Kwantumfysica, biologie en onderwijs: Sam Crowell verenigt disciplines in belang van een duurzame toekomst

19 mei 2017

Instrumenteel, doelloos en zonder visie. Dat is het onderwijs van nu, aldus Sam Crowell. In zijn boek ‘Emergent Teaching’ – geschreven met David Reid-Marr – pleit hij voor een heroverweging van de assumpties van ons mensbeeld, menselijke ontwikkeling en onderwijs. Crowell laat zich inspireren door een wereldbeeld dat opdoemt uit de jongste wetenschappen, en dat wordt gekenmerkt door chaos, onvoorspelbaarheid, complexiteit en inherente verbondenheid. Op 1 juni verzorgt hij een Onderwijsavond op het Vathorst College in Amersfoort.

Sam Crowell is emeritus-hoogleraar aan de California State University. Hij heeft een Masters programma opgezet over holistisch en integratief onderwijs en is daarnaast actief bij verschillende initiatieven/instanties zoals het Earth Charter, UNESCO Chair en het Self Design Graduate Institute.

Crowell omschrijft zichzelf als een ‘reconceptualist’, omdat zijn werk gericht is op het ‘reframen’ van de onderwijspraktijk. Hij heeft een bijzondere interesse in de ‘nieuwe’ wetenschappen zoals quantumfysica en de socio-neurobiologie en de concepten zoals connectedness, wholeness, relatedness, self-organization en emergence.

Persoonlijk statement

Op de website van het Self Design Institute zegt Crowell hierover het volgende: ‘Being a “teacher” is one of the strongest identities I hold; teaching is part of my creative impulse, my service to the world. But I have had to constantly redefine for myself what it means to “teach” and thus have discovered the power of unlearning, and how learning and unlearning are part of a dynamic whole.’


‘I became interested (passionate) very early in my career in the possibility of a changing paradigm that would bring into being a new world view in which wholeness, interconnectedness, and integration would become dominant themes. I was particularly drawn to explore provocative ideas from physical and biological sciences and new research from the neurosciences that emphasized connections, relatedness, complexity, and wholeness. They connected with me philosophically and spiritually. They became the basis for my own theoretical development of educational practice.’

‘When the implications of these ideas were embedded in educational practices, I discovered they led to amazing results in terms of student achievement and intellectual development. And when these new assumptions took hold in schools, organizational change was both dramatic and natural. Unexpectedly, what also became apparent was that when individuals shifted their perception to an interconnected, relational, participatory worldview, the personal transformation that followed was often described as “life-changing”.’

Onderwijsavond donderdag 1 juni

De titel van Crowells lezing op 1 juni luidt: The Wisdom of Trees and Other Stories of Natural Learning and Transformation (The Need for a Perceptual Shift in Education).

Crowell leidt dat in als volgt: 'The talk is of course not about trees, but of natural learning and transformation and the need for a perceptual shift. I will be emphasizing that as we think differently about education our practice also changes. When we are guided by natural learning processes, not only do students learn more and engage more actively, the purposes of education become more evident.'
Kaarten kopen voor de ingelaste onderwijsavond met Sam Crowell op 1 juni?

Tickets

Meer weten over Sam Crowell? Hier is een lijst van zijn publicaties:

Artikelen

• Emergent Teaching: A Path of Creativity, Significance, and Transformation


• The Re-Enchantment of Learning, and Mindshifts.


• A Holistic Vision of Peace Education and Sustainability Using the Earth Charter. 2015. UNESCO


• “Teaching From the Inside Out,” with David Reid-Marr in Spirituality, Ethnography, and Teaching: Stories From Within, edited by Diana Denton and Will Ashton. New York: Peter Lang Publishers, 2007.


• “Applying Illich and Whitehead to Educational Alternatives,” with Lourdes Arguelles. White Paper for The Legacy of Ivan Illich. 2004.


• “The Spiritual Journey of a Taoist Educator,” In Nurturing Our Wholeness: Perspectives on Spirituality and Education, edited by John P. Miller and Yoshiharu Nakagawa, Brandon, VT.: Foundation for Educational Renewal, 2002.


• “Restructuring as an Integrative Process,” with Renate Caine, in Restructuring for Integrative Education: Multiple Perspectives, Multiple Contexts. Bergin and Garvey, 1997.


• “Landscapes of Change,” lead chapter in Integrative Learning as a Pathway to Teaching for Holism, Complexity, and Interconnectedness. Mellon Press, 1995.

Hoofdstukken

• “A Holistic Vision of Peace Education and Sustainability Using the Earth Charter,” a book to be published by UNESCO. 2016.


• “Teaching From the Inside Out,” with David Reid-Marr in Spirituality, Ethnography, and Teaching: Stories From Within, edited by Diana Denton and Will Ashton. New York: Peter Lang Publishers, 2007.


• “Applying Illich and Whitehead to Educational Alternatives,” with Lourdes Arguelles. White Paper for The Legacy of Ivan Illich.


• “The Spiritual Journey of a Taoist Educator,” InNurturing Our Wholeness: Perspectives on Spirituality and Education, edited by John P. Miller and Yoshiharu Nakagawa, Brandon, VT.: Foundation for Educational Renewal, 2002.


• “Restructuring as an Integrative Process,” with Renate Caine, inRestructuring for Integrative Education: Multiple Perspectives, Multiple Contexts. Bergin and Garvey, 1997.


• “Landscapes of Change,” lead chapter in Integrative Learning as a Pathway to Teaching for Holism, Complexity, and Interconnectedness. Mellon Press, 1995