A Continuation of Chapter 4

and

Chapter 5

This session 3 ran way too quickly for us!!  I raised the question several times that Chapter 4 both  implies and directly handles:

Is an Honors class the terrain for social justice, civic engagement, and democratic undertakings—dialogics and the politics of?

Jim Knauer, the author of Chapter 4 (see session 2 for title) seems to hang his hat on this focus. Next semester, we as a group, committed ourselves to looking specifically at what constitues his “Democracy Lab.”  We need more time to look at the specifics of his pedagogy.

As for Chapter 5, we began to discuss motivational issues related to the academic performance of Honors students, though Larry Clark, the author of this essay (see session 2 for title) admits that there is very sparse work on this topic on/at the post-secondary level. He notes that “motivationally gifted students”: show higher achievement, self concept, and post-secondary educational progress. Clark looks at 4 trajectories that  gifted students might follow:

1. intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
2. developing sense of self
3. personal qualities of gifted learners
4. special issues—performance among females.

Different faculty members in the group were going to expound upon the core of the sections above, but time ran out. Here is where we will pick up  the discussion next semester after catching up on the “Democratic Lab.”

A productive Honors Education FIG group!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The discussion revolved around Chapter 4— “Dialogue, Politics, and Pedagogy: Lessons from Democracy Lab”  by James T. Knauer

This chapter focuses on:  1) the purpose of education, 2) the nature of learning, and 3) “dialogue” as a teaching strategy. Knauer says that the classroom is a political space where dialogic strategies have political value. In this classroom, honors students have powerful learning experiences throughg a particular kind of movement: that which is visible, organized, and committted.  What the essay seems to ultimately focus on is: democratization in the classroom through dialogic strategies. Knauer states, “Learning skills of democratic discourse and developing a taste for commitment to deliberation about the common good requires development beyond epistemologically inhibiting assumptions of dualism” (44).  The author provides an exhaustive conversation on what creates democratic educational spaces through dialogic strategies: team work/collaborative learning, student-to-student dialogue, teacher-directed Socratic dialogue/student at the center, the elimination of lecture and passive note-taking, personal experiences and concerns (not narrow cognitive understanding of learning), connecting thinking and feeling, etc. (Read the essay for a comprehensive discussion.) “City as text” projects (see Bernice Braid’s work), for example, can produce what Knauer is talking about. What matters is what interests participants in an educational setting, not what “causes political polarization and alienation”  (Wells 1999, qtd. in Knauer, ix). Dialogic learning, according to Knauer,  supports a co-construction of knowledge, a kind of “empathic thinking” which requires a willingness to suspend disbelief in order to “understand truly.” At the heart of this education is Liberal Learning.

The FIG Group discussed the following:

Questions:

• Is all pedagogy political?
• If so, then what we choose to teach and assign must be political?
• Are all spaces political?
• Is anything neutral in the classroom?

Comments:

• We have to learn how to listen to students.
• To change one’s mind and to have divirse views is valuable.
• Thinking from multiple perspectives should be encouraged.
• Feeling is important to thinking.
• A democracy lab means the development of community, even if it’s ‘messy’.
• Honors students have ability but not always confidence.
• We need to help honors students (all students) voice themselves
• It is important to empower students to stop thinking about being sure or right.

**Session 3 will deal with the rest of Chapter 4—the actual strategies for encouraging/actualizing a democracy lab.—and Chapter 5.

 

See “All Posts” for Session 3

 

 

 

• Isn’t what we leave out of a course as telling as what we include?

 

 

♥For Session 1: our group discussed three readings from the NCH Monograph Serie– Inspiring Exemplary Teaching and Learning: Perspectives on Teaching academically Talented College Students.

We read, reflected, and responded to —

Chapter 3:  ” Engagement in Learning, Liberal Education, and Honors” by Bernice Braid

The focus of this chapter is on intentional active learning which produces critical thinking, expands students’ horizons, engages them in reflection, and creates greater responsibility and citizenship.

Honors students can be helped to think beyond borders when they engage in: multidisciplinary work, research, and engage in presentations of their work.  Students should have practical opportunities for independent investigation, develop autonomous expertise, experience deep immersion, expertise, and changing perspective.

The FIG HONORS Group discussed how important it is to frame our teaching but to work against scripting and prescrition, that our students need to be guided  by depth of thought and experience and that we have to nurture pride in them. We have to encourage them to work against the fear of showing their “smarts,” to challenge them to do interdisciplinary work, to take courses they would not normally take, and to foster curiosity in a context that is alive, passionate, energetic, organic and safe.

***
Chapter 1: “Pre-College Experiences and Characteristcs of Gifted Students” by Anne Rinn

In this chapter, Anne Rinn discusses: healthy and neurotic perfectionism in honors students(p.12); how their high self concepts can decrease, depending on contex (pp.12-13); and the reflected-glory effect (basking in the reflected glory of other successful students) (p.13) which helps students succeed. Rinn also broadly talks about academic and social factors that help students  succeed.

The FIG HONORS Group pointed out that honors students: may get bored quickly, that they can exhibit passion which moves into curiosity, love, and desire to know more. Our challenge as teachers  is to always push  for growth over a fixed mind. One of many ways to do this is to use language in particular ways that creates an HONORS  CLIMATE: “You really worked it!” instead of “You’re so smart.”  We need to point out intelligence through hard work.

***

Chapter 6: “Six Habits of Highly Inspiring Honours Teachers” by Marca Wolfensberger

Marca Wolfensberger lists and describes the six habits  of an inspiring honors teacher.

S/he is: 1) authentic, 2) courageous, and 3) challenging; this educator 4) invests in relationships, 5) walks the talk (as a symbol), and 6) lives the dream.

Each of these habits are described as follows (more detailed in article):

1. curious, open, forthright, observant, appreciative, honest, ethical spiritial—fosters habits of thought, mind, and heart
2. encouraging, analytical, rigorous—has high expectations vand dares to be “critical”
3. creative, deep, challenging—offers alternate assessment, thoughtful feedback,, shows genuine interest in students’ success and abilities, challenges predictable dcomfortable learning.
4. values curiosity, enthusiasm, interdisciplinary work, research, theory, publications, and relationship with students (see article for more specific definition of “relationship”). S/he speaks, listens, and attends to the voice of the inner vision and creative imagination.
5. knows her/his own passion and vision and shows them to students; values substantive work, clarifies expectations, has a positive attitiude, as well as good work habits. This teacher makes a commitment to self and society and supports this commitment through a student-centered approach to the classroom and deep engaged learning
6. experimental, innovative, flexible, authentic. This teacher shares personable qualities with students, relates to them, and challenges students to give their best.

The FIG HONORS Group was highly responsive to M.W’s ideas. We valued the qualities of the honors teacher as discussed in this chapter. The content seemed to invigorate and challenge us to think further/beyond to other important qualities needed to be successful inspiring teachers. We all agreed that it is necessary to: 1) offer many opportunities to our students—places and spaces where they could find themselves in successful productive ways; 2)embrace “relationship” effectively; 3) be role models; 4) take students off campus, to the larger world—where experiential education is a powerful force beyond the traditional classroom frame. Our reflections on experiential education expanded to a discussion of “city as text,” as we went beyond the limitations of time—a one hour prescription of meeting time (nice when we don’t have a class to go to or other wordly demands).

*****

See “All Posts” for Session 2