In pursuit of that one particular paradigm…

14 Oct

In today’s world, research is the tool we use in our quest for the truth. Its potential to provide us with new knowledge, one that can change how we understand others, and ourselves, is greatly increased when we, as researchers, are willing to be self-reflective and open toward the research process and the different ways of knowing.

After much reflection and many readings, I have come to the stance that to conduct good research in the social sciences, and especially in education, one cannot deny that both interpretivist and positivist paradigms have their place in our quest of knowledge and both have their limitations.

When conducting research, one’s paradigm, worldview, or belief system provides the framework that underpins how the research will be conducted, and how the data will be analyzed and interpreted. Both positivists and interpretivists are concerned with understanding the world, and enhancing their knowledge of it. While positivists believe that researcher and research are separate, and an objective reality exists outside and independently of those ‘creating’ it, interpretivists claim the opposite, declaring research and researcher as inseparable, and knowledge of the world as the result of our interaction and interpretation of it.

research-in-progressEducational research is complex because it not only involves human behavior and social interaction, but it also includes looking at various teaching approaches and learning strategies in educational settings. Educational research attempts to uncover solutions to practical problems in education and to do so has to include many disciplines in its analysis and study. Anthropology, sociology, psychology, and history all contribute to developing our knowledge of teaching and learning. If we really want to improve the relation between research, policy, and practice in education, we need an approach in which not only is the cognitive (quantitative) is researched but also the affective (qualitative) aspect of teaching and learning is taken into account.

As an educator, a researcher, and a student, I am not ready to choose one model over another. From where I stand today, I want to be able to draw upon multiple paradigms, use different methodologies, apply different tools, do whatever is needed, to encourage dialogue, and foster collaboration and exploration in the world of learning and teaching.

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I know This Much is True

30 Sep

Science requires an engagement with the world, a live encounter between the knower and the known.
Parker J. Palmer

kitchentales“How can one know anything about one’s fellow man, if not speaking to him?” Asks the researcher of his colleague in Kitchen Stories/Salmer fra Kjøkkenet, a Norwegian movie about a Swedish research company’s attempt to optimize kitchen usage by sending over a team of Swedish researchers to study the habits of Norwegian single men. In particular, it is the story of one researcher, Folke, and his subject, Isak, and their engagement with one another during the research. Folke, in keeping with the positivists’ paradigm, is a neutral observer whose sole role is to collect data in a non-judgmental manner free of personal bias, opinion, or curiosity. Perched up high on his umpire chair, in a strategic spot in the kitchen, Folke, assumes that role as he silently monitors and carefully records Isak’s movements.

As the story unfolds, we witness human spirit soaring through as both the researcher and his subject, the observer and the observed, cause one another to change, and emerge with a new knowing that transforms them both. Through a tender friendship, Folke’s observations lose their neutral stance, to take on a deep empathy for his fellow human and Isak’s initial mistrust and abhorrence toward the presence of this man in his kitchen shift to curiosity and even a desire to be involved and supportive. What began as neutrality and observation in a kitchen is no longer confined to the kitchen as the two men gain deeper understanding of each other.

The movie depicts the researcher who dubs himself into believing that one can be separate from one’s subject and can learn all he needs to learn about the subject by simply observing it. This is parallel to Parker Palmer’s main ideas in his article on The Violence of Our knowledge: Toward a SpiritualMOT1.550.eenie_ity in Higher Education in which he points out that in our pursuit of objectivism, analytic, and experimentalism, we have lost what it is to truly know. In Palmer’s view, true higher learning involves a “healthy dance between the objective and the subjective, between the analytic and the integrative, between the experimental and what (he) will call the subjective.” He goes on to say that knowledge is not neutral. We, as a society, want to believe it is, and we attach it to facts and figures, but it is what we do with these facts and figures that proves that knowledge is far from being either neutral or objective. Palmer also writes that knowing – in this example the knowing is through research – is transformational, reciprocal, personal, and communal. This is well illustrated in Kitchen Tales in that the observer also becomes the observed – Isak, the subject, stops using his kitchen and observes Folke, the researcher, through a hole in the ceiling – and in the way that both the researcher and the subject transform one another. As the movie develops, we are witness to the development of a friendship between the two men that although had started out painkeep-calm-because-we-all-know-the-truthfully (Isak wouldn’t even answer the door,) becomes the focal point of the movie with the research activities being merely the means by which this relationship started and developed.

As I watched the movie, what became clear to me in that moment is how research across cultures and international borders is neither innocent nor simple. It has effects and consequences, it supports certain truths and denies others, it carries with it personal and social values, it affects and transforms… – but that will have to be a topic for another time and day.

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More or Less, Unequal

16 Sep

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger is a book by Richard G. Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. It was published in 2009. With every publishing house, the book’s sub-title changed from Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better to Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger to Why Equality is Better for Everyone to Equality is Joy (the German edition: ‘Gleichheit ist Glück’). As of September 2012, the book had sold more than 150,000 copies in English. It is available in 23 foreign editions.

In this book, authors Wilkinson and Pickett highlight the correlation between income inequality and health and social problems. Looking at 23 rich countries and 50 US States, they conclude that of the eleven different health and social problems: physical health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage pregnancies, and child well-being, outcomes are significantly worse in more unequal rich countries. Based on their research, people living in unequal societies were more likely to be in jail, be mentally ill, be obese, be murdered, and have higher infant mortality. Inequality, in this view, is a virus that infects society and creates mistrust. The stress of it all leads to diseases and forms a society that is divided and competitive. This inequality is equal in that it even affects the rich because they have to be vigilant, protect their status, their jobs, their wealth, and so on. In an unequal society, society is broken and everything is bad for everyone.

Based on the numbers sold, and the amount of discussion it created, this book is popular and well known. However, as I read the book, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing, and that the correlations being made were overlooking something fundamental, something that makes the picture they have drawn incomplete. With every re-read, I had more unanswered questions.

income-inequality-by-nationFrom a research methodological stance, the book’s data was presented well and convincingly. Using the gap between the richest and poorest 20% of the population, the authors provided evidence to back up their claims and addressed the many concerns and questions that readers had in regards to their country choices and measurement procedures and techniques. All clarifications and explanations confirmed and supported their claim that inequality leads to broken societies.

Still… I had my reservations and many questions. I wondered… A study that is comparing countries with different histories, population size, geographic makeup, and cultural values – how were these factors accounted for? Is such a comparison valid? What about comparing countries using only one criterion: inequality? This simply did not feel statistically sound to me. What about cultural values and race? Today’s family structure of single parent households – How did that play into income inequality? What of the role of technology, skilled labor, and globalization in today’s market world? To ignore all of these and simply focus on the financial aspect of humanity is overly simplistic and reduces people into an economic factor.

harshipsTo assume that inequality only leads to jealousy, stress and ultimately disease is not painting the full picture. It is assuming that we all want more material and feel envy towards those that have more than us. I do not believe that to be true. Such assumptions reduce humans to mere consumers.  What about human spirit? Man’s will to survive? The intrinsic motivations of so many that despite all odds shine through?

Growing inequality is a political, social, and economic challenge that is on everyone’s mind. The Spirit Level brought this issue to the forefront and paved the way for dialogue. Trust, basic needs, and honesty are essential for a society to exist, grow, and function, no one can argue that point; however, when one tries to force all of social inequalitiesunequal-logos into “income inequality”, something is missing. By adopting ‘income inequalities’ as the sole cause leads to different focus and places all of our attention on one arena. Looking holistically and culturally at the reasons that bring about this inequality is important if we wish to find the right solution.

 

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Paradigm Proclaimed

30 Aug

As an educator, I am interested in understanding, interpreting, and exploring the many complex and rich relationships between teaching and learning. Research will be the tool that will help me gain insights and contribute to the field, and research is always guided by a set of beliefs – or a paradigm – whether acknowledged or not by the researcher. A researcher’s paradigm, in other words, is then determined by the way he or she defines reality (ontology), how he/she knows something (epistemology) and how he/she goes about finding answers (methodology).

My paradigm, or belief system, will then steer my thought patterns and serve as a framework, shaping the observations I make, the facts I discover, and the conclusions I draw. It is for this reason that before I publicly declare my paradigm, I want to share my understanding of the different social research paradigms using the analogy of a shepherd and his flock.

positivistsA positivist shepherd stands atop a hill. Before him, a little distance off, are some sheep. He stands for a long time – without ever attempting to take one step closer – and observes the sheep as they flock around unaware of his presence. He records his observations and in so doing declares that which is universal about sheep behavior. Along comes a post positivist shepherd. He supplements the quantitative observations made by his predecessor by conducting a structured interview of a random sample of sheep to determine their reasons for flocking as they do. He weighs, measures, and diligently records his findings.

An interpretivist shepherd arrives on the scene. He walks into the flock and establishes rapport with the sheep, tinterpretivistshen goes on to graze with them in an attempt to understand and describe their experience. The interpretivist shepherd is thrilled as his findings emerge through dialogue and interviews with the sheep.

A little bit off to the side, a critical theorist shepherd feels a strong urge to empower the sheep to organize themselves as a lobby group to protest againstcritical theorist the Agriculture Department. He advocates on their behalf pointing out the many benefits they provide to human beings, namely meat, skins, milk, and wool. He enables them to see the pollution in the grass where they live and feed, to find its source, and to identify the harmful effect that it places on them.

These shepherd stories depict the way research would be conducted based on one’s paradigm. Being one who believes that the best research method is the one that helps to uncover injustice and empower individuals, I would have to say that my paradigm falls in the realm of critical theory, because for me it is and has always been about how I can change a situation and improve someone’s experience.

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Culturally Relevant Teaching

6 Jun

Today I witnessed something that brought home to me the importance that culturally relevant teaching has on students’ level of interest, motivation, and comprehension.

roar1A poem by Jack Prelutsky was read during a discussion on the use of imagery to portray feelings in poetry to a Second Grade Class made up of Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and a few American students. The poet’s intention was to illustrate the loathing of liver that a child felt, however, because 13 out of the 17 children in that classroom ate and loved liver, and had never heard of anyone not liking liver, the whole meaning of the poem was lost on them. Not being able to personally identify with the feelings of the boy not only hindered their comprehension, leading the teacher to think they did not understand the use of imagery in the poem, but went so far as to result in some kids thinking that the animal cries were symbols of the joy that the boy felt about eating liver. Following that lesson, I asked some of the children I work with, to illustrate the poem as they understand it. Included in this post are some of the drawings!

This brought back memories of similar situations I’ve experienced in my 10 years of teaching abroad. One that stands out in particular took place when I was teaching a Third Grade class in Dubai. roar2It was a lesson on measurements. I asked the students to measure things and places in and around their homes. The next day, two of the girls listed 1 kilometer and 1.5 kilometers as the size of their backyards. I confidently corrected their answers explaining that backyards would never measure a kilometer in length – it was far too big! – only to discover later that year that the girls’ backyards were in fact a few kilometers in length as were the backyards of many of the Emirati People!

The other situation I was reminded of was when I volunteered with Asia Child Fund. My work consisted in introducing and training Nepalese teachers in western teaching methodologies. Prior to going, the organizers chose to base the workshops on the children’s tale Jack and the Beanstalk. Volunteer teachers had to prepare activities in math, art, science, and English around this book. When the book was read to the pupils, there was an outburst of surprise, as they could not understand how Jack could exchange a cow for a few beans – even magical beans – since cows are sacred in the Hindu culture and no one would dare trade a cow – for anything!roar3

Making one’s teaching pedagogy relevant to one’s students is of the utmost importance. Taking the time to tweak one’s lessons and examples to make them meaningful and culturally relevant is a must if one’s aim is to have a student-centered classroom where students are motivated, interested and involved.

Time and time again, I witness teaching that is completely foreign to students and not as a result of language barriers. The students may understand the meaning of the words but because they cannot relate to the story, the examples, or the cultural meaning of a passage, they cannot relate to what is being taught and remain disengaged and removed from the learning.

Educate not one or two of your students but educate all who sit in your room today. Begin by becoming aware and familiar with the diverse cultures in your classroom and let that be the guide to your pedagogy!

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Teaching for Today

13 Mar

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.
~ John Dewey

To teach and to educate are words that are often used interchangeably in the English language but if we were to look at the origin of these words we would see that while to teach has its roots in the Germanic language meaning “to show, present, point out”, to educate is made up of two Latin words: educare and educere and means “to lead out and led out.”

educateTo educate assumes that a learner already possesses the knowledge and only requires a guide or a mentor to lead that knowledge out whereas to teach implies that knowledge has to be imparted on to a learner through the presentation of facts and the showing of skills.teach

To Teach or To Educate

In today’s technology driven world, students have access to an abundance of information anywhere and at any time, giving them ample opportunities for learning. As a consequence of this, teaching cannot be about the presentation and imparting of information but rather the assimilation and assessing of that information.

teacherrole1a

With this in mind, teachers’ roles are no longer about lecturing nor the teaching of rules. Teachers have to be flexible, and willing to learn, relearn, and unlearn, to remain abreast of their students’ needs.  They have the opportunity to design, create, and collaborate in a learning environment of their own making. Planning, organizing, engaging, and connecting learners of all ages and at all levels in learning activities and project based-learning are the aims of education today. Providing students with opportunities to develop their communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, and critical thinking skills are the goals of schooling.

Teachers monitor and guide learners so they can find their own path to knowledge, and lead them to their inner wisdom thus applying the true meaning of the word educate!

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What Students Want

31 Jan

For the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to and reading a number of articles on education,  specifically schools in America, as I prepare my return to the United States after having taught overseas for almost 10 years.

What I’ve come across has left me hopeful and optimistic despite the grim statistics and the general consensus that the American education system is in crisis. What stood out for me are the numerous creative solutions that individuals are employing to transform teaching – one student at a time.

In many of the government studies and reports that I came across, ‘reforming’, ‘improving’ and ‘fixing’ what is wrong with today’s schools focused on issues dealing with teachers, tools and testing. While these are undeniably important components of education, rarely did reports incorporate students’ concerns, desires, and vision.

I came across a video on YouTube presented by a high school senior sharing the top ten expectations that students have of schools.

Technology, creativity, and choice were expectations that were expressed by the students on the video and also by a number of students across America when eSchool News asked its readers “What’s the one thing you hear most often from students about what they want in school?” Knowing that the student population is one that is quite diverse at many levels (race, ethnicity, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, language, interest, abilities, learning styles and learning needs), I decided to take a small poll of the student population that I teach in Hanoi. In response to the question, “What do you want from school?” The top five answers were:

  1. More interactive technology
  2. Less boring subjects
  3. More choice
  4. More time to reflect on what I learn
  5. More explanation of why I need to learn what I am learning and how it will help ME in the future

My students’ responses were overwhelmingly similar to those given by students across America. What these answers undeniably suggest is that despite their uniqueness and diversity, students everywhere want the same things from their education, and if we were dig a little deeper, we would find that what they really want is to have ownership of and feel connected to their learning experiences; in other words, what students want and what they should have is Student Centered Learning or SCL.

What is Student Centered Learning?

Student Centered Learning (SCL) places the student at the center of the learning process. As such, students influence the content, materials, activities, and pace of learning.  SCL inspires and motivates. It allows for choice while presenting students with active learning opportunities. Working in a team in an SCL environment develops communication and collaborative skills. In-depth thinking about a subject promotes critical thinking and ensures long-term retention. This model of instruction results in a deeper understanding of a subject and a positive attitude toward learning in general. SCL awakens, once again, the curiosity that human beings have but often forget to employ. It opens up the doors of creativity and allows for different styles of learning. SCL encourages students to become independent learners and ultimately to be in charge of their own education.

In this shift from teaching to learning, teachers become mentors that provide students with opportunities to learn independently and from one another, guiding and coaching them on different skills that can help them best achieve their learning goals. In an SCL classroom, parents and community members are tutors and mentors, sharing in their passion and expertise while providing connection and real-world applications for learning.

Technology facilitates the delivery of information and complements student centered learning. It makes individualized instruction feasible and tailored information delivery achievable.

Looking at all the benefits that Student Centered Learning offers to learners, why is it not then the pedagogy of choice? For the next few blogs, I will be looking at the role of teachers, existing teaching tools, as well as the role of testing in today’s schools, and how they can each, with a little tweaking, make teaching about learning.

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Visiting Silicon Savannah

10 Jan

I have just returned from Kenya where I was fortunate enough to spend time with young Kenyans who are undertaking great ventures in and around Nairobi.

Kenya, as an emerging and developing country is jam-packed with social enterprises of all kinds – but especially in the field of technology. Today, it has earned the name “Silicon Savannah” because of the number of innovative tech start-ups that have been developing and flourishing over the past few years.

What really stands out when talking with young Kenyans is their tenacity and motivation. Rather than letting go when a goal is too difficult to realize, they create the circumstances needed to make it happen. Take for example the Nairobi Developer School.

The Nairobi Developer School is run by 19-year-old Martha who wanted to go to the States to learn all about programing. She was accepted by Hacker School in New York but was refused a U.S. tourist visa. Instead of giving up on that dream, she instead devised a project where not only she, but also other women, can come and learn about programming.  The Nairobi Developer School Program lasts three months. It even offers financial support to women who cannot afford it.

There are many infrastructural shortcomings that make connectivity to the web unpredictable in Kenya: unreliable wireless connections, shortage of power, or devices that can’t share connections; however that has not deterred Kenya’s tech savvy. The need for reliable connection in an unreliable environment led to the creation of the BRCK. .  The BRCK was designed by Ushahidi, a non-profit technology company that builds open source software and tools that bring information to people in remote areas and in times of crisis. The team, composed of engineers, developers and technologists from Kenya, wanted to design a tool that would ensure connectivity where connectivity isn’t possible. Watch this video to learn more about the BRCK.

Another noteworthy project that I spent time at is the Montessori Plus Center in Nairobi where the Montessori method is being used to teach students who are blind or visually impaired.

Many people do not know this but Montessori’s ideas for teaching children resulted from her work with a French psychologist names Edouard Seguin who primarily worked with children who were blind. In fact, Anne Sullivan who was Helen Keller’s teacher used the Montessori model of instruction to teach Helen!

I spent some time at the school planning, discussing, and exchanging ideas on how best to prepare the space and the curriculum for the needs of the children. Although I am now in another continent, the school remains close to my heart.

All in all my visit in Kenya was truly inspiring, embodying the very essence of our resilience as human beings.

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Mobile Technology for Teaching and Learning

10 Nov

Necessity breeds invention, the old saying goes, and in the case of bringing education to those with limited educational resources, and closing the gaps between those who have access and those who don’t, this necessity is turning people’s attention to mobile technology for creative and innovative ways to learn from one another and the Internet.

In developing countries, poor infrastructure, and the relatively low cost, availability, and mobility of mobile phones have resulted in mobile technology as the way to get online and connect locally and globally. It is why mobile technology is the tool that innovative and concerned citizens are turning to in an effort to connect students and teachers to educational texts and a global community of educators.

Africa is a great example of such a scene where mobile learning is being used to reach marginalized populations.

In Ghana, with the help of e-readers, villages have access to hundreds of books that could never be physically sent to a library.

Despite its limitations – unavailability of local language books in some countries– e-readers have opened up the world to curious learners and can be a very effective and inexpensive way to eradicate illiteracy globally.

Nigeria is another example where UNESCO is piloting a program with English Language teachers who send daily messages on how to teach English to teachers throughout Nigeria. UNESCO has received feedback from participating teachers that the support is changing their teaching style and helping them to improve.  As a result, teachers are part of a global village of educators where they can collaborate and share their concerns, challenges and successes.

Screen shot 2013-11-06 at 8.18.58 AMIn Kenya, Eneza is a group of individuals who wanted to ensure that every child in Kenya has access to information no matter where they live and how poor they were. They decided to put together the information and content that is relevant to the local context on mobile devices and make it available to students everywhere. In addition, they provide tips and tricks for teachers and parents to help their children learn.

Innovation hubs, like the iHub in Kenya, are places where teachers and tech savvy can meet and optimize the use of simple technologies for teaching and learning. Creating more innovative spaces like the iHub in Kenya, providing e-readers with native language textbooks, delivering qualified trained online communities of teachers for remote areas, are some of the low cost effective ways to meet necessity, breed innovation whilst creating global communities of learners and teachers.

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Planting the Seeds of Empathy

28 Oct

Yet, taught by time, my heart has learned to glow for other’s good, and melt at other’s woe – Homer

Putting ourselves inside the shoes of another – as the old saying goes – has never been more relevant – This, according to an article written by Forbes contributor Georges Anders, who makes the observation that the number one job skill that will be in highest demand for much of the workforce in 2020 is empathy.

What is Empathy?empathy

Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand the feelings, experiences and motives of others. Empathy enriches relationships and builds trust among individuals. It is a vital tool in building a community of caring, collaborative, creative citizens who are active, contributing members to the global world we live in.

Can WE Teach Empathy?

For as long as teaching existed, teachers have always shown empathy towards their students. They know that students learn best when they feel supported, respected and safe. And although teachers do agree that teaching empathy is important to the overall success of a student, more often than not, it is ignored because funding is based on reaching state standards and test scores, and a skill such as empathy is not as measurable as a skill in math, science or literacy.

Today population mobility is such that more and more people move from one country to another for their work.  As a consequence of population mobility, linguistic, cultural, ‘racial’, and religious diversity is permeating the classroom walls and with its diversity comes diverse problems for schools. Teaching empathy is no longer an option. To better prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s world, empathy must be taught.

Teaching children to be empathetic can simply begin by teaching them to be good listeners.  Pointing out to them the things they have in common with other people or modeling sympathetic behavior through role play are also other ways that empathetic behavior can be taught and modeled.

For more ideas on teaching empathy, check out Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, where you can find classroom resources, by grade level, to teach students about empathy.

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