My Educational Philosophy Statement
I view learners as active participants in their own education, who integrate new information in with pre-formed notions they received from previous learning, experiences, and exposure to society around them. I believe that learners, especially adult learners in graduate medical education, want to learn and excel, but that poor lesson planning, excessive administrative burdens, and life stressors can create excess cognitive load that decreases motivation and self-efficacy. The role for educators in my personal philosophy is to not only guide learners, help them integrate new information with old, and supervise them through the zone of proximal development, but to also focus on modelling appropriate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes expected from their profession.
The theoretical basis for my philosophy lies in social constructivism, social learning, and a humanist approach to education.