Episodes
Wednesday May 29, 2019
Programme 368, John P. Miller on Holistic Education, pt 2 (29-5-19)
Wednesday May 29, 2019
Wednesday May 29, 2019
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
On this week's programme I bring you the second and final part of my interview with Professor John P. Miller from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. John P. Miller is the author of The Holistic Curriculum, the third edition of which was recently published. Among the matters we discussed on the programme this week were:
- The importance of examining our beliefs
- The soul as the unconditioned self
- The connection between holistic education and mental health
- The relationship between holistic education and affective education, humanistic education, confluent education and transpersonal education.
- The Holistic Ed Review started by Ron Miller
- The lack of university programmes in holistic education up to doctoral level
- What school is for
- The Sudbury Valley School
People mentioned by John P. Miller
- Suzuki Roshi (Zen mind beginner’s mind)
- Richard Alpert – Ram Dass
- Joseph Goldstein (meditation)
- Norman Feldman (meditation)
Books/authors mentioned on the programme:
- Education and Ecstasy by George Leonard.
- Carl Rogers Freedom to Learn
- The Tao Te Ching
- Emerson’s essays
- Thoreau’s Walden & On Civil Disobedience and his journals
- Maslow Toward a Psychology of Being
- Parker Palmer The Courage to Teach
- Gregory Cajete. His book is Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education (1994).
- Embers by Richard Wagamese
- Ron Miller What are schools for?
- Handbook on Holistic Education edited by John P. Miller et al.
- Love and Compassion: Exploring their role in Education by John P. Miller
- The Magic of Conflict by Thomas Crumm
Wednesday May 22, 2019
Programme 367, John P. (Jack) Miller on Holistic Education (22-5-19)
Wednesday May 22, 2019
Wednesday May 22, 2019
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
On this week's programme I speak to John P. (Jack) Miller, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and author of of The Holistic Curriculum, about holistic education. Among the topics discussed on the programme are:
- What is holistic education?
- In a tradition from indigenous people, Buddha, Socrates, Plato, Rousseau, Emerson, Thoreau, Peabody and Tolstoy up to Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia.
- How The Equinox Holistic School in Toronto was inspired by and follows the ideas in Miller’s book, The Holistic Curriculum. The story of the school is told here.
- Use of textbooks and a holistic curriculum
- What is the experience of a holistic curriculum like for a student?
- Autonomy for children in holistic education settings
- Characteristics of teachers to teach holistically
- Difference between teaching a subject holistically and teaching the same subject conventionally
- Planning for holistic teaching
- James Bean and integrated curriculum
- Susan Drake and integrated curriculum
- Relationship between holistic education and wisdom
- The difference between contemplation and reflection and mindfulness
- Religious education and spirituality education
- The work of Thomas Moore on Spirituality and Education; also Parker Palmer and Rachel Kessler
Wednesday May 15, 2019
Programme 366, Teaching Science, Going to College & More (15-5-19)
Wednesday May 15, 2019
Wednesday May 15, 2019
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Professor Barbara Schneider from Michigan State University. Among the topics discussed this week are the following:
- The need to review the Irish science curriculum in line with other countries
- How can a curriculum value both knowing and doing, especially doing
- Her upcoming book titled, Learning Science (2020)
- The role of family and school in aligning one’s education with one’s career choice (“aligned ambitions”) and how this led to the “College Ambition Program.”
- Enhancing one’s career prospects with a “dual degree”
- Educational outcomes v occupational outcomes
- Fluidity of careers and implications for developing curriculum materials
- How media influence career choices
- Career paths of females
- A typical working day for her
- What schools are for
- Two books she regularly returns to are Foundations of Social Theory and Flow
Wednesday May 08, 2019
Programme 365, Barbara Schneider on the Sociology of Education (8-5-19)
Wednesday May 08, 2019
Wednesday May 08, 2019
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
This week on the programme my guest is Professor Barbara Schneider from Michigan State University. She uses sociology and psychology in her work and talks about how that works. She discusses optimal learning moments in science teaching and learning and about helping students make transitions from middle school to high school. Here are my notes on some of the topics discussed:
- How sociology has always about equal educational opportunity, access and social justice
- The development of adolescence in context
- How relationships created in school affect the inequality students experience in schools
- Why relational trust in school is so important
- The importance of student welfare
- How they studied flow in the classroom
- Converting flow into “optimal learning moments”
- The “in it to win it” app and the College Ambition Program
- How teachers can prepare for “optimal learning moments”
- Why it’s important for children to learn science at school
- A hybrid model of professional development for teachers
- Problems with poorly-equipped science labs in schools
Find out more about driving questions and project-based learning here.
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Programme 364, Lin Goodwin on Teacher Education (Part 2)
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Professor Lin Goodwin from the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. We continue the discussion we began on last week's programme about mentoring and progress onto other topics. Among the matters discussed this week are:
- How to recognise when the moment is right for mentor input
- What trends she perceives in the future of mentoring
- Rounds as a practice in teacher education
- Her work as Dean
- How she uses her teaching skills in her work as Dean
- Looking at education and teaching across cultures
- Ruth Wong
- Who and what inspires her
When I asked A. Lin Goodwin for her favourite book about education, she nominated, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a book that was also recommended by Karen Hammerness when I spoke to her.