Teaching and Learning Approaches: Lesson Objectives After this section, participants should be able to meet the following objectives:     Guiding Questions Before your read this section, consider the following questions: What are the attributes of a peacemaker? Think of famous peacemakers (Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Mandela). What characteristics did they have that made them peacebuilders? What are the attributes of a peace educators?

 

Introduction

This section is designed to help teachers integrate peace education pedagogies into their classroom practices.  To help you in that process, we have provived a list of guiding attributes for a peace educator, followed by various pedagogical approaches, all of which can be categorized under the heading of experiential education.  

 

Attributes of a Peace Educator

As a peace educator it is very important for teachers to internalize the concepts you are teaching to your students. This does not mean that as a teacher, you need to be a "finished product" of perfect peace knowledge, skills, and attitudes. On the contrary, peace education is inherently a process of life-long learning, and we are all students that are perpetually seeking greater knowledge and understanding. It does mean, however, that you should be constantly trying to "practice what you preach," and constantly self-reflecting on the alignment of your teaching and your actions and behavior. This is perhaps the most important attribute of a peace educator.

 

To be a successful peace educator there are an array of attributes which one should possess.  The following list is not an exhaustive checklist; it is rather a list of attributes that are frequently seen in a peace educator.  Some attributes that a successful peace educator will have are:

1.  The teacher is a responsible global citizen and has a vision for positive change in the future.  S/he believes that education is for positive/constructive change.

2.  The teacher is motivated by a desire to serve and is actively involved in the community where s/he teaches.  

3. The teacher is a life-long learner.  

4.  The teacher is "both a transmitter and transformer of cultures"  The teacher transmits his/her own culture but is also critical and reflective to be an agent of change and understanding of other cultures.   

5.  The teacher's relationships with students and faculty must nurture peace via the creation of a community.  

6.  The teacher must be aware of racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination that may occur in the classroom and both how s/he perpetuates it and how other students perpetuate it.  

7.  The teacher uses constructive criticism to help his/her students grow.  

8.  The teahcer knows all of the learners as individuals and responds effectively to their differences with a caring attitude.  

9.  The teacher creates an environment in which the students are free to inquire by creating questions that address issues.  The teacher is the poser of questions rather than the answerer.  

10.  The teacher is constantly reflective about his/her own teaching methodologies.  

11.  The teacher knows and uses the skills for communication and conflict resolution to build a community.    

12.  The teacher utilizes cooperative learning.  

13.  The teacher is able to elicit discussion from the students.

14.  The teacher motivates and inspires his/her students.

15.  The teacher is joyful and positive; promoting hope.  

16.  The teacher is passionate and compassioante.

17.  The teacher is gentle and fair.

18.  The teacher is comfortable using personal stories to connect to the learning

(Navarro-Castro & Nario-Galace, 2008) 

 

Experiential Education

 

Tell me and I will forget.  Show me and I may remember.  Involve me and I will understand.  ~Chinese Proverb

 

What is Experiential Education?

Experiential education is a broad term that encompasses the learning approaches that will be addressed in this section as well as many othres such as constructivism and outdoor education.  The proverb above is key to experiential education since it promotes active involvement in learning, in contrast to other less participatory methods.  Experiential education is based on intentionally engaging learnings in direct experience, which is followed by reflection. The goal of experiential education is to gain knowledge and skills as well as to give students the forum to clarify their personal values.  Experiential education does not need to take place within the classroom or even within a traditional school structure.  Coaches, camp counselors, therapists and corporate team builders can all be experiential educators.   Experiential education is strongly based on the philosophies of John Dewey, Maria Montessori and Paulo Freire.  Experiential education can take on different forms such as holstic, participatory and cooperative learning, which will be explored in greater detail below.

 

The Principles of Experiential Education

• Experiencies should be carefully chosen as they need to support reflection, critical analysis and synthesis.

• The experience must require learner initative and accountability.  Therefore, the learner is active in posing questions, investigating, experimenting and in general in shaping the learning experience.

• Learners must be engaged not simply intellectually but also socially, emotionally, spiritually and/or physically.  

• Relationships are key to experiential education (the relationship to one's self, to others and to the world).

• Learning is a personal process and provides the basis for future experiences.  

• The outcomes of the educational experience can never be completely predicted and therefore learners can learn just as much from mistakes as they can from success. 

• Spontaneous opportunities for learning are just as important as pre-planned activities.  

• The educator must work to set up appropriate experiences and problems, create boundaries and ensure safety.  The educator must also be wary of his/her personal biases that impact the learner.    

(Note: This is a long list of principles since experiential education is such a broad term.  Each educaor places different emphasis on each principle.)

 

How to Apply Experiential Education

All of the following approaches to teaching and learning fit into the idea of experiential education.  Therefore, each example provides ideas as to how to apply experiential education to peace edcuation.

 

Holistic Education

Holistic world views in general are characterized by comprehension of the parts of something (individuals, individual learning experiences) as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole (the greater world).  Holistic education is based in relationships and connections.  Holists believe that both interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of education are incredibly important. 

 

Holistic education is key to peace education since it looks at the relationships between all aspects of life.  Peace does not and cannot exist ina vacuum and therefore, individual aspects of peace cannot be isolated.  Holistic approaches to education recognize this and work to incorporate all aspects of peace.  For holists the term "relationships" refers to one's relationship with one's self, other human beings, animals, nature and ideas. 

 

Since relationships are key, students need to form a relationship with their curriculum and what they learn in school.  To achieve this relationship holists believe in promoting connections between the curriculum and the lives of students.   Due to the centrality of these two ideas, relationships and connections, holists believe that everything is interconnected.  Therefore, students must learn how to see connections between everything they learn in school and out of school.  

 

Holistic educators and philosophers are largely critical of the contempoary education system throughout the world.  One of their biggest critiques is that the current system does not incorporate the entire student.  Holists believe that education today only focuses on the mind, while a true education must focus on the mind, body and spirit since all of these aspects are connected and influence each other. 

 

One model of holism in practice is seen in the Waldorf Educational System (Mitchell, n.d.).  Waldorf education was developed by Rudolph Steiner in 1919 and has the goal of engaging the head , the hands and the heart of children in a developmentally appropriate manner.  Waldorf schools believe that the physical environment is important for learning and therefore decorate their schools in a colorful and pleasing manner. Teachers also evaluate students using haikus that express each student's strengthes and weaknesses which may or may not have anything to do with traditional academic areas.   Holists use experiential education through the creation of environments for experimentation (see Maria Montessori, another well known Holist) as well as through lots of time spent in nature. 

  

 

Participatory Education

Participatory Education is an educational model in which students are given as much of a voice as their instructors or leaders in determining curriculum and activities (Sauve, n.d.).  All participants are active in defining their own needs as well as their own desires.  Beyond simply defining these goals, all participants work to implement them and then to evaluate the process that they used to achieve said goals.  The overall purpose of participatory education is defined as improving one's own life as well as the lives of others in the world by promoting justice and equality.  As such, participatory education is a methodology that fits the methods of peace education.

 

Examples of participatory education

One example of the use of participatory education for the promotion of peace education is through a program called Horn Relief, which is based in Somalia (Horn Relief, 2005).  Horn Relief works to promote empowerment of women through leadership building in pastoral communities in Somalia.  Horn Relief uses a participatory education model because it values the priorities and concerns of its participants, and finds this is more effective than having priorities set by outsiders who do not have the same perspective. 

 

The participatory education model is also seen in a program by the NGO Project Muso Ladamunen, which works in rural Mali (Participatory Education Program, n.d.).  This program uses a diffusion model, based in participatory education, for teaching.  A few women from the community determine which subjects are of interest to them and their community.  They learn these subjects and then teach other women in the village, who then repeat this process, creating a cycle.  The program teaches about practical skills such as hygiene and health care, academic areas that impact the women's lives such as basic literacy and math, and human rights and democracy, as related to the lives of the women.

 

Simulations

In classroom settings, the most common way in which participatory education is enacted is through role playing and simulation.  Role play/simulations work to pique students' curisoity.  When students are in role they learn how to ask important and thoughtful questions and to use this to critically analyze situations.  Simulations are particularly useful when they are student selected and designed and present a holistic picture of the situation that is being depicted. Simulations and role play can be particularly daunting for teachers.  Therefore, we have worked to compile as many tips and as much advice as we can to make this task somewhat easier. 

 

Paul Dosh is a professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies at Macalester College (MN, United States).  He uses simulations (successfully!) in all of his courses.  He provides his students with the following guidelines when they are preparing for a simulation. These guideliens ensure that students are as prepared as possible for their role.  Preparation is key for simulations, since students need to understand the material before they can participate in a simulation.  Additionally, students cannot simply prepare by knowing the information; they also must understnad how the simulation will operate and how their character would respond to specific situations.   By putting themselves into character and thinking about specific situations that might arise, students are also working on learning the specifics of the situation that is being simulated.  The following are his guidelines (Dosh, 2010):

 " Preparing for the Simulation

•Review your notes on readings and discussions relevant to the simulation.   

•Find out specifics about your character if possible and understand the specifics of the situation

•Put together a brief introductory statement for the beginning of the simulation.  Depending on your role, this may be brief or lengthy, passionate or not, autobiographical or not, goal-oriented or not, etc.(This is specific to the structure of a simulation which provides brief introductory statements.  However, even in simulations that don't have this component it can be helpful for students to think about how their character would introduce themselves to the situation).    

 

Tips for Getting into Character

1.  Make lists of things you like and dislike (be sure to include the names of other characters in role-play!).  Make the lists big so you have an opinion on as many things as possible.  When you make choices, seek to increase conflict and make the story more interesting.  This goes against our normal sensibilities, but in this setting, conflict is desirable. 

2.  List 10 positive adjectives about your character.  This is especially important if you are playing a character with whom you do not agree ideologically. 

3.  Refrain from moral judgment on your character. 

4.  What is your status and power relative to everyone else in the game?  The point of the exercise is not for you to "win," but for you to do a good job playing your character.  Who are you afraid of?  Who do you have power over?  In our game, your character may end up “losing,” but if you acted your character to the fullest than this is not a bad thing.

5.  What do you want?  What are the consequences if you don't get it?  How far will you go? 

6.  Avoid advertising your "true colors," especially in your introductory remarks.  Think about what your character would actually say in public."

 

 

Chris Smith is a high school social studies teacher in Vermont in the United States.  He also uses simulations in his courses.  He discusses that as a teacher the hardest aspect of planning a simulation is finding some way to keep all students occupied and busy in a way in which they feel actively part of the simulation.  With different roles in the simulation, it is almost inevitable that you will create a situation in which a few students have significantly more to do and more power than the rest of the students.  This is not necessarilly bad, since simulations are designed to represent real world situations, in which power dynamics are not even.  However to deal with this the teacher needs to design the simulation in a way that everyone has a task to do.  One example of this from a simulation that Smith conducts in his U.S. history course.  The simulation is about labor relations in the U.S. in the early 20th Century.  This time period was defined by fights for labor rights, using strikes and unionizing, throughout industrial cities of the United States.  In this simulation the majority of students are general laborers.  They are given an in-depth story of their personal history to help them react to specific situations.  However, a few students have roles that are more powerful, such as the head of the factory or the spokesperson for the union.  Therefore, Smith has to work to ensure that the students who have powerful roles do not dominate the simulation, since this will lead to boredom and lack of involvement from the rest of the students.  Therefore, all students are told that there are no rules and that they need to work to, however they can, get what is best for them and their family, even if it does not go through the structures of power that they percieve "required".

Smith, Chris. Personal interview. 24 May 2010.

 

Research conducted regarding simulations has identified several elements as key to success.  These elements include ensuring that there are clear objectives for the simulation, both in what the teacher wants the students to learn and what the students are supposed to achieve during the simulation, ensuring that all students are actively engaged and using simulations to not simply promote learning academic concepts.  This last guideline is important because it has been found that simulations are effective when they teach students skills for future professions, empathy or how to navigate intercultural interactions and promotes intercultural understanding. 

Many teachers shy away from simulations since preparing one can appear incredibly daunting both due to its complicated interactions and because of the time commitment needed to make a successful simulation.  However, the studies stress that good simulations do not need to be time intensive and  in fact many good simulations already exist and can simply be modified for the needs of the teacher.  Additionally, a simple simulation can be just as effective as a complicated one. 

Currently, there is a debate about whether or not simulations teach the academic areas that they wish to teach.  There seems to be no evidence that students learn academic concepts better via a simulaiton.  However, there is strong evidence that students learn empathy and decision-making skills via simulations.  Therefore, from the perspective of peace education, simulatinos teach academic skills just as well as other methodologies and promote skills that are essential to peace education, making them an important tool.  Simulations have been shown to strongly increase student enjoyment and engagement with the material, which is more important in peace education than test scoes.

 

For teachers who will be designing their own simulations, five elements have been determined as key for planning.  Therefore the elements that teachers need to consider are: target audience, instructor control, duration of the simulation, the goals of the simulation and how students will debrief the activity.  Thinking about assessment is also a key aspect of conducting a simulation.  Some suggestions for how to assess students in a simulation are:

1.  Self-Reflection papers.  Self- reflection gives students the opportunity to explain their understanding of key concepts from the simulation as well as to discuss how the information from the simulation applies to other areas of their study and/or life.  Students, especially those at higher levels, can also discuss if the construction of the simulation itself was valid. 

 

2.  Peer Evaluation is a useful tool when the simulation consisted of mostly group work, since it gives a fuller perspective of the students work.  

 

3.  Portfolios are incredibly popular as a tool of authentic assessment, or assessment that emulates real life conditions.  Therefore, they fit perfectly in with the idea behind simulations, which is creating real life situations within the classroom.  Portfolios work best when the simulation is one that occurs over a long period of time, as they allow student growth and change to be seen.  

 

4.  Post tests and grading participation represent more traditional methods of student assessment.  Students can be assessed based on their participation in the simulation itself as well as their preparation for the simulation.  With regards to post-tests, students should be tested on areas of comprehension that the teacher hoped to teach via the simulation.  The post-test can be for a grade but it can,often more effectively, be a mechanism by which the teacher identifies his/her success in imparting the concepts that he/she wished to share with the students. 

 

Hora, Jennifer, and Robbin Smith. "Track Nine: Simulations and Role Play." The American Political

Science Association. N.p., 2009. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.apsanet.org/

content_65119.cfm>.

 

Raymond, Chad, and Denise Vaughan. "Track Five: Simulations and Role Play I." The American Political

Science Association. N.p., 2008. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.apsanet.org/

content_53311.cfm>.

 

Participatory education is very much connected to the philosophers and practices that have been put forth throughout this peace education curriculum since it works to connect the real life of the student to the educational experience to make the education relevant and guiding in the student´s life. 

 

Larsson, E. (n.d.). Participatory Education: What and Why. Retrieved from www.ropecon.fi/brap/

ch24.pdf

 

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning can be a great way to teach all students, as well as to engage in some of the key aspects of Peace Education.  Coopeartive learning has been used as a successful tool in teaching conflict resolution as well as dealing with racial and/or ethnic tensions within a school. 

What is Cooperative Learning:

Cooperative learning is learning in a group in an environment that emphasizes working together rather than competition or individualism.  However, simply placing students in groups or conducting group projects does not ensure cooperative learning.  True cooperative learning has five tenets that guarantee that students are actually working in a manner that promoes cooperation, rather than simply localizing the competition to a group level.  These tenents are (1) personal interdependence,(2) individual accountability, (3) group processing, (4) social skills and (5) face to face interactions.  Personal interdependence means that each member of the group is dependent on the other members of the group to get the knowledge that he or she wants.  This is because the situation is structured so that each member of the group has something unique to share that contributes to the knowledge of the rest of the group.  However, if members are not held accountable individually(the second tenet) then some members will choose not to do their work, making the system unfair for those who do work.  Therefore, teachers have to strike a balance between these two forces to create an environment where everyone is interdependent but judged on his or her own contributions and merit.  The next three tenets work to ensure that the group actually works together, rather than simply being five independent minds.  Therefore, the group must process the results together (tenet 3), to ensure that they are logical and that they achieve the aim of the group/project.  Additionally, in group processing the group members must work together to evaluate their processe and member contributions.  Group members should work to determine what they appreciate from other members and what has not been so effective for the overall group process (this should not be phrased in a way that is personally attacking, since that would defeat the purpose of cooperative learning).  The activity must also work to build social skills (tenet 4), not simply academic ones.  Some of these skills are problem solving, trust building and leadership.   Finally, to ensure that all of the previous tenets occur, the majority of the work needs to happen in a face to face environment (tenet 5), rather than via the internet or the telephone.  This allows students to ask questions and make connections as a group. 

 

Woolfolk, A. E. (2007). Educational Psychology (tenth edition). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. 

 

Techniques for Cooperative Learning:

There are numerous ways to ensure cooperative learning.  The following is a list of some techniques that have proven successful in the past.  However, this list is not exhaustive and instructors are encouraged to think of other manners to incorporate cooperative learning into their classroom. 

1.  The Jigsaw Method--In 1971 Elliot Aronson conducted a study that implemented a methodology for coopeartive learning that he referred to as the jigsaw method.  In a jigsaw students are placed in groups.  Then each student is assigned one chapter to read(or one movie to watch, one painting to view, etc.).  For example, if students are placed in groups of 4 then there will be four different chapters to read and one member of each group will read each chapter.  No two members of the same group will read the same chapter.  After gathering their information students meet with everyone else who read the same chapter and form what is called a mastery group.  Mastery groups allow the students to clarify and further their knowledge from what they read.  Then the students return to their original groups.  Each original group will have one person for each chapter.  Each student will share what they learned from their individual chapter.  Therefore, all students will have gained the knowledge from their peers.  They will be held responsible, as individuals, for all of the knowledge, and therefore are reliant on their gorup to ensure individual success. In his study, Aronson conducted a jigsaw in a classroom in a recently integrated school in Austin, Texas that was experiencing high racial tension.  Aronson found that by placing students in the jigsaw groups they learned to see what all of their classmates had to offer and to lessen their competition with their classmates.  This was effective in limiting the racial tensions that were occuring in the classroom.  This strategy was significantly more effective than rules, imposed by the teacher, that required inclusion.

 

Aronson, J.,  ed. (2002). Improving Academic Achievement: Impact of Psychological Factors on Education. NY: Academic Press. 

 

2.  Think-Pair-Share--In this method students are posed a question by their instructor.  They are given some time (varying depending on the question) to think about their answer.  They then find a partner and they each share what they thought of on their own (individual accountabiity).  They then work together to come up with an answer that benefits from both of their individual responses (interconnectedness).  Finally, the pairs share their answers with other pairs, in larger groups or with the entire class. 

 

3. Circle the Sage--In this technique the instructor starts by polling students to see who has special knowledge to share that is relevant to what the teacher wants the students to learn.  For example, if the students are learning about foreign countries, the teacher might poll to see who has traveled outside of the country.  If the students are learning about dividing fractions, the teacher might ask which students were able to solve the hardest dividing fractions problem from the homework the night before.  The students with the special knowledge are referred to as the sages and are given a group of students (all from different teams) to talk through their special knowledge.  When the students feel that they have learned the information that the sage has to impart they return to their original teams.  They each explain what they learned from their sages and work together to address discrepencies and to form a common answer.  

 

4.  Three-Step Interview--In this technique students are also placed in teams.  In the first step students choose a partner and interview them with clarifying questions about the lesson.  Next, the partners reverse the roles.  Finally, the responses are shared with the full team. 

 

5.  Round Robin Brainstorming--To achieve this the class is broken into groups that are ideally 4 to 6 students and one person is designated as the recorder.  The instructor poses a question that does not simply have one answer and students are given "think time" to think about how they will answer.  Next students share their responses, within their group, in a round robin style.  The recorder writes down all of the answers. 

 

6.  Three-Minute Review--In this activity the instructor, at any point during classroom activities, stops and gives teams three minutes to both review what has happened up to that point in the class and to ask and answer each other's clarifying questions.  

 

7.  Numbered Heads Together--Each member of a team is given a number.  The instructor poses various questions and the groups work together to answer them.  Then the instructor randomly chooses a number to call.  Each person with that number, from each group, then answers the question. 

 

8.  Teach Pair Solo--This is the opposite of the Think-Pair-Share.  First students work on problems as a team.  They then keep working on similar problems, but with just a partner and finally on their own.  The goal of this is that the group provides scaffolding for students to work together to solve problems beyond their ability.  Then, with practice, they will be able to work on the problem on their own. 

 

9.  Partners--This technique gives each half of the team (ideally two people--half of four) an assignment to master and then teach their other teammates. 

 

Johnson, R. T., & Johnson, D. W. (n.d.). The Cooperative Learning Center. Retrieved from The

University of Minnesota website: http://www.co-operation.org/

 

 

SOME MORE INFO ABOUT COOPERATIVE LEARNING www.iaie.org/download/turin_paper_kraft.pdf

Peace Education and Cooperative Learning:

 

Cooperative education has been used frequently in working with programs that teach conflict resolution and a culture of peace.  This is achieved when cooperatie learning extends beyond the classroom and a cooperative school is created. 

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (n.d.). Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers: Results Of Twelve

Years Of Research. In The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota. Retrieved

from The University of Minnesota website: http://www.co-operation.org/pages/peace-meta.html

In a cooperative school students work in cooperative learning groups and teachers and staff work in cooperative teams.  Therefore the structures used in the classroom are the same as those used throughout the school.  To move beyond simply using cooperative learning in the classroom collegial teaching teams need to be formed.  These teams allow teachers to plan, design and evaluate together as well as to problem solve and work on implementing cooperative learning in their individual classrooms. 

 

The Cooperative School. (n.d.). The Cooperative Learning Center. Retrieved from The University of

Minnesota website: http://www.co-operation.org/pages/cs.html

 

Cooperative learing is also important for peace education due to the values that it promotes  Some of these values are as follows:

1.  A Commiment to the Common Good--This value arises since indidivudals work to continbute to the benefit of all their collaborators.  For one to be successful one also needs to see the success of fellow classmates.  Therefore students learn to care about other's results, not simply their own.  This also continbutes to values of teamwork and civic responsibility in which one needs to believe that the common good is more important than the individual good in achieving success.  Coopeartive learning incorporates this value into daily life and makes this commitment natural rather than forced.

 

2.  Worth--Cooperative learning teaches that the worth of others and self-worth are both unconditional.  The worth of others comes from the fact that with coopeartive learning, learners see that each person has something unique to contribute and that this is key to the success of the entire group.  Additionally, self-worth comes from the fact that one's contributions are considered valuable to the group.  Through cooperative learning difference is valued and cherished rather than shuned or ridiculed. 

 

3.  Motivation--Cooperative learning places importance on intrinsic motivation.  Since no one wins or loses the goal of students is focused on learning rather than competition. 

 

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (n.d.). The Values Resulting from Cooperation. In Cooperative

Learning, Values, and Culturally Plural Classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.co-operation.org/

pages/CLandD.html#coopval 

 

References

Navarro-Castro, L., & Nario-Galace, J. (2008). Peace Education: A Pathway to a Culture of Peace. Retrieved

     from Peace-Education-A-Pathway-to-a-Culture-of-Peacehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/16686241/

 

Mitchell, D. (n.d.). Waldorf Education: An Introduction What is Waldorf Education? In Why Waldorf

Works. Retrieved from http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_Education/index.asp

 

Kurth-Schai, R. (2010, April 6). Holism and Education. Class Lecture presented at Macalester

College, St. Paul, MN, U.S.

 

Sauve, V. L. (n.d.). From One Educator to Another: A Window on Participatory Education. In Grant

MacEwan Community College. Participatory Education for Peace--Examples:

 

Horn Relief: What we do Participatory Education & Training . (2005). Horn Relief. Retrieved from

http://www.hornrelief.org/education-training.htm

 

Participatory Education Program. (n.d.). Project Muso Ladamunen. Retrieved from Under the Baobab

Tree website: http://www.projectmuso.org/programs/education

 

Dosh, Paul. Personal interview. 24 May 2010.