We had the first lecture for Education, Service and Community Engagement and it was most inspiring. For one thing, the lecturer mostly used a whiteboard and we weren’t all looking at computer screens throughout, so I felt alert at the end of the day. Secondly, and just as important, the content of the lecture was so thought-provoking.
The idea of Theology of Liberation has put a new light on Catholicism for me. I am aware that I have associated Catholicism with the oppression of various people. Catholics aren’t allowed to think for themselves (they must think exactly what the church tells them), women don’t have equal rights and many feel so brainwashed and damaged by their upbringings with the strong emphasis on sin, that all they can do later is to reject it. However, following the first lecture I felt relieved to have heard about the truly good intentions at the base of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whilst I am sure that the argument against women in the priesthood is one about which I will always feel uncomfortable, I realize that in closing my eyes to everything about the Catholic Church, I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Actually what is more important is to accept the good that is carried out in the name of Christianity. Either one is for something or against something and considering myself Christian I must align myself with other Christians wherever possible.
Liberation Theology looks at what the message of the Gospel looks like from the perspective of the poor. It is Christianity from below. It means that where you live makes a difference to how you view religion. Clearly if people are out there on the street at soup kitchens, this will make politicians uncomfortable as they themselves are not concerned on a daily basis with the welfare of their own people at ground level but more with their political power. Anyone pointing out the plight of the poor is going to be threatening. The work of Gutierrez, displaying such commitment, would be threatening to anyone even slightly unsure of the work they were doing in the world. When the essence of one’s work is not founded on something meaningful it is extremely unsettling to witness another working out of complete commitment to their belief.
As I heard about the deep devotion and the hope in the lives of those in South America living under such difficult circumstances just from the knowledge that people in Australia were thinking of them, I felt inspired to be grateful for my life and all I could do. At the same time I felt ashamed by the minimal work I actually do for charity.
I also felt concerned as we were made aware of the inequality in standards of living present in the world. Of course we are in the rich world and there are millions of people living without basic necessities. The video we watched about shopping in America was grotesque and yet our constant shopping here in Australia is much closer to that American reality than to that of the lives of the starving in Africa. If theology is “critical reflection on praxis in the light of the Word of God”, (Robert McAfee Brown) becoming aware again of these realities is disconcerting in the extreme. Whilst it is comfortable for me to point an accusing finger at politicians who do too little for the poor, what am I actually doing other than giving some money? If “Commitment means encountering the poor” (Brown) then I am clearly not committed. But as it says in “Signs of a Crisis”(Jim Wallis) “who has time to be a citizen?” In order to give the meagre amount of money I give to charity I am working all hours. But perhaps the “encounter with the poor” would bring more comfort through the reality of an interaction than just sending in the money.
Clearly, as a teacher, I need to know what I think about this. If the human conscience is a “clue to the word of God” (Brown), I am surely being spoken to about needing to do more charitable works. Liberation from the “power of fate” and also from “personal sin and guilt” (Brown) is also a very powerful proposition. This could potentially lead to the world be changed totally. Once again it is an exciting thought but alarming to think of how little I do in order to bring about this Kingdom of God. It leads me to think that I too am working for the ‘Anti-Kingdom’.
Reading the Signs of a Crisis (Jim Wallis) I found alarming because although it was clearly written a while ago, it seemed more current than ever. It doesn’t matter which political leader is being spoken of, there is always disappointment about how little things have changed since the most recent leader was elected and how things have stayed the same. The video clip I have included ‘Where is the beef?’ asks the questions about what George Bush will say about subjects where he has in the past gone back on his word in a critical way. On the other hand the video clip ‘Believe Me’ reflects this disappointment in a humourous way with an impersonator of John Howard mentioning some of the different issues he has not been honest about.
Looking again at the greed so prevalent in our society and being some one who lives as part of it, also made me very uncomfortable. We learnt much about the whole image of the American Dream with the white, wealthy middle-class man living in suburbia and the 80:20 distribution of wealth of which we are so much a benefitting part.
The truth of the American Dream, which is so dishonest and so unconcerned with the reality of the lives of the people they affect it reflected in the video clip I have included.
I believe like many others that I am doing my best but am I really? I avoid watching violent films, and attempt to treat people I come into contact respectfully. I prevented my children from watching violent films to protect them from the images to avoid some of the toxins as talked of in “overarching sign of our crisis is our poisoned environment. From our toxic wastes to our toxic values, from the pollution of our air and water to the pollution of our hearts and minds” (Wallis), hopefully I thereby avoided some toxicity in my children as they grew up.
Although I go and vote I am aware that I do nothing else. The idea that “The ritual of public polling has now almost completely replaced genuine citizen participation in political life” (Wallis) rings true in my life and once again makes me feel uncomfortable. I am grateful for the opportunity to vote but I also know that I should be doing more politically because this is partly what it is to be Christian on earth.
The issue of societies surviving or not sometimes being dependent on the decisions made about sustainability is also confronting. Learning about ecological footprints and how large my own is, also induces guilt. What can I do to reduce mine? Of course I turn off lights and use little water but how can reduce it further? Having lived in Iceland for two years I saw that their culture somehow managed to survive despite having subjected the country to almost total deforestation. The Icelanders lived in extreme poverty until very recently and perhaps as a result are now as extremely materialist as any First world country. What I saw of Icelanders 20 years ago, they were not environmentally conscious or caring. However, the social structures in place certainly cared for all people equally with remarkable funding for health and education and there seemed to be almost no poverty as there was in Europe at the time. There was an amazing awareness of Spirit in the culture, maybe it was this depth that enabled them to get through the dark winters with singing and story telling being the main entertainment.
The lecture on Moses was also very inspiring. I have always rejected the First Testament because I found it hard to relate to what appeared to be not in line with Christ’s teachings. I now have a new understanding of the prophets and the aim they had of evoking “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us” as Bruggemann writes of the aim of prophetic ministry. Previously I have not seen the work of the prophets as that of promoting a new social justice through helping people to new understandings by aiding them in a “dismantling of the dominant consciousness” of the world in which they lived, rather I have seen there message to be an inner one. Clearly re-reading the prophets with this understanding gives it meaning to the reader at any time even if the contemporary laws are quite at odds with those at the time of the prophet. Suddenly there seems to be point in reading the First Testament for inspiration.
The idea that a prophet comes at a particular time for a particular community is also inspiring as a reminder for us, on a more humble level, that we also have particular tasks to do in our own particular lives just as the prophets had.
Michael wanted to “get God off the hook for Christ’s crucifixion” by making it clear that Christ had to die because the life that he led came into conflict with the Purity Project of the time. (Leaders of the Purity Project deal with problematic people by murdering them.) From this perspective I can see that God can be let off as Jesus clearly presented a significant problem. However, if God is omnipotent surely nothing that he doesn’t desire can happen? The idea that the people in the Purity Project could have had greater power than God and made Jesus die against God’s will doesn’t make sense in a world where God is omnipotent.
We once again saw some confronting images (the image of Bishop Romero being shot for example) and I felt overwhelmed by my powerlessness to change the world and the horror of the cruelty we inflict upon one another as humans. I felt that the lecture was trying to address how we would respond to a student’s question “what sort of a God would allow evil to happen?” and I was no clearer at the end than I had been at the beginning. An omnipotent God surely wouldn’t allow such atrocities as the Rwandan genocide to happen and yet for some reason these things do happen, is it in order that humans learn to understand the power of freedom of choice and experience the horrors that certain choices bring with them?
Christ was clearly critical of many practices of the time in which he lived and was also clearly pained by what he saw and as such He sets us an example of how to view the world. Bruggemann talks of the numbness in which most of us live which can be penetrated by the passion of Christ and lead to transformation: “internalization of pain and external transformation” as he says “articulated grief is the gate of newness”. We can change our world as a result of the pain we go through. But this doesn’t explain at all why suffering has to happen in the first place. As Michael expressed it as Christians “we have responsibilities towards God’s kingdom- we need to cooperate”, we need to get active in our own world to do what we can to reduce the suffering.
The full day of JS423 was so inspiring! We all had to speak on an issue of social justice and every single one was so well prepared and each person was fired up by what they had done. I could see that each person was a force to reckoned with and that the world through us teachers can become a better place.
Liz, who spoke about refugees and internally displaced people gave an overview of the current state which when seen from the point of view of nations actually being motivated to help refugees in order to keep them off their own shores as explained in 'Human Cargo' is all the more disturbing.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being popular or not, attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and with the nature of its work being to save lives, this reality seems almost incredible. That society can be so influenced by personal relationships is very unsettling.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking Theopolitical Dynamite' argued with subjectivity about what makes a text valid. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else is not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I personally may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. Also I agree that the image of fighter bombers is certainly just as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to be liberated from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
The issue of ‘just-war’ theory or pacifism is powerful. The shocking figure of 400 billion dollars spent on the US military per year should be a wake-up call to anyone interested in the ‘Option for the Poor and Vulnerable’, (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching). What justification could there be to spend any money on armaments when there are people in need of the basics of food and shelter? It is a relief that “Catholic social teaching is on the brink of passing a further negative judgment on almost all forms of warfare.” (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching).
One would only need to watch the video clip ‘Another Funeral in Iraq’ if one were in any doubt that war is not against God’s will. The matter-of-factness with which the procedure was carried out with people standing in the grave and the final image of the old man crying would surely dispel all questions about war or no war.
CONCLUSION
In this course we have certainly engaged in social analysis and I have enjoyed the work and the thought-provoking nature of it. I am sure that I will be putting into practice many new things in my life as a result of the talks on the Saturday, so this can only be good.
All the students seemed to have been very inspired by the subjects they had chosen and spoke with great passion. Chocolate and coffee will both have a different place in my life, as I will no longer be buying it unless it is fairtrade.
My choice of clothes to buy will also need to change.
We have now started to support a Refugee Charity and my understanding of the prayers for the 'homeless' has changed. Just to mention a few of the inspiring talks.
The depressing nature of the content made the course confronting, (I am not complaining about that at all!) but I feel that if we as a group had been required to do some practical work in social justice, we might have felt more empowered by the course. We could have built up the Body of Christ to everyone’s benefit.
I know that I was not the only person to leave many sessions with a very heavy heart and I feel that if we are to spread the Gospel we need to find positivity in life! I am not, of course, suggesting we don't concern ourselves with depressing subjects, but rather that we need to keep a balance in our attitude and some humour is necessary too.I don’t know what God’s greater plan is, but if I am doing what I can, that is as much as I can do and I am sure that being depressed will not help.
Within the course it may have been interesting to have learnt more about social injustices within Australia. The whole issue of the treatment of the Aboriginal Peoples would certainly warrant some consideration. Only suggestions, I thought it was a very interesting course and I appreciated the conviction with which you spoke.
Bibliography
Unit Reader for Unit Code JS423 Semester1, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
exam stuff
All subjects need ICT…what is it useful for? It can be a cognitive tool
Constructivism= our knowledge is built on other knowledge
Social constructivism= other people affect us too in our learning
CREATE
APPLY
EVALUATE
SYNTHESIZE
ANALYZE
DESCRIBE
Blogs can be seen by anyone, no one controls them.
On the web you need to cross-reference as things may be wrong
NOW facilitator learned, observable, visual, try and see, spontaneous, learner makes choices.
THEN teacher learned, provable verbals, sit and listen, chalk and talk, structured
We don’t know what it means to be a good teacher
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY is not sequential
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Piaget cognitivist
Develop towards increasingly complex levels of organization
Studied development of knowledge
Assimilation, accommodation, adaptation equilibrium
Stages are the same in all children
1. Sensori- motor 2 years
Primary circular- repetition
Secondary circular- more interest
Tertiary- changing things
18 months mental representation – remembering something that’s not there.
2. pre-operational 2-7 years
Uses symbols, can play and remember
3.Concrete operations 7-11 years
Conservation and classification by size.
4. Formal operations 12 years
Hypothetical thinking
Conjunction/ disjunction/ implication/ incompatibility
Children can’t do things until mature enough…cognitive constructivism
Intelligence= adapting to the environment
We need equilibrium between environment and scheme (logical mental structure)
People actively construct knowledge
Interactionism= interaction between heredity and environment
GLASSER
All behaviour is chosen. Not chemical imbalance or unconscious conflict. It is choice not mental illness in response to dissatisfying relationships. Brain chemistry changes with different choice not the other way round.
Total behaviour acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. Strong imaginations.
BRUNER
People interpret the world according to similarities and differences.
2 modes of thought Narrative (sequential, detail-driven) and Paradigmatic (mind transcends particulars to categorize.
3 Modes of representation
Enactive
Iconic
Symbolic
Anything can be learnt at any age if the order is right.
Narrative is a cultural product= language and symbolic system. The mind structures reality through mediation.
Diachronicity
Particularity
Intentional state
Hermaneutics
Canonicity and breach
Referentiality
Genericness
Normativeness
Context sensitivity
Narrative accrual
In order to go beyond information given people think. Learning can happen by thinking without accompanying behaviour.
Man’s growth is related to evolution (hands)
Instrumental Conceptualism: much of what we know cannot be tested.
Man grows by internalizing ways of acting, imagining and symbolizing in culture.
Information is processed rather than constructed, we give things meaning
Gradually memory is being externalized which has changed how we think, remember and communicate.
BRUNER’S EDUCATIONAL THEORY 1. Value- must be worthwhile knowledge
2. How is knowledge different from a belief, mistake or lie.
Knowledge is an “internalizing of tools that are used within the child’s culture”. A lie is anything that takes away from learning.
3. There are no limits to the potential of the human to learn and grow.
4. Learning is and active, social process in which students construct new ideas based on their current knowledge.
It is a continual process, spurts and rests. Related to the environment not to age.
5. Theory of transmission: who teaches? Everyone.
6. Culture enables individuals to make sense.
7. Opportunity: everyone could learn
8. Consensus: who says what is true?
9. Intuitive: you don’t have to learn sequentially… leaps.
10. Interest in the subject is the best motivation.
TO INSTRUCT SOMEONE ISNOT A MATTER OF GETTING HIM TO COMMIT RESULTS TO THE MIND. RATHER IT IS TO TEACH HIM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS THAT MAKES POSSIBLE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF KNOWLEDGE. TO TAKE PART IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING KNOWLEDGE. KNOWING IS A PROCESS NOT A PRODUCT.
HUMAN MENTAL ACTIVITY IS NEITHER SOLO NOR CONDUCTED UNASSISTED EVEN WHEN IT GOES ON INSIDE THE HEAD.
VYGOTSKY
Learning is a collaborative process
Motivation is both extrinsic and intrinsic.
Team work (4 or 5)
No clear separation between social and individual development.
Meaning is constructed by the subject.
Education is primarily for the ruling class.
Internalization, semiotic mediation, zone of proximal development…. This is true for all students. Normal and abnormal.
3 General themes
a) generic development
b) higher mental function emerges out of social process children born with elementary nervous system and it develops and is transformed through interaction
c) cultural/ mediational tools shape human social and psychological processes. “ The central fact about our psychology is the fact of mediation”. External and internal are connected. Literacy instruction
1. comprehension (prediction, make inferences)
2. word identification
3. Text structure ( main points of story)
Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is important
Higher mental processes are mediated by tools: symbols, material or other human
When a human can decontextualise learning semiotic potential is realized. We can then extricate concepts and put learning to new use.
Language is changed by a process of internalization. Every function appears twice in a child’s cultural development… on a social level and then psychological level.
Egocentric speech and inner speech. Language enables people to organize their thoughts. “ In inner speech words die as they bring forth thought. Inner speech isto a large extent thinking in pure meaning.”
The Zone of Proximal Development
“In order to subject a function to intellectual and volitional control we must first possess it.”
The ZPD defines those functions that we have not yeat matured but are in the process of maturation, in an embryonic state. We need empathy to help someone work from their ZPD to execute an action alone.
Intelligence does not have an innate and quantifiable nature. Levels of IQ can be changed by instruction… higher level IQs drop with schooling, lower levels increase.
ALL individual development occurs through mediation in activity and learning leads to development. Scaffolding is the process by which someone is supported to work in the ZPD
Once a new skill can be put in a different context it has become decontextualised.
3 Elements are needed to ensure learning takes place.
A) active learners
B) active teachers
C) active social environment….Strictly speaking you cannot educate anyone else. Learning is an internal process.
Teacher is the railway track whose purpose is to enable railway carriages to travel freely in the direction of their own movement.
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY Developed by 1956..relevant still?
Knowledge- involves the recall of specifics and universals, methods and processes
Comprehension- represents the lowest level of understanding (not lowest level of learning but of understanding) and involves translation, interpretation and extrapolation
Application- the use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations
Analysis- is the breakdown of a communication into its constituent element so that the hierarchy is made clear.
Synthesis- the putting together of elements to form a whole
Evaluation- judgements about the value of material and methods for given purposes
Useful for writing objectives, we can see if something is suitable for certain students according to their age.
Useful for assessment structuring. Is it just recall, or actually the intended learning.
Higher Order Learning..application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
Lower Order Learning knowledge, comprehension
In general deep learners are excited about learning, and connect up different areas of learning. Surface learners focus on unrelated parts of the task, treat tasks as an imposition, simply memorise info to perform well in assessment.
It is to do with Mastery Learning, Any one can learn anything given the time. Take your time, not Hurry up!
Domains of Learning
Affective- feelings, preferences and values
We learn often when we feel strongly about something
Cognitive
Psychomotor- physical and perceptual activities and skills.
What is more important? Depends on what you are doing.
The home environment makes a huge difference on a student (individually considered, not from the family)
Education is a process which is an attempt to realize human potential.
Learning is influenced by opportunity and effort.
Speed is not the issue, mastery is!
Speed is the problem as not everyone takes the same amount of time to learn something…
Bertrand Russell
No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he himself believes to be of value.
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalist
Fundamental questioner
We all possess all these intelligences… humans are defined by them.
Musical experiences may enhance spatial capacities. The brain is modular and areas develop for specific purposes. The more types of learning we use the more students we can reach….It is a tool not a goal. We don’t have to teach each subject in 8 ways.
Judging capacities needs to be expanded, creativity, wisdom or morality need to be included too.
Real life demonstrations rather than proxy instruments.
CONNECTIVISM A learning theory for a digital age
Many people will change jobs in fields over life
Informal learning is significant
Knowledge is doubling every 18 months and obsolete really quickly.
Learning is a continual process
Technology is rewiring our brains
Knowledge management is more important
Technology means we don’t need to know so much
Know- where is more important than know-how or know-what
We need to be concerned with the value of what we are learning. We can’t expect to experience as much as we need to learn…we learn from everyone around us.
Chaos is a new reality…a cryptic form of order. The learner’s challenge is to see patterns which appear to be hidden and to adjust as things change. Self-organization is necessary.
How people learn is altered when new tools are used.
BEHAVIOURISM
Drill and skill repetition
Skinner Knowledge is a repertoire of behaviours
Continual positive reinforcement is important as without themlearned responses will become extinct. Proven effective for teaching foreign language vocabulary!
Knowledge is passively absorbed
Learning is unknowable, we don’t know what is going on inside someone
Observable behaviour is more important than understanding internal activities
Behaviour should be focused on simple elements
Learning is about behaviour change
COGNITIVISM COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM
Piaget
Motivation largely intrinsic
Learners actively construct knowledge by testing theories
Computer processes as model
Learning is a process of inputs, managed in short-term memory and coded for long-term memory
Knowledge is symbolic mental construct in the learner’s mind, learning is committing symbols to memory
Students monitor their own learning
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences. Learners actively attempt to create meaning. Learners select their own learning. Life is messy!
Generally learning happens within people…how about organizations and when it is stored in technology.
Constructivism= our knowledge is built on other knowledge
Social constructivism= other people affect us too in our learning
CREATE
APPLY
EVALUATE
SYNTHESIZE
ANALYZE
DESCRIBE
Blogs can be seen by anyone, no one controls them.
On the web you need to cross-reference as things may be wrong
NOW facilitator learned, observable, visual, try and see, spontaneous, learner makes choices.
THEN teacher learned, provable verbals, sit and listen, chalk and talk, structured
We don’t know what it means to be a good teacher
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY is not sequential
Use COMPOSE on blog to make hyperlink active.
VIDEO CLIP
Get code
Embed
Highlight number
Edit
Copy
Open blog
New post
Edit html
Paste
HYPERLINK "http://WWW.SLIDE.COM" WWW.SLIDE.COM HYPERLINK "http://WWW.SONIFIC.COM" WWW.SONIFIC.COM
Choose song
Use
Name song
Back to blog
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Copy to address
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Copy code to blog
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Piaget cognitivist
Develop towards increasingly complex levels of organization
Studied development of knowledge
Assimilation, accommodation, adaptation equilibrium
Stages are the same in all children
1. Sensori- motor 2 years
Primary circular- repetition
Secondary circular- more interest
Tertiary- changing things
18 months mental representation – remembering something that’s not there.
2. pre-operational 2-7 years
Uses symbols, can play and remember
3.Concrete operations 7-11 years
Conservation and classification by size.
4. Formal operations 12 years
Hypothetical thinking
Conjunction/ disjunction/ implication/ incompatibility
Children can’t do things until mature enough…cognitive constructivism
Intelligence= adapting to the environment
We need equilibrium between environment and scheme (logical mental structure)
People actively construct knowledge
Interactionism= interaction between heredity and environment
GLASSER
All behaviour is chosen. Not chemical imbalance or unconscious conflict. It is choice not mental illness in response to dissatisfying relationships. Brain chemistry changes with different choice not the other way round.
Total behaviour acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. Strong imaginations.
BRUNER
People interpret the world according to similarities and differences.
2 modes of thought Narrative (sequential, detail-driven) and Paradigmatic (mind transcends particulars to categorize.
3 Modes of representation
Enactive
Iconic
Symbolic
Anything can be learnt at any age if the order is right.
Narrative is a cultural product= language and symbolic system. The mind structures reality through mediation.
Diachronicity
Particularity
Intentional state
Hermaneutics
Canonicity and breach
Referentiality
Genericness
Normativeness
Context sensitivity
Narrative accrual
In order to go beyond information given people think. Learning can happen by thinking without accompanying behaviour.
Man’s growth is related to evolution (hands)
Instrumental Conceptualism: much of what we know cannot be tested.
Man grows by internalizing ways of acting, imagining and symbolizing in culture.
Information is processed rather than constructed, we give things meaning
Gradually memory is being externalized which has changed how we think, remember and communicate.
BRUNER’S EDUCATIONAL THEORY 1. Value- must be worthwhile knowledge
2. How is knowledge different from a belief, mistake or lie.
Knowledge is an “internalizing of tools that are used within the child’s culture”. A lie is anything that takes away from learning.
3. There are no limits to the potential of the human to learn and grow.
4. Learning is and active, social process in which students construct new ideas based on their current knowledge.
It is a continual process, spurts and rests. Related to the environment not to age.
5. Theory of transmission: who teaches? Everyone.
6. Culture enables individuals to make sense.
7. Opportunity: everyone could learn
8. Consensus: who says what is true?
9. Intuitive: you don’t have to learn sequentially… leaps.
10. Interest in the subject is the best motivation.
TO INSTRUCT SOMEONE ISNOT A MATTER OF GETTING HIM TO COMMIT RESULTS TO THE MIND. RATHER IT IS TO TEACH HIM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS THAT MAKES POSSIBLE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF KNOWLEDGE. TO TAKE PART IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING KNOWLEDGE. KNOWING IS A PROCESS NOT A PRODUCT.
HUMAN MENTAL ACTIVITY IS NEITHER SOLO NOR CONDUCTED UNASSISTED EVEN WHEN IT GOES ON INSIDE THE HEAD.
VYGOTSKY
Learning is a collaborative process
Motivation is both extrinsic and intrinsic.
Team work (4 or 5)
No clear separation between social and individual development.
Meaning is constructed by the subject.
Education is primarily for the ruling class.
Internalization, semiotic mediation, zone of proximal development…. This is true for all students. Normal and abnormal.
3 General themes
a) generic development
b) higher mental function emerges out of social process children born with elementary nervous system and it develops and is transformed through interaction
c) cultural/ mediational tools shape human social and psychological processes. “ The central fact about our psychology is the fact of mediation”. External and internal are connected. Literacy instruction
1. comprehension (prediction, make inferences)
2. word identification
3. Text structure ( main points of story)
Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is important
Higher mental processes are mediated by tools: symbols, material or other human
When a human can decontextualise learning semiotic potential is realized. We can then extricate concepts and put learning to new use.
Language is changed by a process of internalization. Every function appears twice in a child’s cultural development… on a social level and then psychological level.
Egocentric speech and inner speech. Language enables people to organize their thoughts. “ In inner speech words die as they bring forth thought. Inner speech isto a large extent thinking in pure meaning.”
The Zone of Proximal Development
“In order to subject a function to intellectual and volitional control we must first possess it.”
The ZPD defines those functions that we have not yeat matured but are in the process of maturation, in an embryonic state. We need empathy to help someone work from their ZPD to execute an action alone.
Intelligence does not have an innate and quantifiable nature. Levels of IQ can be changed by instruction… higher level IQs drop with schooling, lower levels increase.
ALL individual development occurs through mediation in activity and learning leads to development. Scaffolding is the process by which someone is supported to work in the ZPD
Once a new skill can be put in a different context it has become decontextualised.
3 Elements are needed to ensure learning takes place.
A) active learners
B) active teachers
C) active social environment….Strictly speaking you cannot educate anyone else. Learning is an internal process.
Teacher is the railway track whose purpose is to enable railway carriages to travel freely in the direction of their own movement.
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY Developed by 1956..relevant still?
Knowledge- involves the recall of specifics and universals, methods and processes
Comprehension- represents the lowest level of understanding (not lowest level of learning but of understanding) and involves translation, interpretation and extrapolation
Application- the use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations
Analysis- is the breakdown of a communication into its constituent element so that the hierarchy is made clear.
Synthesis- the putting together of elements to form a whole
Evaluation- judgements about the value of material and methods for given purposes
Useful for writing objectives, we can see if something is suitable for certain students according to their age.
Useful for assessment structuring. Is it just recall, or actually the intended learning.
Higher Order Learning..application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
Lower Order Learning knowledge, comprehension
In general deep learners are excited about learning, and connect up different areas of learning. Surface learners focus on unrelated parts of the task, treat tasks as an imposition, simply memorise info to perform well in assessment.
It is to do with Mastery Learning, Any one can learn anything given the time. Take your time, not Hurry up!
Domains of Learning
Affective- feelings, preferences and values
We learn often when we feel strongly about something
Cognitive
Psychomotor- physical and perceptual activities and skills.
What is more important? Depends on what you are doing.
The home environment makes a huge difference on a student (individually considered, not from the family)
Education is a process which is an attempt to realize human potential.
Learning is influenced by opportunity and effort.
Speed is not the issue, mastery is!
Speed is the problem as not everyone takes the same amount of time to learn something…
Bertrand Russell
No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he himself believes to be of value.
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalist
Fundamental questioner
We all possess all these intelligences… humans are defined by them.
Musical experiences may enhance spatial capacities. The brain is modular and areas develop for specific purposes. The more types of learning we use the more students we can reach….It is a tool not a goal. We don’t have to teach each subject in 8 ways.
Judging capacities needs to be expanded, creativity, wisdom or morality need to be included too.
Real life demonstrations rather than proxy instruments.
CONNECTIVISM A learning theory for a digital age
Many people will change jobs in fields over life
Informal learning is significant
Knowledge is doubling every 18 months and obsolete really quickly.
Learning is a continual process
Technology is rewiring our brains
Knowledge management is more important
Technology means we don’t need to know so much
Know- where is more important than know-how or know-what
We need to be concerned with the value of what we are learning. We can’t expect to experience as much as we need to learn…we learn from everyone around us.
Chaos is a new reality…a cryptic form of order. The learner’s challenge is to see patterns which appear to be hidden and to adjust as things change. Self-organization is necessary.
How people learn is altered when new tools are used.
BEHAVIOURISM
Drill and skill repetition
Skinner Knowledge is a repertoire of behaviours
Continual positive reinforcement is important as without themlearned responses will become extinct. Proven effective for teaching foreign language vocabulary!
Knowledge is passively absorbed
Learning is unknowable, we don’t know what is going on inside someone
Observable behaviour is more important than understanding internal activities
Behaviour should be focused on simple elements
Learning is about behaviour change
COGNITIVISM COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM
Piaget
Motivation largely intrinsic
Learners actively construct knowledge by testing theories
Computer processes as model
Learning is a process of inputs, managed in short-term memory and coded for long-term memory
Knowledge is symbolic mental construct in the learner’s mind, learning is committing symbols to memory
Students monitor their own learning
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences. Learners actively attempt to create meaning. Learners select their own learning. Life is messy!
Generally learning happens within people…how about organizations and when it is stored in technology.
mind map
Ways of learning
constructivist
social constructivist
behaviourist
I.
II.
A. naturalist
III.
IV.
Visual
I. videos would be good
II. mind maps
Kinaesthtic
I.
aural
interpersonal
intrapersonal
Compass rose
Flower
Buddha
constructivist
social constructivist
behaviourist
I.
II.
A. naturalist
III.
IV.
Visual
I. videos would be good
II. mind maps
Kinaesthtic
I.
aural
interpersonal
intrapersonal
Compass rose
Flower
Buddha
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
what is a wiki?
A wiki is an on line collaborative tool. There are two types of wiki: one any one can edit and another is guarded and entries are controlled and therefore take about24 hours to be added. In a wiki the pages can be changed in the order. Because there needs to be continuity there is not much room for variation, there cannot be lots of different fonts for example.
Information is put on to a page and added to a wiki.
Wikis are free, mostly they are funded by people being able to advertise on them but if it is an educational one the advertisements are not there.
Pages are linked to one another by means of hyperlinks so it does not need to be so organised, although they can be altered and re-arranged as information is focussed.(It is easier to use).
Wikis are constantly being up-dated and can be added to by any one (in the free ones, not so in the guarded ones).
There is no copyright as there is traditionally, with no ownership of materials.
Worldwide tool. Excellent for research.
A whole lot of pages like a scroll and able to flick from one page to another by hyperlinks.
Success of a wiki is that it is highly structured. Each topic has a table of topics and the name is a new page.
A blog is a step on the way to a wiki.
The best wiki is http://www.wiki.com/
Scalable means that a wiki can be added to.
Information is put on to a page and added to a wiki.
Wikis are free, mostly they are funded by people being able to advertise on them but if it is an educational one the advertisements are not there.
Pages are linked to one another by means of hyperlinks so it does not need to be so organised, although they can be altered and re-arranged as information is focussed.(It is easier to use).
Wikis are constantly being up-dated and can be added to by any one (in the free ones, not so in the guarded ones).
There is no copyright as there is traditionally, with no ownership of materials.
Worldwide tool. Excellent for research.
A whole lot of pages like a scroll and able to flick from one page to another by hyperlinks.
Success of a wiki is that it is highly structured. Each topic has a table of topics and the name is a new page.
A blog is a step on the way to a wiki.
The best wiki is http://www.wiki.com/
Scalable means that a wiki can be added to.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Kathryn more thoughts on ICT
Hattie's list of effects places games and visual aids at .34 and .16 respectively, which makes me question the emphasis on ICT in teaching. (Teacher Make a Difference. 2003)
If, as Vygotsky claims, the social learning environment is so central to learning, I do not see that the computer can be beneficial to learning as computers severely reduce social interaction.
I know from my experience as a parent that children are negatively affected by computer use and video games as they enter a very different space while playing and it is hard for them to move out of this later.
Cultural mediation (Lev Vygotsky in Wikipedia) is the process whereby children learn the rules of their culture through interaction with significant people in their lives and time spent on computers detracts from this. I believe that this is the case at home and at school.
According to Vygotsky inner speech develops from external speech via a gradual process of internalization, with younger children only able to "think out loud" and I wonder whether with all the external stimulation experienced at the present time (through television and computers etc) children, young people and adults are finding it more difficult to develop inner speech from external speech. This, it seems to me, is becoming evident in the fact that it is becoming more acceptable to chat while other things are going on (lessons, lectures, concerts, weddings etc). As Benson ( 1995) explains "vocalisation, as found egocentric speech, usually ceases when the person can think the words rather than vocalising them" (The Mozart of Psychology. n.d) but many people seem unable to control their speech, even when it is actually not benefitting others they are interacting with.
We hear that Digital Natives are more able to multitask than Digital Immigrants but given that, in order for learning to take place, an active engagement is necessary I would quesion the depth of learning that actual happens while, for example, a student watches television or listens to music while doing homework.
I am also concerned at the lack of imaginative forces needed whilst being exposed to video clips or playing on-line games. As Vygotsky says humans have the "possibility of imagining something and then creating something from what they have imagined" (Vygotsky in a nutshell. Florida Gulf Course University) but with the images being so ready-made and pre-packaged I feel that the ability to create their own inner pictures is not being fostered.
References:
Learning Principles, Vygotsky in a Nutshell
Retrieved from http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/80337/6215m8a.htm on 21 March 2007
Hattie, J. Teachers Make a Difference. 2003
Retrieved from Notre Dame Student Portal March 2007.
Unknown Author The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on 3 April 2007
If, as Vygotsky claims, the social learning environment is so central to learning, I do not see that the computer can be beneficial to learning as computers severely reduce social interaction.
I know from my experience as a parent that children are negatively affected by computer use and video games as they enter a very different space while playing and it is hard for them to move out of this later.
Cultural mediation (Lev Vygotsky in Wikipedia) is the process whereby children learn the rules of their culture through interaction with significant people in their lives and time spent on computers detracts from this. I believe that this is the case at home and at school.
According to Vygotsky inner speech develops from external speech via a gradual process of internalization, with younger children only able to "think out loud" and I wonder whether with all the external stimulation experienced at the present time (through television and computers etc) children, young people and adults are finding it more difficult to develop inner speech from external speech. This, it seems to me, is becoming evident in the fact that it is becoming more acceptable to chat while other things are going on (lessons, lectures, concerts, weddings etc). As Benson ( 1995) explains "vocalisation, as found egocentric speech, usually ceases when the person can think the words rather than vocalising them" (The Mozart of Psychology. n.d) but many people seem unable to control their speech, even when it is actually not benefitting others they are interacting with.
We hear that Digital Natives are more able to multitask than Digital Immigrants but given that, in order for learning to take place, an active engagement is necessary I would quesion the depth of learning that actual happens while, for example, a student watches television or listens to music while doing homework.
I am also concerned at the lack of imaginative forces needed whilst being exposed to video clips or playing on-line games. As Vygotsky says humans have the "possibility of imagining something and then creating something from what they have imagined" (Vygotsky in a nutshell. Florida Gulf Course University) but with the images being so ready-made and pre-packaged I feel that the ability to create their own inner pictures is not being fostered.
References:
Learning Principles, Vygotsky in a Nutshell
Retrieved from http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/80337/6215m8a.htm on 21 March 2007
Hattie, J. Teachers Make a Difference. 2003
Retrieved from Notre Dame Student Portal March 2007.
Unknown Author The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on 3 April 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Kathryn why a graphic organiser?
A graphic organiser could be useful for visual, linguistic and kinesthetic learners. By displaying the rough ideas of a concept in a graphic organiser one can get clear on which aspects are more important than others. As graphic organisers involve writing it would be good for linguistic learners and as they are mostly done on computers they would be good for kinesthetic learners presuming that they can type.
Bloom's levels of learning are easily reflected in the use of a graphic organiser: becoming clear on what one thinks about something by seeing it laid out on the page, this would also be good for experiencing the 'knowledge' one already has and restating the information helps lead to some 'comprehension'. Separating the items and making connections between ideas can be seen to be the analysis stage of Bloom's levels of learning.
Within learning a language I can imagine using a graphic organiser with the students working in pairs or groups to work on various subjects such as cultural differences in foods, cities or famous people for example. In year 9 the students do a project on a famous person from a German speaking country and these could certainly be brain-stormed in preparation for this. When working in groups the social environment would be active (Vygotsky) and the interpersonal learner would be stimulated.
As students mention famous people they know and admire the students become active, inspired and engaged.
I think the fact that with graphic organisers students work on a computer which means that whatever is written can easily be deleted is a positive aspect, as the fear of writing something 'stupid' need not be so strong. Also creativity leads to more creativity so as the layout becomes more interesting, together the students may become more confident and imaginative in their approach to the work.
Bloom's levels of learning are easily reflected in the use of a graphic organiser: becoming clear on what one thinks about something by seeing it laid out on the page, this would also be good for experiencing the 'knowledge' one already has and restating the information helps lead to some 'comprehension'. Separating the items and making connections between ideas can be seen to be the analysis stage of Bloom's levels of learning.
Within learning a language I can imagine using a graphic organiser with the students working in pairs or groups to work on various subjects such as cultural differences in foods, cities or famous people for example. In year 9 the students do a project on a famous person from a German speaking country and these could certainly be brain-stormed in preparation for this. When working in groups the social environment would be active (Vygotsky) and the interpersonal learner would be stimulated.
As students mention famous people they know and admire the students become active, inspired and engaged.
I think the fact that with graphic organisers students work on a computer which means that whatever is written can easily be deleted is a positive aspect, as the fear of writing something 'stupid' need not be so strong. Also creativity leads to more creativity so as the layout becomes more interesting, together the students may become more confident and imaginative in their approach to the work.
Kathryn why a sound file?
A sound file could clearly be a useful learning aid for auditory and musical learners. In learning a language it can be an excellent way of experiencing the culture to listen to and/or sing songs and music as each culture has its own particular musical language. One can prepare students by studying the language of the poetry or lyrics of a song before hearing it or (preferably) between hearings so that the music can be allowed to speak first. As Hattie says the influence of the teacher is very powerful( about 30% of the entire procedure of learning) and the teacher's excitement about a particular piece can influence the students greatly in introducing them to new music. (I had the experience of Year 10 boys being happy to listen to a Romantic song by Schumann.)
The sound file of the Chopin Nocturne I would use in preparation for watching part of the film 'The Pianist' set in Poland about a Polish Jew who was a pianist (and unable to play the piano throughout the war) and managed to survive the Nazi occupation of Warsaw during WW2. The story, whilst containing disturbing images of the Holocaust also has the central theme of a 'good' Nazi who helps the pianist by bringing him food. Thus the discussion of the Nazi time need not be only negative from the German people's point of view. This would certainly be a good tool for interpersonal and linguistic learners as there would be a great deal of discussion. If students need to be active in order to learn (Vygotsky) this would certainly be beneficial as the Chopin Nocturne is very beautiful piece which would almost certainly involve the students emotionally and engage them.
The sound file of the Chopin Nocturne I would use in preparation for watching part of the film 'The Pianist' set in Poland about a Polish Jew who was a pianist (and unable to play the piano throughout the war) and managed to survive the Nazi occupation of Warsaw during WW2. The story, whilst containing disturbing images of the Holocaust also has the central theme of a 'good' Nazi who helps the pianist by bringing him food. Thus the discussion of the Nazi time need not be only negative from the German people's point of view. This would certainly be a good tool for interpersonal and linguistic learners as there would be a great deal of discussion. If students need to be active in order to learn (Vygotsky) this would certainly be beneficial as the Chopin Nocturne is very beautiful piece which would almost certainly involve the students emotionally and engage them.
Kathryn why a German video game?
This video game could be used for very young children who were just learning to count in German, probably from year 2 when they should have learnt to count to 20. I don't believe that the children would learn to count by doing this game but it could be used once they had done so and thus build on what they already knew. The moving of the 'tiles' would possibly mean that spacial learners would benefit from this game.
The students would see the word for dwarf, (although they would not even necessarily need to read it) and I would therefore use the game once the students had already learnt this within the context of a story thereby just reinforcing something they already knew.
The type of learner who would benefit from playing a video game would be a visual (seeing what they are doing), auditory (mostly they have strange sound accompanying them) and kinesthetic learner,(having to use the mouse of the computer to play the game). I would think that the solitary nature of playing a video game would mean that interpersonal learners would possibly be upset by it as would naturalist, linguistic and musical.
In a Steiner school we do not use computers in the classroom very much (certainly not before year 8) and the emphasis is on showing students examples which are aesthetically beautiful and morally uplifting. I am not able to see that the use of video games would be useful when judged against these criteria. We hope to encourage interpersonal relationships and in this respect I don't believe that video games do this either. We also hope to give students real-life experience through conversation which involves speaking and listening.
The students would see the word for dwarf, (although they would not even necessarily need to read it) and I would therefore use the game once the students had already learnt this within the context of a story thereby just reinforcing something they already knew.
The type of learner who would benefit from playing a video game would be a visual (seeing what they are doing), auditory (mostly they have strange sound accompanying them) and kinesthetic learner,(having to use the mouse of the computer to play the game). I would think that the solitary nature of playing a video game would mean that interpersonal learners would possibly be upset by it as would naturalist, linguistic and musical.
In a Steiner school we do not use computers in the classroom very much (certainly not before year 8) and the emphasis is on showing students examples which are aesthetically beautiful and morally uplifting. I am not able to see that the use of video games would be useful when judged against these criteria. We hope to encourage interpersonal relationships and in this respect I don't believe that video games do this either. We also hope to give students real-life experience through conversation which involves speaking and listening.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Kathryn Why a video clip Eine unangenehme Wahrheit
Watching videos is completely normal for students of today and learning is enhanced for those who are both visual and aural learners.
According to Vygotsky for learning to take place there also needs to be an active social environment and the subject of Global Warming with its current concern seems to interest almost every student (which in turn leads to active students, also necessary for learning) and stimulate conversation also encouraging interpersonal learning. Even though it may not be in German, learning German also includes learning about German culture and Germany leads the way in ecological issues so this would support this aspect of the course. Vygotsky also said that the teacher needs to be 'active' and I believe that if as a teacher I am committed and inspired by the subject then I am being 'active'.
I would use this video clip of Eine unangenehme Wahrheit with a Year 11 or 12 Class in the unit about the environment. The German is not too hard to understand and I would ensure that I had given the students the unfamiliar vocabulary before to avoid the experience of not understanding the clip, which could be undermining for them and already being familiar with the vocabulary would mean that watching the video would be working from the Zone of Proximal Development (spoken of by Vygotsky) and building on their knowledge. Many of the students would probably have seen the film in English and this would support their learning. Also, hearing it in German means it could be absorbed more easily.
It would also be possible later to watch the dvd of the film and have German subtitles running as this is an excellent way of learning language. As the students would probably learn new information this would support the 'knowledge' (spoken of by Bloom) and lead to greater 'comprehension' of the world (the next stage in Bloom's levels of learning) which in turn would lead to a change in attitude about what the student themselves could do to help the planet, that is 'application'.
According to Vygotsky for learning to take place there also needs to be an active social environment and the subject of Global Warming with its current concern seems to interest almost every student (which in turn leads to active students, also necessary for learning) and stimulate conversation also encouraging interpersonal learning. Even though it may not be in German, learning German also includes learning about German culture and Germany leads the way in ecological issues so this would support this aspect of the course. Vygotsky also said that the teacher needs to be 'active' and I believe that if as a teacher I am committed and inspired by the subject then I am being 'active'.
I would use this video clip of Eine unangenehme Wahrheit with a Year 11 or 12 Class in the unit about the environment. The German is not too hard to understand and I would ensure that I had given the students the unfamiliar vocabulary before to avoid the experience of not understanding the clip, which could be undermining for them and already being familiar with the vocabulary would mean that watching the video would be working from the Zone of Proximal Development (spoken of by Vygotsky) and building on their knowledge. Many of the students would probably have seen the film in English and this would support their learning. Also, hearing it in German means it could be absorbed more easily.
It would also be possible later to watch the dvd of the film and have German subtitles running as this is an excellent way of learning language. As the students would probably learn new information this would support the 'knowledge' (spoken of by Bloom) and lead to greater 'comprehension' of the world (the next stage in Bloom's levels of learning) which in turn would lead to a change in attitude about what the student themselves could do to help the planet, that is 'application'.
Kathryn Why a German slide show ?
I would use a slide show in order to have visual imput in the class. The fact that the pictures are our holiday snaps I think would be good as students love anything that shows a teacher to be human. This would enhance the learning of students who are strong in interpersonal learning and visual learners. If the students are amused by the photographs what I tell them about the photographs will probably be remembered more easily. According to Vygotsky learning happens when the students are active, the teacher is active and there is an active social environment (the Mozart of Psychology, n.d) and I think that there would be an active social environment while looking at photographs I had taken. (Of course I as the teacher would certainly risk ridicule but I think it is a risk worth taking).
As we were looking at the photographs I would be speaking to them in a combination of German and English about what they were looking at.
In year 10 the students do a project on any city or district where German is the language and I think that it would be interesting to share these with them as a taster for their own work.
For students to see photographs that I have taken it will be a 'real-life demonstration' (Gardner, A Multiplicity of Intelligences 2004) as I speak about the experiences I had there.
The students would see the rich historical nature of the culture in Berlin ( the Reichstag building and the German Cathedral for example) as well as see that there is a lot of development and building work being done following the collapse of the Berlin Wall happening in German cities now.
Also seeing the private dwelling of my friend, which is very typically German with many natural fibres and great organization would be informative for the students as it supports the fact that Germans are very strong on environmental issues and I think that the use of natural fibres in their houses reflects this.
Reference
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org on April 3 2007
As we were looking at the photographs I would be speaking to them in a combination of German and English about what they were looking at.
In year 10 the students do a project on any city or district where German is the language and I think that it would be interesting to share these with them as a taster for their own work.
For students to see photographs that I have taken it will be a 'real-life demonstration' (Gardner, A Multiplicity of Intelligences 2004) as I speak about the experiences I had there.
The students would see the rich historical nature of the culture in Berlin ( the Reichstag building and the German Cathedral for example) as well as see that there is a lot of development and building work being done following the collapse of the Berlin Wall happening in German cities now.
Also seeing the private dwelling of my friend, which is very typically German with many natural fibres and great organization would be informative for the students as it supports the fact that Germans are very strong on environmental issues and I think that the use of natural fibres in their houses reflects this.
Reference
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org on April 3 2007
Michael Final Journal Entry
We had the first lecture for Education, Service and Community Engagement and it was most inspiring. For one thing, the lecturer mostly used a whiteboard and we weren’t all looking at computer screens throughout, so I felt alert at the end of the day. Secondly, and just as important, the content of the lecture was so thought-provoking. The idea of Theology of Liberation has put a new light on Catholicism for me. I am aware that I have associated Catholicism with the oppression of various people. Catholics aren’t allowed to think for themselves (they must think exactly what the church tells them), women don’t have equal rights and many feel so brainwashed and damaged by their upbringings with the strong emphasis on sin, that all they can do later is to reject it. However, following the first lecture I felt relieved to have heard about the truly good intentions at the base of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whilst I am sure that the argument against women in the priesthood is one about which I will always feel uncomfortable, I realize that in closing my eyes to everything about the Catholic Church, I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Actually what is more important is to accept the good that is carried out in the name of Christianity. Either one is for something or against something and considering myself Christian I must align myself with other Christians wherever possible. Liberation Theology looks at what the message of the Gospel looks like from the perspective of the poor. It is Christianity from below. It means that where you live makes a difference to how you view religion. Clearly if people are out there on the street at soup kitchens, this will make politicians uncomfortable as they themselves are not concerned on a daily basis with the welfare of their own people at ground level but more with their political power. Anyone pointing out the plight of the poor is going to be threatening. The work of Gutierrez, displaying such commitment, would be threatening to anyone even slightly unsure of the work they were doing in the world. When the essence of one’s work is not founded on something meaningful it is extremely unsettling to witness another working out of complete commitment to their belief. As I heard about the deep devotion and the hope in the lives of those in South America living under such difficult circumstances just from the knowledge that people in Australia were thinking of them, I felt inspired to be grateful for my life and all I could do. At the same time I felt ashamed by the minimal work I actually do for charity. I also felt concerned as we were made aware of the inequality in standards of living present in the world. Of course we are in the rich world and there are millions of people living without basic necessities. The video we watched about shopping in America was grotesque and yet our constant buying here in Australia is much closer to that reality than to that of the lives of the starving in Africa. If theology is “critical reflection on praxis in the light of the Word of God”, (Robert McAfee Brown) becoming aware again of these realities is disconcerting in the extreme. Whilst it is comfortable for me to point an accusing finger at politicians who do too little for the poor, what am I actually doing other than giving some money? If “Commitment means encountering the poor” (Brown) then I am clearly not committed. But as it says in “Signs of a Crisis”(Jim Wallis) “who has time to be a citizen?” In order to give the meagre amount of money I give to charity I am working all hours. But perhaps the “encounter with the poor” would bring more comfort through the reality of an interaction than just sending in the money. Clearly, as a teacher, I need to know what I think about this. If the human conscience is a “clue to the word of God” (Brown), I am surely being spoken to about needing to do more charitable works. Liberation from the “power of fate” and also from “personal sin and guilt” (Brown) is also a very powerful proposition. This could potentially lead to the world be changed totally. Once again it is an exciting thought but alarming to think of how little I do in order to bring about this Kingdom of God. It leads me to think that I too am working for the ‘Anti-Kingdom’. Reading the Signs of a Crisis (Jim Wallis) I found alarming because although it was clearly written a while ago, it seemed more current than ever. It doesn’t matter which political leader is being spoken of, there is always disappointment about how little things have changed since the most recent leader was elected and how things have stayed the same. Looking again at the greed so prevalent in our society and being some one who lives as part of it, also made me very uncomfortable. I believe like many others that I am doing my best but am I really? I avoid watching violent films, and attempt to treat people I come into contact respectfully. I prevented my children from watching violent films to protect them from the images to avoid some of the toxins as talked of in “overarching sign of our crisis is our poisoned environment. From our toxic wastes to our toxic values, from the pollution of our air and water to the pollution of our hearts and minds” (Wallis), hopefully I thereby avoided some toxicity in my children as they grew up. Although I go and vote I am aware that I do nothing else. The idea that “The ritual of public polling has now almost completely replaced genuine citizen participation in political life” (Wallis) rings true in my life and once again makes me feel uncomfortable. I am grateful for the opportunity to vote but I also know that I should be doing more politically because this is what it is to be Christian on earth. The issue of societies surviving or not sometimes being dependent on the decisions made about sustainability is also confronting. Learning about ecological footprints and how large my own is, also induces guilt. What can I do to reduce mine? Of course I turn off lights and use little water but how can reduce it further? Having lived in Iceland for two years I saw that somehow they managed to survive having subjected the country to almost total deforestation. The Icelanders lived in extreme poverty until very recently. I would be interested to read what Jared Diamond had to say on it, but from what I saw of Icelanders 20 years ago, they were not environmentally conscious or caring. However, the social structures in place certainly cared for all people equally with remarkable funding for health and education and there seemed to be almost no poverty as there was in Europe at the time. There was an amazing awareness of Spirit in the culture, maybe it was this depth that enabled them to get through the dark winters with singing and story telling being the main entertainment although more recently the Icelanders were as prone to materialism as any First world country. To complete the first journal entry I would say that I have found this course and the readings very interesting and informative. The lecture on Moses was also very inspiring. I have always rejected the First Testament because I found it hard to relate to what appeared to be not in line with Christ’s teachings. I now have a new understanding of the prophets and the aim they had of evoking “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us” as Bruggemann writes of the aim of prophetic ministry. Previously I have not seen the work of the prophets as that of promoting a new social justice through helping people to new understandings by aiding them in a “dismantling of the dominant consciousness” of the world in which they lived, rather I have seen there message to be an inner one. Clearly re-reading the prophets with this understanding gives it meaning to the reader at any time even if the contemporary laws are quite at odds with those at the time of the prophet. Suddenly there seems to be point in reading the First Testament for inspiration. The idea that a prophet comes at a particular time for a particular community is also inspiring as a reminder for us, on a more humble level, that we also have particular tasks to do in our own particular lives just as the prophets had. Michael wanted to “get God off the hook for Christ’s crucifixion” by making it clear that Christ had to die because the life that he led came into conflict with the Purity project of the time. (Leaders of the purity project deal with problematic people by murdering them.) From this perspective I can see that God can be let off as Jesus clearly presented a significant problem. However, if God is omnipotent surely nothing that he doesn’t desire can happen? The idea that the people in the purity project could have had greater power than God and made Jesus die against God’s will doesn’t make sense in a world where God is omnipotent. We once again saw some confronting images (the image of Bishop Romero being shot for example) and I felt overwhelmed by my powerlessness to change the world and the horror of the cruelty we inflict upon one another as humans. I felt that the lecture was trying to address how we would respond to a student’s question “what sort of a God would allow evil to happen?” and I was no clearer at the end than I had been at the beginning. An omnipotent God surely wouldn’t allow such atrocities as the Rwandan genocide to happen and yet for some reason these things do happen, is it in order that humans learn to understand the power of freedom of choice and experience the horrors that certain choices bring with them? Christ was clearly critical of the time in which he lived and was also clearly pained by what he saw and as such He sets us an example of how to view the world. Bruggemann talks of the numbness in which most of us live which can be penetrated by the passion of Christ and lead to transformation: “internalization of pain and external transformation” as he says “articulated grief is the gate of newness”. We can change our world as a result of the pain we go through. But this doesn’t explain at all why suffering has to happen in the first place. As Michael expressed it as Christians “we have responsibilities towards God’s kingdom- we need to cooperate”, we need to get active in our own world to do what we can to reduce the suffering. The full day of JS423 was so inspiring! All the students had to speak on an issue of social justice and every single one was so well prepared and each person was fired up by what they had done. I could see that each person was a force to reckoned with and that the world through us teachers can become a better place. Liz, who spoke about refugees and internally displaced people gave an overview of the current state which when seen from the point of view of nations actually being motivated to help refugees in order to keep them off their own shores as explained in 'Human Cargo' is all the more disturbing.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being popular or not, attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and with the nature of its work being to save lives, this seems almost unbelievable. That society can be so influenced by personal relationships is very unsettling.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking theopolitical dynamite' argued with subjectivity about what makes a text valid. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. Also I agree that the image of fighter bombers is certainly as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to be liberated from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
The issue of ‘just-war’ theory or pacifism is powerful. The shocking figure of 400 billion dollars spent on the US military per year should be a wake-up call to anyone interested in the ‘Option for the Poor and Vulnerable’, (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching). What justification could there be to spend any money on armaments when there are people in need of the basics of food and shelter? It is a relief that “Catholic social teaching is on the brink of passing a further negative judgment on almost all forms of warfare.” (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching).
I feel that in this course we have certainly engaged in social analysis and I have enjoyed the work and the thought-provoking nature of it. I am sure that I will be putting into practice many new things in my life as a result of the talks on Saturday, so this can only be good.
All the students seemed to have been very inspired by the subjects they had chosen and spoke with great passion. Chocolate and coffee will both have a different place in my life, as I will no longer be buying unless it is fairtrade.
My choice of clothes to buy will also need to change. We have now started to support a Refugee Charity and my understanding of the prayers for the 'homeless' has changed. Just to mention a few of the inspiring talks.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being popular or not, attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and with the nature of its work being to save lives, this seems almost unbelievable. That society can be so influenced by personal relationships is very unsettling.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking theopolitical dynamite' argued with subjectivity about what makes a text valid. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. Also I agree that the image of fighter bombers is certainly as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to be liberated from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
The issue of ‘just-war’ theory or pacifism is powerful. The shocking figure of 400 billion dollars spent on the US military per year should be a wake-up call to anyone interested in the ‘Option for the Poor and Vulnerable’, (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching). What justification could there be to spend any money on armaments when there are people in need of the basics of food and shelter? It is a relief that “Catholic social teaching is on the brink of passing a further negative judgment on almost all forms of warfare.” (Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching).
I feel that in this course we have certainly engaged in social analysis and I have enjoyed the work and the thought-provoking nature of it. I am sure that I will be putting into practice many new things in my life as a result of the talks on Saturday, so this can only be good.
All the students seemed to have been very inspired by the subjects they had chosen and spoke with great passion. Chocolate and coffee will both have a different place in my life, as I will no longer be buying unless it is fairtrade.
My choice of clothes to buy will also need to change. We have now started to support a Refugee Charity and my understanding of the prayers for the 'homeless' has changed. Just to mention a few of the inspiring talks.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
questions on learning
what learning styles do I think would be best suited to an online learning environment?
Are some styles of learning not suited to online learning?
I would imagine that the nature style would find it rather hard to learn on line.... as they would rather be out in nature walking around learning. Kinesthetic style would also find it hard as they need to hold things in their hands to learn. The musical type would also find it hard as they need rhythm in their learning. The interpersonal style would also find it hard as they need to be working with other people and words on a screen are not people.
Are some styles of learning not suited to online learning?
I would imagine that the nature style would find it rather hard to learn on line.... as they would rather be out in nature walking around learning. Kinesthetic style would also find it hard as they need to hold things in their hands to learn. The musical type would also find it hard as they need rhythm in their learning. The interpersonal style would also find it hard as they need to be working with other people and words on a screen are not people.
multiple intelligences
How do we manage multiple intelligences in the ICT environment?
AIM: To answer this question as a collaborative group using the links below...
Explore e-learning This is a catalogue of resources for Teaching Maths and Science in Secondary schools http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspResourceCatalog This is a site that provides a wide range of activities based on Gardner's multiple intelligences (fantastic site!) http://surfaquarium.com/mi/intelligences.htmThis site provides a number of very useful sites in relation to Gardener's MI with ideas for the classroom and the use of ICThttp://hometown.aol.com/abctagteam/multiple_intelligences.htmApplying Bloom's Taxonomy in the classroomThis gives you concrete leads....but how do you use it in the ICT environment?http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htmThere are a number of different sites that link you into research on e-learning and current trends. This site won't provide you with an immediate answer but it will help you begin collaborating with those who are researching in this field.http://www.ncsl.org.uk/networked/index.cfmConstructivist learning theory...don't forget that you are basing all this work on this theory. This is a good summary for you and not too technical.http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.htmlThis site from Bradford England goes through the various intelligences and gives you possible activities in ICT to use to develop particular intelligences. While it is way beyond our technologies it is good to know because schools are getting these resources. There are also an increasing number of these technologies available as free software.http://www.bradfordschools.net/content/view/226/182
Tools and resources provided by Intel for free to support collaborative student centered learning. Online thinking tools are active learning places where students engage in robust discussions, pursue investigations, analyse complex information and solve problems. Resources for 21st century teaching help teachers play a critical role in facilitating learning activities and posing questions that take student thinking deeper.http://www.intel.com/education/tools/index.htm
Posted by offspring at 7:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: Compiled by Allan Coman
kathryn multiple intelligences
How do we manage multiple intelligences in the ICT environment?
AIM: To answer this question as a collaborative group using the links below...
Explore e-learning This is a catalogue of resources for Teaching Maths and Science in Secondary schools http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspResourceCatalog This is a site that provides a wide range of activities based on Gardner's multiple intelligences (fantastic site!) http://surfaquarium.com/mi/intelligences.htm
This site provides a number of very useful sites in relation to Gardener's MI with ideas for the classroom and the use of ICT
http://hometown.aol.com/abctagteam/multiple_intelligences.htm
Applying Bloom's Taxonomy in the classroom
This gives you concrete leads....but how do you use it in the ICT environment?
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
There are a number of different sites that link you into research on e-learning and current trends. This site won't provide you with an immediate answer but it will help you begin collaborating with those who are researching in this field.
http://www.ncsl.org.uk/networked/index.cfm
Constructivist learning theory...don't forget that you are basing all this work on this theory. This is a good summary for you and not too technical.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.html
This site from Bradford England goes through the various intelligences and gives you possible activities in ICT to use to develop particular intelligences. While it is way beyond our technologies it is good to know because schools are getting these resources. There are also an increasing number of these technologies available as free software.
http://www.bradfordschools.net/content/view/226/182
Tools and resources provided by Intel for free to support collaborative student centered learning. Online thinking tools are active learning places where students engage in robust discussions, pursue investigations, analyse complex information and solve problems. Resources for 21st century teaching help teachers play a critical role in facilitating learning activities and posing questions that take student thinking deeper.
http://www.intel.com/education/tools/index.htm
Posted by offspring at 7:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: Compiled by Allan Coman
AIM: To answer this question as a collaborative group using the links below...
Explore e-learning This is a catalogue of resources for Teaching Maths and Science in Secondary schools http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspResourceCatalog This is a site that provides a wide range of activities based on Gardner's multiple intelligences (fantastic site!) http://surfaquarium.com/mi/intelligences.htm
This site provides a number of very useful sites in relation to Gardener's MI with ideas for the classroom and the use of ICT
http://hometown.aol.com/abctagteam/multiple_intelligences.htm
Applying Bloom's Taxonomy in the classroom
This gives you concrete leads....but how do you use it in the ICT environment?
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
There are a number of different sites that link you into research on e-learning and current trends. This site won't provide you with an immediate answer but it will help you begin collaborating with those who are researching in this field.
http://www.ncsl.org.uk/networked/index.cfm
Constructivist learning theory...don't forget that you are basing all this work on this theory. This is a good summary for you and not too technical.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.html
This site from Bradford England goes through the various intelligences and gives you possible activities in ICT to use to develop particular intelligences. While it is way beyond our technologies it is good to know because schools are getting these resources. There are also an increasing number of these technologies available as free software.
http://www.bradfordschools.net/content/view/226/182
Tools and resources provided by Intel for free to support collaborative student centered learning. Online thinking tools are active learning places where students engage in robust discussions, pursue investigations, analyse complex information and solve problems. Resources for 21st century teaching help teachers play a critical role in facilitating learning activities and posing questions that take student thinking deeper.
http://www.intel.com/education/tools/index.htm
Posted by offspring at 7:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: Compiled by Allan Coman
Monday, April 30, 2007
michael journal 30.4.07
We had the first lecture for Education, Service and Community Engagement and it was most inspiring. For one thing, the lecturer mostly used a whiteboard and we weren’t all looking at computer screens throughout, so I felt alert at the end of the day. Secondly, and just as important, the content of the lecture was so thought-provoking. The idea of Theology of Liberation has put a new light on Catholicism for me. I am aware that I have associated Catholicism with the oppression of various people. Catholics aren’t allowed to think for themselves (they must think exactly what the church tells them), women don’t have equal rights and many feel so brainwashed and damaged by their upbringings with the strong emphasis on sin, that all they can do later is to reject it.
However, following the first lecture I felt relieved to have heard about the truly good intentions at the base of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whilst I am sure that the argument against women in the priesthood is one about which I will always feel uncomfortable, I realize that in closing my eyes to everything about the Catholic Church, I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Actually what is more important is to accept the good that is carried out in the name of Christianity. Either one is for something or against something and considering myself Christian I must align myself with other Christians wherever possible.
Liberation Theology looks at what the message of the Gospel looks like from the perspective of the poor. It is Christianity from below. It means that where you live makes a difference to how you view religion. Clearly if people are out there on the street at soup kitchens, this will make politicians uncomfortable as they themselves are not concerned on a daily basis with the welfare of their own people at ground level but more with their political power. Anyone pointing out the plight of the poor is going to be threatening. The work of Gutierrez, displaying such commitment, would be threatening to anyone even slightly unsure of the work they were doing in the world. When the essence of one’s work is not founded on something meaningful it is extremely unsettling to witness another working out of complete commitment to their belief. As I heard about the deep devotion and the hope in the lives of those in South America living under such difficult circumstances just from the knowledge that people in Australia were thinking of them, I felt inspired to be grateful for my life and all I could do. At the same time I felt ashamed by the minimal work I actually do for charity.
I also felt concerned as we were made aware of the inequality in standards of living present in the world. Of course we are in the rich world and there are millions of people living without basic necessities. The video we watched about shopping in America was grotesque and yet our constant buying here in Australia is much closer to that reality than to that of the lives of the starving in Africa. If theology is “critical reflection on praxis in the light of the Word of God”, (Robert McAfee Brown) becoming aware again of these realities is disconcerting in the extreme. Whilst it is comfortable for me to point an accusing finger at politicians who do too little for the poor, what am I actually doing other than giving some money? If “Commitment means encountering the poor” (Brown) then I am clearly not committed. But as it says in “Signs of a Crisis”(Jim Wallis) “who has time to be a citizen?” In order to give the meagre amount of money I give to charity I am working all hours. But perhaps the “encounter with the poor” would bring more comfort through the reality of an interaction than just sending in the money.
Clearly, as a teacher, I need to know what I think about this. If the human conscience is a “clue to the word of God” (Brown), I am surely being spoken to about needing to do more charitable works.
Liberation from the “power of fate” and also from “personal sin and guilt” (Brown) is also a very powerful proposition. This could potentially lead to the world be changed totally. Once again it is an exciting thought but alarming to think of how little I do in order to bring about this Kingdom of God. It leads me to think that I too am working for the
‘Anti-Kingdom’.
Reading the Signs of a Crisis (Jim Wallis) I found alarming because although it was clearly written a while ago, it seemed more current than ever. It doesn’t matter which political leader is being spoken of, there is always disappointment about how little things have changed since the most recent leader was elected and how things have stayed the same.
Looking again at the greed so prevalent in our society and being some one who lives as part of it, also made me very uncomfortable. I believe like many others that I am doing my best but am I really?
I avoid watching violent films, and attempt to treat people I come into contact respectfully. I prevented my children from watching violent films to protect them from the images to avoid some of the toxins as talked of in “overarching sign of our crisis is our poisoned environment. From our toxic wastes to our toxic values, from the pollution of our air and water to the pollution of our hearts and minds” (Wallis), hopefully I thereby avoided some toxicity in my children as they grew up.
Although I go and vote I am aware that I do nothing else. The idea that “The ritual of public polling has now almost completely replaced genuine citizen participation in political life” (Wallis) rings true in my life and once again makes me feel uncomfortable. I am grateful for the opportunity to vote but I also know that I should be doing more politically because this is what it is to be Christian on earth.
The issue of societies surviving or not sometimes being dependent on the decisions made about sustainability is also confronting. Learning about ecological footprints and how large my own is, also induces guilt. What can I do to reduce mine? Of course I turn off lights and use little water but how can reduce it further? Having lived in Iceland for two years I saw that somehow they managed to survive having subjected the country to almost total deforestation. The Icelanders lived in extreme poverty until very recently. I would be interested to read what Jared Diamond had to say on it, but from what I saw of Icelanders 20 years ago, they were not environmentally conscious or caring. However, the social structures in place certainly cared for all people equally with remarkable funding for health and education and there seemed to be almost no poverty as there was in Europe at the time. There was an amazing awareness of Spirit in the culture, maybe it was this depth that enabled them to get through the dark winters with singing and story telling being the main entertainment although more recently the Icelanders were as prone to materialism as any First world country.
To complete the first journal entry I would say that I have found this course and the readings very interesting and informative.
The lecture on Moses was also very inspiring. I have always rejected the First Testament because I found it hard to relate to what appeared to be not in line with Christ’s teachings. I now have a new understanding of the prophets and the aim they had of evoking “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us” as Bruggemann writes of the aim of prophetic ministry. Previously I have not seen the work of the prophets as that of promoting a new social justice through helping people to new understandings by aiding them in a “dismantling of the dominant consciousness” of the world in which they lived, rather I have seen there message to be an inner one. Clearly re-reading the prophets with this understanding gives it meaning to the reader at any time even if the contemporary laws are quite at odds with those at the time of the prophet. Suddenly there seems to be point in reading the First Testament for inspiration.
The idea that a prophet comes at a particular time for a particular community is also inspiring as a reminder for us, on a more humble level, that we also have particular tasks to do in our own particular lives just as the prophets had.
Michael wanted to “get God off the hook for Christ’s crucifixion” by making it clear that Christ had to die because the life that he led came into conflict with the Purity project of the time. (Leaders of the purity project deal with problematic people by murdering them.) From this perspective I can see that God can be let off as Jesus clearly presented a significant problem. However, if God is omnipotent surely nothing that he doesn’t desire can happen? The idea that the people in the purity project could have had greater power than God and made Jesus die against God’s will doesn’t make sense in a world where God is omnipotent.
We once again saw some confronting images (the image of Bishop Romero being shot for example) and I felt overwhelmed by my powerlessness to change the world and the horror of the cruelty we inflict upon one another as humans. I felt that the lecture was trying to address how we would respond to a student’s question “what sort of a God would allow evil to happen?” and I was no clearer at the end than I had been at the beginning. An omnipotent God surely wouldn’t allow such atrocities as the Rwandan genocide to happen and yet for some reason these things do happen, is it in order that humans learn to understand the power of freedom of choice and experience the horrors that certain choices bring with them?
Christ was clearly critical of the time in which he lived and was also clearly pained by what he saw and as such He sets us an example of how to view the world. Bruggemann talks of the numbness in which most of us live which can be penetrated by the passion of Christ and lead to transformation: “internalization of pain and external transformation” as he says “articulated grief is the gate of newness”. We can change our world as a result of the pain we go through. But this doesn’t explain at all why suffering has to happen in the first place. As Michael expressed it as Christians “we have responsibilities towards God’s kingdom- we need to cooperate”, we need to get active in our own world to do what we can to reduce the suffering.
The full day of JS423 was so inspiring! All the students had to speak on an issue of social justice and every single one was so well prepared and each person was fired up by what they had done. I could see that each person was a force to reckoned with and that the world through us teachers can become a better place. Liz, who spoke about refugees and internally displaced people gave an overview of the current state which when seen from the point of view of nations actually being motivated to help refugees in order to keep them off their own shores as explained in 'Human Cargo' is all the more disturbing.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being liked or not liked as a person attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and as the nature of its work is to save lives this seems almost unbelievable.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking theopolitical dynamite' seemed to be arguing from a subjective point of view what makes a text worthy of believing or not. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. AlsoI agree that the image of fighters bombers is certainly as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to liberate themselves from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
However, following the first lecture I felt relieved to have heard about the truly good intentions at the base of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whilst I am sure that the argument against women in the priesthood is one about which I will always feel uncomfortable, I realize that in closing my eyes to everything about the Catholic Church, I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Actually what is more important is to accept the good that is carried out in the name of Christianity. Either one is for something or against something and considering myself Christian I must align myself with other Christians wherever possible.
Liberation Theology looks at what the message of the Gospel looks like from the perspective of the poor. It is Christianity from below. It means that where you live makes a difference to how you view religion. Clearly if people are out there on the street at soup kitchens, this will make politicians uncomfortable as they themselves are not concerned on a daily basis with the welfare of their own people at ground level but more with their political power. Anyone pointing out the plight of the poor is going to be threatening. The work of Gutierrez, displaying such commitment, would be threatening to anyone even slightly unsure of the work they were doing in the world. When the essence of one’s work is not founded on something meaningful it is extremely unsettling to witness another working out of complete commitment to their belief. As I heard about the deep devotion and the hope in the lives of those in South America living under such difficult circumstances just from the knowledge that people in Australia were thinking of them, I felt inspired to be grateful for my life and all I could do. At the same time I felt ashamed by the minimal work I actually do for charity.
I also felt concerned as we were made aware of the inequality in standards of living present in the world. Of course we are in the rich world and there are millions of people living without basic necessities. The video we watched about shopping in America was grotesque and yet our constant buying here in Australia is much closer to that reality than to that of the lives of the starving in Africa. If theology is “critical reflection on praxis in the light of the Word of God”, (Robert McAfee Brown) becoming aware again of these realities is disconcerting in the extreme. Whilst it is comfortable for me to point an accusing finger at politicians who do too little for the poor, what am I actually doing other than giving some money? If “Commitment means encountering the poor” (Brown) then I am clearly not committed. But as it says in “Signs of a Crisis”(Jim Wallis) “who has time to be a citizen?” In order to give the meagre amount of money I give to charity I am working all hours. But perhaps the “encounter with the poor” would bring more comfort through the reality of an interaction than just sending in the money.
Clearly, as a teacher, I need to know what I think about this. If the human conscience is a “clue to the word of God” (Brown), I am surely being spoken to about needing to do more charitable works.
Liberation from the “power of fate” and also from “personal sin and guilt” (Brown) is also a very powerful proposition. This could potentially lead to the world be changed totally. Once again it is an exciting thought but alarming to think of how little I do in order to bring about this Kingdom of God. It leads me to think that I too am working for the
‘Anti-Kingdom’.
Reading the Signs of a Crisis (Jim Wallis) I found alarming because although it was clearly written a while ago, it seemed more current than ever. It doesn’t matter which political leader is being spoken of, there is always disappointment about how little things have changed since the most recent leader was elected and how things have stayed the same.
Looking again at the greed so prevalent in our society and being some one who lives as part of it, also made me very uncomfortable. I believe like many others that I am doing my best but am I really?
I avoid watching violent films, and attempt to treat people I come into contact respectfully. I prevented my children from watching violent films to protect them from the images to avoid some of the toxins as talked of in “overarching sign of our crisis is our poisoned environment. From our toxic wastes to our toxic values, from the pollution of our air and water to the pollution of our hearts and minds” (Wallis), hopefully I thereby avoided some toxicity in my children as they grew up.
Although I go and vote I am aware that I do nothing else. The idea that “The ritual of public polling has now almost completely replaced genuine citizen participation in political life” (Wallis) rings true in my life and once again makes me feel uncomfortable. I am grateful for the opportunity to vote but I also know that I should be doing more politically because this is what it is to be Christian on earth.
The issue of societies surviving or not sometimes being dependent on the decisions made about sustainability is also confronting. Learning about ecological footprints and how large my own is, also induces guilt. What can I do to reduce mine? Of course I turn off lights and use little water but how can reduce it further? Having lived in Iceland for two years I saw that somehow they managed to survive having subjected the country to almost total deforestation. The Icelanders lived in extreme poverty until very recently. I would be interested to read what Jared Diamond had to say on it, but from what I saw of Icelanders 20 years ago, they were not environmentally conscious or caring. However, the social structures in place certainly cared for all people equally with remarkable funding for health and education and there seemed to be almost no poverty as there was in Europe at the time. There was an amazing awareness of Spirit in the culture, maybe it was this depth that enabled them to get through the dark winters with singing and story telling being the main entertainment although more recently the Icelanders were as prone to materialism as any First world country.
To complete the first journal entry I would say that I have found this course and the readings very interesting and informative.
The lecture on Moses was also very inspiring. I have always rejected the First Testament because I found it hard to relate to what appeared to be not in line with Christ’s teachings. I now have a new understanding of the prophets and the aim they had of evoking “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us” as Bruggemann writes of the aim of prophetic ministry. Previously I have not seen the work of the prophets as that of promoting a new social justice through helping people to new understandings by aiding them in a “dismantling of the dominant consciousness” of the world in which they lived, rather I have seen there message to be an inner one. Clearly re-reading the prophets with this understanding gives it meaning to the reader at any time even if the contemporary laws are quite at odds with those at the time of the prophet. Suddenly there seems to be point in reading the First Testament for inspiration.
The idea that a prophet comes at a particular time for a particular community is also inspiring as a reminder for us, on a more humble level, that we also have particular tasks to do in our own particular lives just as the prophets had.
Michael wanted to “get God off the hook for Christ’s crucifixion” by making it clear that Christ had to die because the life that he led came into conflict with the Purity project of the time. (Leaders of the purity project deal with problematic people by murdering them.) From this perspective I can see that God can be let off as Jesus clearly presented a significant problem. However, if God is omnipotent surely nothing that he doesn’t desire can happen? The idea that the people in the purity project could have had greater power than God and made Jesus die against God’s will doesn’t make sense in a world where God is omnipotent.
We once again saw some confronting images (the image of Bishop Romero being shot for example) and I felt overwhelmed by my powerlessness to change the world and the horror of the cruelty we inflict upon one another as humans. I felt that the lecture was trying to address how we would respond to a student’s question “what sort of a God would allow evil to happen?” and I was no clearer at the end than I had been at the beginning. An omnipotent God surely wouldn’t allow such atrocities as the Rwandan genocide to happen and yet for some reason these things do happen, is it in order that humans learn to understand the power of freedom of choice and experience the horrors that certain choices bring with them?
Christ was clearly critical of the time in which he lived and was also clearly pained by what he saw and as such He sets us an example of how to view the world. Bruggemann talks of the numbness in which most of us live which can be penetrated by the passion of Christ and lead to transformation: “internalization of pain and external transformation” as he says “articulated grief is the gate of newness”. We can change our world as a result of the pain we go through. But this doesn’t explain at all why suffering has to happen in the first place. As Michael expressed it as Christians “we have responsibilities towards God’s kingdom- we need to cooperate”, we need to get active in our own world to do what we can to reduce the suffering.
The full day of JS423 was so inspiring! All the students had to speak on an issue of social justice and every single one was so well prepared and each person was fired up by what they had done. I could see that each person was a force to reckoned with and that the world through us teachers can become a better place. Liz, who spoke about refugees and internally displaced people gave an overview of the current state which when seen from the point of view of nations actually being motivated to help refugees in order to keep them off their own shores as explained in 'Human Cargo' is all the more disturbing.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being liked or not liked as a person attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and as the nature of its work is to save lives this seems almost unbelievable.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking theopolitical dynamite' seemed to be arguing from a subjective point of view what makes a text worthy of believing or not. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. AlsoI agree that the image of fighters bombers is certainly as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to liberate themselves from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
vygotsky posting
I agree completely with Lev Vygotsky’s claim that a student’s learning is related to their environment and culture. I am sure that this is the case and I believe that for many students the classroom environment may not be the ideal place in which to learn, as they are often so distracted by social interaction with other students. Of course they will be learning about socialisation but content learnt may be minimal.
Vygotsky talked of egocentric speech (talking out loud) as “a transition to internalized thought” (Driscoll cited in Riddle. 1999) and I wonder whether in the present time egocentric speech is more socially acceptable than it was in the past, resulting in people talking considerably more than in the past (during classes, movies or concerts for example).
Vygotsky claimed that the three elements that needed to be present in order for learning to occur were 1) active student 2) active teacher and 3) an active social environment. (The Mozart of Psychology. N.d.)
Here I think he is referring to the fact that unless a student is actively involved whatever they are doing will not be internalized. I think that this is helpful as it means that as a teacher I would be wise to relax in the knowledge that there is only a certain amount that I can do.
As a teacher of mine used to say “teaching has nothing to do with learning” (Ilana Nevill. 1980) and Vygotsky also said that “From a scientific point of view, strictly speaking, you cannot educate anyone else”. (ibid.)
Vygotsky created the term Zone of Proximal Development describing it as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Vygotsky 1978) I interpret this to mean that students can learn more when they are helped by someone else, if they are met on ground of something that they already know. This makes sense as from what I have seen if I can engage students with something about which they feel confident, learning is much more likely than if they feel lost from the start.
References:
Nicholl, T. Vygotsky.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm" http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm on April 3 2007
Riddle, E. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory (1999)
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm on March 4 2007
Lev Vygotsky Wikipedia entry
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
On April 3 2007
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org/" http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on April 3 2007
Vygotsky talked of egocentric speech (talking out loud) as “a transition to internalized thought” (Driscoll cited in Riddle. 1999) and I wonder whether in the present time egocentric speech is more socially acceptable than it was in the past, resulting in people talking considerably more than in the past (during classes, movies or concerts for example).
Vygotsky claimed that the three elements that needed to be present in order for learning to occur were 1) active student 2) active teacher and 3) an active social environment. (The Mozart of Psychology. N.d.)
Here I think he is referring to the fact that unless a student is actively involved whatever they are doing will not be internalized. I think that this is helpful as it means that as a teacher I would be wise to relax in the knowledge that there is only a certain amount that I can do.
As a teacher of mine used to say “teaching has nothing to do with learning” (Ilana Nevill. 1980) and Vygotsky also said that “From a scientific point of view, strictly speaking, you cannot educate anyone else”. (ibid.)
Vygotsky created the term Zone of Proximal Development describing it as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Vygotsky 1978) I interpret this to mean that students can learn more when they are helped by someone else, if they are met on ground of something that they already know. This makes sense as from what I have seen if I can engage students with something about which they feel confident, learning is much more likely than if they feel lost from the start.
References:
Nicholl, T. Vygotsky.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm" http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm on April 3 2007
Riddle, E. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory (1999)
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm on March 4 2007
Lev Vygotsky Wikipedia entry
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
On April 3 2007
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org/" http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on April 3 2007
piaget posting
Piaget has been extremely influential on preschool and primary school planning as a result of the four successive learning stages he claimed to be fundamental to the way in which children learn.
His theory rests on an understanding of ‘intelligence’ (or adapting to the environment) as a process of assimilating or accommodating new information into ever more sophisticated skills (which he called ‘schemes’) following the conflict which arises when new information does not fit into a pre-existing idea. As a child develops new skills, old structures are replaced by new ones so which result in the qualitative nature of children’s answers changing gradually and being dependent on their age.
This is not an indication that younger children are less intelligent than older children but rather that they are not able to have particular thought patterns until they have learnt them, which means that learning needs to be age appropriate.
As a mother of two I have witnessed the development of my children and seen how they were able to understand new things at different stages. Particularly the egocentric nature of the child during the second period (Preoperational Thought) and the fact that this reappears in the fourth period (Formal Operations) I can understand well.
These stages are similar to the ideas that Rudolf Steiner put forward in his understanding of the human being and likewise he thought that the treatment of the child needed to be age- appropriate.
References:
Boeree, C. George Jean Piaget
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html" http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
on 3 April 2007
Fetherston, Tony. Becoming an effective teacher. Thomson Melbourne 2007
Silverthorn, Pam. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Development
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm on 7 March 2007
Piaget’s developmental theory
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm" http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm
on 3 April 2007
His theory rests on an understanding of ‘intelligence’ (or adapting to the environment) as a process of assimilating or accommodating new information into ever more sophisticated skills (which he called ‘schemes’) following the conflict which arises when new information does not fit into a pre-existing idea. As a child develops new skills, old structures are replaced by new ones so which result in the qualitative nature of children’s answers changing gradually and being dependent on their age.
This is not an indication that younger children are less intelligent than older children but rather that they are not able to have particular thought patterns until they have learnt them, which means that learning needs to be age appropriate.
As a mother of two I have witnessed the development of my children and seen how they were able to understand new things at different stages. Particularly the egocentric nature of the child during the second period (Preoperational Thought) and the fact that this reappears in the fourth period (Formal Operations) I can understand well.
These stages are similar to the ideas that Rudolf Steiner put forward in his understanding of the human being and likewise he thought that the treatment of the child needed to be age- appropriate.
References:
Boeree, C. George Jean Piaget
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html" http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
on 3 April 2007
Fetherston, Tony. Becoming an effective teacher. Thomson Melbourne 2007
Silverthorn, Pam. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Development
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm on 7 March 2007
Piaget’s developmental theory
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm" http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm
on 3 April 2007
hattie posting
I found it both inspiring and uncomfortable to read John Hattie’s article “Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?”
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
I found it both inspiring and uncomfortable to read John Hattie’s article “Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?”
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
bruner posting
Jerome Bruner considers that there is no age at which a person is not able to learn something if it is taught in the appropriate way. Although this may be true, I question whether learning certain things when very young is healthy. For example, children may learn to read when very young but might it not be better that the child is playing outdoors and experiencing real life?
Bruner claims that there are three modes of representation: Enactive, Iconic and Symbolic and everything should be taught in this order. It is interesting to note that these same modes correspond to the rough approaches which are used in Steiner education with the first seven years of life being active (not reading etc), the second seven years having learning with many pictures being used and the third seven years becoming more logical and academic in its focus.
Bruner also says that the culture in which a person lives is very important in education and I agree with this. I am sure that where someone is living has an enormous impact on how someone learns both negatively and positively. When I think of the lack of motivation in most of the North Shore students I teach, it is quite alarming. It is very difficult for students to imagine themselves outside of their immediate surroundings, so to them the idea of learning a foreign language is a waste of time as it not part of their culture. For Germans to learn English is a different matter as English is so readily available in their media. As Bruner says an “interest in the material to be learned is the best stimulus for learning”. (The Process of Education. 1960)
Knowing how very little I remember from the information I learnt while at school, the final quote I read by Bruner reflects exactly what I think:
“To instruct someone…is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. Knowing is a process not a product”. (Postscript for The Process of Education. 1966)
References:
Flores, Nicole. Jerome Bruner’s Education Theory
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html" http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html
on April 3 2007
jerome bruner and the process of education
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm" http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm
on April 3 2007
Jerome Bruner Wikipedia article
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner
On April 3 2007
LECTURE 14: BRUNER
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm" http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm
on April 3 2007
Bruner claims that there are three modes of representation: Enactive, Iconic and Symbolic and everything should be taught in this order. It is interesting to note that these same modes correspond to the rough approaches which are used in Steiner education with the first seven years of life being active (not reading etc), the second seven years having learning with many pictures being used and the third seven years becoming more logical and academic in its focus.
Bruner also says that the culture in which a person lives is very important in education and I agree with this. I am sure that where someone is living has an enormous impact on how someone learns both negatively and positively. When I think of the lack of motivation in most of the North Shore students I teach, it is quite alarming. It is very difficult for students to imagine themselves outside of their immediate surroundings, so to them the idea of learning a foreign language is a waste of time as it not part of their culture. For Germans to learn English is a different matter as English is so readily available in their media. As Bruner says an “interest in the material to be learned is the best stimulus for learning”. (The Process of Education. 1960)
Knowing how very little I remember from the information I learnt while at school, the final quote I read by Bruner reflects exactly what I think:
“To instruct someone…is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. Knowing is a process not a product”. (Postscript for The Process of Education. 1966)
References:
Flores, Nicole. Jerome Bruner’s Education Theory
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html" http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html
on April 3 2007
jerome bruner and the process of education
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm" http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm
on April 3 2007
Jerome Bruner Wikipedia article
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner
On April 3 2007
LECTURE 14: BRUNER
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm" http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm
on April 3 2007
glasser posting
I have found reading some of William Glasser’s work very interesting. From what I have read, it seems that it would be empowering for everyone using it. To concentrate on acting and thinking (two of the things that make up his view of ‘total behaviour’) is logical, because, as he rightly says our feelings often seem to be out of our control.
Glasser claims that the only significant problem people have is that of relationship and that even those diagnosed as mentally ill either have at least one very dissatisfying relationship or no relationships at all. Glasser believes that there is no such thing as mental illness but he is concerned with mental health. He believes that people chose certain behaviours, (even hallucinating, panic attacks, etc), in preference of experiencing their current life.
I have known two people who finally suicided and I always felt that they lost their power by coming to rely on drugs as a cure for what was described as ‘chemical imbalances’ in their brains. In both cases I felt that what they were being told by doctors was untrue and felt that the doctors concerned were really abusing their power by disempowering the patients and offering them drugs, which they later came to rely on.
The idea that teachers in schools can have a large impact on students through showing caring and compassion is also empowering as this is what I desire. As Glasser says, “There is no shortage of unhappy people” (Reality Therapy in the year 2000) and if I can do any thing to reduce the number by offering compassion, so much the better.
Glasser does not believe in punishments and from what I have seen of detentions, their effectiveness is extremely limited and I would like to see an alternative course of action.
I am also conscious that in my need to ‘survive’ as an untrained teacher I have used many of the ‘Seven Deadly Habits’ Glasser speaks of at times when it would have been more useful to focus on the ‘Seven Caring Habits’.
Sources
Glasser, W. Reality Therapy in the year 2000.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm" http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm
On April 3 2007
Glasser,W. School Violence from the Perspective of William Glasser. Retrieved from http://www.wglasser.com/violence.htm on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Focusing on Chemistry instead of Compassion
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm " http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm
on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Counseling with Choice Therapy.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm" http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm
On April 3 2007
Wikipedia entry on Glasser, William
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William" http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William
On April 3 2007
Glasser claims that the only significant problem people have is that of relationship and that even those diagnosed as mentally ill either have at least one very dissatisfying relationship or no relationships at all. Glasser believes that there is no such thing as mental illness but he is concerned with mental health. He believes that people chose certain behaviours, (even hallucinating, panic attacks, etc), in preference of experiencing their current life.
I have known two people who finally suicided and I always felt that they lost their power by coming to rely on drugs as a cure for what was described as ‘chemical imbalances’ in their brains. In both cases I felt that what they were being told by doctors was untrue and felt that the doctors concerned were really abusing their power by disempowering the patients and offering them drugs, which they later came to rely on.
The idea that teachers in schools can have a large impact on students through showing caring and compassion is also empowering as this is what I desire. As Glasser says, “There is no shortage of unhappy people” (Reality Therapy in the year 2000) and if I can do any thing to reduce the number by offering compassion, so much the better.
Glasser does not believe in punishments and from what I have seen of detentions, their effectiveness is extremely limited and I would like to see an alternative course of action.
I am also conscious that in my need to ‘survive’ as an untrained teacher I have used many of the ‘Seven Deadly Habits’ Glasser speaks of at times when it would have been more useful to focus on the ‘Seven Caring Habits’.
Sources
Glasser, W. Reality Therapy in the year 2000.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm" http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm
On April 3 2007
Glasser,W. School Violence from the Perspective of William Glasser. Retrieved from http://www.wglasser.com/violence.htm on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Focusing on Chemistry instead of Compassion
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm " http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm
on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Counseling with Choice Therapy.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm" http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm
On April 3 2007
Wikipedia entry on Glasser, William
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William" http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William
On April 3 2007
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