Appreciatively building Higher Educator's relational sensibilities

Professor David Giles Dean, School of Education Flinders University Adelaide, South Australia

Staying in touch:

Personal Website: www.relationalbeing.com

Twitter: @dlgiles1

Blog: dlgiles1.wordpress.edu

Email (Home): [email protected]

Email (Work): [email protected]

Phone: (+61) 403 774 222

Employment History
 
 Flinders University - Dean
 University of Waikato
 Auckland University of Technology
 Bethlehem Institute of Education - Dean
 Bethlehem Teachers College
 Palmerston North College of Education
 Freyberg High School - HOD Maths
 Palmerston North Boys High School
 Roslyn Primary School

Overview • The centrality of the teacher-student relationship • The priority of pedagogy • The place of technology as a pedagogical concern • My changing technological way-of-being • Developing relational sensibilities

The teacher-student relationship Relationships are always mattering

Always present (even in their absence)

Not a ‘matter’ of putting relationships in but how relationships are ‘mattering’

Phenomenologically, relationships are ‘essential’ to teaching and leadership

• When the teacher-student relationship matters, the experience is engaged, connected and respectful

• When the teacher-student relationship does not appear to matter, there is a lack of care and attempts to subordinate the other.

• When the relationship does not matter, the experience is of concern to those involved.



Ontologically,

relationships are more than you and I,

relationships include you and I

AND

the space that exists 'between' us

‘Who we are’ & ‘how we are’

•Our way-of-being has a communicative aspect, that is sensed, felt, opened, and accessible to others

•A teacher’s way-of-being is sensed by students – Some teachers’ ways-of-being inspire their students – Some teachers’ ways-of-being concern their students

•We are always in an embodied relationship – The teacher-student relationship is always holistic

Martin Buber suggests that there are two (2) types of inter-person-al relationships.

The “I-it” relationship.

The “I-thou” relationship.

Martin Buber

The teacher-student relationship starts …

but never ends ….

[Hine]

When is education not relational?

When is pedagogy not relational?

When is technology not relational? (alernatively, when does technology not show a relational essence)?

The purpose of education • Relates to the fullest formation of each student, in terms of their dispositions, character (resilience, adaptability), capabilities, understandings and skills that enables inter-dependence

• • • •

The purpose of education has a relational intent the educational process is inherently relational & experiential the participants are relational beings … The organisation is a relational entity, the relational culture being more than the sum of the parts

“It takes a village to raise a child,” the child is raised for the village.

The question of pedagogy and technology • Technology must never be our starting place. • Our starting place must always be the ‘purpose’ of education. • Our pedagogy serves this purpose. • Technology (as tools for learning) are selected for pedagogical reasons to serve our purpose. • A tool for learning is a support act not the main event.

Some observations from the past … • Changing technologies – pencil, ink-pen, slide rule, calculator, commodore computer … ipads … • From the history of computers, to programming computers, to software applications, and finally to a tool for learning • From computer labs, to computers in every room, to COWS, to every child with a computer – how have the pedagogical processes changed?

My changing technological way-of-being

Developing relational sensibilities as educators, curriculum developers, and educational leaders …

A teacher's practical wisdom

(phronesis, experiential wisdom, tacit knowing)

is shown as

relational sensibilities

'in' context.

Nous

Tact

Attunement

Improvisation

Resoluteness

Moral knowing

(pedagogical thoughtfulness)

Techne

Episteme

What does these look like when they are present? What do relational experiences look like when they are absent?

Giles 2008, 2010, 2012; van Manen & Li, 2002

Two (2) examples of moodle activities - a context for considering relational sensibilities

• Exploring the phenomenon of leadership

• Appraisal appraisals

Exploring the nature of leadership:
 the phenomenon of leadership Think of an experience you have had ‘being-in’ leadership OR Think of an experience you have had ‘being-with’ leadership

Describe this experience as vividly as you can. What took place? Who was there? What happened?

Opening experiences In a group of 3 or 4, Take turns sharing as others answer the following question … what does this particular experience show us about the nature of leadership?

Opening experiences As a group

* Identify two emergent themes that are pertinent across all the stories in your group

Leadership is …

Appreciative Appraisals • Descriptive stories (n>6) – What gives you a sense of ‘life’ in your practice?

• What appears to cause such moments? What themes exist across the stories? – Student and critical friend complete separately

• Dialogue with a critical friend – Invariably a deep dialogue – what gives you a sense of life?

• Co-constructing aspirational statements • Action the aspirational statements in context

Why does the Appreciative AppraisaI process work? The approach is relational •Involves a colleague / critical friend – We only see ourselves through an-other eyes – An I-thou experience

•Involves ‘be-ing’ authentic handling the essence of an-other human be-ing

The approach is grounded •Works from experiences of what is working •Recognising a positive core ‘from’ our context, then returning to act intentionally with context

Sustaining a generative dialogue on pedagogy …

• What other ways can a critical and supportive dialogue be engendered amongst teachers / educators on growing their technologically-enhanced pedagogy?