Moral Education - Redefining and transforming

The article by Martin (1987) looks at the need for moral education to foster generative love, and to do that, education must be redefined, and moral education requires a transformation, not just simple additives, such as the inclusion of women, in subject-matter. Though dated, a lot of the ideas are applicable in countries where 'traditional' gender roles are still prevalent.

Martin (1987) proposes that programs such as Lifeline, which act to counter the stereotypically male ideals of productive processes, should be implemented to bring reproductive processes back from homes and into educational institutions and moral education classrooms. These programs help support the idea that both teaching and learning include the passing on and learning of values, and that teaching and learning can take on many forms. In addition, the state of innovative programs such as Lifeline, anomalous and in limbo, provide a key point regarding the idea that innovation can be influenced externally, in this case by historical views of processes and the ideal person having traditionally male characteristics (Martin, 1987).  

Furthermore, some of the ideas behind programs such as Lifeline are applicable to all classrooms, including English language classrooms. It is of the utmost importance to develop and foster safe and inclusive classrooms for students, with teachers showing that they really do care about how students feel and that they succeed, regardless of gender, culture and/or beliefs. Such environments would be conducive for students to learn to care about others and understand their needs and situations, as the Lifeline program intends (Martin, 1987).

Questions for the author:

Have programs such as Lifeline seen (for lack of a better term) success in other countries/cultures?

Would the redefining of education and transformation of moral education through programs such as Lifeline benefit from the inclusion of ideas from culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies?

Martin, J. R. (1987). Transforming moral education. Journal of Moral Education, 16(3), 204-213. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.queensu.ca/doi/abs/10.1080/0305724870160305

Looking at the effects of learner-learner interactions in online undergraduate courses

In their study, Kurucay & Inan (2017) look at learning and satisfaction in online undergraduate courses, which has seen exponential growth in courses offered and students registered globally but has also seen an increase in dropout rates due to student dissatisfaction. Specifically, they look at the effects of learner-learner interaction. Their findings indicate that learner-learner interaction in activities is related to higher achievement and perceptions of online learning increased.

In addition, Kurucay & Inan’s (2017) study highlights some of the challenges of innovation in the form of online courses. Though the idea of online courses when first launched was innovative, providing a problem solution for students who couldn’t study face-to-face, which is related to my own working definition of innovation, the challenges faced are influenced by the feeling of the learners themselves. My working definition for innovation would benefit from adding innovation also requires amendments, or further innovation as time progresses to meet modern needs and challenges. Also, the effects of learner-learner interaction and provides an example of one of the many different forms that both teaching and learning can take.

Furthermore, as a one-on-one online English teacher on iTalki, it has made me reconsider my own views on offering learner-learner interactions. By connecting my individual students, it would offer them another opportunity for additional English-speaking practice, but it is important that specific guidelines are given, and instructions should make sure every member participates equally (Kurucay & Inan, 2017). 

Though this study acknowledges the need for additional research in design and implementation of learner-learner activities, it also brings about the following questions:

Are the effects of learner-learner interactions on satisfaction and learning common in various universities across the world?

Do culture and multi-culturalism play a part in the online learning experiences and the feelings felt by online students?

Kurucay, M. M., & Inan, F. F. (2017). Examining the effects of learner-learner interactions on satisfaction and learning in an online undergraduate course. Computers & Education, 115, 20-37. https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.queensu.ca/science/article/pii/S036013151730146X

Indigenous Perspectives on Teaching and Learning

 The study by Louie et al. (2017) and Toulouse’s (2008) work highlight several strategies and concepts regarding how to approach and implement Indigenous pedagogies in the classroom. Both articles offer evidence for the need to integrate these pedagogical perspectives in the classroom, help support and expand on my understanding of innovation in teaching and learning, and have implications to practices in ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms.

The Louie et al. (2017) study looks at applying Indigenous principles of decolonizing methodologies, based on the work of Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012, as cited in Louie et al., 2017), in university classrooms, which have been traditionally dominated by Western epistemologies. The study looks at how Western research is a political act that benefits dominant cultures and methodologies, despite the need for value to be placed on other ways of learning for students. Toulouse’s (2008) work also indicates the need for Indigenous teaching methodologies, looking at how self-esteem is a key factor in Aboriginal students’ success, and how an educational environment that honours the culture, language and world view of the Aboriginal student is critical.

Both articles, with their student-centered approaches, help to support and expand on my ideas of innovation in teaching and learning. Louie et al. (2017) offers strategies to implement Indigenous teaching methodologies as a problem solution, providing an example to support my working definition of innovation as the implementation of new ideas, products and problem solutions. In addition, Western epistemologies influencing the ability to incorporate Indigenous methodologies offers another example of how innovation can be externally influenced. Furthermore, it provides an expansion to my own working definition of learning, as learning can not only take place in various environments, but can also take on various forms. Toulouse’s (2008) work further supports my ideas for innovation and expansion on my working definition for learning. It also supports my working definition of teaching, in that teaching is able to take on different forms, by offering an example based on the living teachings of the Ojibwe people. In addition, both articles highlight the importance of student-centered approaches to consider in my working definitions for teaching and learning.

The strategies and concepts highlighted in both articles also have implications in ESL and EFL classrooms, in that there are some practical applications. Presently working in Japan, it is important for me to teach English lessons which not only teach the 4 major language components of English, but also have cultural relevance to the students. Some of the principles, such as storytelling, as mentioned in Louie et al. (2017) work, give an opportunity for individuals and groups to be represented in the classroom and foster a respectful and collaborative environment where everyone has a voice. This in conjunction with the idea of cultural competence mentioned in the work of Ladson-Billings (2014), in which students not only appreciate and celebrate their own culture, but also gain fluency and knowledge of another culture, would help to foster a culturally relevant, inclusive and collaborative environment for all my students. Furthermore, the seven living principles addressed in Toulouse’s (2008) work to help Aboriginal students develop and maintain self-esteem could be used to help all students. Concepts such as love, with its commitment to support learning styles, and humility, in which teachers should reach out to experts for assistance, would help foster not only a classroom where the learning styles of students are acknowledged, but also an environment and community where the cultural views and beliefs of students are brought to the forefront and celebrated.        

Though both articles highlight the need for implementing indigenous pedagogies in the classroom, build on my working definition for innovation, and offer additional strategies to implement in ESL and EFL classrooms, they both raise some questions:

For both Louie et al. (2017) and Toulouse (2008), how could these strategies and concepts be used or amended to be used in multi-cultural classrooms? Could aspects of culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012) be implemented as well to account for multi-cultural classes? Furthermore, could these concepts and strategies be effective in developing inclusive classrooms with non-traditional cultures, such as youth culture?

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Cultural Relevant Pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the Remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74-84.

Louie, D., Poitras-Pratt, Y., Hanson, A. & Ottmann, J. (2017). Applying Indigenizing Principles of Decolonizing Methodologies in University Classrooms. Canadian Journal of Higher Education / Revue Canadienne d'Enseignement Supérieur, 47(3), 16–33. https://doi.org/10.7202/1043236ar

Paris, D. (2012). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology, and Practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189x12441244

Toulouse, P. R. (2008). Integrating Aboriginal teaching and values into the classroom. What Works? Research into Practice (Research monograph #11).

Historical Perspectives and Influences on Education - Building on Working Definitions for Creativity, Innovation, Teaching and Learning

The article by Christou (2013), reflecting on the progressive educational reform brought about by Duncan McArthur during the 1930s, and Herbst’s (1999) article, which looks at the work of educational historians from the 1960s to the end of the 20^th century, offer interesting historical perspectives on education, regarding both teaching and learning, and the influences on creativity and innovation.

Christou’s (2013) article focused on the progressive educational reform that took place in Ontario during the 1930s. The reform, with aspects of meliorism, efficiency and child study, sought to move away from courses focused solely on subject matter to courses also focusing on other factors such as personality development and socialization, to give students options in regards to what they could study, and promote social responsibility. This reform resulted from the complexities and socio-economic crises facing Ontario at the time, and the acknowledgement that education was “a force for remedying ills and changing the future” (p. 682). With this in mind, I would like to extend my working definition for teaching to include that teaching needs to be reformed from time to time to reflect the needs and challenges faced in the classroom and by society. Regarding learning, the idea that learning can be self-directed should be added to my working definition. Also, the idea to promote social responsibility is an important example of the ability to acquire knowledge over values mentioned in my working definition for learning. Furthermore, the generating and implementation of the ideas behind the reform based on McArthur’s beliefs and the complexities and socio-economic crises facing Ontario at the time offer an important example of the intrinsic and extrinsic influences and motivations that factor into creativity and innovation.

Herbst’s (1999) work looked at the work and changing influence of educational historians, or revisionists, from the 1960s to the end of the century. This article raises 2 important points in regards to education. Firstly, there should be just as much concentration of attention to the history of private schools and institutions as there is to public schools and institutions. Secondly, there needs to be more focus on the pedagogies used across all institutions both in the past and present. The first point supports my working definitions for teaching and learning, as both can take place not just in traditional schools, but anywhere. With that said, I feel the need to amend my definitions to include the mention of private institutions, including informal tutoring, as they also play an important part in education. The second point not only demonstrates a need to know what is going on in the classrooms in both the past and the present, but also, in conjunction with the ideas for reform generated from Christou’s (2013) article, further support the need for reforms in education based on the needs and challenges faced in the classroom and by society. Furthermore, Herbst’s view of revisionists at the end of the last century, having little fresh input, repeating old mantras, and looking for new topics to fit their pre-set mold having caused truly creative and innovative scholarship to flee the scene (p. 739) supports the idea that creativity and innovation can be influenced and motivated by both internal and external factors, and provides another example to draw on to support my working definitions for both these terms.

Both articles raise important points about historical perspectives related to teaching, learning creativity and innovation, but also raise the following questions: For Christou, as the article focuses on progressive educational reform at a specific time and place in a western nation, how does it compare to other educational reforms that have taken place more recently in other western nations? For that matter, how does it compare to educational reforms in non-western/-Eurocentric nations with different cultures? For Herbst, how should educational historians go about considering anew their presence as academics in programs of professional education? Where would a study into the history of private schools and institutions, including informal tutoring, begin?

Christou, T. M. (2012). The complexity of intellectual currents: Duncan McArthur and Ontario’s progressivist curriculum reforms. Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 49(5), 677-697. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.queensu.ca/doi/full/10.1080/00309230.2012.739181

Herbst, J. (1999). The history of education: State and the art at the turn of the century in Europe and North America. Paedegogia Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 35(3), 737–-47. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.queensu.ca/doi/abs/10.1080/0030923990350308

Philosophical Perspectives and Influences - Building on Working Definitions for Creativity, Innovation, Teaching and Learning

 

Falkenberg’s (2012) article on teaching as a contemplative professional practice and Werner’s (2016) view on fostering hope in the classroom offer important perspectives in regards to teaching and learning and provide some examples of the influencing factors for creativity and innovation.

Regarding teaching and learning, Falkenberg’s (2012) article stresses the importance of 3 components, ethical, noticing and mindfulness, for teachers to be more self-conscious and sensitive to particular situations in the class, for the betterment of students. Furthermore, Werner’s (2016) article proposes that teachers need to be aware of the important roles of emotion, information, vision and efficacy in learning in order to promote hope amongst young learners in a world filled with bad news. These ideas are important, and I feel my working definition for teaching would benefit from their inclusion. I would like to extend part of my original definition for teaching as follows: Teachers need to create an environment where students feel equality in opportunities “and hope, through self-awareness and by being sensitive to the roles emotion, information, vision and efficacy play in the students’ views of the world.” Also, my working definition for learning would benefit from adding, “Learning can be influenced by the level of self-awareness and sensitivity of the provider of knowledge, as well as the feelings experienced by the learner.”

In addition, though creativity and innovation are not implicitly mentioned in these articles, both articles offer some examples of the conditions under which new ideas and problem solutions could manifest and be implemented, which relates to the internal and external influences and motivations mentioned in my working definitions for these 2 terms. Falkenberg (2012), in the steps highlighted for the noticing component, indicates teachers need to “develop alternative, more desired ways of experiencing and responding” (p. 31) after linking teaching situations to inner life experiences, which relates to the generating of new ideas and problem solutions mentioned in my working definition for creativity. Furthermore, Werner (2008) looks at vision as a way of providing students with the chance to come up with imagined alternatives for the future and how they may be achieved. Werner also adds efficacy, or rather the lack of, would entail “little open-mindedness to new ideas, willingness to reflect or motivation and confidence in becoming proactive” (p. 196). Both vision and efficacy, as such, could be seen as extrinsic motivators for creativity and innovation, which the teacher should instill in students so that they become intrinsic motivators, providing examples for my working definitions for both terms, and coincide with the internal and external influences, as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, mentioned in my working definitions for these terms.

Both articles have expanded on the 4 concepts in question, but have also brought forth questions: Regarding Falkenberg’s (2012) work, how would educators be taught or trained to be more self-conscious? Is this something that educators themselves need figure out and implement on their own? Regarding Werner’s (2008) work, is it feasible to implement the strategies mentioned with the present curricula and materials, or is there a need for an overhaul for the curricula? Should these concepts be addressed and practiced during teacher training?    

Falkenberg, T. (2012). Teaching as contemplative professional practice. Paideusis, 20(2), 25-35. Teaching as Contemplative Professional Practice | Philosophical Inquiry in Education (sfu.ca)

Werner, W. (2008). Teaching for hope. In R. Case & P. Clark (Eds.), The anthology of social studies, Volume 2: Issues and strategies for secondary teachers, 193-197. Course Reserves | Viewer (exlibrisgroup.com)