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Walking Practices in Higher Education: an Inquiry Into the Teaching, Writing, and Walking

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Walking Practices in Higher Education: an Inquiry Into the Teaching, Writing, and Walking Walking Practices in Higher Education: An Inquiry into the Teaching, Writing, and Walking Practices of Five Contemporary Academics by Veronica Kim Hotton M.A. (Geography), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2005 B.S. (Environmental Studies & Music), Central Michigan University, 2001 B.M. (Orchestral Instruments), Central Michigan University, 1999 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Curriculum Theory and Implementation Program Faculty of Education © Veronica Kim Hotton 2015 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2015 Approval Name: Veronica Kim Hotton Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Education) Title: Walking Practices in Higher Education: An Inquiry into the Teaching, Writing, and Walking Practices of Five Contemporary Academics Examining Committee: Chair: Cheryl Amundsen Professor Ann Chinnery Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Michael Ling Co-Supervisor Senior Lecturer Shawn Bullock Supervisor Assistant Professor Lynn Fels Internal/External Examiner Associate Professor Joy Ackerman External Examiner Core Faculty, Director of Self- Designed Studies Concentration Department of Environmental Studies Antioch University New England Date Defended/Approved: June 29, 2015 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract Walking has been a practice in and an essential component of the lives of many educators, philosophers, researchers, and writers in both historical and contemporary times. However, little research has been done to explore what walking means to these people and how walking influences their work. In this project, I interview five people to explore their walking practices with a focus on teaching, learning, and writing in higher education. The participants come from a range of roles that include emeritus faculty, research and teaching faculty, and a doctoral candidate. I conduct interviews while both walking and being seated with participants since walking, as a go-along interview method, is a secondary focus of the research. Through the interviews, six themes emerged: (1) walking as roots, (2) walking as experiential, (3) walking and metaphor, (4) walking pragmatics and practicalities, (5) walking in academia, and (6) walking as a method of research. I discuss these six themes through the literature, what the participants have offered, and my understandings of how walking is an under researched aspect of academic culture and practice. The project concludes with the insights and implications of what walking practices offer to educational philosophy in general, higher education, educational research, and my own practice. Keywords: Ethnographic Research; Go-Along and Walking Interviews; Higher Education; Qualitative Research; Teaching, Learning, and Writing; Walking Pedagogy iv Dedication Norm Hotton Clem Stanek v Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to Russell Day, Kathleen Dean Moore, Laura Piersol, Celeste Snowber, and David Sobel for their willingness to participate in my research. I would like to recognize Ann Chinnery and Michael Ling for their support and for their sharing of the roles of senior supervisor and co-supervisor; their collaboration throughout the doctoral program was greatly appreciated. I also appreciate the interest and support of Shawn Bullock as thesis committee member. I would like to thank Lynn Fels and Joy Ackerman for their contributions as thesis examiners. Finally, I would like to recognize Cheryl Amundsen for being thesis exam chair and my mentor at the SFU Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines. I would like to acknowledge Annabella Cant, Angela McLean, Kathryn Ricketts, Kym Stewart, Sarah Louise Turner, and Sanders Whiting for their feedback and support during my time preparing to present and defend my research. I would also like to thank Dave Chokroun, Andre Iwanchuk, Donald Taylor, and Jennifer Zerkee at the SFU Library for their assistance with my research. I would like to express my appreciation to Annabella Cant, Nancy Hunter, and Kym Stewart for providing their valued time and skilled effort in reviewing final manuscripts. Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for their support of my education. vi Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement .............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication .......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xi List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. A Trail ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. From Geography into Education ............................................................................... 3 1.3. “Really, the initial spark was on a treadmill?” ........................................................... 3 1.4. All Kinds of Walking Roots ........................................................................................ 4 1.5. Walking Snapshots ................................................................................................... 9 1.6. “You have a standing desk?” .................................................................................. 12 1.7. Waypoints of a Trail ................................................................................................ 13 1.8. Moving On Along a Trail ......................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2. Literature ................................................................................................... 16 2.1. Historical Significance of Walking ........................................................................... 19 2.2. Attentiveness and Observation While Walking ....................................................... 22 2.3. Higher Education and Walking ............................................................................... 33 2.3.1. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education .............................................. 34 2.3.2. Professional Development and Reflection of Academics .......................... 38 2.4. Go-Along: Walking Interviews ................................................................................. 45 2.5. A Cautionary Exodus .............................................................................................. 48 2.6. A Gap in a Trail ....................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 3. Methodology ............................................................................................. 52 3.1. Ethnography: One of Many Possibilities ................................................................. 52 3.2. Methodology: An Ethnographic Approach .............................................................. 58 3.2.1. Experience ................................................................................................. 60 3.2.2. Enquire ...................................................................................................... 62 3.2.3. Examine ..................................................................................................... 63 3.2.4. Report ........................................................................................................ 66 3.3. Recruitment, Fieldwork, and Post Fieldwork .......................................................... 67 3.3.1. Participants ................................................................................................ 68 3.3.2. Walked and Seated Interviews .................................................................. 68 3.3.3. Recording Walking Interviews ................................................................... 69 3.3.4. Dictating Transcripts of Interviews ............................................................. 70 3.3.5. Differences in Walked and Seated Interviews ........................................... 72 3.4. Development of the “Walking with…” Chapters ...................................................... 73 vii 3.4.1. Technical Aspects of the “Walking with...” Chapters ................................. 73 3.4.2. Stylistic Aspects of the “Walking with...” Chapters ..................................... 75 Breathing Space: Walking with Others ....................................................................... 77 Chapter 4. Map ............................................................................................................ 78 Chapter 4. Walking with Kathleen ............................................................................. 79 4.1. Roots .....................................................................................................................
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