Approaches to Successful Learning: The Perry Scheme of Intellectual Development

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Approaches to Successful Learning The Perry
Schemeof Intellectual Development

• William J. Rapaport
• Department of Computer Science Engineering,
• Department of Philosophy,
• and Center for Cognitive Science
• rapaport_at_cse.buffalo.edu
• http//www.cse.buffalo.edu/rapaport

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Abstract

• I will present William Perrys scheme of
  intellectual development.
• This scheme identifies a sequence of approaches
  to learning that
• students use in college (and beyond). The Perry
  positions that
• we will look at include
• Dualism
• All questions have right answers,
• so, the teachers job is to teach them, and the
  students job is to learn them
• Multiplism
• Most questions have no answer, so all opinions
  are equally good
• hence, the students job is to shoot the bull
  OR give the teachers what they want and
• Contextual Relativism
• Answers to questions are relative to a background
  context
• so, the students job is to see things from
  different perspectivesand come to a reasoned
  decision about answers.
• We will also look at ways to use your knowledge
  of a students
• Perry position to improve your teaching.
  
  

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My Credentials

• Bachelors in math
• Masters in philosophy in computer science
• Ph.D. in philosophy
• Taught 7th grade ? Ph.D. students faculty
• Taught math, philosophy, computer science,
  cognitive science, even English composition!

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Survey

• How many of you have been teaching for a while?
• How many of you are new to teaching?
• You have taught many times!
• if youve ever helped anyone with HW
• but not cheating!
• Giving/telling someone the answers is not
  teaching!
• How many of you hate teaching or wouldnt ever
  do it in the real world?
• You almost always have to teach!
• If not at a university, then at a real-world
  job
• Talking to your boss about your work
• Making oral presentations to colleagues

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4 Approaches to Successful Learning

• All 4 used by everyone
• At different times in life
• In different areas of life
• Sometimes simultaneously
• Some are more appropriate for some people in some
  circumstances
• Identifying a students approach can help you to
  help the student

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Intellectual Growth

• How do students think?
• How do they
• perceive
• organize
• evaluate
• experiences events?
• How do they behave/feel in response to these
  experiences/events?
• How do they learn?

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• Remember
• what it was like for you to be a student
• which teachers you had who were
• good (do what they did)
• bad (dont do what they did)
• Cf. Ben-Al, Sarah (2004), Dont Be That Guy,
  Chronicle of Higher Education (Aug. 13) C3

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The Perry Scheme

• William Perry
• head of counseling, Harvard, 1950s
• What stands out for you over the last year?
• Discovered 9 positions from which students
  viewed knowledge learning
• Has been replicated adjusted
• Cf. Belenky et al. (1986), Womens Ways of Knowing

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Dualism / Received KnowledgeThere are
right/wrong answers to all questions,known to
Authorities

• 1. Basic Dualism
• All problems are solvable
• Solutions on Golden Tablets in sky
• Only Authorities ( teachers) have access
• Students task to learn right solutions
• 2. Full Dualism
• Some authorities (literature, philosophy)
  disagree
• Others (science, math) agree
• There are correct solutions
• but some teachers views are obscured
• Students task to learn right solutions
• And ignore others?

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For dualistic students

• Instructor
• Seen as the only legitimate source of knowledge
• Themselves
• Seen as receivers demonstrators of knowledge
• Other students
• Not seen as legitimate sources of knowledge
• On evaluation
• Wrong answer bad person
• Evaluation should be clear-cut
• Support
• Need high degree of structure
• Dualistic students like lectures, hate seminars

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Voices of Dualism

• Cornell undergrad (NY Times)
• Every lecture course, no matter how bad, has
  taught me more than any seminar, no matter how
  good. In a lecture, you get taught by an expert,
  which means the information is credible. But in
  a seminar, most of the information is from other
  students like yourself, which leads to discussion
  that is irrelevant suspect in accuracy. In
  seminars, profs dont like to tell students
  directly that they are wrong, or correct,
  so one can leave a seminar confused not knowing
  any more than when one entered.
• Dualism confronted by Multiplism
• Alienation?

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From New York Times, 19 Aug 2002 The College
Lecture Isnt Dead

• To the Editor
• Re Whither College Lectures? Maybe Right Out the
  Door (Education page, Aug. 14)
• I am an undergraduate at Cornell University.
  Every lecture course I have taken, no matter how
• bad or boring, has taught me more than any of my
  seminar courses, no matter how good or
• interesting.
• In a lecture you get taught by an expert, which
  means the information received is relevant and
• credible. But in a seminar, most of the
  information received is from other students like
• yourself, which leads to discussion that is
  mostly irrelevant and also largely suspect in
• accuracy.
• Additionally, professors dont like to tell
  students directly that they are wrong, but then
  again,
• do not say if they are correct, so one can
  leave a seminar completely confused and not
• knowing any more than when one entered. (One can
  of course leave a lecture confused as well,
• but there are always office hours.)
• I feel that if I have to pay the absurd amount
  that colleges charge for tuition, I should at
  least be
• taught by someone who knows his stuff.

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Voices of Dualism (continued)

• Im lost in CS 341 computer architecture the
  professor lacks a clue.
• I.e., its the profs fault hes the Authority

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Voices of Dualism (contd.)

• Possibly, with specific labs, go over the labs
  after they are to be turned in. Review how you
  would tackle the lab assignment.
• You the Authority
• Dualism ? Multiplism

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Are Science Disciplines Dualistic?

• Leon Henkin (math, UC/Berkeley) NO!
• One of the big misapprehensions about math that
  we perpetrate in our classrooms is that the
  teacher always seems to know the answer to any
  problem that is discussed.
• This gives students the idea that there is a
  book somewhere with all the right answers to all
  of the interesting questions, that teachers
  know those answers, if one could get hold of
  the book, one would have everything settled.
• Thats so unlike the true nature of math
• Or science, or engineering, or health
  professions!!

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Science vs. Humanities

• Science is often perceived (erroneously!) as a
  Dualistic discipline
• facts (vs. opinions)
• hard data
• problems have right/wrong answers
• BUT At frontiers of research,
• there are conflicting opinions
• i.e., conflicting theories
• or sometimes no theories
• data are relative to theories
• observations are theory-laden
• data have to be interpreted by theories
• problems without clear answers yield new
  paradigms
• formulation of a problem only makes sense with
  respect to some theory

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Multiplicity/Subjective KnowledgeThere are
conflicting answers? trust inner voice, not
external Authority

• 3. Early Multiplicity
• There are 2 kinds of questions (a kind of
  dualism)
• Those with answers that we know now
• Those with answers that we dont know yet
• Most knowledge is known.
• There are right/wrong ways to find answersto the
  other questions (another kind of dualism)
• Students task to learn right ways to find
  correct solutions

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For early multiplists

• Instructor
• Seen as source of right way to get knowledge
• Themselves
• Seen as learning how to learn
• Seen as working hard
• Other students
• Seen as in the same boat /?OK
• On evaluation
• Of central concern
• Quantity of work counts
• Fairness is important
• Support
• from peers, some structure

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Voices of Dualism Confronted with Multiplism

• I really enjoyed this course. I had lots of
  trouble till about 2/3 into the course, because I
  was looking for answers. Once I realized there
  were no answers you had to figure things out
  for yourself, it became easier.

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Voices of Dualism confronted with Multiplism
(continued)

• TAs should use the Profs method of solving
  problems rather than using their own, which
  confuse us more, but if the method is simpler
  easier to understand, then its OK, I guess, to
  introduce their own method of solving.

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Voices of Multiplism

• You know, it seems to me that there are 2
  different kinds of things we studythings where
  there are answers things where there arent
  any!

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Voices of Multiplism (continued)

• There are many of us students who spend from 39
  hours working on one lab assignment. When we get
  our grades back, they dont meet our
  satisfaction. I spend a lot of time thinking,
  trying out my program. When I get a D, I get
  upset. Maybe the grade should include more
  effort than if the program runs properly.
• quantity is more important than quality

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Voices of Multiplism

• On tests, longer problems maybe should be worth
  a little more points, because more time is put
  into them.
• Early Multiplism
• quantity is more important than quality

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4. Late Multiplicity

• Less cynical form
• Most problems have no known solution
• Everyone has a right to their own opinion
• More cynical form
• Some problems are unsolvable
• Doesnt matter which (if any) solution you choose
• Students task to B.S.
• Most freshmen?

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Late Multiplists

• Instructor
• Seen as source of the thinking process,
• Or else (cynical form) seen as irrelevant
• everyones entitled to own opinion ()
• Themselves
• Seen as learning to think for themselves
• Seen as expressing opinions
• whether believed/supported or not
• Other students Seen as legitimate (but )
• On evaluation
• Independent thought deserves good grades
• Or (cynical form) Ill do what they want
• Get support from diversity lack of structure
• Late multiplists hate lectures, like seminars

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Voices of Multiplism (continued)

• I attend recitation to hopefully gain some
  information I did not catch or understand in
  class. Regretfully I learn more on my own time
  than in recitation
• Dualism/Early multiplism ? late multiplism
• I like that there are many ways to solve or
  code a program
• Late multiplism
• I feel like Im programmed to programnot
  learning how why. Why does everyone else get
  it? I feel stupid.
• Dislike of dualism!
• Late multiplism ? Contextual Relativism?

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Voices of Multiplism (contd)

• CS junior/senior in CSE 191 (math/logic)
• Since the material tends to be subjective, it
  helps to see the reasoning of another person
  sometimes.
• Multiplism confronted with Contextual Relativism

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Possible Response to Multiplism ALIENATION

• leading to
• retreat to earlier, safer position
• Ill study math, not literature, because math
  has clear answers not as much uncertainty
• or to
• escape drop out
• I cant stand college all they want is right
  answers
• OR
• I cant stand college no one gives you the
  right answers

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C. Relativism/Procedural Knowledge

• There are discipline-specific reasoning methods.
• Knowledge can be connected/personal
• What does this poem mean to me?
• Knowledge can be separated/objective analysis
• What techniques can I use to analyze this poem?
• 2 kinds
• Contextual Relativism
• Pre-Commitment

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5. Contextual Relativism

• All proposed solutions must be supported by
  reasons
• I.e., they must be viewed in context
• and relative to their support
• Within a context, there are
• Right/wrong (better/worse) answers
• Rules for good thinking
• Students task to learn to evaluate solutions
• Where wed like most students to be.

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Contextual relativists

• Instructors
• Seen as source of expertise
• as long as they follow contextual rules for good
  thinking
• Themselves
• Seen as studying different contexts
• Seeing different perspectives
• Other students
• Legitimate if they follow contextual rules for
  good thinking
• On evaluation
• Evaluation of work ? evaluation of self
• Evaluation is part of learning
• Get support from
• Instructor
• Diversity

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Voice of Multiplism Confronted with Contextual
Relativism

• Comp Sci junior/senior in freshman discrete math
• Since the material tends to be subjective, it
  helps to see the reasoning of another person
  sometimes.

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Voices of Contextual Relativism

• Cliff Stoll _at_ UB
• The answer is Markus Hess now go home. If
  youre only interested in the solution, leave.
  If youre interested in good science want to
  know how I solved the puzzle, stay.
• Gauss (1808)
• It is not knowledge, but the act of learning,
  not possession but the act of getting there,
  which grants the greatest enjoyment.
• Einstein
• The search for truth is more precious than its
  possession.

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• What category am I in?
• Dualistic question!
• How many people are in each category?
• Multiplistic question!

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• If teacher is at Perry position N,
• student is at Perry position N-2,
• then student will not understand teacher!
• because

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Students Make Their Own MeaningWhat Teachers
Say vs. What Students Hear

• Teacher
• Today well discuss 3 methods for treating this
  disease
• Dualist
• Which is the correct one?
• Why bother with the wrong ones?
• Multiplist
• Only 3? Heck, I can think of a dozen!
• Contextual relativist
• What principles underlie the 3 methods?
• Which is the most successful?
• Which should I use on this patient?

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Students Make Their Own MeaningWhat Teachers
Say vs. What Students Hear

• Teacher Today well discuss 3 different
• theories of economics
• ways to solve this math problem
• algorithms for computing Greatest Common Divisor
• interpretations of this poem
• Dualist ? Which is the correct one?
• ? Why bother with the wrong ones?
• Multiplist - Only 3? Heck, I can think of a
  dozen!
• Contextual relativist ? What principles
  underlie each of them?
• - Which is the most efficient?
• Commitment - Which should I believe/use on my
  project?
• - What are the implications of my
  theory/solution/
• algorithm/interpretation?

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Students Who Make Their Own Meaning (contd)

• Theyre not dumb,
• theyre different!
• - Sheila Tobias (1990)

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Students make their own meaning (continued)

• (Dualistic) Teacher Today Ill tell you how
  to treat these diseases
• Dualistic Student Great! Ill learn them.
• Multiplist How boring! Ill learn them anyway
• OR I wont bother to learn them
• Contextual Relativist
• So what?
• Why are these treatments/diseases important?
• How do they fit into a bigger picture?

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Students make their own meaning (continued)

• (Dualistic) Teacher Today Ill tell you
• how to solve these problems
• how to treat this disease
• these physical laws
• the names of these stars
• Dualistic Student Great! Ill learn them.
• Multiplist How boring! Ill learn them anyway
• OR I wont bother to learn them
• Contextual Relativist
• So what?
• Why are these problems/reactions/laws/stars
  important?
• How do they fit into a bigger picture?

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Students Assumptions about Teachers

• Basic Dualism
• This teacher knows the answers to my questions.
• Full Dualism
• Good teachers know the answers bad ones
  dont.This particular teacher may or may not be
  that knowledgeable.
• Early Multiplism
• Im going to this teacher to find out if
  discipline X is advanced enough to answer my
  questions. S/he will tell me the answers, or
  give me the procedure (ritual) to work it out on
  my own.
• Late Multiplism
• There are no answers to my questions what I
  think is as valid as what the teacher thinks.
• Contextual Relativism
• There are a number of answers to my question,
  depending on how you look at it maybe this
  teacher can help me see the alternatives more
  clearly.
• Pre-Commitment
• There are a number of answers to my question,
  depending on how I look at it maybe this
  teacher can help me decide what I should believe
  (commit to).
• WHAT DO YOU (AS A TEACHER) DO?

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Sources of Conflict

• Dualistic teacher, Multiplistic student
• boredom, alienation
• to be successful in the sciences, do students
  need to adapt to the cognitive style of Dualism?
• Multiplistic teacher, Dualistic student
• no understanding
• to be successful in the arts/humanities, do
  students need to reject Dualism and/or adapt
  (only) to Multiplism/Contextual Relativism?
• Note Sciences dont have to be Dualistic!
• not if taught properly!
• but what about teaching basic facts?

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To Be Successful in College

• Students need to adapt to the cognitive style of
  Contextual Relativism
• else student wont understand instructor!
• BUT
• This might not happen till senior year
• or later!

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If students make their own meaning,how can you
help them?

• Find out the students Perry positions
• What was your favorite/least favorite class?
• Why?
• OR just listen!
• Then Help them move to the next position!

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Instrument Stimulus

• Describe the best class youve taken in your
  recent past (high school or college).
• What made it positive for you?
• Be as specific as possible.
• Feel free to go into as much detail as you think
  will give us a clear idea of the class
• E.g., you might want to discuss areas such as
• what the teacher was like
• the subject matter
• the particular content (readings, films, etc.)
• the atmosphere of the class
• grading procedures
• etc.
• We want your thoughts and comments
• a complete description of
• your experience
• and how you felt about it

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Brief Overview of 4 Initial Perry Positions

• Basic Dualist
• all questions have answers
• all teachers know right answers will teach them
• student must learn right answers
• Full Dualist
• all questions have answers
• some teachers know right answers teach them
• others dont, but teach them anyway
• student must learn right answers
• and ignore others
• Early Multiplist
• some questions have known answers
• others have not-yet-known answers
• teachers know right ways to get answers
• students must learn how to find right answers
• Late Multiplist
• most questions have no known answers
• teacher is source of thinking process OR is
  irrelevant
• student must learn to think for self (everyone
  has right to own opinion)

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

• sees Authority as giver who is responsible for
  learning (2).

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

• sees Authority as giver who is responsible for
  learning (2).
• 2. structured, traditional formal process
  (familiar to student) is expected and preferred
  (2).

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

• sees Authority as giver who is responsible for
  learning (2).
• structured, traditional formal process (familiar
  to student) is expected and preferred (2).
• expects/demands high level of external control
  (2).

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

• sees Authority as giver who is responsible for
  learning (2).
• structured, traditional formal process (familiar
  to student) is expected and preferred (2).
• expects/demands high level of external control
  (2).
• reacts against uncertainty values clear,
  no-nonsense approach (2).

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Passage 1

• The best class I have taken in recent years
• was US history. The class was fun for me
• because the teacher would help us outline
• her class. We all knew what she expected
• of us. Her grading system was the same as
• the rest of the school. She had control of
• her class. The students got along with her
• and had an interesting time learning. We
• always knew what to study and what
• would be expected of us. Her voice was
• never monotone and her appearance was
• always bright. She was great and easy to
• get along with. Her interesting manner
• was fabulous.

• sees Authority as giver who is responsible for
  learning (2).
• structured, traditional formal process (familiar
  to student) is expected and preferred (2).
• expects/demands high level of external control
  (2).
• reacts against uncertainty values clear,
  no-nonsense approach (2).
• in general
• Authority can be Good or Bad
• break between Authority absolute Right
  beginning (2)
• will not/cannot connect things, even to corral
  them (2)

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Passage 2

• I prefer a class of 6 or 7 students in a very
  unstructured situationno classroom, no seminar
  table, no note-taking. We would meet for dinner
  once a week and converse over the meal. When I
  mean converse, I am advocating talking,
  arguing, honestly disagreeing. There would be no
  time limit on the class, but if you were bored or
  tired you could bow out without penalty. There
  would be an instructor, but his/her role would be
  to stimulate discussion, ask honest and probing
  questions, excite the group, make it flow. The
  group would have to consist of close fiends in
  which no academic competition would be necessary
  or appropriate. We would laugh and interject
  personal stories, jokes into the conversation as
  well.
• The subject of the discussion would be whatever
  we chose at that time as the discussion
  progressed, whatever came to mind.
• The grading would be based on satisfaction level.
  If the student found that he found the class to
  be enjoyable, exciting, stimulating, and
  enriching, then he/she got nothing more than the
  satisfaction of knowing that. If a student felt
  less than satisfied, he/she would drop out.

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Passage 3

• I would have to choose Accounting. Now the
  question is why? Well, to begin with, I enjoy
  numbers. I can remember in high school in my
  Junior year my graduating class was given a
  battery of tests. I, believe it or not, rated
  one of the highest in math or numbers.
• So then, what made this class tops? It was that
  the teacher was organized and knew where we stood
  at all times. I knew what was expected of me and
  I did my thing.
• One final aspect of this class that I feel made
  it a good class, was that I knew if I was right
  or wrong. I guess this is a carry-over of
  knowing where I stood. Its the old
  grade-systemif you know what I mean.

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Passage 4

• The best classes that I have engaged in have been
  calculus and philosophy. I have enjoyed these
  because the instructors touched something inside
  myself. I experienced a lot of growth through
  personal thought and reflection. The instructor
  usually stimulated the thought through questions
  or phrases which stimulated strong feelings. The
  teachers were very open to questions and knew how
  to motivate the students. To my surprise these
  classes always required the most amount of work.
  I think it was because I wanted to put myself
  into the class that made it so much work for
  myself.
• The atmosphere was open and there was usually a
  lot of discussion among the students. The
  grading was based on tests, essays, multiple
  choice, etc.
• The teacher plays a very important part for me.
  If I know a good teacher, usually any class they
  teach will be excellent. They tell stories and
  use clever mnemonic devices to help you remember.
  You can tell they love teaching. It is radiated
  to the students.

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Your Goals as Teacher

• To challenge students,
• So that they will move from dualism to
  multiplism to contextual relativism ( beyond)
• To support students,
• As they move from the comfort of one approach
  to the strangeness of another

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Example

• How long should the paper/project be?
• Dualistic question!
• ? ? Give a justified length
• challenge support

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Examples

• Intro to Computer Science
• Different algorithms for same HW can all be
  correct
• More efficient, more readable, etc.
• Quantity of effort, length of program are
  irrelevant (to the grade)
• Possible solution bug report
• Math, etc.
• Proofs relative truth
• Any course
• How long should the paper/project be?
• Dualistic question!
• ?? Give a justified length
• challenge support

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Differential Assignments

• Background Students have just read Turings
  article on Turing Test.
• Assignment
• Write a 1-2 page description of the TT Dualistic
  assignment
• either (a) a description of one essay on TT in
• Minds Eye Dualistic
  assignment
• or (b) your reply to the following
  objection
• to TT () Multiplistic assignment
• or (c) your objections to TT
• your guess at Ts reply Late
  Mult/C.R.
• Support Student chooses least threatening
  option
• Challenge 2nd assignment Do next
  alternative

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Dualism ? Multiplism

• Design situations that invite Dualists (R/W
  thinkers) to
• experience multiple conflicting/alternative views
• using high degree of structure to present each
  view
• syllabus
• explicit assignments with due dates
• outline of each class
• handouts with requirements, hints
• Have students compare/contrast, explain answers,
  analyze
• If a student rejects a view, have student be
  concrete about basis for rejection

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Dualism ? Multiplism

• Design situations that invite Dualistic (R/W)
  thinkers to
• accept legitimacy ofand appreciatemultiple
  perspectives
• learn to
• compare contrast
• explain answers
• analyze

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Dualism?Multiplism (contd)

• Challenge
• have students experience 2-3 conflicting or
  alternative views
• Support
• use high degree of structure to present each
  view
• syllabus
• explicit assignments with due dates
• outline of each class
• handouts with requirements
• handouts with hints
• If student rejects a view, have student be
  concrete (support) about basis for rejection
  (challenge)

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Dualism?Multiplism (contd)

• Challenge
• have students experience 2-3 conflicting or
  alternative views
• Support
• use high degree of structure to present each
  view
• syllabus, explicit assignments with due dates,
  outline of each class, handouts with
  requirements, handouts with hints
• If student rejects a view, have student be
  concrete (support) about basis for rejection
  (challenge)
• If student appeals to authority or
  overgeneralizes, ask about instances when
  authoritys opinion might be challenged or
  generalization might not hold.
• Draw out students own views/ experiences
• reinforce students legitimacy
• structured discussions, small groups
• responses from teacher on written work
• After evidence and rational arguments are
  presented,
• reinforce possibility of changing mind

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Dualism? Multiplism (contd)

• Help students develop strategies to pick out
  major concepts or most relevant information in a
  section of text
• challenge learning how to learn
• (rather than learning answers)
• support there are correct answers as to
  whats important

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Multiplism ? Contextual Relativism

• Design situations that invite Late Multiplists
  (all opinions are OK) to
• encounter multiple views
• evaluate their relative merits
• via own experiences (biographies, stories),
  others experiences (small groups)
• explicitly identify bases for disagreements among
  authorities/views
• use low degree of structure
• let students take responsibility for structuring
  own learning
• negotiate syllabus, course content, due dates
• individual contracts, use teacher as resource

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Multiplism ? Contextual Relativism

• Design situations that invite Late Multiplistic
  students (all opinions are OK) to
• understand relative status of views via
  non-absolute criteria for judgment
• learn to
• synthesize views
• relate learning in one context to issues in
  another

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Multiplism?Contextual Relativism (contd)

• Support
• Have students encounter several views.
• Challenge
• Evaluate relative merits
• via non-absolute or imaginative criteria
  (support)
• own experiences (via biographies, stories)
• others experiences (small groups)
• Support
• Reinforce that authorities can/do disagree
• Challenge
• Explicitly identify bases for disagreements among
  authorities/views
• Support
• Use low degree of structure
• Let students take responsibility for structuring
  own learning
• negotiate syllabus, course content, due dates
• individual contracts teacher as resource

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Multiplism?Contextual Relativism (contd)

• Support
• Have students encounter several views.
• Challenge
• Evaluate relative merits
• via non-absolute or imaginative criteria
  (support)
• own experiences (via biographies, stories)
• others experiences (small groups)
• Support
• Reinforce that authorities can/do disagree
• Challenge
• Explicitly identify bases for disagreements among
  authorities/views
• Support
• Emphasize non-absolute criteria for generating
  evidence of support or criticism
• Challenge
• Identify and evaluate assumptions
• Support
• Use low degree of structure
• Let students take responsibility for structuring
  own learning
• negotiate syllabus, course content, due dates

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Beyond the 4 Approaches

• Pre-Commitment
• Student sees necessity of
• Making choices
• Committing to a solution
• Commitment
• Student makes a choice (e.g., chooses thesis
  topic)
• Challenges to Commitment
• Student experiences implications of choice
• Student explores issues of responsibility
• E.g., write defend dissertation

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On responsibility of commitment

• In science and mathematics,
• we do not appeal to authority, but rather
• you are responsible for what you believe.
• - R.W. Hamming (1998)
• (computer scientist)

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Contextual Relativism ? Commitment

• Design situations that invite Contextual
  Relativists to
• encounter analyze several views
• take a reasoned stand
• Use low degree of structure
• Recognize that students may have
• anxiety
• fear of loss
• fear of making a mistaken commitment
• Reinforce that commitments can be usually
  arereassessed changed

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Contextual Relativism ? Commitment

• Design situtations that invite Contextually
  Relativistic students to
• Apply non-absolute criteria to evaluate views
• Give alternative new ways of looking at complex
  problems

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Contextual Relativism?Commitment (contd)

• Have students encounter several views (support)
  and take a reasoned stand (challenge)
• Support
• Use low degree of structure
• Encourage students to take responsibility for
• structuring own learning (support)
• their own stands and decisions (challenge)
• Recognize that students may have
• anxiety
• fear of loss
• fear of making a mistake in making a commitment
• Reinforce that commitments can beand usually
  arereassessed and changed.

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• 9. Student realizes commitment is an ongoing,
  unfolding, evolving activity
• E.g., you become a researcher
• John A. Wheeler (physicist)
• We live on an island of knowledge surrounded
  by a sea of ignorance. As our island of
  knowledge grows, so does the shore of our
  ignorance.
• All Perry positions are sometimes repeated!

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Kinds of Questions(from ad in CHE (10 Nov 93)
for Center for Critical Thinking Workshop)

• Some questions have just one correct answer
• factual questions
• Dualistic questions !
• Other questions have many correct answers.
• preferences
• Multiplistic questions !
• For virtually all the crucial questions we face
  in life, there are many competing answers, some
  objectively better than others.
• questions requiring reasoned judgment
• Contextually Relativistic questions !

92
Brief Overview of the 4 Approaches to Learning

• Full Dualist
• all questions have answers
• some teachers know right answers teach them
• others dont, but teach them anyway
• student must learn right answers
• and ignore others
• Early Multiplist
• some questions have known answers
• others have not-yet-known answers
• teachers know right ways to get answers
• students must learn how to find right answers
• Late Multiplist
• most questions have no known answers
• teacher is source of thinking process OR is
  irrelevant
• student must learn to think for self (everyone
  has right to own opinion)
• OR doesnt matter which answer you give
• Contextual Relativist
• Answers must be supported by reasons
• Within a context, there are better/worse answers

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The Perry Scheme, Self-Referentially

• Dualist
• The Perry scheme is the best way of thinking
  about college students. Someone has finally told
  us how to make students change in the right ways.
• Multiplist
• Well, its some peoples way of talking about
  student growth and development, and they have a
  right to their own opinion, I suppose.
• Contextual Relativist
• It is one of a relatively few student-development
  models based on data collected in a fairly
  unbiased manner over many years.
• Commitment
• I have found the Perry scheme, integrated with
  other theories, extremely helpful to me as I try
  to interpret the behavior of people around me, as
  I think of my goals as an educator, and,
  especially, as I interact with my students.
• The Perry scheme attempts to analyze assumptions
  about knowledge, self, and values such as those
  implicit in the 4 descriptions above and in the
  ability to write this last sentence.
• - Larry Copes

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Summary

• Hear your students voices
• where are theyre coming from on the Perry
  scheme?
• then
• you can reply with answers that challenge and
  support
• you can design assignments/experiences that help
  them journey along the Perry positions
• Be flexible
• try different teaching styles
• to support your students
• to challenge your students
• and yourself!

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Further reading

• W.G. Perrys 2 main works
• Forms of Intellectual Ethical Development in
  the College Years
• (Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1970)
• Cognitive Ethical Growth, in Chickering, The
  Modern American College (Jossey-Bass, 1981).
• An interesting follow-up study
• Belenky, M.F., et al. (1986), Womens Ways of
  Knowing (Basic Books).
• Good general introduction application to
  science teaching,
• with many useful further references
• Finster, D.C., Developmental Instruction,
  Journal of Chemical Education
• 66 (1989) 659-661 and 68 (1991) 752-756.
• Two of my own papers
• Rapaport, W.J. (1982), Unsolvable Problems
  Philosophical Progress, American Philosophical
  Quarterly 19 289-298.
• Rapaport, W.J. (1984), Critical Thinking
  Cognitive Development,
• Proceedings of the American Philosophical
  Association. 57 610-615.
• For further information, go to
• http//www.cse.buffalo.edu/rapaport/perry.positio
  ns.html