Notes for Tuesday 22nd November, 4.30-7.00, 1WN 3.8.
Looking forward to seeing everybody next Tuesday. After we've caught up with each other's news from the week, do
let's focus our initial conversations on how our enquiries have moved on. I'd like to draw attention to Meg's initial writings on her enquiry into educational influences of peer massage to draw attention to how her concerns, ideas, actions and evaluations can be understood as a disciplined form of action reflection cycle. I also want to show how Claire's use of Daniel Goleman's work on emotional intelligence from her reflective journal of the 27th October can serve as an exemplar of how to draw insights from the ideas of others and to reference these ideas appropriately.
Do bring your writings and/or evidence of your educational influences in your own learning, in the learning of your pupils (and in the learning of the social formation of the school if this is appropriate). Nina, your description of your learning from your experiences of reading the ideas of others and seeing what others were doing could provide good evidence of your educational influence in your own learning. Ros – I share your concern about the dangers of imposition. I said that I'd share the quotation from Martin Buber that I try to bear in mind about the special humility of the educator:
"If this educator should ever believe that for the sake of education he
has to practise selection and arrangement, then he will be guided by
another criterion than that of inclination, however legitimate this may be
in its own sphere; he will be guided by the recognition of values which
is in his glance as an educator. But even then his selection remains
suspended, under constant correction by the special humility of the
educator for whom the life and particular being of all his pupils is the
decisive factor to which his 'hierarchical' recognition is subordinated."
(Buber, p 122, 1947)
Buber, M. (1947) Between Man and Man. London; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner
& Co. Ltd.
Joy – very good to meet you and to share insights into what you are doing. That was a very exciting narrative (with those stimulating nudges from Marie) about your work with the organisation of the resources for learning and the values motivating you. If you could jot this down I think you'd be well on your way with this educational enquiry.
Robyn – there are so many resonances between what you are doing in your health visiting with parents and the work in the group on emotional intelligence and emotional literacy. Let's see if we can find ways of adequately representing the expression of our embodied values and knowledge while recognising the truth in Patti Lather's idea of 'ironic validity'.
I think the following quotation is very difficult to comprehend, but I think Lather's point, about our texts being representations of their failure to represent what they point toward but can never reach, will repay our close attention (please bear with me on this!) and enhance our confidence in the validity of our embodied values and knowledge:
First the practical problem: Today there is as much variation among qualitative researchers
as there is between qualitative and quantitatively
orientated scholars. Anyone doubting this claim need only compare Miles and
Huberman's (1994) relatively traditional conception of validity <'The
meanings emerging from the data have to be tested for their plausibility, their
sturdiness, their 'confirmability' – that is, their validity' (p.11)>
with Lather's discussion of ironic validity:
"Contrary to dominant validity practices where the rhetorical nature of scientific claims is masked with methodological assurances, a strategy of ironic validity proliferates forms, recognizing that they are rhetorical and without foundation, postepistemic, lacking in epistemological support. The text is resituated as a representation of its 'failure to represent what it points toward but can never reachÉ. (Lather, 1994, p. 40-41)'." (Donmoyer, 1996 p.21.)
Donmoyer,
R. (1996) Educational Research in an Era of Paradigm Proliferation: What's a
Journal Editor to Do? Educational Researcher, Vol.
25, No.2, pp. 19-25
James is hoping to share a representation/explanation of his educational influence with his pupils and this could help us to see how we might get closer to a valid explanation of our educational influences using visual narratives. If James does manage to produce this for next Tuesday (and I know time is short) I'd like us to focus on this as a group.
Vicky & Richard it would be good to catch up on any of your ideas and evaluations of the educational influence of the implementation of the new curriculum in your own learning and in the learning of your students. Ailsa – hope you are okay for this Tuesday. Ed – any writings/evidence to share just bring them along. Anyone I haven't mentioned this goes for you too! Marie – I'll get back to you tomorrow (Friday 18th Nov.) on those writings you sent to me last night.
What I'll do on Tuesday is bring the following books and papers with me to see if some of the ideas might be helpful as you develop a 'frame' for your enquiry. I'll show what I mean by this in relation to Claire's very clear 'framing' in her reflective writings of the 27th October.
Please don't be put off by the numbers of publications below. What I want to do is to draw ideas from these publications to explain how your explanations of your educational influences in your own learning and in the learning of your pupils (and in the learning of social formations) could go beyond the insights in any of these publications, while at the same time recognising that some of the insights from these publications could be useful in your enquiry. You could if you wish just access the Jane McGregor publication on Students as Researchers because of its ease of access through the live internet link below.
Claxton, G. (2002) Building Learning Power. Bristol; TLO Limited.
Fielding, M. (2001) Beyond the Rhetoric of Student Voice: new departures or new constraints in the transformation of 21st century schooling? Forum 43 (2) pp. 100-109.
Fielding, M. & McGregor, J. (2005) Deconstructing student voice: new spaces for dialogue or new opportunities for surveillance? Paper presented to the Symposium Speaking up and speaking out: International perspectives on the democratic possibilities of student voice, at AERA Montreal, April 2005.
Gornett, S. Chambers, M. & Claxton, G. (2005) Building Learning Power in Action. Bristol; TLO Limited.
Macbeath, J., Myers, K. & Demetriou, H. (2001) Supporting Teachers in Consulting Pupils about Aspects of Teaching and Learning, and Evaluating Impact. Forum 43 (2) pp. 78-82.
McGregor, J. (2004) Students as Researchers. Cranfield; National College for School Leadership. Retrieved 17 November 2005 from http://www.ncsl.org.uk/mediastore/image2/nlg_teacher_researchers_jane_mcgregor.pdf
Rudduck, J. & Flutter, J. (2000) Pupil Participation and Pupil Perspective: 'carving a new order of experience'. Cambridge Journal of Education, 20 (1) pp. 75-89.
Rudduck, J. & Flutter, J. (2004) How to improve your school. London, New York; Continuum.
Wallace, B. (2003) What learning experienced do gifted and talented children need to develop life skills. Retrieved 17 November 2005 from http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:rHvMzrq_fegJ:www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/activities_uploaded/intranet/teacher/NAGC.ppt+belle+wallace+TASC&hl=en
Whitehead, J. & Clough, N. (2004) Pupils, the forgotten partners in education action zones. Journal of Education Policy. 19 (2) pp. 215-227.