Wandering intellectuals: establishing a research agenda on gender, walking, and thinking

Building on a study of three women who practice walking-for-thinking as a part of their intellectual work, the analysis identifies potential themes for a future research agenda on gender, walking, and thinking. A particular focus is the subtle, daily, management of gendered expectations and ways in which walking, for these women, is a contribution to such management. We name this ‘walking away from expectations’ and identify three themes: walking away from others’ gaze, walking away from restlessness and domestic responsibility, and walking away as belonging. Walking emerges as a skillful way of creating the conditions to do one’s intellectual work and manage gendered expectations. Further, the meanings of silences about gender in the context of intellectual work and walking is discussed and questions for future research agenda are suggested. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography on 24/04/2017, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2017.131494

Cultivating Collective Reflection on Experiences of Teaching with ICT

The question of how to teach digital literacy attracts the attention of researchers, government agencies, parents, mass media, etc. This paper proposes that the teacher’s role is crucial: to teach digital literacies, teachers must have developed their own digital literacies. When defining digital literacies broadly, skills-based approaches to teacher training are not enough. Inspiration from ‘critical’ approaches to reflection adds to our understanding of how to develop digital literacies in schools. We propose the need for approaches where teachers are supported in jointly reflecting on their experiences of teaching with, and about, information and communication technologies (ICTs). Using the work of educationalist Paulo Freire, we argue the need to see action and reflection as an integrated whole. We examine a project in which we added a reflective approach to a technology roll-out to 30 schools. While the project differed at each school, a semi-structured process facilitated by mentors supported collective reflection in all schools. Although challenges were encountered along the way, the final evaluation indicated that schools had found the approach helpful. This paper argues the need to include approaches which stimulate and make possible collective, critical reflection among teachers

Cultivating Collective Reflection on Experiences of Teaching with ICT

The question of how to teach digital literacy attracts the attention of researchers, government agencies, parents, mass media, etc. This paper proposes that the teacher’s role is crucial: to teach digital literacies, teachers must have developed their own digital literacies. When defining digital literacies broadly, skills-based approaches to teacher training are not enough. Inspiration from ‘critical’ approaches to reflection adds to our understanding of how to develop digital literacies in schools. We propose the need for approaches where teachers are supported in jointly reflecting on their experiences of teaching with, and about, information and communication technologies (ICTs). Using the work of educationalist Paulo Freire, we argue the need to see action and reflection as an integrated whole. We examine a project in which we added a reflective approach to a technology roll-out to 30 schools. While the project differed at each school, a semi-structured process facilitated by mentors supported collective reflection in all schools. Although challenges were encountered along the way, the final evaluation indicated that schools had found the approach helpful. This paper argues the need to include approaches which stimulate and make possible collective, critical reflection among teachers