Abstract
In this paper, we explore the meaning of pedagogical place by focusing on significant relations between teachers, students, and the various places in which they appear to find pedagogical thoughtfulness. By opening up educational discourse to consider pedagogy beyond established notions of classroom practice, we invite readers to step outside perceived limits of classroom instruction. How might we know a pedagogical moment when we encounter one? When does a place become pedagogical? Formerly an outdoor educator of youth and an elementary teacher, now university teacher educators, we explore what it means to be in the right place, pedagogically. Some observations on pedagogical place that emerged after reflecting on the lived experiences of various teachers include: different places are appropriate for engaging in different kinds of pedagogical activities with students; activities can be experienced as in place or out-of-place; dwelling pedagogically is being absorbed, being able to dwell authentically in a learning experience without interruption or distraction; nature involves such areas as the natural ability and interests of the child, the relationship of the natural physical and social world, and the nature of learning.
Highlights
P a trig problem about it on the board
The outdoors is a rich source of experience, but as far as regular school subjects go, teaching often seems easier inside. (Leslie, Geography teacher)
We are both university teacher educators, but one of us (Andrew Foran) is a former outdoor educator of youth, mostly outdoors, and one of us (Margaret Olson) is a former kindergarten, elementary teacher, mostly indoors. Both of us are curious about what underlies Leslie’s and others’ ability to seek appropriate pedagogical places as well as how they know when they have found one. What does it mean to be in the right place, pedagogically? What occurs in lived time, lived body, lived space, and lived relationships when the place becomes pedagogical? What tensions arise for students and teachers when it does not?
Summary
Phenomenology provides descriptions of lived experiences and hermeneutics reveals an understanding of the moment through interpretation This methodology can be harnessed to articulate the poignant insights of teachers’ experiential pedagogical moments that enable the taken-for-granted-ness of teaching to eventually become visible and interpretable. We focus on the lived experiences of teachers who seek pedagogical understanding in places where relational encounters occur within their practice. These teachers shared their livedexperience descriptions by crafting an anecdote that captures a specific pedagogical moment they experienced teaching outside the classroom. The research, is presented as reflective anecdotes grounded in their situated contexts
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