Philosophical Foundations of Teaching and Learning

 In the article “Pedagogy of Hope” by Bourn, the main argument is that using hope to frame educational policies will address the current needs in education (2021). The article also argues that hope is a driving force for social change and to address societal needs (Bourn, 2021). In terms of the definitions, Bourn gives an outline of how to approach learning and teaching (2021). Learning involves students sharing, listening, understanding, and action (Bourn, 2021). Thus, learning could be defined as an experience of sharing, listening, understanding, and action when acquiring a new skill. For teaching, Bourn’s pedagogy proposal involves exploring, thinking, acting, and evaluating (2021). Thus teaching involves identifying a need that needs to be addressed, thinking of what steps are needed, which actions are needed to address this need, and evaluating what outcomes you want students to learn. For innovation, the article explores the need to address societal issues, especially those that arose during the pandemic (Bourn, 2021). A potential definition that could arise from the article could be, innovation is recognizing and addressing societal issues through the lens of hope. Creativity was explored through the article as finding ways to address the needs in education (Bourn, 2021). Creativity could be defined as finding a solution to a societal problem in a way that imbedded and instills hope for the future. 


In terms of my definitions, I would include the ideas of sharing and listening into my definitions for teaching and learning. These are important in teaching and learning as they help ensure true mastery in these skills. For my definitions for innovation and creativity they were similar to what the article has explored, minus the addition of hope. I think that adding the hope aspect to the definition to creativity will help ensure a broader view of what creativity is. 


A question that I have for the author is how to inspire students with hope in our teaching when faced with more pessimistic students? Although they are still young, I find that many have lost hope in tackling global issues such as climate change as they feel their individual efforts do not make an impact. 


In the article “An inclusive design vision for Canada” by Chanicka et al., (2018) they argue that school should reflect the current vision for what schooling is. They go into more detail that school is a place for “to be creative, critical thinking, compassion, resiliency, and contextual and culturally appropriate learning,” (Chanicka et al., 2018). For innovation, the article explores this topic as it focuses on reframing what the purpose of school is for, and presenting solutions to fit this vision (Chanicka et al., 2018). Thus, innovation could be defined as reframing institutions to fit a modern view. The article explores creativity by presenting examples for this reframing, such as providing healthy breakfast and snacks in their school (Chanicka et al., 2018). Creativity could be defined as finding solutions to innovative ideas and approaches. They also explore that creativity should be encouraged and have the opportunity to be creative and explore new ideas and connections. Chanicka et al., (2018) explore teaching as a way to inform, encourage, and model the responsibilities as global citizens. The authors argue that having the goal of education is to learn and understand new aspects, while learning the soft skills to create a better world (Chankicka et al., 2018). For learning, the authors explore this as being a process that people learn about societal values and feel a sense of belonging by contributing to their society. 


In terms of my definitions, I think it would be important to include the aspects of being a global citizen. I also would include how innovation includes reframing and changing institutions. My definition mostly included finding solutions, but innovation can also refer to social and institutional change. My learning definition should also include preparing students for the future as well for the reasons mentioned in the reading. 


My question for the authors is what other ideas did they find successful in their school to fit this vision? Lots of schools are adopting the lunch programs, and I would be interested to see what else has evolved. Another question I have for the authors is how they encourage students to take creative risks when the model of school relies heavily on grades and earning credits? How can we encourage this for students when they are scared of receiving bad grades? 


References 

Bourn, D., (2021) “Pedagogy of hope: global learning and the future of education”, International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 13(2), 65–78. doi: https://doi.org/10.14324/IJDEGL.13.2.01


Chanicka, J., Mahari de Silva, R., & Merkley, K. (2018). An inclusive design vision for Canada: Schooling as a process for participatory democracy and responsible citizenship. Intercultural Education (London, England), 29(5–6), 632–646. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2018.1508620

Comments

  1. MJ's Alignment3 February 2025 at 07:16

    Hi Charlotte,

    Thanks for sharing your post. I particularly appreciated how you’ve connected Bourn’s concept of hope with practical definitions of teaching, learning, innovation, and creativity, emphasizing the importance of hope as a driving force in education. The question you raise about inspiring hope in more pessimistic students is particularly relevant, especially in the face of daunting global issues like climate change. I think your inquiry taps into an important challenge for educators: how to foster hope and agency in students who may feel overwhelmed or disillusioned by the scale of the problems they face. A possible way to address this could be by providing opportunities for students to engage in small, actionable steps that show how their efforts can have a tangible impact, even on a larger issue. This leads to your second question of how to encourage students to take creative risks. This starts with changing your mindset towards what is creativity. Educators first must accept and respect everyone’s creativity and not foster an environment that judges. The moment a grade is attached to the student's work then it becomes a critique so provide constructive, growth-oriented Feedback (feedforward) to encourage and help build students' confidence. Secondly, normalize risk-taking through class culture- build a classroom culture where creative risk-taking is celebrated. Share examples of famous innovators or successful people who took creative risks and encountered failure along the way.

    MJ Lewis

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