We're looking forward to this class - and have put together a relatively short assignment to get us ready for the first day of class this Thursday. These are 2 readings by important people in education - people you will most likely read more about as you progress through the program and engage the broader community: Donald Schon and Parker Palmer. We are using some of their ideas as "tools" to help you engage in and make sense of what we hope to accomplish over the term.
Guiding Questions
(1) Schön talks about “tacit” knowledge (things we do that we don’t know we do but that are critical to how we approach and make sense of the world). One way to help you think critically and reflectively about your experiences (both in and out of class) is the idea of reflective practice. What kinds of reflective practices does Schön talk about and are they different? Why does Schön see reflective practice as an attribute of what it means to be a scholar? Take a “reflection-on-action” moment to think about your own story of engineering education – what stands out for you?
(2) Palmer talks about paradox and wholeness. What paradoxes have you experienced? How have you dealt with this in the past to create a sense of “wholeness”? What does Palmer suggest as a way to deal with the “tension” of conflicting paradoxes?
See you in class! And feel free to add additional thoughts on these readings here after class if you didn't get to share them in class and want to get them out there.
