Running head: REFLECTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

Reflections of Educational Philosophy in Preparation to Move to Online Instructional

Environments
Karen D. M. Gadowsky
Vancouver Island University

OLTD 503
Kim Lemieux
January 18th, 2015

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Reflections of Educational Philosophy
Having spent the last 25 years as an educator working in a brick and mortar high
school, I have repeatedly pondered the physical, cognitive, emotional and intellectual
growth in human development. Despite the hours of professional reading done, the
multitude of seminars attended, and the graduate work completed, it was the last 10 years
spent working with At-Risk youth in an Alternate setting1 that most poignantly developed
my current educational beliefs. Although I have long embraced a constructivist
philosophy of education, managing students with complex learning needs and high rates
of comorbidity, made it abundantly clear to me that success in learning depends first and
foremost upon mental health. As such, my philosophical stance has been expanded to
integrate both social and psychological components.
I would say that I have migrated to Social Constructivism, albeit, I use an
Attachment-based lens with which to focus on my practice. Based on the early work of
John Dewey and the cognitive learning theory of Piaget, constructivism is rooted in the
idea that humans individually make the knowledge they own and that it is an active
process. Vygotsky, who shared many of Piagets assumptions about how children learn,
placed a much stronger emphasis on the social context of learning, expanding
constructivist principles into the theory of social constructivism. Acknowledging the
social nature of learning, social constructivists would argue that much is learned by social
interaction, especially from more knowledgeable others and particularly, from skilled
adults. The Vygotskian idea I pay particular attention to is the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD). This zone is close, but just beyond the reach of the learners

An Alternate setting in British Columbia refers to an educational program that is provided to students
who demonstrate difficulty with the structure of school and the content delivery styles typically available to
the general population for the courses required for high school graduation. Alternate programs usually have
a lower teacher to student ratio and an Educational Assistant to support the students as well.

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Reflections of Educational Philosophy
current ability. I do believe that it is crucial for those in charge of learning to lead
children and youth into these zones appropriately.
Echoing the importance of adult leadership in the successful development of
children are the Attachment theorists. Introduced by John Bowlby in the first half of the
20th century, Attachment Theory identifies a motivational system in the brain that
Bowlby postulates was gradually designed by natural selection to compel infants and
children to regulate proximity to an attachment figure (Fraley 2010). Neufeld and Mate
(2004) emphasize the importance of understanding the implications of attachment
dysfunction on emotional regulation and cognitive development and suggest that many of
the learning and behavioural issues teachers and parents face today, could be remedied by
properly developing attachment relationships.
As with any new age, old theories and ways of practice are challenged;
imminent is that change will occur in both. As such, educational theorists like George
Siemens and Canadian Stephen Downes, have responded to the increasing demand placed
upon systems to provide online access to education by expanding educational theory to
examine and define the electronic realm. George Siemens, credited with developing the
theory of Connectivism, explains how technology impacts learning, the learner and the
learning environment in his book Knowing Knoweledge (2006). In it he explains that:
Connections provide the greatest value when they generate a certain type of
content for the learner. It is not content in general that we want. We want content
that is current, relevant, and contextually appropriate. Connections are the
devices that enable this to occur. (p. 42)
With the almost ubiquitous use of the Internet along with the boom of wireless
technologies, I have been drawn to facilitating learning using increased amounts of
technology. Using technology does require a shift in structure and form of lesson design,

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Reflections of Educational Philosophy
but I have found that if I am careful in choosing tools that enable students to meet the
learning goals, my philosophical positions do not have to be compromised. Despite
Siemens conviction that connections are the devices that enable a user to get important
and relevant information, it is imperative to examine that increased uses of interactive
technologies may not necessarily translate into increased feelings of social connection.
Sherry Turkle warns that unbridled use of technology and in particular social media, in
fact may increase feelings of isolation (Turkle, 2012). I am both curious about the
expansive possibilities and cautious about the potential pitfalls in moving to online forms
of education but I have no doubt that one great strengths of living in the connected
world is that increased connectivity potentially allows for more personalization in
education.
My passion has always been to create learning sequences that provide choice and
are tailored more personally to fit individual student need - something that I have found
to be quite a challenge in synchronous, face-to-face learning environments with a high
demand for all students to be covering the same curriculum at the same time, whether or
not they have the necessary background or interest in the subject. I believe that true
personalization depends quite crucially on one thing: the students desire to want to know
the information. This is where I see technology driven, online learning systems able to
make the greatest impact, if implemented thoughtfully and with purpose. Unfortunately
my greater challenge may be to figure out how to re-create the hands-on, socially
synergistic environment I love about face-to face educational environments, within the
online learning experience.

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Reflections of Educational Philosophy

References
Fraley, R. C. (2010) A brief overview of adult attachment theory and research, University of
Illinois. Retrieved from
https://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~rcfraley/attachment.htm
Neufeld, G., & Mate, G. (2004). Hold onto your kids: why parents matter more than peers.
Toronto, ON: Random House.
Parry, M. (August 29, 2010). Online,bigger classes may be better classes. Retrieved from
Chronicle of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/article/Open-Teaching-Whenthe/124170
Siemens, G. (2006) Knowing Knowledge. Retreived from
http://www.elearnspace.org/KnowingKnowledge_LowRes.pdf
Turkle, S. (2012 February). Connected, but alone? [Video File]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together?language=en