My teaching philosophy is grounded in what bell hooks calls engaged pedagogy, a student-centered model that begins with the recognition that learning thrives through mutual engagement.
At its core, engaged pedagogy is informed by a unique theoretical mixture that includes, among others, Dewey’s theory of experiential learning, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, and Erikson’s psychosocial development theory.
All of these theories reject what Paulo Freire refers to as the banking model of education, a model where teachers simply deposit knowledge into passive students. Instead, engaged pedagogy frames teaching as a relational, reciprocal process where the teacher doesn’t stand above the learner but alongside.
And here’s what I find most powerful: when you add critical thinking to that mix (as hooks did), the entire framework gains structure. Critical thinking becomes the central node, the connective tissue that links reflection, engagement, and growth.
Now, you might ask: What does this have to do with AI?
Everything.
Because you can’t effectively integrate AI into your classroom if you treat it as a bolt-on tool. If you do, you’re like someone trying to install smart technology into a crumbling building, it might light up for a while, but the foundation’s still weak.
Pedagogically sound AI integration requires a strong framework. One rooted in collaboration, inquiry, and student agency. That’s exactly what these student-centered models provide.
They allow you to bring AI into the classroom without compromising your values, your goals, or your students’ ownership of learning.
Here’s my argument: if you want to use AI well in your teaching, you need to be creative within a structure that encourages engagement, critical thought, and participation. Otherwise, AI becomes a shortcut and shortcuts don’t build deep learning.
But when AI is used within a framework like engaged pedagogy, it becomes a tool for amplifying curiosity, collaboration, and deeper thinking.
That’s why I put together a new resource for you.
It features four powerful learning models that align with this ethos of learning-by-doing and social constructivism:
1. Experiential Learning
2. Inquiry-Based Learning
3. Project-Based Learning
4. Game-Based Learning
And I’ve included a fifth piece on critical thinking, which I believe should be the cross-disciplinary thread that ties all of these approaches together. Without critical thinking, none of these frameworks truly reach their potential.
I compiled them into a single downloadable document completely free.
My goal is simple: to support teachers who are navigating the evolving role of AI in education without losing sight of what good pedagogy actually looks like.
References
- hooks, bell. (2010). Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Routledge.
- Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. Macmillan.
- Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
- Erikson, E. H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. W. W. Norton & Company, 1968.
- Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum.
