Epistomology

          Epistomology is the theory of knowledge. This means, that it is the theory regarding what we learn, and what we as individuals choose to accept as knowledge and facts, and what we chose to believe are opinions or things that have no significance. This is important to practitioners and educators because it determines how and what people are going to accepts as facts, this is vital for researchers especially when trying to prove a new theory.

           After taking Carol Dweck’s quiz on a Growth and Fixed Mindset, It is evident that I have a Growth Mindset, meaning that I do not believe “intelligence” is a fixed trait, I believe that an individual can always change his/her talents and intelligence by persevering and working hard towards a goal. This aligns well with my personal beliefs on epistemology. I have a Pragmatism approach to knowledge. This means that I am in the middle between the Objectivism (Positivism) approach and the Interpretivism (Antipositivism). This means that my assumptions about reality are negotiated, I believe the facts stated in research, but I also believe in my own experiences, and what I learn during these experiences as well, whether my experiences support the research, or whether it contradicts the research, my beliefs are mixed, a combination.

        As a classroom teacher, I am often reading research about the most effective educational practices and strategies and learn by trial and error whether these strategies that I read about work. This is where my personal epistemology comes into play, because I am a combination of  both , I keep these strategies I read about in mind, and apply them, but I am constantly testing whether or not they are effective.

        Here is an example that proves my connection with the Pragmatism approach. I teach in one of Fresno Unified’s toughest middle schools. There is a lot of gang activity and the majority of this school lives within the poverty limit. With this being said, it is expected that a lot of behavior issues arise with students. Research states that with middle school students building relationships is key, as well as implementing positive strategies when it comes to behavior, this proved true for four of my five classes. However, I have one class, where with administration support it was crucial to implement what is known in education research as “punitive” strategies before implementing the positive strategies. Research will state that starting off with this kind of behavior management strategy damages the relationship, and it is hard to get students back on a teachers’ side after this however, this approach proved itself effective in my classroom. This is where my Pragmatism belief comes into play, I believe research and will implement it, but I also base what I know as effective due to my experiences.

        Epistomololgy is extremely important not only as an educator but as a life long learner. Especially in today’s society. It is so much more important to determine and differentiate what we accept as truths. Epistomology to me is important as an educator because one is always looking for effective strategies to implement in the classroom, a teacher does this by research, communicating with others about what others have accepted as facts, and implementing these strategies. An important aspect about all of this is the ability to reflect. An educator is constantly reflecting about what was effective in the classroom and what needs more work.

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Introduction to theories of learning and instruction. In Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed., pp. 1-15). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success (pp. 3-11). New York, NY: Ballantine Books.