Elizabeth Wallace

We are using the SCoPE platform to support all kinds of fascinating debates and resources.  I hope you all have a chance to browse through the site.

The focus of my presentation this afternoon (unfortunately, my co-presenter Sylvia Currie was not able to be in Kelowna due to a family emergency) was on the topic of Knowledges Exchange and how the SCoPE platform enables it.

The concept that caused most discussion was Knowledges,in the plural.  The core of my argument was that adding an "s" to the word Knowledge makes explicit the fact that we all have different coghnitive awareness due to our backgrounds and experience. It stresses diversity and validates the knowledge each one of us. We speak of teaching/learning Attitudes and Skills in the plural. Why not Knowledges?

Nice to hear Etienne Wenger's work referenced in discussiong classroom practice. Marc has obviously spent a lot of time investigating the theories underpinning communities, and is now applying them in his own teaching. What strikes you about the concept of our classrooms as communities? 

What a concept!  The conference in the beautiful setting of UBC Okanagan has only just started the conversation about Learning Free of Boundaries. Join us in continuing to exchange ideas. Start a Discussion Topic here on any topic that interested you.

How encouraging it was to know that this conference on Learning Free of Boundaries was opening with Dr. Willinsky's address on: A Newly Open and Public Quality to Learning.

Dr. Willinksy's abstract suggested, among other things, that we would gain some new insights into "fostering new lessons on the circulation of knowledge". Many of us attending the conference are eager to learn those lessons. Let's talk about how we might implement Dr. Willinsky's ideas. What did you take away from the Keynote Address?

Many of the solutions to breaking down boundaries in the classroom require that the teacher takes risks.

In her session, Susan was addressing the barriers that are created for students in the classroom. She described some of the "radical" approaches she uses to reduce barriers.

But the conversation really got started when Susan talked about the challenges of trying to use "different" approaches in the classroom. Some of them included (apologies, Susan if I didn't quite capture the issues):

• Student panic
• Teacher panic because of lack of control
• Students getting upset and admin don?t like it
• Students think they?re paying for you to teach and don't like being challenged to participate in developing curriculum 
• Radical methods create internal dissonance
• Changing people?s world view is threatening 
• Teaching anit-racism exposes you to charges of racism, e.g.

What's your response?