Ana Victoria Cortijo My Philosophy of Teaching I do not have a concrete philosophy of teaching and I believe that I will probably never have one. I think that throughout my career my philosophy will change and or adapt in order to fulfill the needs of my students. Yet, what I do have is a clear framework by which a philosophy can be built. For the purpose of this paper I have chosen the Progressive Foundation for Adult Education as my main framework by which to build a philosophy. However, I will also introduce non-conflicting views from the Humanistic perspective in my effort to construct a well rounded philosophy that can be more adaptable to use with a wider range of students in the future. Based on the Philosophical foundations adapted by J. Elias, and S. Merriam (1995), the purpose of the Progressive Foundation is to promote societal well being and to give learners practical knowledge and problem solving skills. In my still humble and limited experience as a teacher, I wholeheartedly believe that people regardless of age “learn by doing.” It is imperative for students to have tangible experiences of what they are learning, as this enhances their long term retention and their understanding of concepts and much needed skills such as: public speaking, debating, active listening, and negotiating. It is important for me as a teacher to create a classroom experience, that although may have a teacher-centered approach style, will match with the reality of what students will potentially need to further themselves professionally or academically. First, my strategy would be to guide my students through the process of doing what they need to learn enough times before I set them free and they are able to do it on their own. Sometimes certain concepts are not understood regardless of how clear the explanation is or how many visual aids are presented. However, if I place the students in the situation of having to role play or demonstrate the explanation taught it is much more effective to the learning activity than the explanation itself. In an effort to have students be attentive during a demonstration it is best in the beginning to demonstrate more, and explain less. If the students are allowed to observe and explain what they observe it greatly helps them in their long term retention of the demonstration. In my experience nothing can promote societal well being better than to provide students with an understanding, and compassion to other people or other situations that are unfamiliar to them during the educational framework. It is very easy to sympathize with others, but I feel that true understanding of a situation happens when we place ourselves in other people’s shoes! A good way to accomplish this goal is to create learning activities that will help stimulate and place the students in the unfamiliar position. If well planned the success of such activities could be long lasting and life changing. Assuming a successful activity is accomplished, no life changing experience can go without reflection. In fact, true learning depends on the reflection that the students have on the experience and what it means individually to them. Therefore, it is important to have students discuss how the class activity related to them and what lessons the experience taught them. In addition requesting for students feedback is essential as it can help with changing those things that were not as effective for future activities and discussions. As I examine the purpose of the Humanistic Approach of Adult Education, I also agree that this approach can be very effective, because it provides a learner centered approach style in which the teacher is available to help but trusts and expects students to take responsibility for their learning. What I love about this approach is that I believe that learning is a very personal activity. Different people learn in different ways and “get it” in their own time! The Humanistic Approach combined with a learner centered style of teaching allows the student to have more control of their success or failure. If I didn’t wholeheartedly believe in this approach of teaching, I wouldn’t stand a chance of having any success in my course of studies at CSU. Why? Because based on my experience and what I have learned throughout this semester, the learning style is very much learner centered. As a student, it gives me a sense of power to know that my success or failure will ultimately depend only on me. As a teacher I have a sense of satisfaction and responsibility to be a bridge that leads students towards academic and or professional success but not push them towards either. My strategy using the Humanistic Approach would be to first, engage students before a discussion. I would accomplish this by first trying to get a feel of my student’s opinions of a particular topic before engaging in a discussion by finding attention grabbing documents that are related to the discussion or providing two contrasting opinions on a topic to get my student’s reactions. Based on those reactions, I would pose specific questions with clear wording and allow the discussion to take place. However, it is imperative to limit the number of questions, and ensure that the questions are open-ended as this helps the students to have a broader spectrum during the discussion process. Among the “attention grabbing” documents previously mentioned, it is important that the data presented in preparation for the discussion is one that will enlightened the course of the discussion rather than encourage an intense debate with no added value. Finally, since in the Humanistic Approach the teacher serves as a facilitator, I think that prompt communication of the objectives that need to be met for success in the course or training session is essential. Regardless of the philosophy I may choose to have in the future there is something that it is of utmost importance to me – making the experience of my students memorable! I would try to accomplish this by again using the reflection process and guiding my students towards identifying what they learned and how their learning experience has changed them positively or negatively. I would also try to prepare a survey to help my student’s rate their own learning and guide them through creating an action plan to encourage lifelong learning. I am not sure if this paper completely defines my philosophy of teaching. However, taking into consideration the challenges of this profession, I would think that one would choose this career for something that is greater than them. Teaching is a career of service and I hope that most teachers do so, to inspire, change and help others. I would like to be a bridge in life that connects a person from where they are and lead them to where they want to be. Success is measured in different ways for different people. For some success means having a great career, to others, it means achieving financial success, and for others like me it means having a healthy home and life. In a world in which most people work for their own success, and care only about themselves my philosophy is to strive to help individuals achieve their maximum greatness, which may begin as academic excellence, but in the end surpass to their life as a whole.