Mapping Holistic Learning
An Introductory Guide to Aesthetigrams
Summary
Recently, the strategy has been adapted to other fields of study—the teaching of literature, and philosophy for children, as well as the writing of poetry. Boyd White and Amélie Lemieux are persuaded that the strategy could be expanded into other disciplines. For example, might it not be useful for a teacher to know what a student is feeling and thinking as she struggles with a mathematical concept?
Mapping Holistic Learning is divided into three sections. Chapter 1 addresses the theoretical framework that underpins the authors’ research. The second section, Chapters 2 to 5, provides examples of aesthetigram usage within the formal education environment, in art and literature classrooms. The third section, Chapters 6 and 7, introduces two recent experiments in informal settings—one in an adult poetry workshop, the other in a philosophy-for-children workshop. It is not necessary to follow the book in chronological order. Readers are invited to attend to the chapters that most closely address their individual interests.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- Advance Praise for Mapping Holistic Learning
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction (Boyd White and Amélie Lemieux)
- A Short History of Aesthetigrams
- Aesthetic Experience
- Amélie’s Perspective on Aesthetic Encounters
- Concluding Note
- Section One
- Chapter One: Epistemological and Ontological Stances (Amélie Lemieux and Boyd White)
- Phenomenological Orientations
- Phenomenological Hermeneutics and Reading
- The Limitations of Traditional Hermeneutics
- Rationale
- Reading Engagement, Context and Aesthetic Experience
- A Few Notes on Evaluation
- Interpretation, the Text, and the Reader
- Inter-subjectivity
- Imagination and Inter-subjectivity
- Further Notes on Reading Engagement
- Challenges of Phenomenological Hermeneutics and Proposed Solutions
- Concluding Remarks
- Notes
- References
- Section Two
- Chapter Two: Putting Theory into Practice: Aesthetigrams: Mapping Aesthetic Experiences (Boyd White)
- Background
- Research Rationale
- Theoretical Underpinning
- The Process
- Student Examples
- Summary
- References
- Chapter Three: More Recent Developments: Visual Art (Boyd White)
- Aesthetigram Notation Changes
- Experiential Moments
- Preamble
- Categories of Possible Experiential Moments
- Explanation of Jones’s Diagram
- Dialogues with Mary
- Mary’s Commentary, March 18
- My Response to Mary’s First Aesthetigram
- Mary’s Follow-up Note
- Mary’s Accompanying Commentary, March 20, 2016
- My Response to Mary’s 2nd Aesthetigram
- Some Further Thoughts on Mary’s Second Aesthetigram
- Mary’s Third Commentary
- My Comments to Mary Regarding her Third Encounter
- Further Thoughts on Mary’s Interactions with Rainey’s Work
- Reference
- Chapter Four: Recent Developments: Aesthetigram-Making in the Literature Classroom (Amélie Lemieux)
- Aesthetigram-making in Literature Classes
- Methodology
- Research Question, Portfolio Elements, and Meaning-making Process
- Aesthetigram-making
- Ekphrastic Writing
- Data: Peter’s Reading Engagement and Habits
- Accompanying Commentary for the First Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the First Aesthetigram (Literature)
- Remarks
- Accompanying Commentary for the Second Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the Second Aesthetigram (Film)
- Remarks
- Post-test Results
- Overall Occurrences for Each Categories in both Aesthetigrams
- Data: Tim’s Reading Engagement and Habits
- Accompanying Commentary for the First Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the First Aesthetigram (Literature)
- Remarks
- Accompanying Commentary for the Second Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the Second Aesthetigram (Film)
- Remarks
- Post-test Results
- Overall Occurrences for Each Category in both Aesthetigrams
- Data: Will’s Reading Engagement and Habits
- Accompanying Commentary for the First Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the First Aesthetigram (Literature)
- Remarks
- Accompanying Commentary for the Second Aesthetigram
- Remarks
- Ekphrasis in Response to the Second Aesthetigram (Film)
- Remarks
- Post-test Results
- Overall Occurrences for each Categories in both Aesthetigrams
- Limitations
- Conclusion
- Note
- References
- Chapter Five: Applications with CEGEP (18–20-Year-Old) Students (Amélie Lemieux)
- Research Problem and Context
- Conceptual Framework
- Methodology
- Aesthetigrams
- Ekphrastic Writing
- Power of the Narratives
- Aesthetigrams and Analysis
- Ekphrastic Writing, Building on the First Aesthetigram
- Olivia’s Commentary on her Aesthetigram
- Olivia’s Creative Writing Based on her Second Aesthetigram
- Limitations
- Conclusion
- Note
- References
- Section Three: Introduction: Other Applications
- Chapter Six: The Poetry Workshop (Boyd White)
- Chapter Seven: Philosograms as Aesthetic Maps of Philosophical Inquiry (Natalie M. Fletcher)
- Experiencing Philosophy for Children
- Distinctive Aesthetic Experiences
- A Philosogram in Context
- Challenges with Philosograms
- Opportunities with Philosograms
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Related Readings
- Contributor’s Bio
- Index
Figure 2.1: Aesthetigram 1
Figure 2.2: Aesthetigram 2
Figure 3.1: Jones’s Diagram
Figure 3.2: Clifford Rainey: Lightness of Being (3/4 view)
Figure 3.3: Clifford Rainey: Lightness of Being (front view)
Figure 3.4: Mary’s First Aesthetigram
Figure 3.5: Mary’s Second Aesthetigram
Figure 3.6: Mary’s Third Aesthetigram
Figure 4.1: Peter’s Aesthetigram 1
Figure 4.2: Peter’s Aesthetigram 2
Figure 4.3: Tim’s Aesthetigram 1
Figure 4.4: Tim’s Aesthetigram 2
Figure 4.5: Will’s Aesthetigram 1
Figure 4.6: Will’s Aesthetigram 2
Figure 5.1: Olivia’s Aesthetigram
Figure 5.2: Olivia’s Aesthetigram 2
Figure 6.1: Penny’s “Post-It” Aesthetigram
Figure 6.2: Penny’s Map
Figure 7.1: Logan’s Philosogram
First, the authors would like to thank Peter Lang Publishing for their support of this project.
For my part I also want to thank the many students and friends over the years who have helped develop and refine the aesthetigram strategy. Their questions and suggestions continue to inspire my learning and, I hope, my teaching.
—Boyd White
I am grateful that Boyd encouraged my pursuit of the aesthetigram idea in new directions, including the field of literacy. I am also thankful for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s financial support to undertake research on adolescent boys’ reading engagement through aesthetigram making.
—Amélie Lemieux
I would like to thank the youth board and facilitation team of Brila Youth Projects for their enthusiastic commitment to creating the first philosograms.
—Natalie Fletcher
This book relies heavily on research conducted over the past 2 years of fieldwork in the Greater Montreal area, both in university and secondary school settings, although the beginnings of that research stretch much further back, as the next section will describe. While our examples focus on visual art, literature, poetry, and philosophy for children, it is our hope that the book will inspire teachers across the curricular spectrum to consider ways to insert attention to aesthetic experience in their respective classes. But the book is not just for educators. We hope that anyone with an interest in expanding her or his aesthetic engagement, whether that be, for example, in interactions with artworks, or the writing of poetry, will find this book useful. We have divided the text into three sections. The first addresses the theoretical framework that underpins our research. The second, Chapters 2–5, provides examples of aesthetigram usage within the formal education environment, in art and literature classrooms. The third section introduces two recent experiments in informal settings, one in an adult poetry workshop, the other in a philosophy-for-children workshop. It is not necessary to follow the book in chronological order. We invite you to choose whatever seems most relevant to your interests.
A SHORT HISTORY OF AESTHETIGRAMS
The origins of this text began many years ago. I was teaching a pre-service teacher education course titled Aesthetics and art criticism for the classroom within the Faculty ← xi | xii → of Education at McGill University. Originally, I designed the course to augment the studio courses that our Department of Education in the Arts offered at that time. My rationale was that even our senior students, some of whom were quite accomplished studio practitioners, were often at a loss when it came to engaging in discussions about art. They were just beginning to find their identities as fledgling artists and tended to be somewhat dogmatic in their opinions. This, I felt, was not a good stance for engaging young students in classroom discussions about art, not if we wanted to encourage open-mindedness, a willingness to entertain others’ perspectives, and acknowledge that there is no one single correct meaning to artworks (although it is possible to be wrong too).
Details
- Pages
- XVIII, 146
- Year
- 2017
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781433144684
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433144691
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781433144707
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781433132766
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433132773
- DOI
- 10.3726/b11285
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2017 (October)
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2017. XVIII, 146 pp., 19 b/w ill.
