A wander around a pedagogic landscape

1. A wander around a pedagogic landscape • Paul Hopkins

2. A little learning theory • Behaviourism:looks at how people respond to stimuli, teaching is based on reward and punishment. This is how people (students) are encouraged to act in certain ways. Schools operate a behaviourist approach in the use of merits, rewards (examinations), detentions, lines etc… but also in the use of praise as reinforcement for actions / behaviours, and the construction of the physical environment in which learning takes place. Ivan Pavlov, Burrhus Skinnerand Hans Eysenck • Constructivism: Looks at the world view of the student - teaching is about building upon (constructing) that world view [consider the danger for believers if RE’s task is to re-construct a world view]. Pupils are active learners - not empty vessels to be filled (Paulo Freire). Jean Piaget was an early constructivist (lone scientist - classical constructivism). Social constructivism (Vygotsky (ZPD) and Bruner) sees students learning ‘in conversation’ with peers, parents and teachers and looks at systems (classes, families, schools and communities) as well as individuals. Lev Vygotsky used the term ‘scaffolding’ in which students are given the tools to change their ontological outlook (developed later by Jerome Bruner). Children work collaboratively in order to build up understanding.

3. The Book

4. Smartsville PHENOMENOLOGY • Learning in RE is focused upon assembling, broadening and deepening understanding that takes each religion’s phenomena on its own terms. Examining the seven dimensions of religion [Smart] brings balance and an ability to think about religion. • Abstract: Practical/Ritual, Experiential, Narrative/Mythical, Doctrinal & Ethical/LegalConcrete: Social/Institutional & Material • ‘learning and teaching in RE should promote both academic and personal forms of knowledge and understanding’ (Grimmitt p27).

5. Grimmitton HUMAN DEVELOPMENT • Pedagogy is driven by the need for RE to enable Human Development - the links between psychology, philosophy, anthropology and other social sciences create a tension. The place of religion as a distinctive human discourse is defended even in secular cultures • The term ‘learning from religion’ stems from this approach. The focus is on finding ’personal meaning’ through RE has become axiomatic - though teaching this is often difficult. Pupils are encouraged to make a ‘faith response’ to fundamental questions of human existence • This could be seen as RE as existentialism and may challenge the nature of truth

6. Hammond & Hayland SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT • Concepts of spiritual dimension of life lie behind the intention to enable learners to access their own spirituality and to reflect on spiritual experience. The psychological defense of the spiritual dimension is linked to to examination of spiritualities from different religions. • This has led to creative practice and the methodologies draw heavily on the expressive arts (art, music, dance, drama) • Can encourage a dualistic approach and ignore knowledge of religious traditions

7. Cooling & Wright City TRUTH CLAIMSRELIGIOUS LITERACY • Religion is about Truth [truth claims]. The critical evaluation of these truth claims and schemes for establishing truth claims are the key skills for young people in RE. These skills are especially important in a relativistic, post-expert and post-modern culture. Narrative deconstructionism is a key process. • This critical realist approach can be very attractive but good classroom resources can be difficult to source. Robert Kirkwood and some Science and Religion resources use this approach. • Contrasts with the ‘humanistic’ or ‘romantic’ approaches but offers a sense of perspective and understanding of one’s own faith position.

8. Jackson Towers INTERPRETIVEAPPROACH • Engagement with internal diversity as well as religious plurality, and emphasises a serious engagement with the layering of religion, culture and philosophy. The key skill is interpretation. Homogeneity is a dangerous approach to understanding or experiencing religious tradition. • A fusion of phenomenology with social anthropology gives the learner an ability to make sense of the way that religion is lived today - in the light of the traditions they come from, being alert to the non-homogeneity of religions • Pupils benefit from becoming ‘active interpreters of religious meaning making, not just passive observers or recipients of information about a tradition’

9. Camp Erricker RECONSTRUCTIONISM • If the task of education is constructing the self then pedagogies for religious (and spiritual and moral education) should facilitate this. To facilitate this some prior practice must be swept away • Attempts to develop children’s natural capacities for individual storying and constructing meaning. Accepts that the meaning which the individual constructs represents reality. Truth is related to personal narratives, constructed out of individual experiences • Uses a process of ‘identification, reflection and application’ to engage children in developing their world views, and challenges orthodoxy and the credibility of religious faith in a post-modern age.

10. Pedagogic Pilgrims Smartsville Wright city Hammondland Grimmitton Jackson Towers Camp Erricker

11. VAK Neural Linguistic Programmers Gregorc Cognitive predilections Gardner Multiple Intelligences Bandler Grinder Smith A glimpse into Learning Styles

12. A pedagogic fantasy I • As part of the scheme of work Mrs Jones saw that she was going to teach the Y7s (11 year olds) about Hanukah, about the festival, the stories associated with the festival and the impact of the festival on the Jewish community. She had done her PGCE in a university where Ninian Smart had had a major influence and so began with teaching the children the phenomena of the festival. She used a variety of resources including text books, artefacts (a Hanukiah, candles, oil, kippurs), some video materials looking at the festival celebrations in both a liberal and reform synagogue and some web resources including an animated text of the story. • She was then lent Michael Grimmit's book on RE and human development and realised that she had been focusing to much on 'learning about' so she planned some fresh lessons. Students were asked to reflect on the story and consider if it had any meaning for them. What were the key ideas in the story that challenged them to consider how they lived their lives? They were asked to consider when they were in a situation where hope triumphed over seemingly impossible odds or what they considered to be miraculous. Some excellent work emerged as the pupils related the idea of miracles to their own lives.

13. A pedagogic fantasy II • She was then sent details of Cooling's concept cracking and so planned a couple of lessons where the students were to examine the story of Hanukah critically and decide if this could have happened. What were the claims of the people at the time? Of Jews today? Were there differing accounts of the story and what were the literal or the metaphorical truths within the narrative. • Over the inter-term break she met up with an old friend from college who had been on a course with Sue Philips on the 'theatre of learning' as the friend described the experiential methods of Hammond and Hay. Mrs Jones was inspired to get the children actively engaged in their learning. The first lesson back the students enacted the story from the points of view of a variety of the characters and then working with the art department created a piece of art work based on the theme of a miracle

14. A pedagogic fantasy III • A course was offered and Mrs Jones discovered the interpretive method of Bob Jackson and so planned a couple of lessons where the students were to investigate how the festival was celebrated by the local community. They invited in the local Rabbis from the orthodox and reform congregations and the students used the internet to talk to students from Jewish school in Manchester asking them about the festival and why it was important. The students put these into a vox pop and presented this to the class via the eWB. • As the term came to an end the RE advisor came into school and discussed the work of Erricker on deconstructionism with her. Mrs Jones was a little concerned she had been pushing a doctrinal view on her students and so the last lessons revolved around the idea of faith in the community and if you needed to believe in certain doctrines to belong to a religious group. How much could you be 'in a club' if you didn't like all the beliefs of that club? The students finished off the term by starting to formulate their own concept of what a 'religious sect or group' would look like • Mrs Jones finished the term tired but happy and wondered how she was going to explore next term's theme on the existence of God