Presentation by: Saeed Nazari
Session: C | Time: 10:05AM – 10:45AM | Location: Room 202
My presentation will focus on my academic study of “dialogue in teacher development”. I will investigate this question: How can dialogue contribute to teacher development? In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (2014, p. 17) underscores dialogue as a way of “knowing and learning” and asserts that it helps us value the collective nature of knowing and learning as dialogical knowledge is collective and shared. Understanding dialogue as a process of knowing and learning entails an “epistemological curiosity” about “the element of dialogue” (p. 18). Dialogue in this sense is not an end, but a means to achieve a deeper understanding of the object of knowledge. Freire (2014, p. 19) underscores an engagement of theory and practice in dialogue and asserts that if we “negate practice for the sake of theory”, there is a danger of reducing theory “to a pure verbalism or intellectualism” and if we “negate theory for the sake of practice” and consider dialogue as mere conversation, there is a danger of losing ourselves “in the disconnectedness of practice”. Teachers and students will be able to transform their educational experience into knowledge through dialogue.
In her book A Richer, Brighter Vision for American High Schools, Nel Noddings (2015) notes some elements that should be included in every curriculum following the curriculum movement in the United States: “Some of the most promising aims in the Common Core emphasize cooperation, conversation (dialogue, communication), and critical thinking” (p. 170). Reflective collegiality achieved through a culture of dialogue among the teachers and students is a rational process of critical thinking. Instead of thinking of a penalty, teachers can open a dialogue with their students to understand the source of possible infractions. In Speaking of Learning, Clarke (2014) discusses how their book arose from dialogue. He notes that Avraham Cohen invited them to join a conversation regarding “what it means to be an educator” (p. xxv). Sharing their stories, they opened a dialogue to question their teaching pedagogy and practice. By examining their teaching practice, their collective conversation contributed to an emerging understanding of their individual teaching and provided a true moment of presence, and reflection.
Abstract: 579