Everyday Uncertainty as a Pedagogical Model
This week’s #rhizo14 topic is embracing uncertainty and I
have certainly lived that in practice this week. Some weeks are more hectic than others and
some weeks throw much more uncertainty into the mix.
However,
uncertainty is always present in a collaborative pedagogical model, or at least
it is in the way that I conceptualize collaborative teaching, uncertainty definitely
should be embraced. This of course has a lot to do with the rhizomatic
structure of collaborative learning. Collaborative learning spaces are all
about uncertainty. In the unhangout
yesterday Dave mentioned the term “collaborative literacy” which is an
interesting concept of marrying the collaborative to the idea of literacy and
in turn fluency. I strive to instill a
kind of ethical collaborative fluency in my classroom spaces. I want the students to be comfortable with the
idea of working together towards a common intellectual, research, or analytical
pursuit. Ideally I would like them to
come together “naturally” (whatever that actually means) in order to all better
understand and engage with the topics at hand.
From
the teacher/educator/instructor/facilitator stand point this uncertainty underpins
all pedagogical experiences and you must embrace it in some way or in turn
become paralyzed by the fear that something may happen or go wrong. But this is again what is at the heart of the
rhizome. There is no necessary wrong; everything ultimately becomes a new
branch – a new way of thinking or expressing a concept. I like to think of this in relation to the
sense or feeling paradigm. Some classes just feel better than others, things
jive, people are talking, ideas are flowing. Sometimes classes wrapped in icy
silence, everyone is invested in their own small sphere- maybe including the
teacher. The way to open that space up to more interaction and learning is to
react to the students, react to the ideas and help facilitate a more
constructive platform for the sharing of thoughts. If the instructor cannot embrace that
uncertainty, cannot go with the flow, the classroom as a space for ideas can be
stifled.
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