Meaning-Centered Education: International Perspectives and Explorations in Higher Education

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
About the Authors
	The Editors
	The Contributing Authors
Foreword
Preface
	The Book
	Purpose
	Structure
	Aims
	Chapter Overviews
		Part I: Theory and Principles of Meaning-Centered Education
		Part II: Worldwide Successful Practices: Voices of Experience
		Part III: Enhancing Meaning-Centered Teaching and Learning
	Conclusion
	References
Acknowledgments
Part I: Theory and Principles of Meaning-Centered Education
	1. The Nature and Origins of Meaning-Centered Education
		Introduction
		Evolution of Learning Theories
		Educational Epistemologies
		Philosophy and Theory
		Meaning-Centered Learning
		Meaning-Based Principles of Life
		Personally Meaningful Education and Learning
		Theoretical Framing of Meaning and Meaning Making
		The Meaning of Meaning: Dimensions of Meaning
		Meaning Making as Sensemaking
		Meaning Making as Within Intentional Context
		Meaning Making as Critical Dialogue
		Meaning Making as Experiential Learning
		Meaning Making as Being and Evolving
		Authors’ Meaning Making Perspectives
		Meaning-Centered Learning
		Conclusion
		References
	2.
Emerging Contexts and Meanings of Human Education
		Introduction
		Education as Human Enterprise
		Person-Centered Alternatives to Technological Education
		Cultural and Personal Meanings in Educational Processes
		Conclusion
		References
	3.
Dialogic Education in the Age of the Internet
		Introduction
			Dialogic Theory
			Main Argument
		Wikipedia and Dialogic Theory
		Some Sources for a Dialogic Theory of Education
			Socrates
			Freire
			Bakhtin Against Vygotsky
			Oakeshott
		So What Does “Dialogic” Mean?
			Dialogic Education Is Education for Dialogue
			The Dialogic Gap or Difference Between Voices Is Constitutive for Meaning
			Progress Occurs by Augmentation, Not by Superseding or Replacing
			The Inside-Outside Outside-Inside Nature of Dialogic Relations
			Dialogues Always Project Virtual Super-Addressee Positions
			Dialogic Space Is Real
		A Dialogic Theory of Education in the Internet Age
		References
	4.
Meaning-Centered Experiential Learning: Learning as an Outcome of Reconstructed Experiences
		Meaning-Centered Education
		Experiential Learning
			Learning Through Direct Experience
			Experience as Observation
			Experience as Imagination
		Meaning-Centered Experiential Learning
		References
Part II: Worldwide Successful Practices: Voices of Experience
	5.
Fostering Intercultural Dialogue Via Communication Technologies
		US-Russia Dialogues: A Praxis of Intercultural Education
		Designing International Encounters: The Pedagogical Process
		Developing a Research Questionnaire
		Student Responses to Intercultural Conversations and Collaboration
		Meaning-Centered Education as an Interpretative Lens
		Challenges and Impediments to Successful MCE
		Praxis Informs Theory and Constructs a New Subjectivity
		References
	6. Making the Shift Towards a Meaning-Based Paradigm in European Higher Education: A Spanish Case Study
		Introduction
		Making the Shift to a Meaning-Based Paradigm: From Policy to Practice
		Using Pedagogy to Guide Research: A Spanish Case Study
		ADELEEES
			Objectives
			Procedure and Instruments
			Sample
			Statistical Methodology
		FINEEES
			Objectives
			Procedure and Instruments
			Sample
			Methodology
		Results and Discussion
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	7.
Meaning-Centered Integrative Instruction in Learning Communities
		A Brief History of Learning Communities in the United States
		Community Colleges
		Curricular Integration and Common Themes
		Thematic Work and Meaning-Centered Learning
		Thematic Integration in Learning Communities at Bronx Community College
			“One World, One Love” Learning Community
			Identity
			Empowerment
			Community Interview Digital Story Project
		Measuring the Results of Meaning-Centered Student Outcomes
		References
	8.
True Collaboration: Building Meaning in Learning Through Sharing Power With Students
		Introduction
		Legitimate and Problematic Reasons That Faculty Resist Sharing Power
		Empirical Patterns in Faculty Power Sharing
		Moving Towards Collaboration and Power Sharing: A Dialogic Conversation
		Conclusion
		Acknowledgments
		Notes
		References
Part III: Enhancing Meaning-Centered Teaching and Learning
	9.
Meaning’s Secret Identity
		Introduction
		The Social Action of Meaning
		What This Means for Meaning
		A Conversational Model of Literate Meaning
		Teaching Without Meaning
		Alternatives
		References
	10.
How to Enhance Meaning-Centered Writing and Reading
		Finding Value and Meaning in Required Course work in the First Year of College
		Learning to Do Something New In or Through Writing
		Connections to the “Personal”
		So Little Reading and Writing, So Little Value and Meaning
		Teaching Practices Leading to Meaning-Centered Writing and Reading Assignments
		Appendix (Survey Questions)
		Notes
		References
	11.
Supporting Students’ Search for a Meaningful Life Through Inquiry-Guided Learning
		Introduction
		Inquiry-Guided Learning: Inquiry as a Developmental Process
		Inquiry-Guided Learning and the Development of Self
		Infusing a Spirit of Inquiry on College and University Campuses
			Create Supportive Learning Environments
			Establish Linkages Between Meaning-Making in the Academic Disciplines and in Students’ Own Lives Early in the Undergraduate Curriculum
			Make Explicit the Role of Values and Valuing in Meaning-Making
			Design Learning Experiences That Support Independent Inquiry
			Develop a Range of Opportunities for Students to Demonstrate and Reflect Upon Their Developing Competence
			Create Opportunities for Students to Use Their Competencies inReal World Contexts
			Strengthen Advising by Conceiving It as an Inquiry-Driven Process
		Conclusion
		References
	12. Research as Transformative Learning for Meaning-Centered Professional Development
		Introduction
		Education for a Transformed World
		Transformative Professional Development
		Transformative Research
		Coda
		References
	13.
The Future of Meaning-Centered Education
		Introduction
			Comparison to Other Paradigms
			Objectivist Paradigm
			Constructivist Paradigm
			Meaning-Centered Paradigm
			Meaning-Centered Learning
		MCE-MCL Concepts and Assumptions
		MCL Key Principles
			Principle 1: Pedagogical Pluralism and Learning Diversity
			Principle 2: Agency and Authenticity
			Principle 3: Holism and Humaneness
		MCE-MCL Teacher and Learner: Classroom and Curricular Issues and Strategies
			Dialogical Domain
			Authorial Domain
			Developmental Domain
		The Environment of Meaning-Centered Learning
		Conclusion
		References
	Conclusion
		References
Glossary
Index