RE: [xmca] RE: Interpretation of theory and research and changes in the practice of teaching

["White, Phillip" <Phillip.White@ucdenver.edu>]

Monica, what you write here parallels my own experience in my practices as a teacher of teachers as well as a teacher of those who wish to become teachers, and finally, as a teacher of elementary school aged children.

theories are so often sleek and clear as glass -

life, practice, teaching is messy  -  a living, highly unpredictable system replete with the unexpected and surprising, as well as bewildering and maddening, enthralling and quickening.

i do attempt to do as you do, encourage students to develop a philosophy - and though the goal is for the philosophy to be "their own" - i expect that for the brief time that they'll be with me (a year or two) that mostly they will ventriloquate a theorist that they particularly identify with (that whole issue of the intertwining of identity and emotions, intellect and experiences, body and cultural contexts which begins to constitute a person), because it takes many years of experience before a individual can really "own" a theory within their constituted "self".

i have a great passion for theories - and like Foucault, see theory as autobiography.  and like Bateson, i believe that since i'm a part of all the theories that i practice, i can never see or understand it all, simply because i am inseparable from the system.

but i think i share with you the pleasure of the exploration all the while knowing that the exploration is abundant with blunders and misapprehensions, mistakes and unexpected insights.

phillip


Phillip White, PhD
University of Colorado Denver
School of Education
phillip.white@ucdenver.edu
________________________________________
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Monica Hansen [monica.hansen@vandals.uidaho.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:38 AM
To: ablunden@mira.net; 'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'
Subject: RE: [xmca] RE: Interpretation of theory and research and changes       in      the     practice of teaching

Of course it happens, Andy! And I feel like a rebel or dissident!(No one on
this list knows my dad, do they?!) Sometimes I feel like a bad teacher.

Let me clarify on my use of *modeling* here. I don't just *teach* theories
or practices by *modeling* a lesson plan in which it is used, like a series
of menu items (I think having a personal philosophy of practice is really
important!). I am not the model. The model can be me, another class member,
a teacher in our hosting partner school, or a project which we have
attempted to design together with students). We enact models to test them.
So I encourage students to develop a philosophy--one of their own. And
often, that puts me in an uncomfortable position of having to be the
teacher/leader/boss?! and evaluate students who may not agree with me using
rubrics developed by people who also don't agree with me. We all have to
take on roles in our interactions with each other, so I guess it does have
something to do with theater! I try to present at the outset, that
historically, there are a number of theories, or methods for teaching, and
we (I include myself with the students) will attempt to enact the practice
and see how it works. A certain amount of justification is needed by all of
us: what are the values we are enacting and endorsing, what is at stake, why
it might be important, what might be the implications of our actions
(usually on reading and writing with elementary age students). It is
difficult to set up an authentic inquiry in this way-- organized (to meet
students expectation for structure and the institutions expectation of
regular evaluation)without it being really fake.

I encourage knowing the rules, rule-following, and also rule-questioning. I
try never to say one way is good and the other way is bad because I want the
students (and future teachers) to understand that it is more complex than
that. (Of course they hate that answer in reviewing for tests, because they
still want to know what the right answer is so they can get full points and
keep their scholarships).There are reasonable aspects to most teaching
practices in use (I say this gingerly--there are reasonable aspects to
practices involving knives, as well). The teaching of grammar, for example
is filled with potential daggers.I really want students to consider the
dangers when they are enacting unquestioned practices.

This all sounds really fantastic about me, but honestly, it is very
difficult to do well and I have made many mistakes and stood up in front of
many classrooms and admitted to my students that it might have gone better,
if only....It try to do that only once a semester, though ;). I don't
encourage new teachers to teach like me, because it is hard to do it well
right out of the box. I encourage them to start small, expect and admit
mistakes--and persevere.
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