My pedagogical position, or the way in which I came to favour a particular type of pedagogy (or pedagogies) was influenced by many aspects of my collective histories.
We act based on what we believe, and what we believe depends
in large part upon evidence drawn from our own life experiences.- Hinchey, 2004, p.23
As a reflexive teacher and learner it is important to be critical about how experiences have shaped my values and beliefs, because critical thinking helps us analyse our bias’ and perspectives, which in turn helps to balance our pedagogy and cater to diversity in the classroom; this is called critical consciousness (Hinchey, 2004, p.23).
I have been a learner all of my life, so this plays a large role in my epistemology or my philosophy for how people come to ‘know’. I believe the two terms ‘epistemology’ and ‘pedagogy’ are inextricably linked, as they both rely on each other to inform and guide the thoughts, practices and decisions of a teacher.
I believe it is worth stating that beliefs about the purpose of schooling will also contribute to ones pedagogy. My own perspective on the purposes of schooling relate to whole-of-child development, and this perspective is a product of my rearing.
I believe that our pedagogical position needs to be based firmly around the needs of the student. We need to be in tune with the most effective ways people learn. This is what shapes our pedagogy. In this respect I align myself with the theorist Carl Rogers, an influential American psychologist who suggests that learning is about personal change and growth, and the best learning comes from doing (Churchhill et.al, p. 78). Rodgers also suggested the need for freedom and choice in learning as it engages students’ own interests, and connects with their world. It may seem obvious but the type of teaching I am referring to is learner-centred pedagogy as the teacher acts as a facilitator for learning rather than the transmitter of knowledge. This type of teaching is concerned with students’ needs and desires, their personal values, self-perceptions and motivations. It also relates closely to constructivist approaches to learning and teaching as learning is shaped through a social process(Hinchey, 2010), hence why constructivists favour group work. Examples of learning situations include:
- Group discussion & shared problem solving tasks and activities
- Students are active participants in their learning
- Learning environment encourages social interaction
- Inquiry/problem solving learning and activites
It is evident from the examples above that the constructivist pedagogue relies heavily on student-teacher relationships. This is a theory expressed by Tamara Bibby, Max Van Manen and David Halpin. These relationships create a bond between teacher and learner that has the potential to maximise learning outcomes and create opportunities for the teacher to know the student well.
The notion of pedagogy always assumes that there exists a personal learning relationship between people, usually between an adult and a child. (Van Manen, 1991, p. 30)
At current I identify with a constructivist epistemology, as I believe knowledge isn’t transmitted from teacher to student, knowledge is gained through meaningful scenarios that facilitate or guide learners to develop their own meaning (Hinchey, 2010). In saying this I also recognise that other pedagogies such as positivist, instructional/explicit, critical, content specific etc. all have valuable techniques that can be used under the guise of a constructivist/relational approach. Frameworks such as Productive Pedagogies (The State of Queensland Department of Education, 2002) and Principles of Learning and Teaching (DEECD, 2013) align very closely to my pedagogical position due to their critically reflective, student led and relational focus.
Components of my pedagogical position:
- Belief that all students have the capacity to learn
- Belief that safe and secure relationships help foster knowledge
- Promoting critical thinking
- Promoting a culture of inquiry and problem solving
- Fostering creativity through choice of activities
- Scaffolding: structured learning
- Use of 21st century technology to engage interest
- Choice in learning activities
- Learning through doing
- Modelling and teaching resilience
- Emotional intelligence
The following experiences will help to explain how my particular pedagogical position came to be.
Pedagogy 