The Value of Academic Discourse: Conversations That Matter

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Description

How important is academic discourse that promotes new understandings and allows us to question what we know In the current age of instant-messaging and Twitter, does academic conversation have a place Frankly, we think that academic discourse is more important now than ever. Our civil society functions best when students, instructors, neighbors, and communities come together to question the information before us, so that decisions and directions are viable, helpful, and ethical. Academic conversations help us sort through the important and not-so-important themes of our lives and how we are to live. Academic conversations show us other ways of viewing, and they grow our own repertoire of ideas. Academic conversations teach us wonder, tolerance, humility, and the important fact that the world is bigger than our backyard. Understanding the art and pragmatism of academic conversations requires a building of trust, a willingness to share, and a mind for critical thinking. Guidance for holding conversations with meaning and doing philosophy with learners is modeled, as well as how implementing classroom and collegial discourse benefits our society.

Reviews

This book is a panoramic consideration of how dialogue enhances teaching and learning. The editors have selected a broad range of contributors whose thoughtful reports reveal historical and practical dimensions of dialogic pedagogy. Teachers will benefit from a careful reading of this volume. -- Ira Shor, critical theorist & pedagogist, author, and professor at College of Staten Island, CUNY
All universities claim that a part of our mission is to develop students into informed global citizens. The Value of Academic Discourse: Conversations That Matter reminds us how we do it and provides excellent examples of both style and substance. This is how higher education changes the world by changing lives one student at a time. -- Fred Slabach, president, Texas Wesleyan University
The influence of new media and technologies on our conversations make this book a powerful reminder that the art of conversation and academic dialogue are as important as ever, if not more so. In an era when the expediency of technology and new media appear to be taking over the classroom experience and creating questions about its purpose, the authors remind us that active or experiential learning begins with a classroom, synchronous and otherwise, designed around robust academic discourse. -- Peter Jordan, president, Tarrant County College, South Campus
This is an important book, especially since it comes out at the time when our society is struggling to have informed, rational, and respectful conversations about the issues that are crucial to our well-being, if not to our existence. The Value of Academic Discourse: Conversations That Matter encourages us to take a fresh look at the power of talk to help us understand ourselves, each other, and the world we live in. -- Alina Reznitskaya, professor of education, Montclair State University
Discourse matters, and in educational settings, what matters more are the structure, context and facilitation of our shared discourse. The Value of Academic Discourse: Conversations that Matter not only helps make this clear, it offers insights into how to make the most of our discursive opportunities. -- Joe Oyler, lecturer in teacher education, Maynooth University

Author Bio

Twyla T. Miranda serves as professor in the School of Education at Texas Wesleyan University. Her work in education has involved teaching children, young adults and adults, using the interplay of trust, dialogue, and critical thinking about topics that matter to learners. Jeffrey Herr serves as associate professor of Education in the department of Philosophy, Economics, and Teacher Education at Tarrant County College (South Campus). His research interests include Philosophy for Children and communities of inquiry, hip-hop education, and achieving student engagement through alternative forms of instruction.