Critical Reflection on Personal Pedagogy The fields of education and its have been evolving since the dawn. In every new era, researchers bring new studies and literature that adds new and newer substances in the field of education. The important thing to keep in mind is the quality of education provided in doing a research or may be providing the education to someone else. Psychologists’ continuous researches have taken the pedagogical dimensions of education to a much higher level from the time of its origin. According to Watkins and Mortimer (1999) pedagogy is labeled as a set of conscious actions that are being done at the time some other individual’s learning. There have been several ways through which pedagogy can be defined. But the common blunder people make while reading about pedagogy is their wrong assumption to relate it with the field of teaching or simply taking it as a teaching perspective. So, it is important to make it clear in the start that teaching is just one of the aspects of pedagogy. Pedagogy is much more than that which needs to be researched and understood through thinking and practice. Hence, while contrasting pedagogy with various studies, pedagogy can be explained through various defining structures. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, pedagogy is the art or profession of teaching. The National Board for professional Teaching standards states the definition of pedagogy as the set of those skills that the teachers use in order to convey their focused knowledge to the students. Further, they added in the context by explaining these abilities as a leading tool for a comfortable learning environment for students where they can get success in both, their academic and personal lives. Another definition of pedagogy refers to pedagogy as the art of using instructional theory. Here, instructional theory means a theory that suggests the ways through which they can identify better options of helping people in learning. So, pedagogy is defined as teaching: particularly the skills and capacities of a person that motivate people in their learning process. In UK pedagogy is usually used as a synonym for curriculum, which is again a wrong interpretation of literature. The confusion of mixing up pedagogy with various other concepts is very common. Here the studies of Gage (1985) are suitable to be quoted. His proposed definition of pedagogy illustrates that it is a complete set of strategies and instructional skills that an individual uses to identify that when he has to use his nomothetic knowledge and where he has to tackle the problem with his ideographic knowledge. Nomothetic knowledge refers to the general knowledge and ideographic knowledge of an individual subjective to any event. He said that these technical skills help children to start learning in their childhood. Some researchers also define pedagogy as a diversified field of knowledge which is very much related to the studies of psychology, sociology and philosophy but with the time, it has created its own focused field in the area of social sciences. So, it can be said that pedagogy is one of the most researched topics in the recent years and it has become the key research topic for most of researchers. Before discussing pedagogy further, the origin of pedagogy should be studied as well. The term “pedagogy” is being formally discussed from a long time and the first discussion of pedagogy dates back to 5th and 4th centuries BCE. The word “pedagogy” has derived from the Greek language word ‘paedagogo’. And in Greek context, the literal meaning of pedagogy was the idea of leading a child. Pedagogy is related to the philosophy of spirit in the system of sciences. In the educational contrast one should not be led by the wasted theories of knowledge. So, pedagogy if summarized is said to be the set of skills and strategies that are required in leading a children’s learning stage. The diversification of educational fields and developments in educational perspectives has vastly affected the people’s views and a sort of debate has started since then. The issues like what subjects should be taught to the students and what should be the appropriate ways that the teachers should adopt are the major points of these ongoing debates. The process of learning is purposeful rather than be more like unconscious state of mind. The early studies of pedagogy involve the master pieces of Paulo Friero, Te Whirki and M.Montessori. Paulo Freire was a Brazilian author that has laid the foundations of pedagogy. He was a professor of History and philosophy of education at the University of Recite. He had analyzed the relation of a student and his teacher very deeply. Freire acknowledged that there are two modes of antithetical education help an individual in composing his freedom practice and practice of domination. According to him, education is a medium though which an individual’s political consciousness should increase. He argued that it depends on one’s acceptance level of their situation that how much they are being oppressed. It is necessary to be convinced about the idea of taking first step towards change when there is a reflection of on people’s domination (Freire,1971). He had a great passion for justice and righteousness. His studies on social pedagogy reflect education as a place where the construction of society and an individual takes place. He had some critical methods of creating a mutual dialogue. The basic purpose of these methods was to make students and teachers question their own present knowledge. The critical methods were mostly rejected by the teachers in his classroom. He said that students are the depositories and the teachers are the depositors of education. It is essential to recreate ourselves in order to learn something new. Freire claimed that all the activities related to education are political in nature. Politics is always there between a teacher and his student whether as explaining the facilitator as authoritarian or democratic. In simpler words the role of teachers was categorized in different forms. In my own personal case, I had a great teacher at the secondary school level that used to motivate me and correct me whenever I made a mistake in my work. In fact she was like a great source of inspiration for me. She had never discouraged me and her believe in me and my capabilities have always motivated me to attempt better. Her teachings have made me a person that I am today and I know that I have not failed her. She was a very important part of my pedagogic journey. Researches show that the joint productive activities of teachers and their students result in positive learning. The studies of Freire further reveal his views on the curriculum being imposed by the higher authorities which creates means for the dominant culture to prevail in the society. Students are far more bureaucratize in getting educated and this makes them think of themselves as a low lethargic individual who is not capable of contributing anything to the society. The curriculum is also a significant pedagogic theory. The concept of the curriculum was broadly defined by Te Whirki in New Zealand. That concept highlights that all together curriculum is identified as the set of various activities, events and experiences in may be direct or indirect way that takes place in the pre designed environment of children’s development. This theory of curriculum surely applies on the early childhood education time. Early childhood time period is emphasized here because that is the actual time when a child is learning all the time. Whatever he observes in his surround leads him to the learning process. As a whole education helps a child in creating his own definition of his culture, as he perceived in his early childhood. As far as for me, this theory has worked perfectly because in my life I have always idealized my teacher and my great aunt Emmiline Punkhurst who has always inspired me to change myself for betterment and be inspirational for others with her constructive attitude towards life. Her values and solid beliefs have led me to keep improvising myself and be a great example for others. These were the two personalities in my life that never discouraged me and taught me to keep striving for the best until and unless you get it. May be if I would have been demoralized for my blunders, then it would have shaken up my level of self-assurance. Te whirki elaborated that a child should be given education in such a way that his competence and confidence grows with it. He should be made to think about healthy and fruitful cognitive topics that will make him feel sound mind with a sound body. By education children in accordance with these points, they can be great positive part of the society who may actually like to work for society and make it a better place (Ministry of Education 1996, 9). In general if we consider the work of Te Whirki, his studies suggests that teachers should be provided with some guidance of ways through which they can foster effective learning experiences, for the growth of a child’s mind in a much positive manner. He has motivated children’s autonomy, their communication skills, the exploration adventures and their feeling of getting aspired by the positive role models of the society or may be in their social circle, in his studies. The construction process of children’s knowledge particularly occurs when their teachers interact with them in solving their queries and talking about their interests (Hedges and Cullen, 2005). According to Te Whirki, teachers should only be given guidance and not a complete instructional manual to be followed for the learning process to occur. So institutions should focus on designing the content for the subjects they are offering and rest of the methods should be left for the teachers to be identified as they should be demonstrating a positive and active part in providing the mix of instructions and activities to their students. Teachers should be more focused on observing the activities of students and their responses in the classroom environment. The goal on focusing a set of pre defined outcomes is more likely to be adopted. Like if the goal is to focus on the literacy then it demonstrates that children should be open to experience the symbols and stories of their own as well as of other cultures (Ministry of Education, 1996, 78). Maria Montessori’s Montessori method is widely discussed in contrast of pedagogy. She had done a significant for work and contributed a number of great studies in educational theories and practices. Her book of Montessori Method has completely evolved and changed the previous concept of Montessori. Her book was the reason of establishing Montessori schools in US for the first time. In her book she revealed her story of how she strived for getting educated. According to her studies, the children do not need to be indoctrinated to do anything; instead they should be just overlooked or being observed by their teacher for their activities, with a proper discipline and freedom, just like their daily routine. She demonstrated how natural way of handling the learning process of children can produce some out standard results in their growth and development. She focused to use scientific methods as a source of investigation and interpretation, rather than being dependant on its literature. Her emphasis o clinical observation was the basic idea behind the freedom of children to be active towards achieving their goal of development. There are several pedagogical trends that were brought into light after this much research over pedagogy. The first trend is Behaviorist pedagogy which illustrates that teachers analyze their students’ behavior in various activities and then adopt proper ways to enhance his learning. This approach is more teacher-centric and focuses less on the student. The second approach is constructivist pedagogy which revolves around the knowledge mechanism construction. According to this approach no one can make any student learn. It is their own productive abilities of their minds that contribute in the process of their learning. This approach emphasizes on observing the interactions between the learner and his social environment to characterize the type of knowledge he is getting (Tomlinson, 1995). So, keeping the past track of my life in view shows that the encouraging attitude of not only my aunt and teacher but my family as well has been very supportive throughout my life have built the blocks of my personality in a constructive manner and it developed a flare in me to learn things and do not deal with it in an irresponsible manner. The third approach of pedagogy, social constructivist approach is derived from constructivism. It relates the learner’s knowledge with the principles of constructivism. It has now been confirmed from various studies that children develop their learning abilities in their early childhood period which heavily depends on their daily routines and their interactions between their social circles. Such process of learning is known as active learning Hohmann and Weikart(1995). I can say that I was quite an active learner. My family has always been there for me, whenever I needed them, whether emotionally, mentally or physically. I believe that family has a greater impact on one’s pedagogical path because they are the people whom one is surrounded with 24/7. And they are mainly responsible for building either the constructive or destructive environment of one’s childhood. Without their attention and motivational attitude it would have been quite difficult for me what I am today as I was not really good with books in my childhood. This reflects the practical example of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 – 2005) which highlights that there are certain layers of system in the environment. He mentioned the importance of interactions in the path of development of an individual. There are various environment systems and one of them is microsystem. Microsystem environment refers to the closest environment for an individual. The system includes the family of the individual, the classroom, church and neighborhood. These are more like a set of patterns of various activities and social interactions that are being experienced by the developing individual provided particular surroundings. The developmental processes can only occur within the immediate environment setting and the tendency of absorbing and learning through these experiences depends on the structure of the microsystem. The microsystem of every individual is described by certain norms, roles and relationships. This ecological systems theory of Bronfenbrenner has persuaded many psychologists to be considered in the field of child care. It is now proven that the support of a family is definitely a major key role in the success of any developing individual. Not only motivation, but in my childhood I used to play outdoor without any restrictions over my explorations. I still remember that I was a great risk taker and used to experience things on my own and there was no one limiting my actions. I learned through practicing things myself. In my opinion, this is important because until and unless any individual have not done anything adventurous in his childhood days, then he will he develop an analytical and problem solving attitude towards life. One can only recognize the taste of an orange juice as sour if he has tasted it. The studies of Jerome Bruner suggest that a developing individual can only experience learning in a moralistic disclosure. The study reveals that children should not be told before about the facts and principles of life and situation. In fact, they should be open to experience on their own in order to learn and develop. Mostly the parents and the teachers are integrated by the thought of helping the child in front of them and they are so preoccupied by such thoughts that they don’t even realize it. Such notions are being termed as ‘folk pedagogy’ by Jerome bruner. The folk theories have an unrecognized impact on the minds of developing individual’s observer or caretaker and in many instances may be their teacher. Witnessing all these studies, researches and theories of pedagogy, I can definitely relate my past life with them as it is because of my early life practices that today I have been able to see myself as a nursery manager. All my hard work and determination and the need to improvise my own gestures through positive actions are the reasons of my position in today’s time. The theories are not only there to fill the literature but my life reveals the true findings and proves them to be remarkable work of researchers in the field of educational context. In today’s time pedagogy is a widely discussed term and in educational institutes academic awards have become a common thing. According to some Swedish academic note, pedagogy has not extended to a quite an extensive area. Its concepts not only hold the learning practices and methods, but the development of welfare ethics, development of a sound mind with the healthy body and overall development aspects that contributes to the well being of the community. References Bruner, J. S. (1996). The culture of education. Harvard University Press. Bruner, J. S. (2006). In Search of Pedagogy Volume I: The Selected Works of Jerome Bruner, 1957-1978. Routledge. Dahlberg, G., & Moss, P. (2004). Ethics and politics in early childhood education. Routledge. Yelland, N. (2005). Critical issues in early childhood education. McGraw-Hill International. Alexander, Robin (2008). Essays on Pedagogy. London: Routledge. Smith, M. K. (2012). ‘What is pedagogy?’, the encyclopaedia of informal education. Montessori, M. (2013). The montessori method. Transaction Publishers. Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (Eds.). (2010). Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project. Routledge. Watkins, C., & Mortimore, P. (1999). Pedagogy: What do we know.Understanding pedagogy and its impact on learning, 1-19. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum, 2000. Bruner, J. S. (1960). The process of education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Iffich.I. 1970. Deschooling Society. New York, Evanston, San Francisco, London: Harper & Row Payne, B. (1900). Pedagogy. The Course of Study, 194-195. Blaiklock, K. (2010). Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum: Is it effective? International Journal of Early Years Education, McKenzie, J. (2003). Pedagogy does matter. The educational technology journal, 13(1), 1-6. Strauss, S. (2001). Folk psychology, folk pedagogy and their relations to subject matter knowledge. In B. Torff and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Understanding and teaching the intuitive mind. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1997). Ecological models of human development. Readings on the development of children, 1993, 37-43. Olson, D. R., & Bruner, J. S. (1996). Folk psychology and folk pedagogy. The handbook of education and human development, 9-27. Raths, J. 2014. ECRP. Vol 3 No 1. Teachers Beliefs and Teaching Beliefs. [online] Available at: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n1/raths.html Scs.sk.ca. 2014. Pedagogical Theory. [online] Available at: http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/master/pedagogicaltheory.htm Schweinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1998). Why curriculum matters in early childhood education. Educational Leadership, 55(6), 57-60. Read More