“That’s Not Very Deleuzian”: Thoughts on interrupting the exclusionary nature of “High Theory”

In the following essay, I discuss my own uneasy and nonlinear journey from the classroom to Deleuze, describing the concepts and lines of thought that have been productive in thinking differently about teaching and teacher education. I also detail my encounters with the surprising orthodoxies of using Deleuzian/Deleuzoguattarian thought. From these, I suggest that ‘being Deleuzian’ is itself a molar line that serves as an exclusionary mechanism, working to preserve high theory for the use of only a select few. Instead, I argue for the potential of making such nonlinear thinking accessible to mainstream audiences to interrupt the linear, status quo thinking undergirding a global educational neoliberal movement.     

Jane Butler Kahle: passion,determination, and vision

In this article, I describe how Jane Butler Kahle’s intellectual curiosity, commitment to equity and her ability to use various research approaches, to establish research and networking groups comprised of scholars from diverse backgrounds, theoretical perspectives and geographic locations, to disseminate research outcomes and findings through scholarly publications, service on policy committees and mentoring of other scholars framed a career in science education that has impacted students, teachers, and researchers. Jane synergistically and tirelessly combined her research, teaching, and service to identify, challenge and reduce inequities in science education in the US and throughout the world because for her it was important that all students have access to quality science education.     

Professional Conversations and Professional Growth

A professional development program for 18 teachers was conducted over a two-year period. The participating teachers taught in intermediate schools (students aged 11–13) and secondary schools. The teachers worked collaboratively to improve their mathematics teaching, with encouragement to reflect on their practice but with minimal instruction from the researchers. Results, as defined by change in teaching practices, beliefs, and reflections, and student achievement, indicated that the collaborative program was particularly useful for experienced secondary school teachers but less useful for intermediate school teachers. We concluded that this type of professional development was most useful for teachers who had sufficient knowledge of mathematics; these teachers were able to focus on pedagogy and to draw connections between aspects of the mathematics they taught, without recourse to a specialist's advice. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.