LOST IN PERCEPTION
A river scene in the Welsh Valleys, Wales, UK
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o, there I was having what seemed to be a rather heated discussion with
my son, who was confidently putting his position to me and enquiring what was
the point I was making. Feeling somewhat baffled and disempowered, as I felt I
was eloquently making my point and could not understand how it could have lost
its clarity in translation, I tried another tactic; changing the subject matter
of the discussion from the specific to the general.
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y son responded to this approach in what seemed to me a more receptive
manner, and we were then able to continue the discussion constructively.
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hen I asked him what made the difference, my son told me that it was
changing from the specific to the general. We went on to debate about whether
it is the 'teacher' or the 'pupil' who is responsible for ensuring effective
communication, with my son placing the primary responsibility onto the teacher.
Summer in Eastbourne, UK
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am not so sure, as I take
the view that both the teacher and the pupil have to place themselves in a
psycho-social environment which enables both teaching, on the part of the
teacher, and learning, on the part of the pupil. It was clear to me that both
my son and I were making some assumptions - including that that I was talking
about the specific as opposed to the general - which presented obstacles to the
clarity with which I was putting my position, and the messages he took and
conclusions he drew about the relevance of what I was saying, about what he saw
as the specific issue being discussed.
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t seems to me, therefore, that the process of teaching and learning is a
complex process in which the 'learner' has to be prepared to listen, hear and
learn, and the 'teacher' has to be equipped to observe, see, respond
appropriately, and learn from the teaching/learning process how best to
communicated and facilitate the teaching of the subject matter.
An inquisitive herd of cattle; but what is motivating them?
OWOHROD
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