I have to admit, I have rarely ever heard a more pompous phrase than a ‘philosophy of learning’.
I was first introduced to this concept near the start of my teaching journey with Teach First. At the time I thought it was confusing and nebulous at best, and utterly incomprehensible at worst.
Perhaps I am mellowing with age, or perhaps it makes more sense to me now, but it is still worth talking about for any teacher or somebody interested in teaching.
So what is it? Well, it is essentially an analysis of the methods and thought process behind how people learn; and therefore, will guide the way somebody teaches- a ‘teaching philosophy’. Many philosophers over the years have devised approaches and methods to teach or learn behaviours or concepts in what they believe to be the most efficient or humane way.
It is the ‘why’ to pedagogical (meaning the study of teaching) techniques.
It’s a list of ways to manipulate people, basically.
Ask yourself ‘how do you get a child to work hard and not shout out and swing on their chair’.
One of the earliest theories of education is behaviourism; the idea that behaviour can be replicated voluntarily by rewarding said behaviour. We all want rewards, and it is a common thing I see in a successful classroom (reward the little hellion for putting their hand up and not calling out; they do it more frequently and limit calling out).
Frederick Skinner and the concept of radical behaviourism really drew my interest when I began looking into this. Skinner’s theory of ‘operant conditioning’ builds on Edward Thorndike’s 1907 ‘law of effect’ - the line of least resistance gives the most satisfaction to the subject. Skinner argues that positive reinforcement is more lasting and effective than negative reinforcement. Applied to the classroom, this means prioritising rewarding good rather than punishing the defiant or non-compliant. Watch out, though, Skinner noted that the decrease or withholding of rewards for desired behaviour would lead to a degradation of the desired behaviours.
For a parenting example, if a child is banned from socialising with a troublesome group of friends, they will just stop talking to them around you, and do it elsewhere, which may be unsafe.
Instead, praise the positive behaviour. If a child is rewarded for socialising instead with their less troublesome friends, by letting friends you approve of visit the house or sleep over, driving them to places with kinder friends, your child will probably hang out with them more, and the troublemakers less.
It’s important to point out that you are not necessarily fully controlling the child in either example. People are complex, and to assume you will get total success all the time is hilariously naïve. But a philosophy of learning helps understand effective ways to guide someone on the preferred path, rather than make the decision for them.
So why is it relevant?
For the same reason, all education is relevant; understanding the way something works, so that you can use that understanding to build on, innovate or improve your circumstances.
Perhaps a class is just out of control for you? By examining your approach to learning, you might realise you are rewarding poor behaviours (allowing calling out by answering it for example). Perhaps as the class has gotten a bit wild, you have unconsciously pivoted to pure punishments and need reminding to start finding and rewarding the positives again. Understanding what you can do to improve is far easier when you understand different approaches you could try in the first place – and these come from your philosophies of learning.
A final reason why it is relevant can be in finding out if you actually ‘gel’ with a school or workplace. Some schools are strong believers in positive reinforcement and encouraging personal growth and relationship building, and avoid strict compliance measures. Others demand total compliance, silent corridors, and give detentions for a coat hung on the wrong peg.
If you know what philosophy of learning you find best meshes with your world view, you might find that you don’t want to even consider a super strict school, like Michaela school in London.