Transformative Pedagogy

Concepts

Definitions(Cope & Kalantzis)

• Such a transformative pedagogy is, we would argue, based both on a realistic view of contemporary society (how does schooling offer cultural and material access to its institutions of power?) and on an emancipatory view of possible paths to improvement in our human futures (how can we make a better, more equal, less humanly and environmentally damaging world?). Or, insofar as these two goals might at times be at odds, a transformative pedagogy could be used to support either view.

• Then, it is up to the learner to make of the pedagogy what they will, be that a sensible conservatism (sensible for being realistic about the contemporary forces of technology, globalization and cultural change) or an emancipatory view which wants to make a future that is different to the present by addressing its crises of poverty, environment, cultural difference and existential meaning.

Assumptions in Schooling

• Product-based and result-oriented society• Learning = intelligence measured by tests• Experts would be able to decide what to teach,

how to teach, and how to evaluate• All human beings are as much alike > same

lessons assigned for all• The pupil’s mind is empty and wait to be filled• In a complete bureaucratic settings, it is easy for

students to receive an education(and to be disengaged.)

3 Types of Education(McGregor,2008)

• TransmissionalTeacher is the expert and has power Curriculum focuses on subject matterNo space for students’ daily life and contextThe information is organized in sequenced topics and

units, teacher delivers and students have to master them.

The intended outcome is to pass the test by memorizing and mastering the transmitted information.

3 Types of Education(McGregor,2008)

• TransactionalCloser to collaborative approachThe power is more likely to be shared between

students and teacher.Curriculum focuses on problems and solutions by

both teachers and studentsJointly construct meaning that informs learners’

personal growthLearning is gauged by observing each students’

growth and thinking process, inquiry process, and students’ predisposition to lifelong learning.

3 Types of Education(McGregor,2008)

• TransformativePlace the student at the center of learningHelp learners find their own inner voice and power,

therefore they feel empowered to effect social change, bring about justice, peace, freedom, and other components of human condition.

Teachers have to respect and have compassions for co-learners.

All ways of knowing are interconnected and enriched by each other.

The desired outcome is to change- to transfer learning into social action outside the classroom.

(Sockman & Sharma, 2008)

Characteristics

• Transfer/Transmission to TransformFrom learning for information ("what we know") to

learning for transformation ("how we know“).

• Transformative learning often requires a “structural shift” in the way thoughts, feelings, and actions are conceptualized. This shift is at once conscious, dramatic and lasting; and it holds an opportunity to change the way we are in the world(O’Sullivan, 2004).

• Self-reflectivity / Self-recreation

Good words

• William Ayers(1993)……a creative work, (in which teachers) must figure

out how to create a space where students are expected to use their minds well to derive knowledge from information, to invest though with courage, to connect consciousness to conduct, and so on. (p.7)

• bell hooks(1994)……against and beyond boundaries. It is that

movement that makes education the practice of freedom(p.12).

• Edmund V. O’Sullivan(2002)Transformative learning involves experiencing a

deep, structural shift in the basic premise of thought, feeling, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and permanently alters our way of being in the world. Such a a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race, and gender; our body-awareness; our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of the possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy.

4 Dimensions(Bill & Kalantzis, 2008)

• Experiencing, Conceptualising, Analysing, and Applying

• Experiencing ‘Experiencing the Known’ involves or reflecting on

our own experiences, interests, perspectives, familiar forms of expression and ways of representing the world in one’s own understanding.

‘Experiencing the New’ entails observing or reading the unfamiliar, immersion in new situations and texts, reading new texts or collecting new data.

4 Dimensions(Bill & Kalantzis, 2008)

• Conceptualising ‘Conceptualising by Naming’ involves or drawing

distinctions of similarity and difference, categorising and naming.

‘Conceptualising with Theory’ means making generalisations and putting the key terms together into interpretative frameworks.

4 Dimensions(Bill & Kalantzis, 2008)

• Analysing ‘Analysing Functionally’ includes processes of

reasoning, drawing inferential and deductive conclusions, establishing functional relations such as between cause and effect and analysing logical and textual connections.

‘Analysing Critically’ involves evaluation of your own and other people’s perspectives, interests and motives.

4 Dimensions(Bill & Kalantzis, 2008)

• Applying ‘Applying Appropriately’ entails the application of

knowledge and understandings to the complex diversity of real world situations and testing their validity.

‘Applying Creatively’ involves making an intervention in the world which is truly innovative and creative and which brings to bear the learner’s interests, experiences and aspirations.

Thinking UL

• Ubiquitous computing has become part of home, community, and daily lives. This technology has the potential to inspire us to transform the way we live, the way we teach, and the way we learn.

• It is a radical transformation in educational practice, especially who learns from whom, where, under what circumstances, and for what and whose purpose.

Thinking UL

• “We need to do more than this, hence the notion of a transformed and transformative pedagogy in the environment of ubiquitous learning”(Cope & Kalantzis, 2008)

• ……not to start from the side of the sender (or the teacher), but from the side of the receiver (the student). In general terms, the question then becomes how a child or learner can get access to the meanings that are available in a culture(Biesta & Miedema, 2002, p.180)

Thinking UL

• UL enabling educators to transform their instructional practices from a teacher-centric model to a teacher as facilitator model where inquiry based learning through ubiquitous access to technical resources is the capstone of the classroom.

Thinking UL

• Internet is a relatively egalitarian environment for teaching approaches that critically examine social patterns of power and dominance.

• Students may feel a greater willingness to disclose their beliefs and experiences online.

• Sharing and sense of community are also vital for transformative pedagogy.

• Internet has transformative potential for democracy

Implications• Transformative Pedagogy + Ubiquitous Learning?• Meyers (2008) has some suggestions based on

his online teaching experiences.

• Creating a safe environment Increasing trust, climate of acceptance, positive peer

interactions, and remaining openness.Forums allow students to express themselves

thoughtfully without interruption, which is particularly significant for those who are at greater risk for marginalization in class due to their gender, race, social class, or even personality style

Implications

• Encouraging students to think about their experiences, beliefs, and biases Internet courses allow reflective dialogue to develop

slowly over the span of several days, which can clarify differences in perspective.

• Using teaching strategies that promote student engagement and participationUse internet adaptations and extension, ex. blogs

allow students to publish instantaneously on the Internet and provide the opportunity for others to respond.

Implications

• posing real-world problems that address societal inequalities

• helping students implement action-oriented solutions. Internet resources can uniquely facilitate advocacy by

helping students obtain necessary information, promoting communication, and enabling coordination with others who have similar concerns.

Ex: writing editorials or columns in local newspapers, or e-mail to legislators, producing YouTube videos……

Video as Resources

• Ideas: Cultural Criticism & Transformation(bell hooks)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQUuHFKP-9s

•  Practice: Digital Bridge Academyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpYyZOvrB8A

•  A Talk : Transformative Technology(Dr. Yong Zhao)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwtBc3vsj8

References

• Ayers, W.(1993). To teach: The journey of a teacher. New York: Teachers College Press.

• Biesta, G. J. J., & Miedema, S.(2002). Instruction or pedagogy? The need for a transformative conception of education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 173-181.

• Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis, ‘Multiliteracies: New Literacies, New Learning’, forthcoming in Pedagogies: An International Journal.

• Gardner, M., & Kelly, U. (Eds.) (2008). Narrating transformative learning in education. New York: Macmillan.

• hooks, b.(1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.

• Meyers, S. A.(2008) Using transformative pedagogy when teaching online. College Teaching, 56, 219-224.

• O’Sullivan, E. V., Morrell, A., & O’Connor, M. A.(2002). Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning. New York: Palgrave.