Pedagogical Insideness and Outsideness

Pedagogical Insideness and Outsideness

DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT:

This unit encourages educators to critically consider what it means to be an insider and an outsider in an educational community and what the advantages and disadvantages of these different positions can be. The priority of this session is to recognise that within one community, individuals can be experiencing education in significantly different ways and it is an educator’s responsibility to be sensitive to these experiences and consciously work towards making education a place of positive development. Individual educators cannot do this alone, however, and in that sense dialogue between and with colleagues and peers is of great importance.

OBJECTIVES:

to be more sensitive to the experiences of children/students in relation to education as a cultural, formative institution
to consider notions of insideness and outsideness from different perspectives
to be more aware of the pedagogical responsibilities of an educator

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this unit the learners will have…

… critically reflected on their own experiences of education as well as the experiences of others.
… become more sensitive to responsibilities they have as educators
… a broader understanding of the way in which their choices fundamentally affect the kind of education that is experienced by students.

Through this critical reflection as individuals and with other educational professionals, assumed and potentially unhelpful ways of being, acting and relating in education can be more easily identified and alternative approaches introduced.

APPLIED METHODOLOGIES:

The slides that accompany this session should be used as the basis for discussions. This session is intended to be more of a dialogue between the different participants as key stakeholders in education. Each of us has our own experiences of education from different times and places, and these experiences contribute to the way in which we related to education and acknowledge the stories and experiences of others. The slides move through a number of themes and it is a good idea to pause before a new theme begins. Each theme has its own title page to indicate the transition. When I led this session, I quite candidly shared my own experiences when I have felt uncomfortable or uncertain as well as when I’ve assumed that others feel comfortable in the classroom based on my positive feeling rather than their experience. The suggested readings can be read prior to the discussion session or then included at different points. The two videos hopefully provide different entry points into educational experiences and how educators can respond to the diversity of educational communities today. No final solutions are provided, but on the basis of the discussions, readings and critical reflections it should be possible to begin to think about what more pedagogical responses can be developed in particular communities.

REFERENCES:

Bakhtin, M. (1986). Speech Genres and Other Late Essays. University of Texas Press.
Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education. Harvard University Press.
Emerson, C. (1996). Keeping the self intact during the culture wars: A centennial essay for Mikhail Bakhtin. New Literary History, 27(1), 107-126.
Palmer P. J. (1986) Community, Conflict, and Ways of Knowing Ways to Deepen our Educational Agenda, Change Magazine