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The question of what role should digital technologies play in pedagogy resulted in a wave of wonderful/thoughtful commentaries last week during class discussion. As the reading assignments for this week suggest, the subject is still relevant. I want to jot a few thoughts:

It seems to me that what is sounding the alarms is not the dizzying rate at which our modern relationship with information is evolving. It is the side effects that are consequential : Students — in the broadest meaning of the term, all who aspire to learn, but specifically learners of the younger generation — spend less time and effort in recognizing and utilizing human-interaction a learning tool.

For the first generation fully immersed in technology, having access to unlimited information through an electronic device, strengthens the enlightenment notion that knowledge, much like a commodity, can be acquired from an all-knowing all-powerful source. This is in contrast with a more relativistic view that knowledge is multitude, constructed often through team-work and collaboration.

 

ideas to add to this post:

Identifying Fake News, critical thinking

KidsInsight

peril due to lack of understanding of the impact of the … information on even adults. Our picture is nit clear, yet we have to start setting the rules for the children

 

 

 

 Yes, the digital revolution that was supposed to transform our intellectual lives, through constructing a public global square for sharing ideas and facilitating dissemination of information, did actually happen. But the changes it brought about were, to say the least, underwhelming.

And Reading through one of this week’s readings (Tim Hitchcock’s 2014 blog post), I sense a great deal of optimism in the passionate calls of the academic for better use of web technologies and social media. Being in 2017, it is obvious to me that the transformation has not taken place. The “American scholar” is still struggling to find its broader audience while the masses vehemently reject “taking life advice from Elites.”

While I am being deliberately cynical here to make a point , It is only fair to point out some of the positive changes: MOOCs have indeed democratized access to some levels of higher education. Open text-books are finding their place, although their growth is disproportional in STEM fields and the open-access frameworks allows free of charge access to academic research.

Nonetheless, our diminishing attention spans and the changes in our information consumption habits (from text to audio to visual content) is in direct contrast with blogging. It is also true that I prefer long-form content over fast-food style provocation-delivery services of tweeter. A successful contrasting example that comes to my mind is Vlogging. It is a form of content making that allows engagement with all sensory abilities. (some examples: + , + , +). And many video sharing platforms such as Youtube support discussion groups. It is still an open question where comprehensive, meaningful and constructive conversation can taking place online.

I  will be blogging here about topics in contemporary pedagogy.

 

I want to end this year’s blogging with an upbeat post. We have been learning about the diversity and inclusion in academia. In class, and throughout the semester our tools were studies, research, and  what in general we consider a positivist approach to these issues. What we have been oblivion to, in my opinion, is the powerful potential of artistic expression as an advocate of social justice, equality and inclusion.

In this sense, art does not only benefits the Audience  it also has a profound impact on the Artist itself –  through expression and empathy. The diverse and numerous mediums of art have to potential to attract a much wider range of audience than academcis. When all other languages fail to convey, art speaks the loudest!

This fact has been recognized by the artistic community. The prominent photography community, Magnum foundation vocally advocates it:

Magnum Foundation’s Photography and Social Justice Program expands diversity and creativity in the field of documentary photography through capacity-building and critical explorations of photography and social change.

In the following, I want to share with you just a small example of the artists I can think of, all working in different areas, that are advocating social justice and diversity in their are. The list is by no means exhaustive ?

 

• Music:  Nina Simon
• Street Art : Banksy 
• Stand-up comedy Whoopi Goldburg
• Modern art : Ai Weiwei
• Literature : Harper Lee, Sherman Alexie
• Cinema and Theatre:  Charlie Chaplin, Spike Lee
• Sculpture and fine arts : Peter O’Shae,

The discussion in class about the AI robot granted Saudi citizenship was interesting and thought-provoking. The general census was that given the rapid technological advance of artificial intelligence, we gave to be self-aware of a number of cultural side effects it might bring with it, the most terrifying of them: racist robots.  I want to wight in on this. The racist robots are not coming, they are already here.

Take for example this investigation about the racial bias in the algorithm used to assess criminal risk assessment of first time offenders used by department of justice. Or the program used to assign prisons to convicts. The bias against race and gender in image recognition algorithms are extensively documented.

Obviously, this is not a programming issue. The bias in the data that is used to train these algorithms re-creates the implicit (and sometimes explicit) discriminatory bias in our society. The engineering field needs to take action, not against racist algorithms ( because they are not the problem but the symptom), but rather, the scientific community needs to reflect and expand the very young “ethical computing” field.  Instead of gathering and storing massive amount of raw data, blindly applying machine learning algorithms to every task that used be a human’s job, we need to invest more in thinking about how imperfect traits of our social life find their way into the digital realm and culminate in creation of ethically  un-sanctioned automatons. We need to think about equal-representation in computer science.

 

Since my arrival at Tech, I have experienced more learning and exposure to new ideas than perhaps I have in my entire education to date. I came here primarily for two reasons: the first, because I was interested the Landscape Architecture program because I could pursue an Architecture & Design Research PhD (1 of 5 offered in the U.S.) and second, because the Graduate School offered a Transformative Graduate Education Experience that was promised to  be unlike anything I had encountered before.  So far, I have not been disappointed.

Over the past semester, I have tried to absorb as much as I could from Contemporary Pedagogy–from the instructor, the GTAs, our assignments, and my peers. One of the things I like best about courses like this from the Graduate School is that I am enrolled alongside scholars from disciplines all over the university, which provides the course with rich diversity, methods, and experience. I am here because I am passionate about education and because I want to make a difference in the world. Over the years, there have been teachers in my life that have inspired me, challenged me, and helped me grow as a scholar and an individual–and I want to be like them. It has been my goal to enter higher education and participate in the system that saved me from squandering my own potential.  Equipped with new ideas and techniques for teaching and learning, I am well on my way to becoming the face of the future professoriate.

After my time in Contemporary Pedagogy, I have a few ideas I’d like to share. A takeaway message for anyone who might be curious about taking a leap into the Graduate School offerings.

First, understand that teaching ≠ lecture. 

Granted, there is a time and a place for lecture, but we can’t expect to really push our students to learn how to apply course content if we treat students in class as dumping receptacles for Power Point slides. As educators, we need to think about how we present content and what that means for student learning. If we know that students learn better by doing, then why do we wait until their internship-semester or post-graduation for them to get any practical experience?

I took a course this semester that consisted of a blend of lecturing and workshops. Prior to each class, the students were expected to read the material so they could come to class engaged, and then the professor proceeded to lecture from Power Point slides the entire time, save when he would pause to ask if anyone had questions. After we had gotten into the material a bit, we started having workshops at least once per week where we would be given a packet that detailed what the workshop was about and then we would break off in to groups to work on completing the assignment. These workshops involved working through the same problems that practitioners, planners, and policy makers have to in order to make their decisions. Homeworks in this class were usually only a few questions long, but involved several steps and often required us to apply what we learned in the workshop. At first, I was pretty disappointed with this class because I thought we were going to spend 1.5 hrs twice a week being read to off of Power Point, but in the end, we did learn skills that can be applied in the work force immediately.

Understand when Contemporary Methods are Appropriate

Sure, there has been great backlash against the traditional lecture model in recent years, but it still does have its place in academia. As educators, we should be thinking about alternative ways of instruction to help students get the most out of their learning experiences. Between the Face-to-Face vs Online or Hybrid Classroom Design, Flipped Classrooms, Think-Pair-Share, Networked Learning, Problem Based Learning, Case Studies, Jig-Saw, and Learning by Doing (to name a few) there are many ways to engage a classroom. I would encourage educators to try new methods and to not be discouraged if they don’t work at first.  Conversely, there may be times when it is not appropriate to utilize one of these methods; maybe there are cases where a traditional lecture fits the lesson best.

Spend time designing your Syllabus

Instead of letting it serve as general catchall for class policy and a calendar listing the course objectives throughout the semester, why not let it be a tool to help improve your teaching? If worded well, it can be used to set the tone of for your class and help your students understand what your expectations are. The syllabus also provides an opportunity to introduce your students to your philosophy and pedagogy.

It can serve as a framework for everything you do in your classroom throughout the semester–whether it is 2 pages or 12 pages long, as long as it is thoughtfully crafted, it has the potential to be very powerful.

Think about your role as the Teacher

Coming up, I thought teachers knew everything. Pursuing my own education has revealed that in fact, teachers don’t know everything, and good teachers acknowledge that they don’t, but they know how to ask questions and where to look for answers.  The best teachers are understanding, have empathy, are open to new possibilities, and have the ability to see where their students have shortcomings and adapt their teaching methods. They treat their students equitably and take care to tailor instruction or approach to meet the needs of each student.

In the class this semester, we have thought long and hard about what it means to be a teacher. We have been shown methods that help us to be more like a facilitator, coach, or guide, than the all-knowing fixture at the front of the classroom that most of us might identify as teacher. Recognizing that we are also learners in the classroom is a first step towards a new kind of teaching and learning experience. Being able to admit freely when you don’t know something is an indicator of strength; it shows students that there is no perfect knowledge, that we all have room to grow.

Innovation Might Require Discomfort

In the real world, we work on project teams composed of different personalities, experts, and people that might have different goals altogether. Learning how to work with others, to reach a compromise, to reach consensus, and to gracefully disagree and engage in discussion is the mark of a mature thinker. We know that learning is not always the most comfortable activity a person can engage in, but that discomfort helps us to see our weaknesses and where we could do better.

It’s true, there might be a truly remarkable thinker and scholar out there who can develop their own ideas without the help of others–but I find it hard to believe that this is the case the majority of the time.

I believe it is important to recognize that it is rare for a single person to strike gold on a perfect new idea all by themselves–that successful design comes through collaboration and exposure to others. The problems of today are sticky and complex; they require a multi-pronged approach that considers expert areas across several disciplines.

So it may not be easy to be an innovator, but it’s well worth the effort. We grow as human beings from moments of discomfort and we shouldn’t shy away from engaging in tough exercises of critical thinking.

 

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So what of the future?

If there was something I could share with my future students, it would be this: learning with me will provide an experience unlike any other you have ever had before. A class with me will be so much more than a semester full of lectures paired with the expectation that you take notes, a midterm, a final, a project, and BAM! You earn a grade. You’re done. A class with me will be a fuzzy blend of what you expect based on past experience and what you will be exposed to in an innovative, exciting learning environment.

A class with me wouldn’t be fulfilling its purpose if it wasn’t helping you learn how to think. What kind of information or data do you need to get your hands on to begin to address the the problem? Where do you find this information? Once you have it, how will you use it? These are all questions I will ask you to think about and answer for yourselves. And you will be required to think–which can be a little uncomfortable if you have not had much practice doing this in school.

I don’t want to put down your educational experience to date; on the contrary, I applaud your resilience and determination to continue your education. Your life experience has helped make you who you are and there is no doubt that you have had many many valuable learning experiences in both contemporary and traditional classrooms.

I recognize that I am not a fully formed person yet. I don’t know everything. But, I’m curious and as a lifelong learner, I am cognizant that there will always be things that I don’t know–and yet, much that I do! In my classroom, we are learning together. I rely on the fresh eyes of my students to help me continuously reevaluate whether my approaches and/or courses are providing skills that are useful.

Everyone has had a different background and experience, and thus, each individual in the classroom has a unique set of skills and qualities they bring with them. I’m here to hear your story, I’m here to help you achieve your goals.

I want my students to embrace learning with a positive attitude. I expect my students to try, to explore new ideas, and to never forget that failure does not mean that learning is over. Give yourself permission to walk your own path and you will be successful.

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Featured Image from Pixabay

UNHCR’s reports that refugee children are about five times more likely to be out of school than the global average. About 50 per cent of refugee children attend primary school, compared with the global average at 90 per cent. At higher levels of education the gap is larger:  Only 22 per cent of refugee adolescents have access to secondary school whereas the global average is 84 per cent. Finally At university level, less than one per cent of refugees attend college, compared to 34 per cent at global level.  Watch the infographic video below :

 

I was reminded of the disparity in refugee children’s education in class today, when there was discussion about how refugees ( adult and children) are facing a steep learning curve, having to deal with learning a new language, adjusting with the host environment while studying or working. As an international student arriving in the US for the first time 4 years ago, I remember the stress I felt every day going through simple routines, even small matters such as ordering a coffee at Starbucks seemed extremely complex. For refugee families, the situation is, undoubtedly, far more wearying: Having been forced to flee war zones or prosecution or other in-human conditions and living in a transitory state, I think it is upon us to help provide the kind of long term relief that allows them enough space and time to rebuild their life around them new community. In our town, a good way to support the education of refugee families is through Blacksburg Refugee Partnership (BRP). Among many other things BRP volunteers provide tutoring in ESL and schoolwork. You can also help families in their resettling, if you are multi-lingual you can help with translation!  otherwise, you can volunteer to help with transportation to health care centers or schools, job search and training, or just helping them  get into the know-how of everyday life. Remember : these small daily tasks are much more taxing on people unfamiliar with them.

My truth about multitasking is a story of dread and acceptance.  I experience dread because I often feel a resistance to sit down and work when I know that I am going to get distracted or pulled away from what I am working on. At the same time, I try and embrace radical acceptance because even though I think I would prefer an uninterrupted workflow, I know that’s just not going to happen, so I’d be better off just going with the flow.  There are parts of my day that I am able to handle without dividing my attention, and then there are others where I just can’t.  I’ve been exercising mindfulness so that I can gain a better understanding of how I am and how I let small distractions turn into big ones that sometimes rule my entire day. In the end, I believe that my life wouldn’t be the same without multitasking–I don’t think I could be a student right now without it! I realize that begins to sound like I am painting with a broad brush, so let me give you some examples of how I experience multitasking day in and day out.

 

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Morning Routine

I used to be able to get up, get ready, and get out the front door in 45 minutes. Now, it takes me no less than 90 minutes, usually 2 hours. From the time I get up til the time I get in the car to head to Blacksburg, my morning is about multitasking. Being a student with a baby, there is a lot that goes into getting both of us ready to go in the morning. With a busy baby, it’s even more challenging. Every step of the way, I am keeping some of my brainpower in reserve to watch her and to help me think about what we have to do next to be ready to go.

On most mornings, I wake up to the sound of my daughter, Lilah, calling me from her crib across the hall. Muscle memory allows me to fly out of bed in a flourish, and I propel myself into her room to greet her good morning and begin caring for her needs, which usually includes singing a song, changing a diaper, and grabbing the bottle(s) from last night to take downstairs to the sink.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I pour myself some coffee, feed Lilah some breakfast, and begin packing my lunch. Somewhere between buckling her into the high chair and combing cheese grits out of her hair, I’ve managed to drink half a cup of coffee, made a plain peanut butter sandwich, and put it and two pieces of fruit into my lunch box.

Then the two of us are back upstairs and I, still in my pajamas and house robe, begin helping her into an outfit and fixing her hair for the day. Getting her ready usually involves reading a book or engaging in some other activity like the Put-the-Clothes-Back-in-the-Drawer-Game which happens as a result of her helping me pick out something for to wear for that day. Sometimes, I don’t get her clothes picked up and put back until it’s bedtime and we are in her room at the end of the day looking for pajamas.

It seems like there are endless distractions as she wants to play and I am trying to stay on schedule. Like I said, I usually give in to the requests for engagement–because this time with her is precious and fleeting, and I’d rather live with a little more stress if it means that I made time to spend with her despite everything I felt like I had to do at the time. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, I am sending and receiving text messages from far away family of cheerful greetings, good mornings, and sharing pictures of the little one.

After I get her ready, then it’s my turn to get dressed and ready for school. I do my best to make myself presentable–all the while I’m keeping one eye on Lilah as she toddles around the room, a trail of toys and random objects in her wake. Sometimes before I can finish putting on makeup or braiding my hair, she communicates that she is sleep, and insists on being put down for a nap. So, I stop what I’m doing and take her to her room to rock, relax, and lay her down for a few precious minutes while I finish my getting ready routine. I’ve found that to be much faster (and more peaceful) than trying to navigate around a baby that wants your undivided attention.

If I’m lucky, she will nap in the morning. When she does, I’m in high-gear trying to get everything that she and I need for the day pulled together and put into the car. I try to make us so ready for the day that all I have to do is get her up and we are ready to go. From the time I leave my house, it takes about 45 minutes to get from home to daycare, to campus, and to my office. That time isn’t totally spent driving. At daycare, it takes time to get her checked in and I always anticipate a 10 minute walk for when I get to campus each morning. During the drive, I am scarfing down a fold-over, drinking coffee, and trying to catch a little bit of the news. During my walk, I am texting with family and checking on my project’s Twitter and Instagram. It never stops. But I try to stop and notice the scenery around me and take time to appreciate the world. Judging by how fast the last decade seemed to fly by, I anticipate the one I’m in now to go by just as fast if not faster. Is multitasking stealing my time and warping my memory?

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Time in the Lab

My time in the office is my most productive time of day. Here, I do everything in my power to stay on top of my classes, readings, and course work. But I find that my time in the lab is often dominated by social interaction, so even though it is my “quiet space” to work, if my office-mates are in, we sometimes work in silence, but usually there is some kind of discussion happening in our space. I am always being asked to proofread, asked questions about customs and manners here, and venting with my friends.

Others may feel differently about their lab time–they may say that they prefer it to be silent so that more work can be accomplished, but I tend to disagree. I think the social interaction is good for all of us and it is nice to have a chance to talk to your cohort. In my office, we are always talking about research, methods, upcoming assignments, and ideas. It’s great to have like-minded people to share your work space with. Without the “distractions” from my colleagues, I don’t know that I would have another opportunity quite like it to share and collaborate with other graduate students.

Besides, all of us bring headphones and we use them to help ourselves tune into our work. One girl also brings ear plugs so if she wants, she can completely tune out noisy distractions while she reads and writes. We all understand that our lab is a place where work happens, but it’s also a space for discussion as well.

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Blogging/Homework in General

I think I’ve said before that I enjoy blogging. The act of getting my thoughts out of my head and molded into a composition is extremely satisfying for me. But it’s not without it’s distractions and moments of multitasking–some are good, others are bad. An example of something that I would consider “good” multitasking is when I have to hold my daughter in my lap (away from the computer so she doesn’t slap the keyboard), and feed her pieces of shredded cheddar cheese and draw on scratch paper while I either listen to podcasts or read articles and posts. It comes in spurts–every couple of minutes I am pulled away from my task to tend to my daughter’s needs or some other activity that just won’t seem to wait. But I consider this “good” because I am getting some interaction with Lilah, she knows that I am busy working but not too busy to hold her and let her play (very) near me.

An example of a “bad” distraction would be me sitting here to read and write, yet I’ve somehow my attention has been sucked into my smart phone. Earlier, I was posting about Studio In-Progress updates for the class/project I am a research assistant for. Part of this means that after completing the post, I sign into Instagram and Twitter to share the news and to get our post “out there” so that others can potentially find it. I will be successful at getting the posts made… but then it seems like I blink and 20 more minutes have gone by and I am still browsing! Granted, I often defend this distracted time because I have gotten lost on Twitter looking at science news stories and stories about research– so at least I’m learning something… but I’m also burning up valuable time that should go to producing work for upcoming deadlines.

Writing this blog took me several more hours than it probably should have because of multitasking. I’ve been revising and adding to it for 4 hours now–not continuously, but in spurts because my parenting duties keep trumping the academic ones. In that time, I have done the bedtime routine with my little one, and have been back upstairs 4 times to feed her again and soothe her back to sleep. (I think she’s going through a growth spurt!) It’s hell, especially at this hour, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

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I have mixed feelings about multi-tasking. There was a time in my life where I honestly felt like multitasking made me better at the things I was doing… but after the readings this week, I’m not so sure that is the case. Another thing I’ve been thinking about is a sentiment that I noticed in Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid” piece: I have had the growing feeling over the last handful of years that my brain doesn’t quite work like it used to and it’s hard to put my finger on what exactly that means. I don’t feel dumber, but I do feel like there are certain kinds of (“simple”) activities that I have to really work to stop and think about before I can be successful at them. Activities and tasks that could be similar to what the NPR Morning Edition crew discussed in their “Think You’re Multitasking? Think again” podcast.

I may not be the best about multitasking and managing distractions, but I’m doing my best. I’m in a stage of my life right now where multitasking is as “normal” a part of my day as any other part of the routine. I’ve had to adjust my whole way of being to make room for a growing family and I feel privileged that I get to live in this way. At the same time, I recognize that a lot of the things I choose to do while multitasking are not good or healthy. Because of this, I have been taking breaks from Facebook (completely deleting it off my phone and refusing to visit the webpage via computer browser) so that I can get back some of that time that I was wasting.

So while I stay plugged in much of the time, I am beginning to really come around to this idea of unplugging from everything. I want my working hours to be as meaningful as they can possibly be. I want my home life and time spent with my family to be as meaningful as it can possibly be. For me to accomplish this, I am incorporating new practices into my routine and weeding out the distractions that rob me of my productivity and meaningful engagement.

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These were all of the articles I read before composing this piece. They all rang true to me in different ways. Sometimes, I find myself being grateful for technology; other times I am stressed beyond belief and all I want to do is escape to the woods for a week of respite. I think the key to anything in this world is moderation–and when you find yourself multitasking to the point where it’s actually getting in the way of being productive, well, then maybe it’s time to consider making a change.

Bilton, N. (2013). “The Science Author Clive Thompson Does Not Think Tech Is Ruining Your Mind.” Bits: Business, Innovation, Technology, Society. The New York Times, online.

Carr, N. (2008). “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains.” The Atlantic, online.

Gorlick, A. “Media multitaskers pay mental price, Stanford study shows.”

NPR. (2008). “Think You’re Multitasking? Think Again.” Research News on Morning Edition, podcast online.

Taylor, J. (2011). “Technology: Myth of Multitasking. Is multitasking really more efficient?” Psychology Today, online.

 

This week, we learned a different approach for teaching and learning in the classroom. This blog entry is the story of that experience.

Two weeks ago at the end of class, each student was given a number which corresponded to a short reading assignment, and we were all told to return to class last week ready to go on our sections. With that, class was dismissed and we were all on our way.

As we trickled back into the classroom last week, we were greeted at the door by our Teaching Assistant (TA) team, Jyotsana, Greg, & Amy who directed us to tables in the classroom that were numbered like our readings were assigned the previous week.

Our seating assignment put students together who all had been given the same reading assignment. This created Expert Tables and we took the first 15 minutes or so of class to discuss with each other what we had read and to develop our list of high points and takeaways that came from our readings.

The TA’s then revealed a whiteboard that had us grouped in a new way, which separated us from expert tables into Jigsaw Tables where each of the 7 individuals in the new group was an expert on a different assigned reading.

 

During Jigsaw Tables, we were given 40 minutes to teach each other about our readings and to come up with a definition of Critical Pedagogy from what we had just learned (from each other).

And so here is what happened:

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The following lists each group member and the takeaway points from each of their assigned readings.

Jason

Joe L. Kinchloe, “Paulo Friere (1921-1997)” The Critical Pedagogy Primer (2004), Pp 69-75

• Paulo Freire: teaching philosophy is to take different perspectives
• Challenge institutionalized ways of teaching; critical consciousness, extra awareness of thinking
• Education should be available to people of all class, including marginalized populations

 

Grace

Joe L. Kinchloe “Moving to Critical Complexity” The Critical Pedagogy Primer (2004), Pp 108-110

• Current education system is simplified by “standardization”
• Students are unique in background and in ways of constructing meaning
• Students have experiences that could teach others, including the teacher
• Students have agency to find meaning on their own, rather than have information delivered to them
• In what ways can we negotiate a “reductionist” space to accommodate complexity?

 

Yang

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”

• Teaching is not knowledge transfer, but for teachers to guide students to construct meaning based on their personal identity and understanding
• Students should also learn from each other, build confidence in their own abilities
• Paulo Freire analysis the relationship between teacher and student at any level. He considers that education is suffering from narration sickness, in which the student is the depositories, and the teacher is the depositor. In the class, the teacher makes deposits and the students receive, memorize, and repeat. It is his Banking concept.

 

Sneha:

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom, “There is no Teaching without Learning, Methodological Rigor, Research, Respect for What Students Know”

• There is no teaching without learning: teachers and students learn from each other (reciprocity)
• Methodological rigor:
  • both teachers and learners are active subjects
  • students should not be treated in “bulk” as if they are identical
• Learning comes from curiosity: ask questions, think from different perspectives
• Create an environment to enable development of critical thinking/learning/consciousness
• The teaching process is more than knowledge transfer, encouraging the learners to create and recreate knowledge for themselves
• There is no teaching without research: teachers have to be updated
• Need to respect pre-existing knowledge students may come with and make use of it
• Connect what’s taught to practice

 

Julin

Bell Hooks. (2010). “Critical Thinking” Teaching Critical Thinking, Routledge.

• Conformity and obedience in school interrupted the kids’ nature as critical thinkers
• The role of the teacher is to free students from obedience and conformity, restore and polish their thinking skills, provide an interactive space for students to freely inquiry knowledge rooted in what they know
• Critical pedagogy or engaged pedagogy is meant to help restore the students’ will to think and self-actualization
• Critical thinking is interactive as it is the evolution of views through analysis, evaluation, self-direction, self-discipline, self-observation and self-correction
• Critical thinking is deep and requires discernment. It is work for knowledge
• Critical thinking is proactive and passionate
• Another role of the teacher is to serve as a role model of critical thinking and development of discernment
• Critical thinking is both unique for each individual and collaborative for a learning community.
• The center of “critical” is be able to decide what is important and what is trivial

 

Sara

Bell Hooks. (2010). “Democratic Education” Teaching Critical Thinking, Routledge.

• Democratic education: each successive generation needs to fight for democracy
• Connect theory to practice in teaching
• Equality vs. equity: standard ways of teaching does not address student uniqueness; we need equity in our way of responding to students

Greg

Bell Hooks. (2010). “Engaged Pedagogy” Teaching Critical Thinking, Routledge.

• Engaged pedagogy: teacher and student mutually exchange knowledge
• Sharing openness and honesty as an educator, to create an environment where students could feel like an equal

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How do we define Critical Pedagogy ?

1. There is mutual exchange of knowledge and experience between students and teachers
2. Students are individuals with unique experiences and there is no single right way to deliver the lesson/material/knowledge
3. There should be equity in the classroom
4. Connecting theory to practice (or, connecting to real-world) and providing context for the theory
5. Take what we learn and critically apply it to enact change and further society in a positive direction; to challenge social & political structure, to help the marginalized and fight injustice

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How do we apply Critical Pedagogy to our own fields and educational settings?

 

Jason (Sociology): embracing perspectives different from your own in a classroom setting

              As a sociologist, critical pedagogy fits the mold of so many aspects of the discipline.  Paulo Freire spoke of critical consciousness which we can incorporate into learning in the classroom to challenge the status quo and encourage students take the knowledge they obtain and put it to use.  This signifies that education isn’t just a “thing” that you earn after four years with a diploma but is defined with how you use it.  Paulo Freire uses the metaphor of a mind bank which under authoritarian teaching methods, the instructor uses his or her role to present information in deterministic fashion.  This conjures up a discussion I presented in an earlier blog which highlights the idea of being lectures AT rather than TO.  Under these circumstances, Freire accounts for students being able to demonstrate they absorbed themes important to the instructor without thinking for themselves whether this is true knowledge, or whether this “knowledge” is accurate and meaningful.  This promotes the idea that knowledge has an end-goal or a finite level of achievement.  To counter this notion of the authoritarian teacher, we should embrace as teachers, that we too are still learning.   

In the field of sociology, my areas of concentration are criminology and social inequality.  The courses in this program encourage students to critically evaluate intuitional systems in place.  As Freire noted, teaching is a political act.  Especially on the topics of social inequality in which gender, racial, and social discrimination are associated with various social institutions, politics will always come under scrutiny.  When topics of this nature are discussed, it’s really the job of the instructor to illuminate different perspectives that may be different from our own.  We have all been told on the road to knowledge, there is no wrong answer.  I challenge that notion, in light of discussing inequalities and injustice, that in the vein of critical pedagogy, the only real wrong answer is the one that perpetuates these inequalities.  College students by and large are a privileged group of individuals.  They are given the opportunity to benefit from an education that isn’t available to everyone.  We should be preparing them to make a positive impact on the social, cultural, economic, political, and philosophical facets of the world.  After all, this is at the heart of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy: “the possibility for positive change.”  This is also the crux of the sociological discipline.

 

Grace & Sneha & Greg (Engineering): We’re too used to the traditional blackboard and chalk lectures, where we learn fundamentals and equations. But in addition to understanding the fundamentals is to understand the context in which these fundamentals were realized. What do they mean in a diverse setting with different people? Is there a way to enhance problem-based learning with greater consideration for environmental and social impacts? Can we learn more about human factors? Can we learn from other disciplines and different ways of thinking?

 

Grace:

Let’s talk about learning by thinking from different perspectives.

Engineering education could be quite monotonous. We cover content, the so called “fundamentals.” We go through equations like daily meals that we  may or may not talk about. We discuss professional ethics. We touch on social, environmental, and economic impacts. We write in one style. Very briefly we venture outside our building to be introduced to a non-engineering subject. Then we graduate,  because we are considered to have “depth and breadth” in knowledge.

The irony is that engineering is not monotonous. Problems come in all scope and size. There is diversity in partnership, audience, and stakeholder. Project impact could be intangible yet far reaching. Enough said.

Let’s strive for greater interdisciplinary learning. Let’s collaborate on open-ended problems with diverse student populations. Let’s step out of our comfort zones and tackle foreign subjects. Let’s balance technical skills with soft skills.

Let’s connect theory to practice.

Sneha:

The engineering world is advancing at a very fast pace-something that is novel today may be outdated tomorrow. However, the curriculum and syllabus in engineering education have remained the same for a very long time (or, at least that is how it has been in civil engineering education). The students today still learn the outdated techniques from many years ago. Even after four years of undergraduate engineering degree, a student may not be prepared enough to go out and work in the real world. It seems to me that there is a huge gap between the education that is being taught and what the real world demands. Hence, the curriculum that is being used in engineering should be updated often enough to reduce the “gap”. For this, the teachers, in first place, should update themselves and also create an environment that facilitates the learners to keep up with the advancements.
Furthermore, engineering has so much to do with problem solving. This is where innovation takes place. Students should be encouraged to think of a problem from different perspectives and to bring in ideas for solving the problem. Moreover, the theories that are taught in classes should provide meaning in terms of real world applications.

Greg:

The engineering classroom can be a place where emphasis is placed on a “just the facts/theory/formulas” mentality. An environment muted from current events to focus on the important fundamentals which, in some cases, are unchanged for decades if not centuries. I would argue this philosophy is flawed. To educate the future generations of engineers, we must provide context to the ideas of the past and the implications of our work.

Engaging students in conversations about the societal, political, ethical, and cultural significance of what they study pushes our students towards a better understanding of how to use the knowledge we create together. Isolating problems to a single subject, topic area, or siloed educational discipline does a disservice to our students. This is not how problems are solved in the “real world”. Instead we work together, across our traditional educational boundaries to tackle the truly challenging problems facing our world. Showing students the context of how these difficult problems have been solved in the past and modeling the importance of working together in the future will generate more thoughtful and mindful contributors to our society. Engineers who don’t just ask “How can I apply what has been done”, but those who challenge “What can we do and who should we involve to create the best and most thoughtful solution together?”

Julin (Building Construction):

I am focused on the information technology in building construction. I have TAed a software class. There could be 60 to 100 students in the classroom. The students are required to complete one project after another based on tutorials. It is very rare for students, and even for me, to complete a project without running into any problems. The procedures and specific settings instructed in the tutorials can be very delicate. Besides, as the software manufacturer (Autodesk) publishes newer versions of software every year, the user interfaces can change from what is shown in the tutorials. There should not be treated as flaws of the class but as the reality of the building industry. All kinds of IT problems will occur. The professionals in building construction have to troubleshoot them frequently. Therefore, the intention of a software class is not just to all the settings and steps right, submit the assignments on time, and get a good grade. More important than getting things right, is getting things wrong and fixing it mindfully.

My observation from TAing the class is that the students who approach the problems critically and interact with the instructors and the TAs curiously can get the most from the class. Here I am emphasizing a curious mind and an effective interaction. These students constantly reflect on what they are doing and what the problem is, troubleshoot on their own, and then ask specifically for where they need help. In a proactive thinking and reasoning mode, they can get interactive tutoring from the instructor or TAs that is tailored towards their interest and curiosity. Not every student is learning in this most beneficial way. Therefore, the teacher’s role in the context of software teaching is to stop holding the students’ hands, to encourage them to practice more independent thinking and troubleshooting, and to feed their curiosity with tailored interaction.

 

Yang (Creative Technology): instructors have to dig into every student’s projects and give guidances; peer critiques

Creative and Critical Thinking

As a student in art and design department, maybe be a teacher in the future, creative and critical thinking is the core in my life whatever the role I played. It is dangerous for art and design student without the critical and creative thinking ability.  I encourage myself and all students in my class to take an advantage and never afraid failed. I know it is tough. Even it is a big challenge for the students in China. Before we study at the university, we faced the high oppressed in primary, middle and high school. For example, we would not leave the class without the allow of the teacher. We need to hands up before we speak in the class. I remember in the math class in primary school. All the students keep the same posture in the 40 minutes. Otherwise, the students will face the punishment. I know in different area students have the different experience. But when I was a fine art student in China Academy of Art I feel freedom and comfort in the class. It is a challenge for the student not just listen and repeat what the teacher’s transfer in classes, but also to think about what I want to gain individually.

Critical thinking does not mean unrespected. Creative and analytical thinking method is an essential access to success. A great many of example of artist experience shows the importance of critical and creative thinking. Pablo Picasso is a talented artist as know as the pioneer of Cubist. Has anyone researched the artworks before he changes the style to cubist? Picasso’s early artworks are different than the method we familiar.  Thus, for the students in art and design area, not only to understand what the knowledge and information the teachers transfer and sharing in class but also needs to ask why frequently, and also know the plan in future. Education is not the single efforts. It means not only the teachers engaging the students learning deeply. The students work hard and know the what they positive to learn. The responsibility for educator in high education level is to create an academic space to encourage and guide the students to construct the personal knowledge structure. Education is a way to find the initial concept and idea in mind.   

 

Sara (Landscape Architecture): Typically, an instructor guides students on their projects, following the lead of the student and their individual interests. Instructors help students discover how to the research needed to answer the problem at hand and help by asking relevant questions that make the student think critically. We use problem-based learning to address real, site-specific issues in landscape design.

This semester, I get the privilege of being a Research Assistant to a cool and exciting project that is funded by the National Park Service. The Chattahoochee National Water Trail, located in Metro-Atlanta, Georgia, is a 48-mile reach that flows through the heart of one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. Using this site as a learning experience for our 5th year Landscape Architecture Students, we are guiding the teams so that they develop their own concepts and visions for the water trail in a way that reflects their ideas. At the same time, we are gently pushing them one way or another towards the research and information they need to talk about the problems they have identified as important for their project.

In this way, we are teaching our students how to think critically about their projects in a very individual way. Because each of the teams has settled on different conceptual drivers, the information that they need to plan and design varies from group to group. The teaching staff helps tease out the important questions from the students. They already know where they want to go with the project, but perhaps don’t fully understand how to get there yet. That’s where we come in: through individual desk critiques and pin-ups for the whole class, we are able to have discussions about the project that help the students continue to develop their ideas.

I’m going to go ahead and say the methodology of problem-based learning is used in landscape architecture programs everywhere. It is utilized in a way that we help our fledgling designers develop into critical thinkers who will go on to become leaders in the design disciplines.

 

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It was my intention to link everyone to their blog the first time they were mentioned in this post. But, since I couldn’t find each contributor’s blog on the course website, there are a few people who are not linked to their own blog. If you are one of my group members and you would like your blog linked, either comment with your address below OR email me at sklh@vt.edu and I will get your link added to this post.

Also, our group blog post was originally going to be sprinkled with .gifs, but it didn’t work out that they could be posted because of the way we created our joint Google-Docs file to work on the draft of this post. Sorry everyone.

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Jigsaw Puzzle Featured Image 

We are deep in the heart of the Contemporary Pedagogy Syllabus and last week’s session on Inclusive Pedagogy left me reeling — in a good way. Talking with a diverse group of people about how to cultivate inclusive and diverse classrooms is always interesting, and often quite challenging, but this session was especially noteworthy for …

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