Tapping Into the Nature of Emergent Learning
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Abstract Embodied Transformation: Tapping into the Nature of Emergent Learning by J. Adam Stibbards MA, Lesley University, 2004 BA, Trent University, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Studies Lakehead University 2016 i Abstract This dissertation describes a basic qualitative inquiry research study, regarding participant experiences of an emergent approach to teaching in higher education. Patterns in transformative meaning-making were a particular focus. Complexity theory was an orienting theory for the study, and was included in a theoretical framework which organized observation, interviewing, and the analysis of data. Participants were twenty-two (22) pre-service teacher education students, specializing in ecological literacy and consciousness. There were fifteen (15) female, and seven (7) male participants, with an age range of 22-33. Research methods included informal and semi-structured interview notes, field notes, and artifacts collected and analyzed to identify themes and patterns. The course being studied utilized an emergent design approach, in which participants played roles in “macro-models”, which are analogous representations of ecological phenomena. Participants also engaged in a variety of other activities, and reflected on experiences. Macro-models encouraged intensive interaction between participants and were conducted in natural surroundings. A new term, “embodied transformation”, emerged from the analysis of data to describe the dynamic learning process that participants experienced. A model was developed to visually represent embodied transformation, including growth in conceptual understanding, which occurred through linear and non-linear processes of disequilibrium, dispersal of old understandings, and coalescence of new and more adaptive understandings of key concepts. Conceptual understanding was not solely intellectual, but rather was rooted in the physiological, emotional, and psychological aspects of participant experiences. These dimensions caused changes in the intent and behaviour of participants as their understanding became personally meaningful and connected to the larger ecosystem. This process was recursive in that understandings, including discovering connections between concepts, were re- ii visited on multiple occasions, becoming more complex and transferrable to novel situations as the course progressed. Embodied transformation is discussed as a natural learning process, evoked by the emergent design approach. The doctoral research project itself is discussed as a complex phenomenon, in which conceptual understanding of complexity grew through an unforeseen, recursive, embodied, and emergent process. iii Embodied Transformation: Tapping into the Nature of Emergent Learning by J. Adam Stibbards MA, Lesley University, 2004 BA, Trent University, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Studies Lakehead University 2016 iv Dedication This research is dedicated to all students of higher education who have amassed a lot of information and are longing to engage with it in more meaningful ways. It is also dedicated to the Earth, our ecosystem, which desperately needs understanding, caring, and complexity thinking. v Acknowledgements This research would not have happened unless my wife, Nicola Lyle, had said ‘yes’ when I told her I wanted to go back to school. She, and my daughters, Maya and Lily, have made countless hours available to me for processing and writing, and have offered constant support, for which I am forever indebted and grateful. My parents, Lawrence Stibbards and Joy Davey, were also instrumental in making space for writing, opening their home (which used to be the family cottage) for many writing retreats. I am also grateful to my dad for consistently calling to ask me how the writing was going, and to talk about teaching and transformation. Thank you Joy for providing such an amazing model of scholarly pursuit and achievement, and for your many words of wisdom and encouragement along the way. Many, many deep and rich conversations about meaning, learning, and change with my sister Kathryn, and my mom, Pat Watt, before her death, are woven through this work. Thank you Kathryn for listening – again, and again. Dear friends, Kathryn Loftus and Sharon Sidlar, hosted me during the research residency period, feeding me and generally putting up with long hours of my face hidden behind a computer screen. Thank you, to Finnegan, Fiver, and Bigwig who variously warmed my feet, gave an encouraging lick, and reminded me to get up, move my body, and go outside. I am also grateful to the ‘Original Six’ families in our community for their friendship, encouragement, and help in juggling busy lives with carpooling, kid-care, fixing the washing machine while I was away (thanks Reinout), and generally loving our family. Committee members Dr. Patrick Brady and Dr. George Zhou offered essential and constructive feedback during the dissertation process. My sincere thanks to Dr. Joan Chambers, internal examiner, and Dr. Gary Knowles, external examiner, for your significant contributions. Thank you to Dr. Medhat Rahim who suggested I read Maturana and Varela’s work, which vi helped to organize my thinking about embodiment and complexity. Dr. Connie Russell and Dr. Paul Berger were very helpful in navigating the program and doctoral process generally, and provided moral support along the way. Diana Mason was incredibly helpful regarding administrative issues. Over the years, several people have offered stimulating conversation about pedagogy, including; Tom Kondzielewski, Marilyn Watson, Howard Bloom, Kathleen Cameron, Jan Olsson, Annique Boelryk, Jan Oakley, Geraldine Vanderkleut, and Sash Querbach. My heartfelt appreciation to the participants of this study. You were extremely generous to me in terms of time and openness about your experiences of emergent design. I felt very connected to many of you and to the group as a whole, and it was so fun to play with all of you. We went through a transformative experience together. The ending of my research was bittersweet in the sense that I knew an incredible amount had occurred, but at the same time it was very hard to let it go, knowing we would not be back together in that formulation ever again. I imagine many of you out there, teaching your classes with passion and terrific skill in creating opportunities for emergent, transformative meaning-making. None of this, of course, would have been possible without Dr. Tom Puk, who has played so many roles for me in this doctoral process: creator of the emergent design process that I was so attracted to; mentor as I entered into the world of doctoral research; model as a facilitator in style and the setting of parameters; open ear for countless conversations about facilitation, complexity, emergence, and ecosystems; passionate advocate for emergent ecological education in our school systems; model in terms of ecological consciousness and sheer appreciation for the natural world and human embodiment; and friend. Tom, you are a unique, genuine being and I am lucky to have shared this time and experience with you. I see the Earth, and my time walking it, differently because of it. Thank you. vii Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures ………...……………………………………………… xiv Chapter 1: Introduction …………..………………………………………………. 1 Background ………………………………………………………………. 1 Development of the Research Problem, Purpose, and Question ….……… 2 Research Problem ………………………………………………… 5 Emergent Design …………………………………………………. 6 Research Purpose ………………………………………………… 7 Research Question ……………………………………………….. 8 Educational Philosophy and Pedagogy …………………………………... 10 Teaching as Facilitation ………………………………………….. 12 Learning as Meaning-making ……………………………………. 12 Transformative Meaning-making ………………………………... 13 Complexity Theory ………………………………………………………. 14 Research Rationale …..…..………………………………………………. 18 Chapter Summary …………………..……………………………………. 20 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............……………………………….……………. 22 Meaning-making Approaches ..……………………………..……….…… 24 Constructivism …………………………………………………… 26 Adult Learning Theory …………………………………………... 28 Teaching Approaches ……………………………………………. 30 Summary ……………....…………………………………………. 32 viii The Nature of Knowledge and Concept Change ……………...………….. 33 The Nature of Concepts …………………………………………... 33 Concept Change …………………………………………………... 39 Conceptual Understanding ………………………………………... 41 Discernment …………………………………………………….… 43 Summary ………………………………………………………….. 43 The Experience of Transformative Meaning-Making ……………………. 44 Engagement ………………………….....…….…………….…….. 45 Empathic Community …....…………….…………………. 45 Curiosity ………………………………………………….. 47 Play ……………………………………………………….. 52 Imagination ……………………………………………….. 58 Summary …………….……..…………………………….. 59 Emotion, Feeling, and Embodiment ……………………….……... 60 Emotion and Feeling ……………………………………… 61 Embodiment ………………………………………………. 64 Summary ………………………………………………….. 68 Complexity Theory .…………..………….……..………………………... 69 Emergent Design …………………………………………………………. 73 Overview of the Model …………………………………………… 74 The Macro-Model Learning Process……………………………... 75 Theoretical Framework …………………………………………………... 77 Chapter Summary ………………………………………………………… 81 ix Chapter 3: Methodology ……..….………………………………………………... 82 Methodological Approach ……………………………………………….. 83 Participants ………………………………………………………………. 87 Research Questions …………..…………………..…………………...….