Class Notes for 3-24-09

We began class by discussing Curren 43, 45 and 49 in small groups. Each group was assigned a different article:

Group #1: Phillips—The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Curren 43)

Phillips wants to know “What do we mean by constructivism?” His purpose is clarification and organization or a “method for understanding constructivist thought”. Phillips offers 3 dimensions that create a framework for Constructivist thought.

a. Individual Psychology--------------------------------------------Public Discipline
Should constructivism focus on individual psychology or be based on a public discipline like science or education? As a public discipline, constructivism

b. Human as Creator------------------------------------------------Nature as Instructor
Is knowledge something that we make or something we discover?

c. Active-----------------------------------------------------Passive
Does knowledge come about by active discovery or is it something that we were destined to discover? Locke for example, believed that we took in knowledge in a passive way. In other words, our minds are a “blank slate” (tabula rosa) that is written on. We are a passive receptacle with an active element. For Dewey, our acquisition of knowledge is more active because we are searching for solutions to problems.

Key Questions:
Is knowledge made or discovered?

Phillips thinks it is made, not found. The Good is that we engage in discussion of constructivism. The Bad is that many people slide their constructivist thought toward relativism. The Ugly is that many educators wave the flag of constructivism without fully understanding it.

Group #2: Elgin, Education and the Advancement of Understanding (Curren 45)

Elgin discusses Knowledge vs. Understanding. She writes about Plato’s Teaching Assumption (PTA): the idea that to teach you must know. Elgin wants to refrain from teaching knowledge and start teaching for understanding. She does not like PTA.
Knowledge is based on belief. Elgin’s point is that most of our beliefs that might be true are not justified. So, if we focus teaching on knowledge, then we’re potentially teaching a lot of false information.
Understanding, on the other hand, does not require truth, it’s holistic and allows for degrees of understanding (student, teacher, professor).

Questions for Elgin article:
1. What does her thesis imply about teacher knowledge? Does it degrade the role of the teacher? This question refers back to Strike and Soltis’ question about ‘What is a body of knowledge?” and don’t we need to be proficient in our field in order to justify the professional status of teachers?

Group #3: Siegel, The Reasons Conception (Curren 49)

Critical thinking is based on reasons which are justified by principles.

What does it mean to be a critical thinker?
a. They solve problems
b. It implies that the person is open to new beliefs and is open to finding a new understanding of his/her own beliefs

Siegel says that critical thinkers have a certain epistemology to support their beliefs. Critical thinkers are apt to live a "life of reason" which she also calls "the critical spirit". Problems can be solved and decisions made by viewing the world through a certain epistemological lense.

Epistemology—theory of knowledge with regard to its methods and scope

Siegel’s conclusion is not that anything goes. It’s that there are rules for reasoning and that students should learn rules of reasoning so that they can become critical thinkers in order to justify their findings. But critical thinking is also knowing your own beliefs and having the audacity to apply them. This is also part of the “critical spirit”.