!An

Educational Appreciation !

!By

Karen Junqueira and

Jannie Pretorius

University of the Free State,

Bloemfontein, South Africa!!

Lifelong!learning:!How,!and!when,!

and!from!whom,!do!we!want!to!learn?!

• Scolarly/academic!journals?!• Internet?!• Colleagues?!• Lectures/workshops?!• Problem!solving?!!

•  Old!English:!!Aron,!“to!be”!•  “Knowing!about!art”!(Parsons,!2002)!•  Intradisciplinary!learning:!Lachapelle,!!Murray!and!Neim!(2003)!!

•  “Knowing!from!art”!(about!teaching,!or!about!any!other!profession/life)!

•  Interdisciplinary!learning!•  “FieldPtoPfield!cogniRve!illuminaRons”!(Beardsley,!1970)!

Learning!and*knowing*appreciaRvely!about!and!from!the!arts!

But!ís!teaching!an!art?!!

Feldman!and!McPhee!(2008):!!•  Experienced!educators!“believe!that!no!ma[er!how!much!theory!and!research!we!now!know!and!regardless!of!what!advances!may!come!in!the!future,!ulRmately!teaching!is!and!will!always!be!an!art.”!

•  “For!these!experienced!instructors,!teaching!will!forever!be!as!much!art!as!it!is!science,!if!not!more!so,!calling!for!the!qualiRes!that!are!the!hallmarks!of!any!art!–!creaRvity,!innovaRon,!and!imaginaRon.”!

“Consider!music.!No!doubt!it!is!an!

art.!It![…]!demands!and!draws!on!the!

unique,!creaRve!expression!of!each!person!

who!parRcipates!in!it,!whether!an!instrumentalist,!

vocalist,!or!composer.”!

“Teaching!is!much!the!same.!Each!Rme!you!walk!into!a!class,!your!work!calls!for!the!creaRve!and!somewhat!unpredictable!composiRon!of!the!many!disRnct!components!that!comprise!the!teaching/learning!transacRon—content,!context,!people!and!processes!—!all!orchestrated!into!

some!kind!of!unified!and!saRsfactory!whole.”!

!

ATTENTION!!

!But!how!can!you!look!for!something!when!you!don’t!in!the!least!know!what!it!is?

!*

Virtue!

How!shall!we!learn!from!the!arts?!

The*classical*Meno*

paradox!

Schön!(1987:93)!•  Something!you!need!to!know!!•  I!cannot!tell!you!what!it!is!in!a!way!you!can!now!understand!•  Right!sort!of!experience!•  You!must!be!willing!•  Informed!choice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!about!whether!you!wish!to!conRnue!•  If!you’re!unwilling,!I!cannot!help!you!•  I’ll!have!to!ask!a!lot!of!(appreciaRve)!quesRons!

Living!and!learning!

appreciaRvely!from!the!arts!

AffirmaRve!topic:!to!appreciate!the!arRstry!of!André!

Rieu!for!professional!development!

Discovery!!

“What!gives!life!(to!André!and!his!orchestra)?”!!

!(The!best!that!is!available)!

!AppreciaRon!

! Dream!!

“What!is!possible?”!(Future!opportuniRes!in!my!classroom/our!

school)!!

Imagine!!

!Design!

!“What!should!be?”!(My!ideal!classroom!

pracRces)!

!InnovaRon!

!

!DesRnaRon!

!“What!are!we/am!I!

doing!in!my!classroom/my!school?”!(ConRnuous!

empowerment,!achievement!and!

learning)!

Delivery!!

PosiRve!core!

(Rieu’s)!

The!appreciaRve!research!project!

•  ThirtyPtwo!educators!from!a!secondary!school!in!Bloemfontein,!South!Africa!parRcipated!in!an!appreciaRve!workshop!of!the!2010!South!African!concert!of!André!Rieu!and!his!orchestra.!!•  StarRng!with!the!Discovery!phase!the!educators!appreciated!an!hourPlong!extract!of!items!performed!at!the!concert.!

!While!appreciaRng!the!concert,!the!parRcipants!!•  individually!reflected!on!the!arRstry!of!these!excellent!performers!!•  by!reporRng!on!their!own!thoughts,!insights!and!observaRons!– regarding!quesRons!!– provided!in!a!workbook!– prepared!by!the!researchers.!

!Based!on!what!the!parRcipants!saw!in!the!DVD,!they!then!conducted!appreciaRve!interviews!!•  to!idenRfy!insights,!stories!or!strengths!from!the!concert!!•  that!could!give!life!to!their!school/teaching!pracRce.!

!The!quesRons!included!the!following:!!

!•  Which!music!item!was!your!personal!favourite!and!why!did!you!prefer!this!specific!one?!

•  Which!aspect!of!the!performance!did!you!value!most!and!why?!•  What!characterisRcs!from!the!performance!of!André!Rieu!and!his!

orchestra!might!you!apply!in!your!classroom?!!•  What!would!you!say!is!the!ONE!thing!that!gives!life!to!his!performance!–!

the!one!thing!without!which!it!would!simply!not!be!the!same?!!•  Can!you!explain!why!André!Rieu!and!so!many!people!in!the!audience!were!

crying?!•  Why!is!the!interacRon!between!André!Rieu,!his!orchestra!and!the!

audience!so!successful?!•  !In!your!opinion,!what!can!the!staff!of!the!school!possibly!take!from!the!

performance!of!André!Rieu!and!his!orchestra!to!improve!their!teaching?!•  What!could!he!possibly!do!to!make!his!performance!even!be[er?!Answers!to!these!quesRons!led!to!the!idenRficaRon!of!themes!per!group.!

Number! Positive theme! Count!1! Passion and

enthusiasm!

46!

2! Teamwork! 35!

3! Inclusivity! 28!

4! Preparation,

professionalism and

personal development!

22!

5! To be compassionate! 21!

6! Appreciation! 16!

Collages!Our!ideal!classroom!situaRon!

Concluding!remarks!and!way!forward!

•  All!the!themes!have!been!embedded!in!current!educaRonal!theory!

•  The!themes!were!therefore!validated!as!applicable!to!the!modern!South!African!classroom!situaRon!

•  CompleRon!of!first!two!stages:!Discover!and!Dream!•  Staff!at!Dr!Blok!School!used!the!themes!for!designing!a!teaching!improvement!plan!at!the!beginning!of!2012!

•  The!DesRny!phase!will!be!studied!at!a!later!stage!•  Therefore:!–  It!is!indeed!possible!to!use!the!arts!for!the!professional!development!of!teachers!and!other!professionals!!

–  The!4DPcycle!is!EXCEPTIONALLY!suitable!to!structure!!or!scaffold!the!INTERDISCIPLINARY!learning!process!