The document outlines Nic Carlson's philosophy of education based on progressivism. It discusses progressivism's view that the purpose of education is to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills to prepare students for an uncertain future. Under this approach, the teacher acts as a facilitator rather than expert, and students learn through active participation, group work, hands-on experiences, and following their interests. Nic aims to incorporate these progressivist strategies, such as inductive thinking, collaborative projects, and technology resources, into his high school biology curriculum.
2. ABOUT MYSELF (NIC CARLSON)
• Graduated High School in 2009 from a rural high school with 650 students
• Learned in a schools that mainly believed in perennialism.
• Thought perennialism was nice in the fact that teachers were experts in their field and
a good resource but felt it lacked democracy, problem solving development, and
group interactions.
• My goal is to teach students in progressivist method through experience and
encourage group problem solving and inductive thinking in my classroom. With the
internet it is less important for teachers to be masters of their subject, but more as a
resource to facilitate knowledge.
3. PURPOSE OF EDUCATION
• Education is to teach students to
become critical thinkers, problem
solvers, and productive members of
society
• People are constantly facing new
problems and the way to educate
students for future problems we can’t
foresee is too encourage problem
solving and critical thinking
4. PURPOSE OF TEACHER
• Teacher is a facilitator of knowledge and is used as a resource that students can
and should use if they get stuck or have a question.
• Teachers should know subject well, but don’t need to be experts in the field
because knowledge is readily available in other forms such as in books or online.
• Because so many resources are available to students teachers should try to push
students by asking them questions that require stimulate interest, inductive
thinking and group problem solving skills
5. PURPOSE OF STUDENT
• Curriculum in largely driven on student
interest, so students must find an interest
in some part of the subject they wish to
explore.
• Students learn by actively participating in
discussions and group projects that
require critical thinking and problem
solving skills
• In doing this students will gain necessary
skills to be a contributing part to our
society
6. BIOLOGY CURRICULUM
• To teach the overview of a broad range of
biology (from cell biology to ecology), diving
deeper into what interests students more
• To look at current research being done in
Biology and ask questions that require critical
thinking and problem solving using the
material to answer
• Do multiple hands on labs to explore cells,
genetics, and ecology so students get a
personal experience with Biology
7. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
• I would like to teach Biology in a high school setting,
working with 9th-12th grade students
• Adolescence is a time when the brain is growing new
neural connections and is quick to pick things up
• Encourage students to pursue they interests in biology in
my class to increase their own curiosity and motivation
to learn
• Promote a creative learning environment where
students’ ideas are heard and where group hands on
learning occurs
8. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
• Encourage students to be curious and to
explore subject content
• Give students time to have inductive
thinking on questions
• Allow students to work together and
collaborate on group problems
• Use technology as a resource to increase
interest and boost knowledge
9. ASSESSMENTS
• On new topics I will use surveys and quick writes to assess students prior
knowledge
• During a topic, I will check student understand with guided notes and questions
when starting a topic and later with short answer questions and quizzes towards
the end.
• Since much of the work will be driven by student curiosity there will be less
testing than a normal course. Post topic assessments will be mainly projects, labs,
and essays mixed with small tests or quizzes.
• Students will be assessed individually on group work to keep all students honest
and motivated
10. PROGRESSIVISM SUMMARY
• The world is constantly in flux and the
knowledge needed in society is ever changing
• Education is driven by student curiosity where
teacher acts as a facilitator in learning
• Focus on inductive thinking, problem solving,
group projects, and “learn by doing”
