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Discussion Topic Organization - Karldw - 28-06-2005
Thread issues and topics
1.The position of brain science in education
I feel that this is the topic that has considerable interest on this forum but at the same time is the one that suffers from the greatest confounding of meaning. This topic has the following aspects
(a)As a subject to be taught
This asks what information about the brain should be given to students in a course about the brain and its function.
(b)As a learning theory
This asks what information about the brain can be used to explain how people learn
This issue raises the following questions
i.has brain science been relevant to classroom teaching
ii.is brain science ready to go into practical teaching theory
©as a teaching theory
This asks what information from brain science can be used to improve the process of teaching.
2.Support for teacher development
This topic is the essence of this forum. I believe that the goal of the OECD was to bring the knowledge of the brain science research sectors to practitioners in the classroom. The problem is to explore the formats and means in which this can be done.
The following are some ideas that have been raised.
(a)Community of practice
This is an idea developed by Etienne Wenger. It is sometimes viewed as a learning theory but for this purpose it is a social theory that relates to the types of learning communities that we have and would like to develop.
(b)Practitioner Research
This is a process that has been recognized and formalized in many locations around the world. It serves to vindicate that classroom teachers can do valid research in the classroom. There are some recognized classifications of research that have been developed and could be applied under this classification.
i.Reflective practice
Reflective practice is a concept developed by Donald Schön. It is a philosophy about how you can reflect on what you are doing and how the organization you are a member of operates.
ii.Qualitative Research
It is commonly felt that qualitative methods are exploratory methods used chiefly to generate hypotheses for quantitative testing. Case studies are an example of this type of research.
iii.Action Research
Action Research is a type of applied research characterized by intervention in real world systems followed by close scrutiny of the effects. The aim of Action Research is to improve practice and it is typically conducted by a combined team of practitioners and researchers.
3.Means for delivering teacher support
(a)open source
I use the term “open systems†to imply the applications of open source philosophy that go outside of computer programming related fields. Three categories of open source work (Open knowledge, Open team working, and Open conversations. ) were discussed in
Open Systems - Action Teams
http://www.teach-the-brain.org/forums/showthread.php?p=341#post341
It was stated that this forum is an open conversation.
I will continue to try to unravel the postings in my head and will provide updates as they come. In the meantime I would appreciate any comments anyone may have. Maybe at a later date we can link the topics to posts so as to help readers navigate the forum. This would be a form of topic map (an ISO standard that I don't adhere to. Surprise!)