Reply to James Muir

A kind of ‘neo‐Aristotelianism’ that connects educational reasoning and reflection to phronesis, and education itself to praxis, has gained considerable following in recent educational discourse. The author identifies four cardinal claims of this phronesis‐praxis perspective: that a) Aristotle's epistemology and methodology imply a stance that is essentially, with regard to practical philosophy, anti‐method and anti‐theory; b) ‘producing’, under the rubric of techné, as opposed to ‘acting’ under the rubric of phronesis, is an unproblematically codifiable process; c) phronesis must be given a particularist interpretation; and d) teaching is best understood as praxis in the Aristotelian sense, guided by phronesis. The author argues that these claims have insufficient grounding in Aristotle's own writings, and that none of them stands up to scrutiny.     

论亚里士多德德性的实践理性

论述了亚里士多德理论中的德性与实践。亚里士多德将实践的逻各斯称为明智。明智不仅是实现行动目标的手段,而且间接地影响着行动目标的抉择。在亚里士多德的德性学说中,感情和实践一样在人们获得德性的过程中扮演着重要的作用。实践和感情都是存在着过度、适度和不及的连续体。过度和不及都是应当回避的恶,适度是应当追求的德性。     

What is Excellence in Practice? Empirical Explorations of Vocational Bildung and Practical Wisdom through Case Narratives

The approach of vocational Bildung didactics has been developed to investigate practical knowledge in matters of education for Bildung and phronesis (practical wisdom). Case narratives of unusual richness or success are at the core of the approach, each case representing an articulation of someone’s practical knowledge. The concept of a practice as developed by MacIntyre is introduced here as a way of situating the practical knowledge of Bildung and phronesis gained from case narratives. A series of case studies are discussed to examine the practices that surfaced. The result is a differentiation of MacIntyre’s concept in two directions: one more specific called vocational practice and one more general called a cultural practice. This differentiation is then applied to the case studies and it is argued that it helps illuminate aspects of them that previously were difficult to comprehend within the framework of vocational Bildung didactics. The conclusion is that biographical cases where cultural and vocational practices intersect are uniquely positioned to afford knowledge of how such intersections have been achieved through education and what they have meant for the person initiated into such matrixes. This, in turn, contributes to the insight with which we are able to design vocational education and training curricula that support initiation into dynamic vocational practices with a focus on the goods and virtues possible to develop through them.     

Reviving the ancient virtues in the scholarship of teaching,with a slight critical twist

This conceptual study argues that the scholarship of teaching is not just an evidence-based but also a virtues-based practice. To this end, it pursues two interrelated objectives. First, it seeks to show that the scholarship of teaching is supported by the intellectual virtues of ‘episteme’ (theoretical knowledge), ‘techne’ (productive knowledge) and ‘phronesis’ (practical knowledge). These three intellectual virtues stand in a particular relationship to one another and phronesis assumes a vital mediating function infusing the scholarship of teaching with the practical wisdom required in concrete situations. Phronesis, particularly a critically inspired phronesis, also enables the proper development and enactment of moral virtues, especially truthfulness, justice and courage, without which the standards associated with scholarship could not be upheld. It is further argued that the scholarship of teaching is usefully enriched by recognising two different versions of evidence-based practice: one is concerned with the evidence of instrumental effectiveness between strategies and outcomes; the other with evidence of the internal consistency between strategies and desired outcomes. It is proposed that analysing the scholarship of teaching through the lens of virtue helps appreciate what kind of a practice the scholarship of teaching is and the challenges involved in engaging with it well.     

The place of practical wisdom in science education: what can be learned from Aristotelian ethics and a virtue-based theory of knowledge

This conceptual paper aims to characterize science teachers’ practical knowledge utilizing a virtue-based theory of knowledge and the Aristotelian notion of phronesis/practical wisdom. The article argues that a greater understanding of the concept of phronesis and its relevance to science education would enrich our understandings of teacher knowledge, its development, and consequently models of teacher education. Views of teacher knowledge presented in this paper are informed by philosophical literature that questions normative views of knowledge and argues for a virtue-based epistemology rather than a belief-based one. The paper first outlines general features of phronesis/practical wisdom. Later, a virtue-based view of knowledge is described. A virtue-based view binds knowledge with moral concepts and suggests that knowledge development is motivated by intellectual virtues such as intellectual sobriety, perseverance, fairness, and humility. A virtue-based theory of knowledge gives prominence to the virtue of phronesis/practical wisdom, whose primary function is to mediate among virtues and theoretical knowledge into a line of action that serves human goods. The role of phronesis and its relevance to teaching science are explained accordingly. I also discuss differences among various characterizations of practical knowledge in science education and a virtue-based characterization. Finally, implications and further questions for teacher education are presented.     

Building effectiveness in teaching through targeted evaluation and response: connecting evaluation to teaching improvement in higher education

This paper describes the development of a model for integrating student evaluation of teaching results with academic development opportunities, in new ways that take into account theoretical and practical developments in both fields. The model is described in terms of five phases or components: (1) the basic student evaluation system; (2) an interpretive guidance system that helps lecturers understand and interpret their results; (3) a longitudinal reporting system that initiates opportunities for staff to engage in personal and professional development in the context of a learning community; (4) a structured professional development programme that builds a faculty learning community, in which the members utilise extended cycles of evaluation based on (5) a comprehensive evaluation model designed to develop and encourage the collection of evaluation data from a variety of sources concerning the quality and impact of teaching: the teacher; student learning outcomes; student experience; and the teacher’s peers.     

论维柯的诗性创造观

维柯通过对神话与原始人类的考察,认为想象力是创造之眼,原初人的创造是由“共同意识”决定的。这种创造观将诗性置于人类文化创造之本,并强调一种实践智慧,从而为西方思想文化的反思提供了重要的理论资源。     

An account of practice: employing drawings and stories to enable reflective learning

Facilitating reflection for personal growth in a business context requires careful thought and planning. As a learning process, Business-Driven Action Learning (BDAL) has two points of focus. It aims to firstly identify and make recommendations regarding a business challenge, whist secondly facilitating potentially significant individual personal learning and growth. The research reported in this account of practice focused on personal learning by exploring the potential for individuals to experience transformative learning during a BDAL process. During the research I used a number of methods including hand-drawn images and in-depth interviews to enable the writing of interpretive stories. Findings revealed that participants found reflection during and after the BDAL beneficial. They gained insights into what they learnt, what changed since the BDAL experience and also what they still need to focus on. The findings have practical implications for the action learning facilitator of BDAL during management development programmes. One of the ways action learning facilitators can initiate the reflection process of new participants is to share the experience of previous participants. ‘Sandy’s interpretive story’, contained in this article, is such an example and includes hand-drawn images of her learning journey. I argue that the use of interpretative stories helps new participants understand programme challenges and stimulates their individual learning journey.     

论写作流程中的双重转化机制

在写作流程中,“物”转化为“意”,“意”转化为“文”,是一条重要的写作心理规律。双重转化机制是靠观察力、记忆力、联想力、想象力和逻辑思维能力等智力因素高度集中、互相配合、高速运作完成的。情感、赏识、需要、审美是双重转化机制的主要力源。感受、摄取、运思、表述和反馈是双重转化机制中几个值得注意的重要环节。     

语文审美能力的培养

培养中学生的语审美能力，是中学语教学一个非常重要的课题。因此，语教师在讲授学作品时，要注意使用优美的语言精心设计导语，创设审美意境；要注意发展学生的形象思维，让学生通过丰富的想象，发现作品中的美；要注意引导学生利用创造性思维，体味作品中美的内涵。这样，就能不断提高学生的鉴赏能力，从而达到比较高的审美层次和境界。     

Imagining the Imaginative: An Analysis and Its Implications for Arts Education

Artistic activities are frequently touted as being imaginative or valuable in helping develop the imagination of students. However, it is not always clear what is meant by the imagination. Is the imagination a faculty of the mind? Do some people have it while others do not? Is it something that can be developed? Or is having an imagination having the ability to conceive of ideas in a certain way? If having an imagination is an ability to conceptualize in a certain manner, can educators provide experiences which foster this ability? How does this ability differ from creative ability or the ability to fantasize? These questions, among others, must be dealt with if we are to come to an understanding of what we mean by the concept of imagination. Having a clearer understanding of what we mean by the imagination still leaves unanswered questions concerning why we should want to be imaginative and why being imaginative is important for arts education. These are the questions to be addressed in the following paper.     

The Role of Values in Promoting Physical Activity

Despite the proliferation of theory-based behavior-change programs to promote physical activity, obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise. Given the notable ineffective interventions, it is important to examine why these efforts have been largely unsuccessful and to consider potential alternatives. The purpose of this article is to consider the role of values in understanding decisions about physical activity and to outline a more appropriate framework for investigating them. Aristotle originally proposed that human behavior may be better understood in terms of phronesis (practical reasoning), aimed at realizing valued goals rather than as the product of antecedent causal determinants. Instead of relying exclusively on scientific methodologies, a more comprehensive approach to study physical activity participation would also incorporate analytical processes used in the humanities, especially with respect to conceptualizing the role of values in guiding human behavior. Therefore, revising and expanding the research, teaching, and practice conducted in physical activity education are recommended.     

CHARACTER IN TEACHING

ABSTRACT:  Qualities of personal character would appear to play a significant role in the professional conduct of teachers. It is often said that we remember teachers as much for the kinds of people they were than for anything they may have taught us, and some kinds of professional expertise may best be understood as qualities of character. After (roughly) distinguishing qualities of character from those of personality, the present paper draws on the resources of virtue ethics to try to make sense of the former. In the course of this, it is argued that while the key virtue ethical concept of phronesis or practical wisdom has been widely deployed to account for aspects of professional teacher expertise, it has also been subject to rather un-Aristotelian interpretation as a kind of situation-specific productive reasoning. The present paper seeks to show that it is better employed for understanding character in general and character in teaching in particular. The paper concludes with some observations about the professional education or cultivation of character.     

Prototypes,metaphors, metonymies and imaginative rationality in high school mathematics

The growing recognition that imagination, far from being a peripheral adjunct plays a central role in reasoning has important implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics. This paper has two main parts. In the first part, examples from high school case studies are used to illustrate prototypical mathematical images and the use of imagery in metaphoric and metonymic ways in mathematics. In the second part, pattern imagery and other types of imagery are discussed as central components in a model of mathematical reasoning. It is suggested that different forms of imagery may be used in ways that make abstraction and generalization possible in mathematics. The more abstract forms are idiosyncratically constructed by individuals. However, it is suggested that the activity of the imagination in the model presented here is central to meaning-making, and that the process makes shared meanings possible. Some social consequences for mathematics classrooms are explored briefly.This paper is a modified version of a presentation at the Fifth International Conference on Theory of Mathematics Education, Paderno del Grappa, Italy, June 20–27, 1991. The research described was undertaken for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, England, and was supported in part by grants from The Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, and the Overseas Research Student Fund of the United Kingdom. The author wishes to thank several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft.     

Improving teaching and learning in engineering education through a continuous assessment process

This paper presents the effects of a continuous assessment process on mechanical engineering education at Kuwait University. This process has been in place for the last five academic years and is producing results. Efforts to educate faculty and students about the process are beginning to produce accurate and consistent measurements of student learning. Although another assessment cycle is needed to make a better judgement, there is evidence that assessment is effective in improving teaching and learning in the programme. There is also an increased constituent awareness of the utility of assessment, which helps in instilling an institutional culture and therefore assuring a sustainable process.     

新形势下主体道德实践智慧研究

当今时代,中西方道德并存,传统、现代与未来道德并存,人们存在深刻的道德实践困惑,为此关注新形势下主体道德实践智慧是时代的必然。道德实践智慧以道德归因、判断与情感为基础,以道德行为方式为归宿。借鉴中西方文明成果,新形势下主体道德实践智慧需要有助于人的发展困境与现代德育困境的超越,需要结合新时期科学发展观的要求,需要有解决个体自助与互助、竞争与合作、识别与选择的现实性问题。     

美军院校伦理观教育的“实践智慧”内核及其启示

发端于西方古典伦理学思想的“实践智慧”命题是美军院校伦理观教育的理论内核。正义行为的塑造需要以伦理德性和实践智慧两者的共同作用为前提,军人性格养成是达成实践智慧的必要修身之道,对职业生涯中的伦理道德选择给予有效指导则是实践智慧的现实意义所在。美国军事院校在着眼于价值观培育的同时,更注重伦理价值的实践指导功能。我军院校应坚持理论教育与实践指导并重的原则,构建“知行合一”的思想教育体系。     

Virtue through Challenge: Moral Development and Self‐transformation

In this article, I argue that although the Aristotelian ideal of leading a virtuous life for its own sake is admirable, conventional Aristotelian and neo‐Aristotelian accounts of how it might be realised are empirically inadequate: Habituation is unlikely to produce ‘a love of virtue’, practical experience cannot then produce practical judgement or phronesis, and Aristotle's conception of a virtuous life excludes all but an idealised elite. Instead, I argue that two conceptually distinct aspects of moral development can be identified: the ‘Aristotelian’ and the ‘Humean’. In the former, the desire to lead a virtuous life for its own sake is produced through certain forms of challenging experience which, by disturbing and decentring the egoistic self, evoke a personal moral transformation. In the latter, the capacity to act well in specific social situations is the outcome of a process of socialisation, first in upbringing and later through initiation into the practices of adult life. Both aspects should be promoted in moral education for together they produce something akin to full virtue in the Aristotelian sense: Practical wisdom and practical judgement—or phronesis. Moreover, ‘the good life’ is best conceived as encompassing a variety of transcendent goods. To live a virtuous life for its own sake constitutes one good or form of human flourishing; but it is not the only one.     

Model-based reasoning in a year 10 classroom

Studies have shown that secondary school students experience difficulties making scientific models meaningful, yet explanatory models are central to the development of scientific understanding. This study investigated the extent and nature of students' model-based reasoning in a laboratory investigation. It was an interpretive study involving a single Year 10 Science class investigating the influence of six factors on electrical resistance. Before commencing their practical investigations students were re-familiarised with the “electron drift” model of metals. Data sources included videotapes of classroom interactions, audiotaped interviews with students, student workbooks showing their experimental procedures and results, and explanations of those results. The research suggests that spontaneous use of the model in explanations increased over the duration of the task but that the explanations were restricted mainly to model-based reasoning with lower order relational mapping. Even after further formal instruction on the model after the initial experimental investigations, many students were still unable to use the model effectively, displaying mainly the same level of reasoning. As model-based reasoning is an important part of learning some aspects of science, it is imperative that science educators take appropriate steps to facilitate the development of such reasoning in appropriate contexts.