Author: skinzie

Safety and Bravery

I found the chapter  “From Safe Places to Brave Spaces” by Arao and Clemens (2013) to be insightful and thought provoking. This chapter explores the idea that the relatively recent trend toward creating and promoting environments that are comfortable and open to all viewpoints falls short of the need to create environments that promote an openness to vulnerability, discomfort, and appropriate confrontation. While much of this resonates with me (and I see the authors’ points about the shortcomings of “safe spaces,” I also find elements of the “brave space” model to be potentially problematic as well.

One such problem is that not everyone will desire or be ready to participate in a brave space. The authors do address this issue and note that allowing participants to opt out of emotionally difficult conversations may simply allow certain harmful viewpoints to continue without being addressed as such. On the other hand, not everyone is ready to be brave, and I don’t believe that it is usually effective to attempt to force bravery on someone. Some are ready to step out of their comfort zones. Some may need to but are not yet (or maybe ever) willing to do so.

Others may be tired of being brave. In the example given of the group of resident assistants in the “One Step Forward, One Step Backward activity”, we see the resentment and pain that can come from being (or feeling) forced into a situation (yet another) that requires an unchosen confrontation with issues of privilege and discrimination. In this situation, could forced bravery even be considered as retraumatizing?

Despite some possible difficulties with the “brave space” model such as the one referenced above, I certainly do not believe that avoiding these situations and conversations is the answer.  As I initially read I began to wonder whether some type of informed consent process might be a possible solution (or at least a help) to this. Would letting the participants know that they would be challenged in certain ways and encouraged to do their best to participate despite the likelihood of discomfort allow them to engage more fully without defensiveness, retraumatization, etc.? Sure enough, the authors address this very matter stating, “By revising our framework to emphasize the need for courage rather than the illusion of safety, we better position  ourselves  to  accomplish  our  learning  goals  and  more  accurately reflect the nature of genuine dialogue regarding these challenging and controversial topics” (Arao and Clemens, 2013). They go on to note that using the language of “brave space” can help to adjust expectations and serve as an indication that preparation for difficult conversations should begin.

At this point in time, my view is that there is value in brave spaces and value in safe spaces. Maybe there is a time and a place for each, or maybe they simply each have their benefits and shortcomings no matter what the context. Regardless, the consideration of how to create better environments in which these issues can be addressed is essential and adding the idea of “brave spaces” to our vocabulary is a step in the right direction.

Reference

Arao, B., & Clemens, K. (2013). From safe spaces to brave spaces. The art of effective facilitation: Reflections from social justice educators, 135-150.

Life Without Grades

As I was reading Kohn’s (2011) article, a new insight into my own educational history came into view. I was homeschooled from Kindergarten – 12th grade and in my own experience homeschooling I was never given grades.

In describing this to others, I have explained that, “I was expected to do the work and get it right.” So I developed the belief that I should have all of the right answers for any worksheet, assignment, or test that I encountered. When I read a chapter, I felt I should know all of it when I was done. A “passing grade” (though that was not a concept in my mind at the time) was 100%.

Once I reached college and found myself retaining the idea that 100% was the only acceptable grade on tests, quizzes, papers, and other assignments (I was always disappointed when I got a 94 or even 98 on things) I assumed that this was a wrong viewpoint that I had developed based on previous experiences and assumed that I needed to readjust my standards to the “correct” ones that I was doing well if I got an “A” on whatever grading scale we were using (rather than 100%) and that, really, even a “C” should be fine with me, since that was said to be “average” (and who did I think I was to assume I was above average among college students?).

As I read this article it slowly dawned on me that rather than simply having a misunderstanding of grading scales and expectations, I had developed an entirely different view of learning than is perpetuated by environments focused on grades. I had developed habits of learning just to learn. There wasn’t a grade coming at the end. There wasn’t “enough” learning or retention to pass a class. I just did educational activities and learned things. AHA!! Until this moment I had no idea that I had been a living experiment (though not necessarily an intentional experiment) in how students respond to educational opportunities when grades aren’t involved.

This new realization from my own history and experiences has been helpful in continuing to shape my views on education and learning. In the past I had thought, “There’s no way that students would be motivated to learn if there were no formal assessment measures.” I am so appreciative of the realization that I have a lifetime of personal evidence to the contrary. While I still do not lean strongly one direction or the other on whether or not we should continue using grades in formal education, I am thankful to have a new perspective on my own educational experiences and how they have been impacted at various levels of education by grades (or a lack thereof), which has subsequently impacted my later experiences with learning as well.

Reference

Kohn, A. (2011). The case against grades. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 28-33.

Mindfulness and Learning

Ellen Langer, in her book The Power of Mindful Learning (1997), talks about the importance of teaching conditionally (or mindfully) rather than in ways that encourage concrete thinking and rote memorization. She gives numerous fascinating examples of individuals being taught new information in either a conditional (mindful) manner or in mindless, memorization-focused way. These experiments indicate that, when taught mindfully, people are equally likely to recall the information given and are more likely to be able to apply the information in situations that require adaptation, flexibility, and creative thinking. Additionally, it was found that individuals taught using mindful techniques reported a greater level of enjoyment. Many of the studies involve telling the individuals that there are alternate ways of viewing the material or including wording changes such as adding “may” before stating a piece of information. I find it truly remarkable that simply telling individuals to be flexible in their thinking leads to them being flexible in their thinking.

That the students did similarly well (regardless of mindful or mindless teaching approaches) in the factual retention of information on the portion of the test aimed at assessing concrete, direct knowledge of the material offers an explanation of why we have for so long and continue to teach these ways. Also, at first glance I believe it also seems more logical to assume that when we teach students facts as though they are concrete and unchangeable it would lead to more clear and solid retention of those facts rather than wording the information in a way that makes it sound like it is only a possibility or only occasionally true. Langer’s (1997) research indicates that this not seem to be the case. Further, this should bring us to take a closer look at how often any particular fact actually is true in all situations.

As I continue to form and reform my own views on pedagogy, I am reassured by the acknowledgment that traditional (or “mindless”) ways of teaching seem to remain at least moderately effective for retention of concrete facts. This makes it easier for me to accept that there may certainly be more effective ways of teaching that encourage adaption and application of these same facts.

Reference

Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning. Hachette UK.

Frustration, Meaning, and Perseverance

In the introduction to his book, “What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy,” James Paul Gee states that “learning is or should be both frustrating and life enhancing” (2003, p.6).

This idea resonates deeply with me and brings up related questions I have pondered through my life, such as, “Can there be true greatness without pain and struggle?” and “Don’t the things that have the most meaning in our lives come from or via difficulty?”

I do believe we need to consider what we mean when we mean when we use this word “frustration”. Obviously, busy work can be frustrating and working on tasks that are not possible to achieve is frustrating. My initial thought was that these are not the types of frustration that we are talking about. Doesn’t the frustration we reference have more of a feel of inspiration and greatness in it? But as I continue to think about the examples of “busy work” and “impossible tasks” that I just mentioned, I begin to realize that this might be exactly how truly great struggles feel at the time. Tasks that require our best work and most perseverance may at the time feel impossible and require multiple attempts. Work that seems mundane, repetitive, and initially meaningless may be what is required for great breakthroughs.

I am still conflicted about whether it is possible to always turn learning into what feels like a game or a fun challenge that draws us in to working on a task without realizing we are doing so. While I certainly believe there are serendipitous instances that this can be achieved, I worry that this may not be the best preparation for some of the realities of life. We may not often have employers who seek to make our work responsibilities feel like a game (or even an enjoyable challenge). Some may, or we may be able to simulate this experience for ourselves in some ways, but in other instances I believe we may simply have to slog through our responsibilities with perseverance and a good attitude. Certainly one can argue that if we are doing something that we love that it will not feel like a chore, but some of us may not be in a situation in which we are able to do what we love as a living. Even if we are in that fortunate position, we will encounter elements of our jobs that are more “frustrating,” boring, or simply not to our liking, but still need to be done.

With these thoughts in mind, I believe that the challenge for us as students, teachers, and employees, and employers is to find the meaning and life enhancing qualities behind the work and learning we are doing. This awareness of meaning is a significant motivator to persevere even when things are not enjoyable. Gee summarizes this idea perfectly by saying “The key is finding ways to make hard things life enhancing so that people keep going and don’t fall back on learning and thinking on what is only simple and easy” (2003, p.6).

I recognize that I am struggling right now to meld the ideas from many of our readings and videos in this class thus far with other values that I hold (when the two may not end up being in conflict at all). I would welcome thoughts on how to incorporate the idea of creating more engaging opportunities for learning with the benefit of teaching/learning the character traits of perseverance and hard work even when one encounters tasks that are not enjoyable.

Reference

Gee, James Paul. 2003. What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

New Ways of Looking at Learning

I recently watched a TedX talk on YouTube called “What Baby George Taught Me About Learning” (Wesch, 2016) as part of a cross-disciplines class I am taking about pedagogy. Pedagogy is an area that I only began to pay significant attention to recently and in which I am still forming my own foundational views. I found the video emotionally engaging and was encouraged by the speaker’s emphasis on asking and addressing such questions as “Who am I?”, “What am I going to do?”, “Am I going to make it?”, and how to “build a life worth living”. These are all questions that are also found and emphasized in my own discipline, counseling.

The class discussion that corresponded with the assignment of this video brought up some interesting ideas regarding learning and how we measure, and even police, that learning. We have found plentiful ways of keeping students accountable for what they are doing in their classes, but we may have lost some of the focus on growing, transforming, and becoming. As I am forming my perspective on pedagogy, I am increasingly coming to believe that these are an essential part of true learning.

I do, however, continue to feel conflicted on the topic. My personality tends toward structure, rule following, and the concrete. On the other hand my field (counseling) tends to place a much greater emphasis on growth, development, and “being” rather than doing. My hope is that these conflicting pulls in me will contribute to the development of a healthy and balanced view of learning that I am able to apply in the real world.

Reference

Wesch, Michael. (2016, April 15). What Baby George Taught Me About Learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7dbl0rJS0&feature=youtu.be