Here is a question I have been gnawing away on for some time--"Did   
the Exodus happen?"  Has anyone on the list  tried to answer this  
question?  There are many "smaller" questions from American history,  
for example, Paul Revere's ride as recounted in a history book.   
There is often a cultural consensus that we all know the answers to  
these questions, the big ones and the little ones, but a little  
digging shows that  received opinions can cover up a lot of  
fuzziness.  Is anyone on this list looking at critical literacy from  
this angle in the classroom?

Andrea

On Jul 18, 2008, at 10:37 AM, Bonnie Odiorne wrote:


> You learn "philosophical Greek", just enough terms to getr to the  

> key concepts; I once made myself a Greek, Latin and German  

> dictionary just for philosophy when I started grad school and was  

> totally lost--I was going to Johns Hopkins and it was supposed to  

> be in French, but it really was in critical theory with maybe a  

> little literature attached, with some of the greatest names of the  

> period. No, I couldn't reconstruct it now.... :-)

>

>

> ----- Original Message ----

> From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>

> To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List  

> <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>

> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:32:13 PM

> Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2345] Re: Questioning and  

> Discussion Strategies for Practicing Critical Thinking

>

> Heather,

>

> I agree that one should go as close to the source as possible.   

> What is one to do when the source materials are  in a language not  

> known to the seeker?

>

> Andrea

>

> On Jul 17, 2008, at 12:26 PM, Heather Heunermund wrote:

>

>> I mean this in a respectful way and I state the following as such:  

>> I beg you all, if you truly want to understand Socratic dialogue,  

>> you can only go to the source, Plato. Read a Socratic dialogue and  

>> let's discuss. Understand the man is fabled to have been Socrates.  

>> Again, that's the only true way to understand this concept, to  

>> grok it. This virtue is not something that can be "taught."

>>

>> As part of the "educational community" you simply cannot settle  

>> for anything less. Ironically, you yourselves are not acting as  

>> critical thinkers by settling for less than this. If you want to  

>> truly practice what you preach about critical thinking and  

>> Socratic Dialogue, the only way to act as a critical thinkers  

>> yourselves is through your experience with original source work,  

>> and not merely the regurgitations of people's interpretations of  

>> the classics of the Western Canon.

>>

>> To do otherwise is a bastardization of the art form in the strict  

>> sense of the word.

>> --

>> Heather

>>

>> Heather Heunermund, Executive Director

>> New Mexico Coalition for Literacy

>> 1-800-233-7587

>> heather at nmcl.org

>> 505-982-4095 (fax)

>> 3209 Mercantile Ct. Ste. B

>> Santa Fe, NM 87507

>>

>> On Jul 17, 2008, at 9:21 AM, Taylor, Jackie wrote:

>>

>> Dear Colleagues,

>> One more note about critical thinking…For those seeking ideas for  

>> questioning techniques in practicing critical thinking and for  

>> facilitating group discussions:

>>

>> Socratic Questioning

>> Socratic questioning is a systematic, probing method of  

>> questioning that probes thinking at a deep level. It can be used  

>> to explore thought in various directions such as in exploring  

>> complex ideas, to open up issues or problems, uncover assumptions,  

>> analyze concepts, distinguish what’s understood versus what is  

>> not, and follow out logical implications: http://en.wikipedia.org/ 

>> wiki/Socratic_questioning

>>

>> Here are some examples of Socratic questions:

>> http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/ 

>> socratic_questions.htm

>>

>>

>> On Questioning and Group Discussions

>> Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher

>> http://stephenbrookfield.com/pdf_files/BCRT_Wkshp_Pkt.pdf

>> This workshop resource from Stephen Brookfield contains lots of  

>> strategies on facilitating critical reflection and discussion with  

>> students, in professional development, in meetings, and in  

>> modeling critical thinking.

>>

>> Best, Jackie

>>

>> Jackie Taylor, PD List Moderator, jataylor at Utk.edu

>>

>>

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>>

>>

>>

>> ----------------------------------------------------

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>> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

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>

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