[MD] 42

[Dan Glover]

Arlo,

On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 10:47 AM, ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR
<ajb102 at psu.edu> wrote:
> [Dan]
> Interesting... from what I understand, what Pirsig did was to actively engage the students in evaluating their own work.
>
> [Arlo]
> Before we move any further on this path, Dan, let me ask a question. Given the above, do you think Pirsig's expertise (in content? in pedagogy?) was in any way valuable to the student?

Dan:
Yes, of course.

[Arlo]
Overall, do you think there is a role for an expert/mentor/instructor at all?

Dan:
Yes.

[Arlo]
In the above, it suggests (to me) that motivating/encouraging is the
optimal role, so an ideal instructor would be someone who simply says
"keep trying" and nothing more. Moreover, as I read your points, it
seems to suggest that simply providing libraries or information
repositories is a better model than having an expert presence at all.

Dan:
At the risk of sounding ignorant, that is where I obtained my
education so perhaps I am prejudiced in that direction. I never meant
to denigrate academics, however.

[Arlo]
So, let me ask, given your criticisms, what would something better look like?

Dan:
I didn't realize I was criticizing anything. I'll be more careful in
the future. What I meant to do was evaluate the route Phaedrus took as
described in ZMM. I thought I was asking a few pertinent questions
regarding rote teaching vs the methods he used in his classrooms.

Thank you,

Dan

http://www.danglover.com