Re: Teaching as improvisation

From: R Keith Sawyer (ksawyer@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Fri Jun 07 2002 - 12:48:32 PDT


Geoff pointed out that not only open discussion, but also lecture, can be
good teaching. I agree in part, and my comments on improvisationality and
emergence are more appropriately applied to more social constructivist,
discussion oriented classes.

Vygotskian and sociocultural approaches in general have emphasized
smaller, more open-ended discussion-type classes. Since I work within
this theoretical framework, I tend to think most about what makes social
constructivist/socioculturalist learning environments work better.

I think Geoff is also right to note that a person listening to a lecture
might have a "constructivist moment," the insight that constructivists
associate with true learning, and that this is a psychological form of
emergence. Whereas I have been talking more about a social form of
emergence.

R. Keith Sawyer
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~ksawyer
Washington University
Department of Education
Campus Box 1183
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
314-935-8724



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