Solomon Gyau Kwabena, Doctor of Curriculum, Educational Policy and Management

The acquisition of knowledge, skill and attitude is basically the experiences that every rational being encounters in his or her life. This is because alongside of our individual and personal educational philosophies, there are also varied environmental conditions and other engagements in diverse forms that confront us in our daily lives that tend to have either positive or negative influence on our lives. According to the oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, an experience is known to be an event or occurrence which leaves impactful impression on an individual. It goes on to say that experience could also be the practical encounter that an individual gets with a situation or an observation of an event. Siegel et al (2018) define philosophy of education as the branch of applied or practical philosophy that is concerned with the nature and aims of education, and the philosophical problems that arise from educational theory and practice. As a student and sooner becoming an alumnus of Atlantic International University, there have been new learning experiences that I have acquired, and have categorized them under the themes namely: learner-needs curriculum, learner-course advisor engagement, learning resources and time.Learner-needs curriculum: When I had my admission letter from Atlantic International University, the next thing I inquired about was the course outline or the syllabus of the programme. I was immediately made aware that I will not find such at Atlantic International University simply because, it is the student together with the course advisor who would create the course outline. In fact I was sincerely surprised to have been given such a feedback. This was because, it does not happen in any of the academic institutions of higher learning of my country-Ghana. What happens in my country is that the academic institutions of higher learning will rather create and develop their own course outline and academic courses, and you the student would have to select from the list of advertised academic courses to pursue. This practice has led to institutions known to be offering specific academic courses leading to specific job professions. I personally was involved when my course outline was developed which had a link to my previous academic courses. The knowledge, skills and attitudes that I had acquired from my previous academic programmes really made me to enjoy the courses at all the four phases throughout the entire period. This means that at Atlantic International University, the relevant previous knowledge of the student is never under estimated but rather hold in high esteem. Learner-course advisor engagement: My personal educational philosophy is influenced by constructivist and realist philosophies of education. This is so because I believed that as a learner, I have come to a learning environment with a unique set of principles and ideals that will affect my academic performance. A statement of educational philosophy sums up these tenets for self-reflection, professional growth, and sometimes sharing with the larger community. As a professional teacher, I consider myself as a facilitator who is to support learners to make their own meaning of subject matter under study. That is, I consider learners as they also having prior knowledge and ideas of issues and concepts being studied and that, my only core duty is to support and connect their prior knowledge and ideas to the new one. At the Atlantic International University, there was a cordial relationship between me and my advisors and that made me to always have prompt feedback whenever the need arose. This helped me to quickly get the understanding of new concepts introduced and studied at any given time. I developed mastery of knowledge and skills that led to enhancement of my competencies, critical thinking, transference of skills, and also had the passion for lifelong learning. Realism focuses on natural and real state of our world’s environment, and that was what I really encountered at Atlantic International University. According to Caplan (2009), realist cannot rely on perception to give accurate judgment of events but rather, through logical reasoning and critical assessment. As a realist, I put more importance on my potentiality and then connected issues to available choices that made me to continue and seek knowledge, skills and attitudes.Variety of learning resources: I as a student at Atlantic International University, there was not a single moment that I had to struggle for almost every learning resource throughout my study. This was because, there were more relevant learning resources in the form of texts, seminars, lectures, symposia, videos, and many more. In fact, I have learnt many means by which real learning can be better experienced. All the learning moments were just fun, impactful and interactive because advisors were readily available to assist. I say well done to the management of the institution. The institution saw me as an individual learner who has unique learning needs and challenges and that have to be handled and treated individually. I was happy and comfortable all because I was able to connect new concepts to what I knew already, and by that better understanding came which created long and lasting impression in my mind, and own all the learning outcomes. I also had several invitations to participate in open fora, symposia, seminars, etc,Time: Throughout my study at Atlantic International University, I had reasonable time to study, work on assignments, and then present for assessment at my own pace. There was not a single moment that I had to work on an assignment under pressure. I must admit that Atlantic International University had really contributed to who I am today. I remain grateful to the management, staff and faculty. Best Regards,Solomon Gyau Kwabena