Pedagogy of Thinking in Community
Integrating the modality of thinking to balance four modes of thinking in community
Caring thinking : Critical thinking : Creative thinking : Collaborative thinking
How Thinking in Community provides Integrative balance between
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Caring thinking: being appreciative, normative, affective and empathic
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Critical thinking: being self-corrective, sensitive to context, reliant on criteria and making judgements
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Creative thinking: being imaginative, holistic, inventive and generative
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Collaborative thinking: being enactive of dialogue, coactive in dialogue and proactive as a result of dialogue
Collaborative Thinking
Enactive (core inquiry process)
Reading (reflecting on & responding to a shared stimulus) / Questioning the reading / Discussion of reading / Thinking for oneself / Facilitating the thinking of others / Impartiality / Reasonableness / Challenging as a procedure
Coactive (beneficial inquiry affects)
Quest for meaning / Progress in caring, critical and creative thinking / Shared cognition / Inclusion
Participation / Face-to-face relationship / Feelings of solidarity / Deliberation
Proactive (outcomes beyond the inquiry)
Organising / Committing / Experimenting / Managing / Executing / Building / Contributing / Performing / Saving / Mobilising / Playing / Working / Practising
Creative Thinking
Imaginative
Defiant / Bright / Expressive / Passionate / Visionary
Fanciful / Articulate
Holistic
Self-transcendent -striving to go beyond the previous level you reached
Unified / Concordant / Integrated / Coherent / Orderly / Organic / Holistic
Inventive
Experimental / Surprising / Original / Fresh / Inquisitive /New
Independent – ‘thinking for yourself’/ Undogmatic
Generative
Maieutic – like midwives bringing out the best thinking of others as offspring to nurture
Productive / Fruitful / Fertile (ready for sowing and growing thoughts)
Controversial (generating alternative possibilities not considered by the status quo))
Stimulating (stimulating creative thinking in others)
Regenerative (process of coming back, growing anew, rebirth)
Critical Thinking
Self-Correction
Pointing out errors in other’s thinking / Acknowledging errors in own thinking, / Disentangling ambiguous expressions / Clarifying vague expressions / Demanding reasons or criteria if not provided / Identifying inconsistencies in discussions / Pointing out fallacies in reasoning / Questioning whether inquiry procedures have been correctly applied
Sensitivity to Context
Differentiating nuances of meaning stemming from cultural or worldview differences / Differentiating nuances of meaning stemming from personal perspectives or points of view / Recognising differences due to different languages, disciplines, frames of reference/ Contending to establish authenticity & integrity of interpretations / Contesting accuracy of translations/ Pointing out how meanings can be modified by contextual circumstances / Noticing changes in meaning due to alterations of emphasis or shifts in intention / Noticing differences between a present situation & seemingly similar past situations
Reliance on Criteria
Invoking shared values: ideals, purposes, goals, aims and objectives / Invoking conventions: norms, regularities, uniformities, precedents and traditions / Invoking common bases of comparison: shared respects, properties, characteristics / Invoking requirements: precepts, specifications, stipulations, limitations / Invoking perspectives: areas of concern, frames of reference, points of view / Invoking principles, rules, laws, regulations, directions / Invoking standards (degrees of satisfaction) and definitions (agreed meanings) / Invoking facts (warranted assertions) and tests (eliciting empirical findings)
Judgement
Seeking settlements of deliberations / Seeking verdicts of trials or inquests / Seeking decisions / Seeking determinations (conclusive findings of investigative proceedings) / Seeking solutions to actual or theoretical problems / Seeking clarifications or categorisations / Evaluations and assessments
Caring Thinking
Appreciative
Prizing, Valuing, Celebrating, Cherishing, Admiring, Respecting, Preserving, Praising
Normative
Requiring, Obliging, Compelling, Appropriate, Enforcing, Demanding, Expecting
Affective
Liking, Loving, Fostering, Honouring, Reconciling, Friendly, Encouraging
Empathic
Considerate, Compassionate, Curatorial, Nurturing, Sympathetic, Solicitous, Mindful, Serious
Modality Toolkit
The leading theorist of this modality is the educationist Matthew Lipman, founder of the worldwide Philosophy for Children movement.
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Recommended Reading
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Questions for Synthesis
Questions for personal synthesis
How would you stack its four modes in order of relevance to your own personal philosophy of teaching?
Where would you place this modality in order of preference in the practice of Integrative Teaching (compared to meta-pedagogy, depth didactics, thinking in community and curriculum synergy.
Where would you place this modality in overall order of preference out of all sixteen modalities?
Questions for technical eclecticism
Which of the four component modes could enhance learning in your core Integrative practice?
How might this modality as a whole enhance any other modalities you are using?
Which techniques would you want to experiment with to improve your practice?
Questions for theoretical integration
What is the sixfold interplay between these four modes of practice?
What are the contrasts between the modes which make it difficult but still important to practice together?
Why is this modality essential to enhancing the other modalities of integrative teaching?
Questions for assimilative integration
How could the construction of this modality be improved?
How well does it correlate with other fields of practice not included in the EduSynthesis map?
Which missing aspects of theory might provide a better alternative in a map of your own practice?
What are your personal preferences for imaginative teaching as an adult learner?
How you can appreciate different uses of language for educational purposes: oral language, writing, theoretic writing, reflexive writing?
How can you enhance your own academic writing in higher education?
How can you utilise imaginative teaching resources in your practice to engage learners?
How could you include all four kinds of understanding in one framework?
Teaching Exercises
How would you stack its four modes in order of relevance to your own personal philosophy of teaching?
Mentoring Exercises
Which of the four component modes could enhance learning in your core Integrative practice?
Leadership Exercises
What is the sixfold interplay between these four modes of practice?
Sustainability Exercises
How could the construction of this modality be improved?
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