Chapter 4

Question 1

metaphysics

Answer 1

• explaining(rationally/comprehensively) the nature of reality, nature of being
• important because school curriculums are based on what we know about reality

Question 2

epistemology

Answer 2

• Focus on knowledge, its worth, its changes, etc.

* 5 ways of “knowing what we know”

Question 3

5 ways of “knowing what we know”

Answer 3

• knowing based on authority
• knowing based on divine revelation
• knowing based on empiricism
• knowing based on reason and logical analysis
• knowing based on intuition

Question 4

axiology

Answer 4

• Teacher interested in quantity of knowledge students acquire, but also the quality of life that becomes possible because of knowledge
• ?’s about what is valuable, what value does a truly educated person hold

Question 5

ethics

Answer 5

o Right & wrong, good & evil.
o Provides teacher w/ ways of thinking about probs where it is hard to determine right course of action
o Ethical thinking - NOT just following the rules

Question 6

aesthetics

Answer 6

o Branch of axiology concerned w/beauty & art
o Easy to overlook the contributions arts can make to ALL areas of curriculum
o Help teachers increase effectiveness, teacher is artist whose medium is
o Spontaneous, unrehearsed & creative encounter w/student

Question 7

logic

Answer 7

• Area of philosophy that deals w/process of reasoning, identifies rules
• Public unanimous that key factor of school is… to teach kids to think
• Thinking processes that students master - Inductive / Deductive

Question 8

Socratic questioning

Answer 8

Only leader asks ?’s, systemic discussion, leader’s ?’s direct discussion, everyone participates in order to go beneath the surface & explore complexities of the topic

Question 9

perennialism

Answer 9

o Timeless virtues - prudence, justice, temperance
o Instill knowledge for the sake of learning
o Learn through great books and literature

Question 10

essentialism

Answer 10

• Students must have a basic set of knowledge in order to move to higher level thinking
• Promote cultural literacy

Question 11

progressivism

Answer 11

• Education should be child - centered, John Dewey
• Use students interests as basis for understanding & ordering students experience
• Effective teaching takes into account the whole child & their interests in relation to cognitive, affective, & psychomotor areas
• Learning is active, not passive

Question 12

existentialism

Answer 12

o Purpose is to define one’s self
o We are our own master’s, need to make our own life meaningful
o Freedom of choice climate where individuals can choose and be responsible for decisions

Question 13

postmodernism

Answer 13

o Believe there are no absolute truths, knowledge is invented in the minds of people who believe it
o Knowledge teachers teach does not correspond w/reality

Question 14

social reconstructionism

Answer 14

o Schools should take lead in in changing , reconstructing current social order
o Theodore Brameld - 2 post WWII premises… Can destroy the world overnight &
o humans have potential to create a great civilization (abundance, health, humane capacity)
o Schools should transmit knowledge of social order & reconstruct it

Question 15

humanistic psychology

Answer 15

Emphasizes personal freedom, choice, awareness and personal responsibility, achievement, motivation, feelings, actions, & needs for human beings

Question 16

behaviorism

Answer 16

• John Watson, BF Skinner, Pavlov
• desirable human behavior can be the product of design rather than accident
• we are not the captains of our fate, teacher tells what to do & we do
• Skinner - teacher can create learner with 4 steps
• identify behavior
• est. a procedure for recording behavior
• identify reinforcer of behavior
• ensure students receive reinforcer ASAP

Question 17

constructivism

Answer 17

• focuses on processes of learning rather than behavior (mental)
• students use cognitive processes to construct understanding of the materialt o be learned (student-centered)
• active learning, cognitive science