Music time? All the time!

“There seems to be so much music in your class ... they have a song for everything ... they choose music to listen to ... Those instruments I saw in your science area, did they make them?” These remarks from an observer took me back to the beginning of my teaching and the events that had led to my “musical” preschool classroom.     

Silence as borderland: a semiotic approach to the “silent” pupil in nineteenth-century vocal education

Abstract

At the heart of the nineteenth-century educational soundscape lies a paradox. Whilst “modern” classrooms generally strived for orderly silence, the goal of its educational practices was the production of competent “citizens”. Middle-class boys in particular were expected to acquire a voice fit for business, the professions, or even (political) public speech whilst quietly listening to a teacher. This silence within the educational institution has generally been understood as an element of discipline. In this paper I want to examine the paradox of the silent classroom and the speaking citizen. I will focus specifically on those instances where the clear goal of education was vocal sound (i.e. fluent speech, civilised pronunciation, and song) and look at how silence was mobilised by educators. I will argue that the silences employed in these educational practices were not (only) tools of order and discipline, but rather means to create a “borderland” where the leap between childhood and its uncivilised noises, and adulthood and its rational speech, could be made.

I will draw upon the interpretations of silence as “in between” signs as it has been developed by semioticians to analyse a corpus of sources consisting mainly of French, German, and English pedagogical literature focusing on the development of children’s voices. Reframing the place of silence in “institutionalised” education allows us to delve deeper into the specific ways in which “discipline” (re)produced and articulated dichotomies of power.     

“To See is to Know”: the Pedagogy of the Colonial Exhibition,Semarang, 1914

In this paper, which focuses on a western discourse of race within the pedagogical context, I want to draw some parallels between the “object” and the image in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century classroom and the exhibit of the contemporary museum and exhibition. I suggest that the classroom, museum and exhibition were fundamentally similar pedagogical sites in which the object and the image illustrated similar pedagogical subtexts and were located in architectural environments which were similarly complicit in delimiting the range of meaning which spectators/readers were being encouraged to extract. I emphasise this parallel by focusing on visual representations of “the Other” in the school text and exhibition in both the meteropolian and colonial context. The paper concludes that a discourse of race and cultural contestation pervaded European educational institutions in the nineteenth and early twentieth century in both the metropole and the colonial periphery.

     

A critique of neo-Hahnian outdoor education theory. Part one: Challenges to the concept of “character building”

Abstract

Within the diverse and sometimes amorphous outdoor education literature, “neo-Hahnian” (NH) approaches to adventure education are exceptional for their persistence, seeming coherence, and wide acceptance. NH approaches assume that adventure experiences “build character”, or, in modern terminology, “develop persons”, “actualise selves”, or have certain therapeutic effects associated with personal traits. In social psychological terms NH thought is “dispositional”, in that it favours explanations of behaviour in terms of consistent personal traits. In this paper I critically review NH OAE in an historical context, and draw on Ross' and Nisbett's (1991) seminal review of dispositional social psychology to argue that OAE programs do not build character, but may provide situations that elicit certain behaviours. For OAE research and theory, belief in the possibility of “character building” must be seen as a source of bias, not as a foundation. The conceptual analysis I develop provides not only a basis for critique, but also offers a way forward for OAE.     

Shifting from Sexual Orientation to Relational Orientation: A Discursive Move with Theoretical and Pedagogical Benefits

In this article, I argue that the term “sexual orientation” serves as a mechanism for preserving heteronormative hegemony, with the proposed concept of “relational orientation” encouraging a richer theoretical analysis of the factors that shape identity. The relational orientation approach establishes a more holistic representation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals by granting primacy to romantic partnering choices, as opposed to the traditional emphasis on sexual behavior alone that ultimately functions to derogate this community. Furthermore, the model invites exploration of how the dynamics of all social relationships are profoundly and divergently shaped by one's “orientation.” By promoting greater understanding, this discursive framework offers educators a valuable epistemological and pedagogical tool that has the potential to lead to significant personal and societal transformation.     

“Looking at the Real Thing”: Young men,pornography, and sexuality education

This article examines the sexually explicit comments and references to pornography in young men's answers to a survey about sexuality education. Instead of viewing these remarks as simply impertinent and therefore discountable, I argue that they offer insights into the constitution of masculine identity and an erotic deficit in sexuality education. Many of these comments make requests for the inclusion of enfleshed (female) bodies in sexuality programmes and the use of pornographic materials (i.e. videos, magazines). These responses can be seen to represent a challenge to school authority in the way they are laden with “shock” value and push at the discursive limits of “sexual respectability”. In a school environment that seeks to deny the sexual and contain student sexuality, these statements symbolise an assertion of young men's sexual agency. Young men's remarks also offer a critique of sexuality education that is de-eroticised and which denies them as positive and legitimate sexual subjects. The implications of these comments for how sexuality education might be conceptualised are considered.     

“The Subjective Necessity”

Abstract

Several recent articles on social work education have advocated for the inclusion of literature in the curriculum. The authors argue that the value of including works of literature in the social work curriculum extends beyond specific content to the reading process itself. They assert that the subjective values inherent in works of literature or film, as opposed to textbooks, can pose a necessary challenge to empirical thinking by exposing students to a diversity of narratives and narrative forms and by introducing ambiguity, critical thinking, and interpretive freedom into the classroom. An argument is made for including literature in a process of learning that is “dialogic” rather than “monologic” and that, by its practice and methodology more than its content, embodies and transmits the professional values of social work.     

To “uplift the Aborigine” or to “uphold” Aboriginal dignity and pride? Indigenous educational debates in 1960s Australia

Abstract

The 1960s in Australia was a politically turbulent time with assimilation policies being questioned by moves in various spheres, including education, to address inequality. The late 1960s also saw the emergence of activist responses to racism as well as the groundbreaking 1967 Referendum, which called for the alteration of two clauses within the Australian Constitution that discriminated against the Indigenous population. A few months after the Referendum was held, a conference called Aborigines and Education was convened at Monash University. Education was seen to be vital in addressing what was described as “profound educational disadvantage” experienced by Indigenous people. The debates that ensued show how education was imagined to be able to solve the problems Indigenous students were encountering. In this article I confine my interest to a selection of papers and examine the features of two distinctive discourses that emerge: that of “uplifting the Aborigine” and that of “upholding” Aboriginal dignity and pride. In doing this, I demonstrate how particular “race logics” were employed and contested in these debates. I argue that the insights garnered through analysis of these discourses offer opportunities for education research and practices that are in solidarity with the emancipatory goals of marginalised communities.     

Bringing about change in the classroom: strengths and weaknesses of the self-regulated learning approach—EARLI Presidential Address, 2001

In an attmpt to help both students and teachers to change their traditional roles in the classroom, educational psychologists have engaged in two types of projects. The first project can be condensed to “understanding the dynamics of self-regulated learning”. The second project can be summarized as “understanding the dynamics of powerful learning environments as a way to promote self-regulation in the classroom”. In this essay I attempt to establish the centrality of self-regulation as a theoretical assumption and a fundamental psychological construct. I argue that most current psychological models of self-regulation, and by implication the innovation programs that are based on these models, are not well focused, are incomplete, and harbor many misconceptions. I also argue that educational psychologists need to broaden the way they conceptualize the dynamics of learning contexts and find new ways to study the integrated processes that make up self-regulation in the context of the classroom. My main message is that students bring their own goals to the classroom and that these goals are the key to their adaptation system. These personal goals give meaning and organization, or in other words purpose, to a student’s adaptation processes in the classroom. Some of my comments are critical, but I do not intend to discredit the important work that has been done in this area. Rather, I want to argue that educational psychologists nee to broaden the way they conceptualize the dynamics of learning contexts and find new ways to study the integrated processes that make up self-regulation in teh context of the classroom. Doing so requires not only using a kaleidoscope of teaching methods, but also looking beyond these methods to explore the possibilities of theories that remain marginalized in educational research.     

The Empire of outrage: Topical systems at the death of Cecil the lion

ABSTRACT

This article employs the topographical metaphors of terrain and territory to examine how, upon the 2015 death of Cecil the lion at the hands of the dentist Walter Palmer, outrage was channeled into and captured by digital topoi. Digital rhetoric is organized into a topical system that is topographical, composed of not just “places” but “levels” that organize and orient rhetorical expressions into particular topoi. Users “navigate” and “move” through the channels of the digital topical system, and in the process arrive at or pass by topoi. I further argue that the digital topical system is composed of the terrain of digital spaces and the territory of global capitalism. The terrain of digital spaces shapes digital rhetoric through material affordances, cultural conventions, and the power of institutional logics. Digital rhetoric is further shaped by the macro-level territorial accretions of political and economic power in Empire. By mapping the topoi present in the case of Cecil the lion’s death, I show how scholars can better understand and articulate the ways that power ossifies into a digital topical system that shapes contemporary discourses.     

Uncomfortable pedagogy: experiential learning as an anthropological encounter in the Asia-Pacific

This paper features a discussion of how educators can channel anthropological practices towards the enhancement of experiential learning (EL) teaching methods, particularly on the topic of religion across the Asia-Pacific. I argue that our capacity to achieve curricular objectives through EL calls for an attentiveness to the affinity between the empirical challenges confronted by ethnographers, who work to create rapport between researcher and subject, and classroom teachers who seek to cultivate a conducive learning environment beyond the classroom walls. I show the pedagogical implications of the ways anthropologists have operationalized their discipline’s “critical turn” by highlighting two experiential domains: (1) through activities of “uncomfortable” stereotype self-inventory and (2) through a dialogic pedagogy that pursues meaningful learning outcomes through the “struggle” to recognize inter-cultural and religious agency among students.     

Inside the Black Box: On the Concepts “Teaching” and “Learning” and the Connections Between Them

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I discuss the concepts “teaching” and “learning” and investigate the connections between them. Starting from the perspective on teaching and learning expressed in The European Qualifications Framework (EQF), I analyse three theses on the concept of teaching: the Dewey-thesis, the Standard-thesis and the Hirst-thesis, identifying problems in the established definitions. Following Hirst, I contend that teaching is an intention, hence a potential, having learning as its possible realization. That the learning is only possible is the papers main argument, since it explains how and why (the quality of) input is vitally important in educational settings. This idea is in direct opposition to the view in the EQF. In consequence, I argue that the connection between teaching and learning is teleological as opposed to mechanical. By way of contrast, I distinguish my understanding from Ryle-like analyses of teaching as task and learning as achievement, and argue that on a teleological understanding, teaching might be considered an achievement in its own right.     

Progression in learning science balanced forces

This article is linked to the last in its intelligent concern for the purposes of activities (“play”; “building with apparatus”) that can too often become part of the “routine” of a classroom. She starts with her own sensitive observations of what children do in her own classroom and enables us to see the value of structured use of play materials. With our current concerns for science, design and technology teaching in junior and secondary schools, it is, perhaps, a timely reminder of those subjects' starting points.     

The Social Brain,Language, and Goal-Directed Collective Thinking: A Social Conception of Cognition and Its Implications for Understanding How We Think,Teach, and Learn

In recent years, researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology have proposed that the distinctive nature of human cognition is the product of our evolution as social beings; we are born with “social brains” that enable us to manage complex social relationships in ways other animals cannot. I suggest that the concept of the social brain is potentially useful for understanding the dynamic, iterative relationship between individual and collective thinking, and the role of language in mediating that relationship. However, I argue that its current conceptualization is too narrow and individualistic; the concept should be redefined to take account of the distinctive human capacity for thinking collectively. I suggest that Vygotskian sociocultural theory offers a framework for this reconceptualization, which would then enable us to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between “intermental” (collective) activity and “intramental” (individual) intellectual activity and development. I use this theoretical base to propose three explanations for the observed effects of collaborative learning on individual learning and development.     

WebCT and Its Growth as a Type II Application

Abstract

Maddux, Johnson, and Willis mentioned in 1992 some “yet-to-be-developed types” that “have the potential to be Type II software if they are used in such a way that the user is given the ability to learn in new and better ways.” The authors of this paper will frame the discussion of learning management systems (LMS) around the concept of Type I and Type II applications of computers in education. We suggest that with the new trends of interoperability within WebCT, more researchers will accept WebCT as a potential Type II application. As more interactive learning objects are developed and shared on the WebCT format, it should be easier for instructors to create and teach courses that reflect the value systems expressed in the concept of Type II learning.     

Teaching Neoliberalism,in the Context of Corporate Reform,in the Undergraduate Social Foundations Classroom

This article presents an autoethnographic and theoretical reflection on my justifications for the use of neoliberal deconstruction in the undergraduate social foundations classroom. I engage the reader in a discussion concerning the need to make neoliberal agendas, as they pertain to corporate reform in education, salient to students. Further, I argue that cognitive apprenticeship is necessary to “help students map their own dialectics into thinking about their future practice as educators.” I share the integral elements of the cognitive apprenticeship undertaken in the course: “three prongs of foundational thinking,” four key conceptual frames for neoliberal deconstruction and associated foundational readings, and two representative assignments to illustrate the type of scaffolding offered to help education students move past naïve and complacent interpretations of current corporate reforms. My reflections rely on my teaching experience, in-class observations, assessment of students' work, and overarching themes in how students' have responded to the topic.     

“Emerging” organized crime hypotheses in criminology textbooks: The case of African-American organized crime

Contemporary textbooks exhibit competing historical perspectives regarding so-called “emerging” organized crime groups. Some texts argue that organized crime committed by groups other than Sicilian/Italian-Americans is now emerging. Others hold that many of the “emerging” groups have been organizing crime for some time and that it is the research in this area that is emerging. This paper briefly examines these propositions, presenting the two groups of thought regarding African-American organized crime. The author then presents a literature review of African-American organized crime research to assist scholars and instructors attempting to better understand the competing perspectives.     

Charles Peirce’s Rhetoric and the Pedagogy of Active Learning

Abstract

Although John Dewey has had the most profound effect on education, less is known about the philosophy of education of the original founder of pragmatism, Charles Peirce Using Peirce’s theory of formal rhetoric, I try to show that Peirce’s philosophy of education, when fully understood, is aligned with Dewey’s pedagogy of experiential learning, and can provide a justification for the promotion of active learning in the classroom. Peirce’s rhetoric, as one part of his logical or semiotic theory, argues that reasoning alone is not sufficient to gain knowledge, but that it must be embedded within a community of inquiry, of a certain sort. Applying this to the classroom, I argue that we, as teachers, should endeavor to create the features of a proper community of inquiry in the classroom, one that emphasizes engagement of the students in doing research rather than passively receiving information about its results.     

Philosophy in the science classroom: How should biology teachers explain the relationship between science and religion to students?

This review explores Thomas Lessl’s “Demarcation as a classroom response to creationism: A critical examination of the National Academy of Science’s Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008).” Lessl’s work examines philosophical debates about the relationship between science and religion from the perspective of communication dynamics between science teachers and audiences skeptical about evolution. His essay raises a number of important points that might help educators craft statements that are less likely to alienate religious students and to entrench any pre-existing opposition to evolutionary science. However, in this review, I raise a number of criticisms of Lessl’s account of the problems with the approach taken by the National Academy of Science. I argue that many of the criticisms of NAS’s approach to demarcation are not well-supported, and even were they to be strong criticisms, they do not justify skepticism toward evolution or science in general. Ultimately, I argue that addressing Lessl’s concerns means creating space for more intellectually rigorous and satisfying discussions of science and religion, but this is not appropriate in a biology classroom that merely wishes to introduce evolution. Addressing these concerns requires making more space for philosophy in the curriculum.