EDUP 530

Content Literacy Philosophy Paper

Jim Ivory
7/29/15

My Progressive Philosophy of Education

The broad goal of public education should be to set our students up for postsecondary
success. This in itself can look different when comparing students side by side factoring in
varying skills and abilities along with the many possible avenues available postsecondary. One
students track may be to go off to college, another may want to jump right into the working
world. Both these students and their future paths matter. An argument can be made in favor of
either path. So what do I need to teach all students so they are ready for whatever path they
choose? I feel strongly it boils down to just a handful of ideas which encompass the progressive
philosophy of education.
As a future middle school special education teacher of students with intellectual
disabilities, the philosophical approach of Progressivism bests aligns with my future goals for
instruction in the classroom. The progressive philosophy begins by educating the whole child
opposed to focusing on content or the teacher. The curriculum is grounded in students interests
where learning through curiosity and questioning is stressed. Students are given opportunities to
experiment with ideas entrenched in hands-on real world experiences (Cohen, L.M., 1999). They
are urged to step out of their comfort zone and are not punished for making mistakes but rather
encouraged to be reflective to find meaning from the experience. (Wiles, n.d.) Students work
with each other to problem solve and learn from one another building community in the
classroom. (Kohn, A. 2008). Progressivism ties in well with special education as it allows for a
less rigid approach for multiple explorations into an idea or concept and embraces the try, try
again approach through hands-on practice which so many students with special needs require to
master concepts and skills (Hampel, 2008).

EDUP 530
Content Literacy Philosophy Paper
Jim Ivory
7/29/15

I believe students are curious by nature but our stale structured system of education
begins to knock the drive out of them early on and it is hard to recapture it. Students dont
automatically understand everything they do in class on assignments and activities so it is
important to present the material in as many meaningful relevant ways possible to help bridge
understanding. (Brozo and Simpson, 2007) Two content literacy strategies to aid students in
general comprehension are Guided Imagery and Scaffolding. Guided Imagery helps students
practice creating pictures in their minds of what they are reading or trying to do (McLaughlin,
2000). Pairing information with mental pictures or actual pictures makes connections to material
for students to pull from when presented with the idea or concept in the future. Scaffolding helps
bridge learning gaps by moving students closer to understanding by providing some key
information to get started. (Hidden Curriculum, 2014) Students can then learn independently
with less frustration and intimidation. All students want to do well and will do well if teachers
provide opportunities and strategies for them to succeed (Greene, 2008). They come to us with
energy and general curiosity, as an educator I want to feed into that and not stifle it.
As an undergrad, I encountered my first real experiences with the progressive philosophy
participating in an Outdoor Leadership Program. It was this opportunity to be outdoors exploring
the world around me that changed my life and put me on the path to eventually become an
educator. Many of my early educational experiences in classrooms and prior knowledge were
brought to life through the context of real happenings just outside the walls of the traditional
classroom. Outside, I was open to new experiences and could see math, science, art, history, and
poetry at work. In this program, we were given opportunities to learn skills and knowledge
related to wilderness travel and survival while doing hands on activities and experiments in
nature. We would be given topics to explore and practice in the field then present or demonstrate

EDUP 530
Content Literacy Philosophy Paper
Jim Ivory
7/29/15

our findings to our other group members. These demonstrations were a great way to build
content literacy in repeating and sharing knowledge gleaned from personal exploration into a
topic. I pinpoint these activities as my starting point on the path to becoming a progressive
educator.
The progressive idea of learning through doing correlates well into all areas of education.
Ideas and concepts come to life and take on more meaning through shared experiences of doing.
This could work with anything, not just learning in the outdoors. Two students could work
together to build a model of a complex atom they read about in the text. They took a concept
presented on paper through words and a diagram and created a three dimensional version to hold
and study. Their learning was enhanced through experimenting with a partner to find the correct
way to construct the atom. The students learn together and from each other which aids in their
comprehension. It could be taken even a step further by showing and telling their classmates
what they discovered and how they went about doing it. It begins to build confidence in the
learning process and gives a sense of ownership in the students education.
In order to set the table for memorable learning by doing experiences, a progressive
educator needs to make sure the learning environment is safe and comfortable. The community
style approach gets everyone involved by holding everyone accountable for the group itself. To
help speed up the process of community building, we will work extensively as a group early on
learning about each other through activities and games associated with introducing the content of
the course. Once students feel like they belong, they will be more apt to follow their curiosities
by asking questions and experimenting with ideas which leads to meaningful learning.
The sense of comfort in community will come into play in many facets of our classroom.
Students need a to have practice speaking in front of the class and it begins by feeling

EDUP 530
Content Literacy Philosophy Paper
Jim Ivory
7/29/15

comfortable with raising their hand to ask or answer a question. It is important to validate any
line of questioning as it encourages the student to repeat this process and others to ask questions
in the future. Any question in the realm of the topic should be easy to redirect back to relevancy
and likely lead to a story or example to help make further connections to meaning. When I dont
have the answer, I have the opportunity to show the students it is okay to say you dont know
something. I can then model the Think Aloud (Davey, 1983) approach to finding the answer to
the question. I can engage the students by showing them how I solve a problem and allow them
to interject and help along the way. It turns into a multi-leveled learning experience for the class.
Students find the answer but also learn new problem solving strategies along the way.
Often in search of a solution to a problem you make mistakes along the way. John Dewey
said Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures
as from his successes. (Hickman, 1998) In order to accomplish this they need to first be
allowed to make mistakes. I have worked in classrooms as an assistant for several years and have
witnessed how powerful it is for a student to correct mistakes on their own or seek out assistance
from another student or the teacher. These problem solving skills will be used the rest of their
lives. The sense of community comes in again through structure and support where students feel
comfortable to try things on their own or do something their own way. They will make mistakes,
their peers will make mistakes, and their teacher will make mistakes. These mistakes will
provide countless teachable moments and work as examples in the future to build on prior
experience. I can remember as a student, fear of failure was constantly in the forefront of my
mind. This did not help my learning process or encourage me to go outside my comfort zone. As
a result, my education lacked effort and creativity. It took a lot of personal exploration in college
to begin to change my view and understanding of failure. I dont want my students to have to

EDUP 530
Content Literacy Philosophy Paper
Jim Ivory
7/29/15

wait that long to discover what I did. I want to encourage my students to be creative and offer
plenty of opportunity and time to fix something when it was done incorrectly. This will promote
further effort and lead the student into new uncharted territory
As a future special educator, not only will I draw inspiration from progressive ideas but
also my own personal history as a student in education. Early feelings of belonging, curiosity,
and encouragement are the foundation of my education, instilled by several of my grade school
teachers. I will also reflect on vivid memories of not being listened to, not being challenged, as
well as being unjustly disciplined by one teacher which I will never forget as those negative
experiences stuck with me. It is important my students feel comfortable in school and feel they
belong. It is important they learn to question and experiment, leave their comfort zone, make and
learn from their mistakes. Most of all I want to encourage my students to socialize, to be kids, to
explore, to learn from and with each other, and be good classroom citizens. Our small classroom
community is a microcosm of what each of them will experience throughout the rest of their
lives. If each student leaves my class with a strong sense of community, I know they will have
learned much more than just that.

EDUP 530
Content Literacy Philosophy Paper
Jim Ivory
7/29/15
References

Brozo, W., & Simpson, M. (2007). Chapters 1-3 in Content literacy for todays adolescents:
Honoring diversity and building competence. (5th ed., pp 22-80). Upper Saddle River, N.J.:
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Cohen, L.M. (1999) Section lll - Philosophical Perspectives in Education. Oregon State
University of Education. Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html
Davey, B. (1983). Think-aloud: Modeling the cognitive processes of reading comprehension.
Journal of Reading, 27(1), 44-47.
Greene, R.W. (2008). Lost at School. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
Hampel, R.L. (2008). Progressive Education. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History
and Society. Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Progressive-Education.html
Hickman, L. (1998). The Essential Dewey, Volume 2: Ethics, Logic, Psychology. Indiana
University Press.
Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform.
Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum
Kohn, A., (2008). Progressive Education. Retrieved from
http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/progressive-education/
McLaughlin, M. & Allen, M.B. (2000). Guided Comprehension: a teaching model for grades 3-8.
Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Wiles, D. (n.d.). John Dewey and Progressive Education. Retrieved from
http://www.albany.edu/~dkw42/s2_dewey_progr.html