Thinking about what I am doing in this class, reading Noddings, reading the posts, making notes, and trying to start my essay, I realized that was easier to start with an example of what is education. Understanding this process, the History & Philosophy of Engineering Education process, should help me to figure out what is education about. That is right; starting with concrete things moving through more abstract hypothesis about what is education (is this scaffolding?).
To start looking into our process, I realize we take some key (or engaging) points from the book (or authors). As Xingyu said, she “learn from Noddings’ book that constructivism is an epistemology describing how learning happens” for example.
From those key points and thinkers’ views, we also take part of the discussion, stating what we think, like when Ben assures “I strongly believe that rational thinkers exercise their skills in familiar fields of experiences”. Also when we highlight important or interesting things, as Tatiana wrote: “I agreed with Piaget’s approach that it is impossible to know what is «knowledge» without knowing who «knower» is”.
Even more, we also appropriate some statements or make some connections around those, like Jeremy did when said “I wonder would a similar critique be given today [talking about warrior glorification] - or in any time in history, for that matter. Are traces of things our society glorifies evident in our education system”. We also reflect on how or why those connections and views are important for us, as students “From what I have been taught thus far, this is a problem solving method for technical engineering class”(Benjamin), or as teachers “Do I violate the «freedom» proposition by Existentialists if I advise them to stay away from drugs and cigarette?”(Xingyu).
To make it short, we read, we highlight ideas, we appropriate some, we connect some others… how are we constructing new knowledge?
To “appropriate” the constructivism perspective, I do think we are creating knew knowledge. About how those thinkers’ ideas can change our way of teaching, making us reflect about why is important for us as students, as well as for our students, to understand the learning process. Writing those reflections make us “dialogue” with each other, to have even more thinking inside us… Each day the conversation change, it depends on our mood, on our readings, on if is Thursday (class day) or not. But this “dialogue” is here, permanent for us to come back and reflect and connect again and again… Is our knowledge… our social construction…
Any way, I am now talking about knowledge, what is the connection with education? Does the “construction of new knowledge” implies, for me, education?
