xmca@weber.ucsd.edu writes: Phillip Capper wrote:
>Phillip White's suggestions are fine, but they presuppose that the
>students
>are or can be motivated to be enthusiastic, collaborative learners. In my
>days of evaluating teaching in schools I saw many examples of teachers who
>created nothing but chaos by doing exactly what Phillip suggests.
thank you, Phillip, for this caution - finding the term "motivation" an
explanatory principle more appropriate for behaviorism than CHAT, i myself
would never assume that students can be motivated. so when you read-in
that assumption, i'm glad that you disagree with it.
>
>
>What I am suggesting is that the teacher must first be able to create a
>collective object of collaborative learning.
yes, absolutely - i appreciate you taking the time to clarify and
elucidate this - as i wrote my response i considered if i were being too
brief - and being lazy took up the better part of valor.
>The practices and processes
>that Phillip suggests then form part of a portfolio of tools that create
>an
>environment which nurtures the collective object. This prerequisite
>requires
>that the teacher is able to create a zoped focused on the subject matter
>for
>the course into which the students wish to flow. Or, to put it bluntly,
>the
>teacher herself must be able to demonstrate her own passion for the
>subject,
>and also relate it meaningfully to the personal objects and aspirations of
>the students. Without that, no creative classroom practices will work.
i was so glad to see the term "passion" used - Vera has been doing work
on the affective domain which is, i believe, the most critical element in
teaching/learning - i wish that i had a larger working vocabulary to
express this.
>
>
the story about you son's academic success i liked, being that it
supports some of my beliefs about education. As he said -
> He replied 'They're very
>good with me and a few others. But for the rest the teachers and students
>reinforce each other's apathetic rituals."
and of course, in any classroom there is always resistance to
collaboration, for whatever reason.
anyway, i sure hope that this is of some help for Barb.
phillip
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