My Teaching & Learning Philosophy Statement

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Submitted to Jill Downing
(Unit Coordinator)
A statement of my teaching convictions, identity and
values
My Learning & Teaching Philosophy
Theories of Learning and Teaching
EAL110 Task 2
University of Tasmania, Australia

Introduction
• This teaching and learning statement underscores my
my teaching and learning philosophy statement.
• The statement is based on four components namely,
conceptualisation of learning (how I believe learning
occurs), conceptualisation of teaching (how I facilitate
learning in my teaching practice) and how I develop
goals for my students focusing on how I develop goals
for my learners.
• This philosophy of teaching and learning is a web based
application created through www.slideshare.net.

My identity and background
My name is Richard Mafuriranwa, born and bred
in Zimbabwe, Africa. I am a Christian Minister & Bible Teacher and
and a disciple of Archbishop & Apostle Dr Ezekiel H. Guti
(Erwin, G (199); http://fifmi.org/content/archbishop-dr-eh-guti) founder of Zimbabwe
Assemblies of God Africa – ZAOGA, also known as Forward In Faith Ministries
International – FIFMI (www.fifmi.org), described as “one of Africa’s most vital religious
movements “ [that is] “recasting the shape and character of world Christianity”
(Maxwell 2006, p.3). Apostle Ezekiel is one of the most popular religious personalities
in Zimbabwe if not in the world with a ministry that has an international presence of
over 120 countries and states globally (Musoni 2013).
•Just as Plato, the ancient sage was a student of Socrates (Stanford Dictionary of
Philosophy) , Joshua was a student of Moses (Ex 14.23), Elisha was a disciple of Elijah
(2 Kings 3.11) and Paul was tutored under Gamaliel, who himself was a teacher of the
law and was honoured by all the people (Acts 22.3; Acts 5.34), to be effective teacher
one must be a protégé of an accomplished teacher.

My identity and background
•I am the Resident Pastor of FIFMI Tasmania, a world wide ministry
started by Apostle Ezekiel H. Guti in 1960 and has an international
presence of over 120 nations and states.
• I am currently the Resident Pastor for Forward in Faith in Tasmania
and the Director of the church’s leadership training college in Australia
known as Australia Multination For Christ College (AMFCC) which has
campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane
and Correspondence Division. I have taught in primary school and
Bible Colleges in Africa.
•AMFCC is an internal leadership training college for Forward in Faith
Ministries International Australia and has so far held two graduation
ceremonies. You may view the first graduation ceremony on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNzDmU2Jqe4

Malcolm Knowles (1913- 1997)
•I believe in educating, empowering and equipping learners
from all walks of life so that they can be able to maximise
their potential.
• I agree with Malcolm Knowells, the father of andragogy
(adult learning) who observes that the teacher is to be a
facilitator of learning (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011)

My Learning & Teaching Philosophy
• I generally subscribe to behaviourism as a learning theory
that holds that behaviour change is the evidence that learning
has occurred and that reward or punishment can either
increase or decrease good and bad behaviour (Greene &
Hicks 1984).
• Behaviourism appeals to my teaching philosophy which is
basically teacher-oriented but both in pedagogy [child
learning] and andragogy [adult learning] (Merriam, Caffarella
& Baumgartner 2007).

• I also subscribe to the theory of cognitivism as
a learning theory which opens up the black box
of the mind and regards students/learners as
information processers (computers).
• As information processors, students actively
explore and process information as they receive
it as compared to the passive perspective of the
behaviourist perspective (Bell 2010).

• My students actively engage in new material through
discovery learning and activities that challenge them
to explore relationships, properties and principles of
what they will be learning.
• My teaching and learning philosophy is thus rich in
that students actively take ownership of the learning
process instead of being zombie recipients of
knowledge which I give to them as the teacher.

• Because of its more student- centred approach, the
social constructivist perspective is also evident in my
teaching and learning philosophy.
• The social constructivist model of learning holds that
learning happens in social situations through
interaction and association (Curzon & Tummons
2013).
• This approach assumes that great and long lasting
memory in students occurs in social situations. Such
situations are everywhere.

• The humanistic perspective also underlies my
learning and teaching philosophy.
• This view seeks to empower learners to be in
charge of their learning, and to motivate
students to achieve their own educational goals
(Elias & Merriam 1995).
• Drawing from the wisdom of Knowles, I seek to
empower students to be creative and draw from
their life’s experiences and not just be passive
recipients of knowledge.

• I also have a disposition for situated learning
which occurs in communities of practice as
proposed by Wenger (Wenger 2002).
• Communities of practice are "groups of people
who share a concern or a passion they do and
learn how to do better as they interact regularly"
(Wenger 1998).
• Novices begin from the outskirts of the group
until they become experts in their own right
through involvement (Lave 1991).

Conceptualisation of learning: (how I believe learning occurs)
• In order to be a competent and relevant educator, I need to embrace
the diverse ethnicity of my students, their strengths and weaknesses
as well as their experiences.
• I should be aware of the differences between pedagogy and
andragogy so that I will not treat my learners as children but as
adults who have the efficacy to achieve their own educational goals
(Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011).
• I believe learning occurs when good behaviour is rewarded while
bad behaviour is deterred through punishment. For example
learners who do well in tutorials and class projects may get
incentives such as lollies while late assignment submissions will
attract a 5% mark deduction per day to deter the bad practice of
assignment submission (Greene & Hicks 1984).

Conceptualisation of teaching:
(how I facilitate the learning process)
• My teaching philosophy is underpinned on facilitating the learning
process of students by being ‘a guide on the side rather than a sage
on the stage’ to my students’ learning process (King 1993). Good
teachers are not only teachers perse but facilitators of the learning
process.
• A teacher tells, a facilitator asks; a teacher lectures from the front, a
facilitator supports from behind; a teacher gives answers according
to a set curriculum, a facilitator fosters a conducive learning
environment for learners to arrive at their own conclusions; a
teacher gives a monologue, a facilitator creates dialogue with the
learners (Naomi & Githua 2013).

• I agree with the learning theorist John Dewey (1859-1952) who
believed that effective learning is a result of four components
namely aims, the teacher, the learner and a relevant curriculum
(Eisner 1983).
• These four pillars are indispensable components of learning without
which proper learning does not take place.
• In covering course material, it is always essential to begin from the
known to the unknown as espoused by David Ausubel - 1918-2008
(Novak, 1998) and to employ the Vygoskian concepts of Zonal of
Proximity (ZPD – the difference between what students can do
alone and with my assistance or that of peers – the More
Knowlegable Other (MKO) concept and scaffolding - a skill of
instructing leaners to absorb new information in a progressive
manner (Mcleod 2007).

• I strongly agree with Nikos Kazantzakis who says that an ideal teacher is
one who uses himself as a bridge over which he/she invites his students to
cross, after having facilitated their crossing, he joyfully collapses while
encouraging his learners to create bridges of their own (Kean & Embi 2011).
• Through facilitation, I am able to guide the learning of my students in an
actively reciprocal and interactive manner such that I will also learn
alongside and together with them. I demonstrate the sage on the side skill
by fostering group activities, seminars, simulations workshops, tutorials, and
class feedbacks through the web where I encourage and challenge students
to learn cognitively through teacher and peer help using Lev Vygosky’s
concepts of the MKO and ZPD (Vygotski 1978). From a constructivist
andragogic perspective, adult students usually learn better using a hands-on
approach and by experimentation, and not just by rote or being passively
given information by the teacher.

• Learning is achieved through a variety of technologies including
video clips, images and power points conveyed to learners through
blended learning and traditional classroom environments.
• As proposed by Abraham Maslow, students’ basic needs (eg food,
safety, respect, love) should be taken care of first before meeting
their high level needs (eg self-esteem, fulfilment, self-respect etc)
(Oxford & Shearin 1994).
• It is also essential from a humanistic point of view to ensure that my
students have tea and lunch breaks in between learning sessions.
Further, classrooms should have adequate student seating, air
circulation and proper safety procedures put in place.

Conclusion
• The foregoing has been a discussion of my teaching and learning
philosophy in terms of the conceptualisation of learning,
conceptualisation of teaching and goal formulation conveyed
through a web based application.
• The journey of my teaching career will be a continuous process
underpinned on a diversity of learning theories depending with the
context of my learners. The passion I have of becoming a better
teacher is the driving force in my commitment to continuous
development.
• I am committed to grow and learn in a reciprocal manner together
with my learners as a sage by their side and not a sage on the
stage. I will always be on the hunt for opportunities of learning in
order to continuously improve my teaching approach.

Goals: (How I will develop them and what they will achieve)
• As a contemporary teacher, it is imperative to appreciate how teaching styles have
evolved over the years through formulation of various theories. Students need to
actively engage in information through a critical reflection of the information instead of
sticking to the traditional method of learning by rote. Learners should be able to think
critically and process information by opening up the black box of their mind.
• My goal as a teacher is to empower learners to have the efficacy to complete assigned tasks
and assessments which should be constructively aligned to achieve learning aims and
outcomes as proposed by John Biggs (Biggs 1999).
• My lesson plans will be well prepared and will have clear aims, objectives, and relevant
teaching methods, innovative web based technologies and strategies which engage learners
in the learning process.
• By the end of each course, my students should be be able to apply the knowledge they will have
acquired to their everyday lives and workplace situations. They should be able to think outside
the box and critically evaluate information they come across.
• After completion of each course, students should be able to use their cognitive process as an
evidence that learning has taking place.

References
• Bell, F. (2010). Connectivism: Its place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology-enabled
learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3), 98-118.
• Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research &
Development, 18(1), 57-75.
• Curzon, L. B., & Tummons, J. (2013). Teaching in Further Education: An outline of principles and
practice. (7th ed.). London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Eisner, E. (1983). " Educational Objectives: Help or Hindrance?" Elliott Eisner [1967]. American Journal
of Education, 549-560.
• Erwin, G (1999). Christ for All nations, Dallas, Texas.
• King, A., (1993). From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side. College Teaching, Vol. 41, pp30-35
• Greene, J. and Hicks, C. (1984) "Basic Cognitive Processes: Open Guides to Psychology". Open
University Press: Milton Keynes
• Kean, A. C., & Embi, M. A. (2011). Using active engagement strategy to promote learning awareness and
self-monitoring. International Journal of Learning and Development, 1(1), Pages-91.
• Knowles, M., Holton, E., Swanson, R. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education
and human resource development (7th ed.). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Knowles Malcolm (1913- 1997)
• Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge
university press.
• Naomi, M. W., & Githua, B. N. (2013). Effects of jigsaw cooperative learning strategy on students’s
achievement in secondary school mathematics in Laikipia East District, Kenya. Science, 2(3).

References
• McLeod, S. A. (2011). Bandura - Social Learning
Theory<http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html<(2 September 2014)
• Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide.
(3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Oxford, R., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding the theoretical framework. The
modern language journal, 78(1), 12-28.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy >http://plato.stanford.edu/> (24/10/14)
• Vygotskii, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press
• Wenger, E. (2002). Communities of practice. Encyclopedia of the social sciences, 1, 2339-2342.

Images
• Knowels M http://www.chrismorton.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Knowles-e1343624103625.gif (30
October 2014)

My Teaching & Learning Philosophy Statement

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