Re: Authenticity in education
Charles Bazerman (bazerman who-is-at humanitas.ucsb.edu)
Fri, 21 May 1999 09:59:34 -0700 (PDT)
Joseph Petraglia's REALITY BY DESIGN: The Rhetoric and Technology of
Authenticity in Education (Erlbaum, 1998) provides a challenging
discussion of these issues. He argues that constructivist educational
thinking generally does not think through the social constructionist
consequences of their largely cognitive approach. Although we may agree
that we are material creatures living in a material world, who is to
determine whose take on reality is and ought to be motivating and
persuasive to students. Nor can we be sure that a totally student
constructed learning path will lead the student to the version of reality
we would like them to have which implicate the learning of what we
perceive as socially useful tools for action. Petraglia finds the
solution in rhetoric, creating persuasive learning environments, that the
students will find real and authentic and motivating.
Chuck
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