Toward an Holistic Approach for Teaching and Learning: Learning Inside and Outside the Academy
Timothy Murphy (Leeds Metropolitan University)
Abstract
This presentation will describe a curricular model that is in use at the Carnegie Faculty for Sport and Education at Leeds Metropolitan University that invites the learners to make connections between learning inside and outside the classroom context. The model extends over two semesters and involves two related modules, one called ‘Educational Developments and Initiatives’ and the other ‘Effective Placements’. After completing the first module, it is anticipated that learners will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of issues relating to children’s lives inside and outside of educational contexts and the impact of policies on their lives. It is also expected that they will be able to demonstrate an understanding of a variety of professional approaches, for example, team building, leadership and interpersonal skills.
The linked ‘Effective Placements’ module offers a site of inquiry for the learner to deepen their awareness and understanding about an aspect(s) of education that they initially encountered in the ‘Educational Developments and Initiatives’ module. It is further anticipated that the placement experience will foster the development of independent thinking and inquiry skills in the learners. Equipping learners with the skills of independent critical thinking, social and intercultural understanding, is of clear and current concern within policy arenas within both England and the Republic of Ireland. For example, in 2007, the Taskforce on Active Citizenship Report (2007: 21) in Ireland affirmed the significance of such attributes when it stated that:
Schools and colleges are places where people learn about behaviour, dialogue, decision-making as well as a range of skills, knowledge and attributes that enable people to act as thinking, critical, responsible and caring citizens in a democratic society.
Learners currently enrolled in these modules will be interviewed with a view to assessing the effectiveness or otherwise of the model as outlined above for the development of independent thinking and civic engagement capacity building.
In the BA (Hons) Education Studies Course at Leeds Metropolitan University, learners in their final year complete a Major Independent Study. A number of them engage in field research. In the context of this presentation, reference will be made to interviews that will be conducted with them to consider the extent to which those learning opportunities allow for the development of the core skills specified in the Taskforce on Active Citizenship Report above.
The presentation will also specify the theoretical approaches that underpin the curricular approaches being developed here. In particular, reference will be made for the potential of service-learning (Directed Experiential Learning) as a pedagogical orientation that connects learning inside and outside the classroom. In addition to the practice that is currently in development at Leeds, the presenter will also make reference to an initiative that he was involved with at Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick. Parallels between both of the models outlined in the presentation will be developed which will allow for a constructive and engaged discussion about the potential for placement-type learning within the context of the academy, especially in terms of developing independent thinking and civic engagement capacity building skills and also the potential barriers that can inhibit such learning from taking place.
References
Barnett, R. (2007). A Will to Learn: Being a Student in an Age of Uncertainty. Open University Press.
Department for Education and Skills (2007). Curriculum Review: Diversity and Citizenship, England.
Eyler, J. and Giles, D.E. (1999), Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Fitzgerald, G. (2006). Civic Republicanism and Public Morality. Address at Community Knowledge Initiative Keynote Seminar. National University of Galway, November 14.
Freire, P. (1969, 1997). Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Continuum.
Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the Imagination. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lee, V. S. (2004) Teaching & Learning Through Inquiry. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus.
