Navigating Intersections Learning and Teaching in Catholic Schools

Orientation to the Day To explore our understanding of hermeneutical intersections through various experiences – Personal experience (of engaging with an issue) – Engaging with the research (how does Leuven understand this) – Practical experience (engaging with our curriculum designs)

Learning and teaching in a Catholic context is shaped by a belief in hope, liberation, human freedom and transformation What do we mean by ‘human freedom’?

Exploring and Issue Provocation – Individual Reflection – School Team – Whole Group Unpacking the issue further – School Teams – Debrief

Making Meaning What might this experience mean for understanding learning hermeneutically For our inquiry question ‘…..having a religious interpretation of the world?’ For our context ‘……learning and teaching in the Catholic school? How does this thinking help me think about my work?

Engaging with the Research Pedagogical dynamic: The quality of education is associated with the ability to identify hermeneutical and interpretive intersections on particular issues in the classroom, expose these intersections and then to turn them into 'engines' driving the lessons towards religious and Catholic growth. Hermeneutical intersections are locations of tension and conflicting interpretations that refer back to various presuppositions of different life stances. Hermeneutical intersections or ‘problems of interpretation’: are intrinsically tied to the existence of a particular issue or problem; emerge in the class in which different interpretations of a particular issue or problem exist (between the teachers and students or between the students); lead to a confrontation with lesson ingredients introduced in the lesson from different sources: narrative tradition, personal stories and the dominant culture, with a privileged reference to the Catholic tradition.

This is the work of ‘intersections’ Engage with the text, “Pedagogical Dynamic” and “Hermeneutical Intersections” – What is being communicated to me/us? – What do I/we understand? – What are my/our questions? – What can I/we make of this? How might I/we represent this? Visual, Words spoken or written

Engaging with a Unit/Learning Design Current understanding of the unit Dimension 1: Unpacking –Revealing – Highlight the questions helpful to you in revealing the hermeneutical intersections

Engaging with a Unit/Learning Design Dimension 2: Setting in Motion – Highlight the questions helpful to you in revealing the hermeneutical intersections Consider your unit design, learning sequence, content, processes ………..

Engaging with a Unit/Learning Design Dimension 3: Enter into Dialogue – Highlight the questions helpful to you in revealing the hermeneutical intersections Consider your unit design, learning sequence, content, processes ………..

Engaging with a Unit/Learning Design Dimension 4: Bringing Together Sometimes dialogue evaporates in the classroom without leaving any visible traces behind. Dialogue doesn’t end in emptiness or chaos, but in more insight and unity-in-diversity. This movement from communication to insight in the hermeneutical- communicative model must be ‘captured’ at a particular moment. At a particular moment, the teacher must take on the role of expert and present the results of the classes dialogue process in a comprehensible way. Central questions in this consolidation process are: (see template)

Bringing it Together: with the group In light of our experiences today and the purpose of these experiences What currently is the thinking of the group? Of this experience around learning hermeneutically, where are we at with it? What has resonated with you (around hermeneutical learning) as you worked together? What are you interested in knowing more about? What is at stake here? What’s becoming clearer? What’s becoming fuzzier? What’s resonating with my team? Where is there diversity of opinion and thought in the team? How is the conversation that we have been having relate to other questions and dialogue that we have been having in our school?

Simon to share experiences

Discerning a focus of Inquiry How are today’s sessions beginning to influence your question of inquiry? How might the cycle of inquiry help you in begin to map out your school inquiry? In relation to your discussions on Day One and your reflections on the blog, where do you situate yourself now on the cycle? Where to next? Using the cycle, how might you design for these next steps? What do I need to know now? ….do know?

After our learning today ….. What is our inquiry question now?

Checking in….. How is this sitting with you? What are the challenges? What are the opportunities and possibilities?

Preparing for Day 3 Discerning your context for the research – where will this happen? What are you going to try? Gather evidence of your actions – upload to the blog Record your reflections on the blog