A quality of interrelating: describing a form of meaningful experience on a wilderness river journey

In this paper I identify the components of ‘meaningful experiences’ for participants on a wilderness river rafting journey. The research is phenomenologically informed, and includes interviews, journals, observations and follow-up emails from 32 participants on eight Franklin River (Tasmania) 10-day trips. It elicits individual perceptions of meaningful experiences and combines recollections to reveal the commonalities within those experiences. The research identifies two key recurrent ‘streams of experience’ that provide meaning. The two recurrent streams of experience involved, firstly, a feeling of humility and, secondly, being alive to the present. In this paper I focus on the stream of experience surrounding a feeling of humility, highlighting the qualities of the ways in which participants interrelated with their surrounding environments and the structure of such experiences. Additionally, I consider some unique elements of the wilderness river journey that contributed to the experiences that participants valued as meaningful.     

On the teaching and evaluation of experiential learning in a conventional university setting

The notion of experiential learning emphasizes the personal experience of the learner. In this article, I describe my approach to making learning a more personal experience for students on a conventional university course. I focus on modeling of behaviour and attitudes by the teacher, clear communication, attention to process, and collaboration in learning. Evaluation can be formative (to facilitate learning) or summative (for assessment). I describe a number of methods which I have used in the formative evaluation of experiential learning. In general, I try to maximize feedback to all participants (including myself) having first created an atmosphere where defences can be lowered and the feedback heard. Finally, I consider summative evaluation, which presents considerable, but not insuperable, difficulties.     

Dancing with children in the field: on the relevance of embodied knowledge and its methodological consequences

ABSTRACT

In contexts where dancing proves a relevant daily practice, dancing with children may provide an extremely interesting strategic option for education ethnographers. Drawing from my empirical material, I describe how dancing was accidentally introduced as a role in the field (dance teacher) before later becoming an unexpectedly great ethnographic tool. Through a series of different breakdowns, I found this constituted the key to gaining better access to complicated domestic fields and thereby also attaining a closer cultural intimacy with participants, getting more easily integrated into educational contexts, overcoming communication problems and issues with reluctant informants. From this methodological insight, I here reflect on the theoretical aspects involved: should we overlook practices deemed irrelevant from the school agent point of view but essential to domestic contexts, we risk reinforcing symbolic violence through research. Therefore, I conclude by stressing the importance of focusing on apparently ‘irrelevant’ forms of domestic embodied knowledge transmission.     

The student experience of undergraduate students: towards a conceptual framework

While the term ‘student experience’ is used widely in universities, it is remarkably under-developed as a construct in the academic literature. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a conceptual framework for the student experience of undergraduate students. The approach taken is to identify the key influences that shape the student experience from the perspective of students. It does this by addressing two questions: firstly, what are the key influences that shape the student experience? Secondly, how do these influences shape the student experience? To do this the paper draws from a wide range of studies that provide substantial theoretical and empirical evidence as to how students experience university. Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development, it identifies seven key sets of influences or microsystems that shape the undergraduate student experience. Then the paper considers how these influences shape students’ experiences drawing from the concepts of engagement and alienation. The paper concludes by proposing a broadly defined model for the student experience where learning and development take place as a result of meaningful interactions between the student and the key microsystems. The implications of this model for universities and for further study are also discussed.     

Post-colonial science education: the challenge of negotiating researcher positioning

In this paper, I describe a methodology that I employed, and resultant methods that I designed, to facilitate a Critical Discourse Analysis exploring perspectives on Western modern science as a school subject discipline in a given Caribbean context. Using specific themes from post-colonial theory, I sought to engage with some of the viewpoints presented by key stakeholders in secondary science education in the research setting. This paper reports on the methodological framework for the research study, illustrating some of the philosophical challenges encountered during the development of the research methods. Specifically, I discuss the tensions associated with the pursuit of researcher legitimacy, the use of ‘scientific’ methods of inquiry in a work that seeks to be decolonizing, and the challenge of stimulating conversation about a topic for which participants might not possess readily formulated opinions. My response to these challenges resulted in methods that utilized a unique adaptation of Stephenson's Q methodology. Although these tensions are far from being fully resolved, the approach outlined helps contribute to our understanding of the complexities of negotiation that can occur when conducting research of this nature.     

Promoting Social,Emotional, and Spiritual Learning in Congregational,and Day Schools

Outcomes in the inter- and intra-personal realms are central to the goals of Jewish education, yet educators often struggle to address them in a meaningful way. In this article, we describe what we learned from facilitating an online community of practice for congregational school leaders and day school educators seeking to enhance their work in promoting social, emotional, and spiritual growth. First, we provide a rationale for the importance of outcomes in these arenas. Then, we describe the intervention, which included webinars, mentoring, and an action-research component for participants. Finally, we share what we learned about (a) participants’ conceptualizations of socio-affective elements in the Jewish educational context and (b) the supports and challenges encountered by participants in enhancing the socio-affective dimension of their work.     

A personal inquiry into an experience of adult learning on-line

In this paper, I offer a reflection on mypersonal experience of networked learning usingthe approach of personal inquiry. I addressthe issue of identity and my experience ofpresenting myself on-line; my experience ofparticipating in the formation of the learninggroup; and what I describe as the `weight ofthe words', my experience of using this newmedium of communication. I follow this with atheoretical exploration which attempts tounderstand these aspects of my experience. Iargue that in the networked learningenvironment, the taken-for-granted processes ofidentity work and group formation aredisturbed. The unease provoked by this requiresgreater effort towards the establishment ofidentity and group, whilst at the same timeopening up the possibility for more fluidityand openness to the other. In my experienceas a learner, the newness and uncertainty ofthe experience compelled me towards seekingcertainty and closure. I was not able to makebest use of the opportunity for the greaterfluidity and openness offered by the networkedlearning environment. I close the paper bysuggesting how teachers may be able to supportthe conditions that would enable learners tomake best use of this opportunity. I argue thatthe learning community has to be seen asfundamentally an ethical one based onresponsibility to the other and that thisrequires the opening up of conversationsbetween learners and teachers for the sharingand negotiation of experiences and ways ofworking.     

A Lifeworld Critique of ‘Nature’ in the Taiwanese Curriculum: A perspective derived from Husserl and Merleau‐Ponty

Learning about ‘nature’ has particular significance for education because the idea of nature is an important source of inspiring meaning‐rich experience and creation. In order to have meaningful experiences in learning and living, this paper argues for a personal subject‐related lifeworld approach to the learning of ‘nature’. Many authors claim that the lifeworld‐led learning approach helps to enrich educational experience. However, there can be various interpretations of the lifeworld approach, as the concept of lifeworld is diversely understood. This paper proposes a personal, subject‐related lifeworld approach from a Husserlian‐Merleau‐Pontian perspective. I suggest that it holds great potential for improving our current curriculum which suffers from meaning‐impoverishment. This paper comprises the following parts: the elucidation of the lifeworld approach to learning, a demonstration of the flaws of current curricula by discussing and analysing the Taiwanese curriculum guidelines, and an exposition of the contribution of the Husserlian‐Merleau‐Pontian lifeworld approach towards improving our current curriculum.     

A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: current state, promise, and future directions for research

In this paper I conceptualize experiences with technology as an object of study for educational technology research and propose phenomenology as a highly suitable method for studying this construct. I begin by reviewing existing research focusing on the construct of experiences with technology and the approaches utilized for its study. To augment this literature, I explain the phenomenological concept of experience and describe its utility for understanding experiences with technology. I propose the theoretical and methodological approach of phenomenology as a framework for developing a research agenda on experiences with technology and for unifying existing lines of research in this area. To illustrate the promise of this approach and to facilitate its application, I describe a research design consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of phenomenology, including methods for collecting and analyzing data as well as ethical and validity considerations specific to this research design. I conclude by identifying several possible research directions utilizing a phenomenological approach in educational technology to incite further research in this area.     

Bibliotherapy and Teaching Jewish Texts: “Medicine for the Mind”

Bibliotherapy is an educational approach that attempts to engage learners in meaningful discussions about relevant, compelling, and complex issues that they confront in their lives. Bibliotherapy begins with reading and reflecting on stories that can draw participants into a process of reflection, in ways that are user friendly and non-threatening. This study examines the unique educational features of bibliotherapy, and then proposes a model for implementing this approach in teaching Jewish texts. In the study's final section, we describe a teaching unit that demonstrates how to introduce bibliotherapy into the teaching about death and mourning in Jewish schools.     

Linking academic knowledge and professional experience in using statistics: a design experiment for business school students

The aim of the empirical study presented in this paper is to explore how students link academic knowledge with workplace experience. I carried out a research study with a group of 36 business school students entering a 3-year masters level apprenticeship programme. In an introductory statistics course, I designed and implemented a four-step learning activity, based on an Exploratory Data Analysis approach and inspired by an authentic workplace situation. I report the findings of qualitative research based on the recorded discussions between students and the reports they wrote at each step in the experience. I found that three different forms of rationality—technical, pragmatic and scientific—led them to shape the problem differently. I observed that they hardly used statistical tools because pragmatic rationality which is linked to their experience as salespersons prevails, although access to a managerial approach suggests the use of more statistical knowledge.     

Learning with the city via enchantment: photo-walks as creative encounters

In this paper, I approach learning as a process of rethinking the world that happens via the surprising experience of “enchantment.” This process becomes possible by dwelling, that is, by forming meaningful multisensory engagements with one's surroundings. I present my arguments by discussing photo-walks that students conducted in Helsinki as part of a geography-learning project. During the photo-walks, learning happened with the spaces of hanging out. In contrast to common understandings of learning, this learning with the city is non-instrumental: it is making the familiar unfamiliar by paying attention to the particular in everyday spaces. Methods such as photography are understood as creative encounters that can help in re-cognizing the world and fostering one's ethical sensitivity.     

Taking a step back: learning without the facilitator on solo activities

The purpose of this study is to report on the nature of student learning resulting from an open facilitation approach to solo activities. Three key moments of facilitator intervention were identified at which the facilitator was encouraged to take a step back from directing the experience. They are the pre-activity brief, the mid-activity visit and the post-activity review. Findings suggest that participants' learning focused on their raised self-awareness and social relationships. Raised spiritual awareness was also identified and this was closely linked to a connection with the landscape and eco-system. Evidence was also identified for emergent learning to have occurred that is not normally identified in the solo discourse. The findings suggest that participants on solo activities do not require a facilitator to tell them what they should be learning and that they will identify for themselves outcomes that are personally meaningful and important.     

功能交际法：解决语言形式与意义相脱节

在语言教学中普遍存在着注重语言形式而忽视其形式所代表的意义的现象。其结果是学生虽然掌握了语言形式但却无法在实际交际中使用语言。针对这一问题 ,指出了目前外语教学的现状及产生这一现状的原因 ,重申了形式与意义是语言现象中不可分的两个方面 ,强调语言形式应在语言的实际应用中加以掌握。同时 ,从语言教学的角度来考虑 ,使学生掌握语言形式及其所代表的意义 ,并运用于实际交际之中 ,都是语言教学的任务 ,而要完成这一任务的最有效的教学方法是功能交际法。     

Lifting a corner of the research rug: a case for meta-interviews in qualitative studies

The degree to which knowledge can be abstracted from the situations in which it is constructed has received criticism in recent years. There is growing awareness of the importance of the interrelationship between the content of what is said and the context in which it is said. Some researchers contend that if we ignore the situated nature of cognition, we defeat our own goal of providing robust, useful knowledge. What are the implications of such a claim for the practice of educational research? More specifically, what are the implications for the conduct of interview-based studies in which researchers derive knowledge claims from participants’ responses? In this paper, we describe and illustrate the use of “meta-interviews”, a research strategy for enhancing the credibility of the claims made from analyses of interview data. This approach brings to light key contextual issues that are sometimes ‘swept under the rug’ when reporting research results.     

Using an active listening approach to consider the views of three young people on the topic of missing education

This research uses an active listening approach within a narrative inquiry methodology to consider the views of three teenage males aged 15–17 years on the topic of missing education. Missing education is a term used to describe children and young people (CYP) not receiving a suitable education or being on a school roll. The participants’ accounts were analysed using a Voice-Centred Relational Method to identify the complex interplay of systemic factors, the importance of individual experience and supportive adult–pupil relationships. The reflective accounts presented in this paper highlight implications for active and effective listening to CYP. A model was created to support the approaches educational psychologists (EPs) could use to support school staff, parents and other professionals in their work with individuals “missing education”.     

Fostering Self-Reflection and Meaningful Learning: Earth Science Professional Development for Middle School Science Teachers

This paper describes the analysis of teachers’ journal reflections during an inquiry-based professional development program. As a part of their learning experience, participants reflected on what they learned and how they learned. Progress of subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge was assessed though surveys and pre- and posttests. We found that teachers have difficulties reflecting on their learning and posing meaningful questions. The teachers who could describe how they reasoned from evidence to understand a concept had the highest learning gains. In contrast those teachers who seldom or never described learning a concept by reasoning from evidence showed the smallest learning gains. This analysis suggests that learning to reflect on one’s learning should be an integral part of teachers’ professional development experiences.     

A Professional Learning Experience for Pre‐service and In‐service Teachers and One Teacher Educator: reflections and lessons learned

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on our efforts during the 1992–93 academic school year to create a different type of teacher education experience — one based on active learning, and collegiality and mutuality. Drawing on a model for classroom‐based teacher development described by Thiessen (1992), we begin with an overview of how we worked to (a) improve the quality of learning for all participants; (b) create a supportive learning environment for all the stakeholders; (c) leant in the complex and changing situation of classroom life; (d) combine personally meaningful, educationally defensible and socially justifiable evaluation practices; and (e) engage in reflective, interactive and transformative experiences. After this we. describe tension we experienced, which resulted from a lack of shared vision among us and from our efforts to examine our own practice. We also explore how we tried to deal with the tension. We conclude with lessons learned from our experience which have led to new questions about teacher education reform.     

The Forum: Helping Students Respond Meaningfully to Poetry as well as Pass Exams

This article describes an action research investigation into overcoming a tension I have felt in my approach to teaching literature. I want to make studying literature a meaningful experience for my students. At the same time, I want to help them get good results in exams. At times these two desires seem to pull in opposite directions. I have tried to use the idea of the forum, as described by Bruner, as a way of holding these two thrusts together. This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.