A wander around a pedagogic landscape

1
A wander around a pedagogic landscape

• Paul Hopkins

2
A little learning theory

• Behaviourism looks at how people respond to
  stimuli, teaching is based on reward and
  punishment. This is how people (students) are
  encouraged to act in certain ways. Schools
  operate a behaviourist approach in the use of
  merits, rewards (examinations), detentions, lines
  etc but also in the use of praise as
  reinforcement for actions / behaviours, and the
  construction of the physical environment in which
  learning takes place. Ivan Pavlov, Burrhus
  Skinner and Hans Eysenck
• Constructivism Looks at the world view of the
  student - teaching is about building upon
  (constructing) that world view consider the
  danger for believers if REs task is to
  re-construct a world view. Pupils are active
  learners - not empty vessels to be filled (Paulo
  Freire). Jean Piaget was an early constructivist
  (lone scientist - classical constructivism).
  Social constructivism (Vygotsky (ZPD) and Bruner)
  sees students learning in conversation with
  peers, parents and teachers and looks at systems
  (classes, families, schools and communities) as
  well as individuals. Lev Vygotsky used the term
  scaffolding in which students are given the
  tools to change their ontological outlook
  (developed later by Jerome Bruner). Children work
  collaboratively in order to build up
  understanding.

3
Some Key Questions

• What do we want students to gain?
• What do we want students to experience?

4
The Book
5
(No Transcript)
6
Questions

• Is learning facts the same as phenomenology?
• Can a phenomenological pedagogy which take
  theories and philosophies on their own terms be
  envisaged?
• Can such a pedagogy be practised?

7
Grimmitton
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

• Pedagogy is driven by the need for RE to enable
  Human Development - the links between psychology,
  philosophy, anthropology and other social
  sciences create a tension. The place of religion
  as a distinctive human discourse is defended even
  in secular cultures
• The term learning from religion stems from this
  approach. The focus is on finding personal
  meaning through RE has become axiomatic - though
  teaching this is often difficult. Pupils are
  encouraged to make a faith response to
  fundamental questions of human existence
• This could be seen as RE as existentialism and
  may challenge the nature of truth

8
Questions

• Is this existentialism (making meaning)? And is
  this RE?
• What are the tensions between learning about
  religion and learning from religion
• If we are looking to make meaning these whose
  meaning are we making? Who is in control?

9
Hammond Hayland
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

• Concepts of spiritual dimension of life lie
  behind the intention to enable learners to access
  their own spirituality and to reflect on
  spiritual experience. The psychological defense
  of the spiritual dimension is linked to to
  examination of spiritualities from different
  religions.
• This has led to creative practice and the
  methodologies draw heavily on the expressive arts
  (art, music, dance, drama)
• Can encourage a dualistic approach and ignore
  knowledge of religious traditions

10
Questions

• Does this encourage dualism (spirit-mind)?
• Should RE be religious or spiritual education?
• Does a spiritual focus lose touch with the
  communities of practice?

11
Cooling Wright City
TRUTH CLAIMSRELIGIOUS LITERACY

• Religion is about Truth truth claims. The
  critical evaluation of these truth claims and
  schemes for establishing truth claims are the key
  skills for young people in RE. These skills are
  especially important in a relativistic,
  post-expert and post-modern culture. Narrative
  deconstructionism is a key process.
• This critical realist approach can be very
  attractive but good classroom resources can be
  difficult to source. Robert Kirkwood and some
  Science and Religion resources use this approach.
• Contrasts with the humanistic or romantic
  approaches but offers a sense of perspective and
  understanding of ones own faith position.

12
Questions

• By focusing on the conceptual what is lose?
• Are the social and the cultural aspects of
  religion marginalised? Is this a problem
• Can we examine truth claims without a grounding
  in the phenomena?

13
Jackson Towers
INTERPRETIVEAPPROACH

• Engagement with internal diversity as well as
  religious plurality, and emphasises a serious
  engagement with the layering of religion, culture
  and philosophy. The key skill is interpretation.
  Homogeneity is a dangerous approach to
  understanding or experiencing religious
  tradition.
• A fusion of phenomenology with social
  anthropology gives the learner an ability to make
  sense of the way that religion is lived today -
  in the light of the traditions they come from,
  being alert to the non-homogeneity of religions
• Pupils benefit from becoming active interpreters
  of religious meaning making, not just passive
  observers or recipients of information about a
  tradition

14
Questions

• Is this asking too much of teachers and or
  students?
• Is this just too hard for children aged 5-16?
• Is this method too aggressive towards the
  religious communities?

15
Camp Erricker
RECONSTRUCTIONISM

• If the task of education is constructing the self
  then pedagogies for religious (and spiritual and
  moral education) should facilitate this. To
  facilitate this some prior practice must be swept
  away
• Attempts to develop childrens natural capacities
  for individual storying and constructing meaning.
  Accepts that the meaning which the individual
  constructs represents reality. Truth is related
  to personal narratives, constructed out of
  individual experiences
• Uses a process of identification, reflection and
  application to engage children in developing
  their world views, and challenges orthodoxy and
  the credibility of religious faith in a
  post-modern age.

16
Questions

• Can the tools of deconstruction be wielded by
  children?
• Is it possible to deconstruct our own narrative?
• What effect would it have if we turned these
  tools onto other aspects of our lives?
• Is this method too aggressive on the believer?

17
Pedagogic Pilgrims
Smartsville
Wright city
Hammondland
Grimmitton
Jackson Towers
Camp Erricker
18
(No Transcript)
19
A pedagogic fantasy I

• As part of the scheme of work Mrs Jones saw that
  she was going to teach the Y7s (11 year olds)
  about Hanukah, about the festival, the stories
  associated with the festival and the impact of
  the festival on the Jewish community. She had
  done her PGCE in a university where Ninian Smart
  had had a major influence and so began with
  teaching the children the phenomena of the
  festival. She used a variety of resources
  including text books, artefacts (a Hanukiah,
  candles, oil, kippurs), some video materials
  looking at the festival celebrations in both a
  liberal and reform synagogue and some web
  resources including an animated text of the
  story.
• She was then lent Michael Grimmit's book on RE
  and human development and realised that she had
  been focusing to much on 'learning about' so she
  planned some fresh lessons. Students were asked
  to reflect on the story and consider if it had
  any meaning for them. What were the key ideas in
  the story that challenged them to consider how
  they lived their lives? They were asked to
  consider when they were in a situation where hope
  triumphed over seemingly impossible odds or what
  they considered to be miraculous. Some excellent
  work emerged as the pupils related the idea of
  miracles to their own lives.

20
A pedagogic fantasy II

• She was then sent details of Cooling's concept
  cracking and so planned a couple of lessons where
  the students were to examine the story of Hanukah
  critically and decide if this could have
  happened. What were the claims of the people at
  the time? Of Jews today? Were there differing
  accounts of the story and what were the literal
  or the metaphorical truths within the narrative.
• Over the inter-term break she met up with an old
  friend from college who had been on a course with
  Sue Philips on the 'theatre of learning' as the
  friend described the experiential methods of
  Hammond and Hay. Mrs Jones was inspired to get
  the children actively engaged in their learning.
  The first lesson back the students enacted the
  story from the points of view of a variety of the
  characters and then working with the art
  department created a piece of art work based on
  the theme of a miracle

21
A pedagogic fantasy III

• A course was offered and Mrs Jones discovered the
  interpretive method of Bob Jackson and so planned
  a couple of lessons where the students were to
  investigate how the festival was celebrated by
  the local community. They invited in the local
  Rabbis from the orthodox and reform congregations
  and the students used the internet to talk to
  students from Jewish school in Manchester asking
  them about the festival and why it was important.
  The students put these into a vox pop and
  presented this to the class via the eWB.
• As the term came to an end the RE advisor came
  into school and discussed the work of Erricker on
  deconstructionism with her. Mrs Jones was a
  little concerned she had been pushing a doctrinal
  view on her students and so the last lessons
  revolved around the idea of faith in the
  community and if you needed to believe in certain
  doctrines to belong to a religious group. How
  much could you be 'in a club' if you didn't like
  all the beliefs of that club? The students
  finished off the term by starting to formulate
  their own concept of what a 'religious sect or
  group' would look like
• Mrs Jones finished the term tired but happy and
  wondered how she was going to explore next term's
  theme on the existence of God