Philosophy of Education Nel Noddings Chapter 3 ANALYTIC

Philosophy of Education Nel Noddings Chapter 3 ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY

Analytic Philosophy What is Philosophy? “…leaves everything as it is. That is, philosophy does not change the world; it just makes the world clearer. ” -Ludwig Wittgenstein

Analytic Philosophy What is Analysis? A general and broad definition of analysis is: Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. Analysis ≠ Interpretation

Analytic Philosophy vs. Traditional Philosophy Analytic philosophy works toward neutrality; leaving out the values and beliefs of the philosopher. Traditional philosophy allows the philosopher to interject his own ideas, opinions, and interpretations. Many philosophers reject analytic philosophy claiming that personal values cannot be set aside as they engage in analysis

Analytic Philosophy Nel Noddings explains: One task of analytic philosophy is to take apart concepts, words, and sentences to figure out what each part means and what role it plays in the whole. Bertrand Russell Analytic philosophy concentrates on the connection between language and reality.

Analytic Philosophy The focus of Noddings Chapter 3 pertains to the philosophical analysis of teaching and its relation to learning. What does the word “Teaching” mean? Please click the following link: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=cl. Zf 6 -P 5018&feature=related Pay specific attention to the note paper shown at : 30. It is a list of what learning is and what it is not. The philosophical comments are by author and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti 2: 50

Analytic Philosophy We will look at the following philosophers’ analyses of teaching: Dewey Scheffler Komisar Smith Mac. Millian & Garrison Laird

Analytic Philosophy John Dewey was not solely an analytic or traditional philosopher. As described by Nel Noddings, John Dewey… - Challenged the notion that 'teaching implies learning' - Believed the teacher should be viewed as a guide and director - Believed the initiative to learn must lie with the learner

Analytic Philosophy John Dewey “Teaching may be compared to selling commodities. No one can sell unless someone buys. We should ridicule a merchant who said that he had sold a great many goods although no one had bought any. ” continued…

Analytic Philosophy John Dewey “But perhaps there are teachers who think they have done a good day’s teaching irrespective of what people have learned. There is the same exact equation between teaching and learning that there is between selling and buying. ”

Analytic Philosophy Israel Scheffler sought to… - defend teachers from accusations of educational shortcomings as a result of poor teaching, when compared to Soviet counterparts - demonstrate the difference of 'human teachers' from that of 'teaching machines' and technicians who merely follow scripts in the classroom

Analytic Philosophy Israel Scheffler’s 3 criteria that characterize teaching: 1. The teacher intends to bring about learning. The teacher wants her students to learn a new concept. 2. The strategies chosen by the teacher must be “not unreasonably thought to be likely to achieve the learning aimed at”. It would be inappropriate to teach a child to write number symbols and then expect him to be able to know how to add. 3. What the teacher does must fall under certain restrictions of manner. The teacher must teach within the relationship to the student. Teaching machines and scripted programs, Schiffler suggests, are not teaching.

Analytic Philosophy Paul Komisar - sought to protect students from an overly narrow conception of learning - opposed teaching that expected a designated answer for a question -brought about a discussion of the concept of learning: "learning" vs. real learning/developmental learning

Analytic Philosophy Paul Komisar “It is not some kind of learning, but some form of awareness, which is the intended upshot in the teaching acts. . . ” Is the above considered teaching or discovering? Philosophers debate/analyze the word “discovery”. Is discovery… A way of learning? A method of teaching? A form of teaching characterized by a certain outcome?

Analytic Philosophy B. Othanel Smith added to the conversation with this scenario: If a teacher is presenting a lesson over a television and the power fails for the viewing students, is the teacher still teaching? Teaching is relational. Both the teacher and the learner contribute. One relies on the other.

Analytic Philosophy C. J. B Mac. Millian & James Garrison “Erotetic” Concept of Teaching (Erotetic means: pertaining to questioning) “To teach someone something is to answer that person’s questions about some subject matter. ” This is not to suggest that teachers merely answer students’ questions. Teachers answer the questions that students ought to ask. A teacher does this by creating lesson plans that anticipate what the student might want to learn at their developmental stage.

Analytic Philosophy C. J. B Mac. Millian & James Garrison cont… A teacher needs to let the students know that she cares about them and their development as people in order to help them find their motivation to learn.

Analytic Philosophy Susan Laird suggests that real teaching comes from considering the real-life human situations children are experiencing and helping children work through those issues. Teaching is not just instructing students on solving intellectual questions anticipated in a lesson plan.

Analytic Philosophy Additional resource reflective of the teacher/learner relationship: The following video was made using a text to voice program. The cadence is a little strange and the animation is basic. Please listen to the message; it is definitely something to think about. 4: 47 John Milton Gregory's Seven Laws for Teaching http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=x. Cb 4 ZDCbye 0

Analytic Philosophy Consider your teaching: Do you know and consider the intellectual predicaments of your students prior to a lesson? (anticipate their questions) Do you know and consider the human predicaments your students are facing? Do you allow students to be involved in constructing their own learning objectives? Do teachers have an obligation to encourage "why" questions? Are there times when such questions should be discouraged?

Analytic Philosophy How will you decide if you have had a “good day’s teaching”?