Summary: 3.2 Parker; Listening To Strangers: Classroom Discussion In Democratic Education

Read the summary and the most important questions on 3.2 Parker; Listening to strangers: Classroom discussion in democratic education

• 1 Background / context

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• How does the literature on classroom discussion often undercut itself?

  By treating it only as an instrumental method, confining its role to the instrumental.

• What's the difference between teaching for discussion and teaching in discussion?

  Teaching with discussion = using discussion as an effective means to other curricular ends. 
  Teaching in discussion = the practice of discussion can also be viewed as a curriculum objective in its own right.

• On what grounds can teaching in discussion be seen as a justifyable curriculum objective in it's own right?

  On the grounds that listening and speaking to strangers about powerful ideas and public problems is crucial to democratic citizen formation.

• 1.1 Purpose / focus of the study

• The author outlines a discursive approach (enables you to explore the constructions of meaning in human interaction) to the cultivation of enlightenend political engagement in schools; why in schools?

  Schools have key assets: 
  - diverse schoolmates
  - problems (both academic and social)
  - "strangers" (schoolmates who are not friends or family)
  - curriculum and instruction (schools are intentionally educative places)

• How can these key assets of schools be mobilized?

  By ambitious classroom discussion models: like
  - seminars and
  - deliberations

• What is needed to mobilize these key assets of schools?

  New habits that build on: 
  - equity and 
  - trust

• 1.2 Conclusion / recommendation

• What are schools in societies with democratic ideals obligated to do?

  Cultivate enlightened and engaged citizens.

• What advances this work that schools are obligated to do?

  Helping young people form the habits of listening to strangers, at that very public place called school.

• 2 Introduction

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• Parker distincts three different purposes of classroom discussion, which three?

  1) Discussion as:
  - an instructional strategy and
  - a curriculum objective
  
  2) Two purposes, both political:
  - discussion for the purpose of democratic enlightenment (knowing)   
  - discussion for the purpose of democratic engagement (doing)
  
  3) Distinction between two classroom discussion models:
  - Seminar: purpose is democratic enlightenment (knowing)
  - Deliberation: purpose is democratic engagement (doing)

• To what do schooling and teaching contribute?

  Political socialization.