The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion - Edited by Robert A. Segal: Reviews (original) (raw)

Buddhist Foundations of Teaching

Australian Association For Research in Education, 2012

This paper reports on research conducted on the impact of Buddhism on teaching, exploring the educational philosophy and approach, the daily practice of teaching, and the challenge of bringing together the mainstream education curriculum with Buddhist worldview in the first school in Australia being guided by Buddhist philosophy. Although there has been a concerted research agenda within the sociology of education internationally that has focussed on teachers and the comparative impacts of globalisation, culture and religion on their work, there has been little attention paid to the particular impact of Buddhism, even though this sphere of education is growing globally. This research is a descriptive, interpretative study of the narratives of teachers about their views and understandings of Buddhism in their new school, and the impact of Buddhism on their teaching. The key research question asks 'In what ways does a Buddhist perspective change mainstream teaching practice in Australia?' This paper will focus the theme of The Foundational Elements of Teaching which were identified as being: its pioneering school status and its conflict management practices that focus on self-responsibility and compassionate communication with others as foundational behaviors for creating a peaceful, mindful school culture of belonging. The findings suggest that there are similarities with other start-up schools regardless of the influence of Buddhist philosophy in terms of the need for planning and leadership that involves teachers. What is distinct about this school is that, unlike other Buddhist inspired schools with available comparative research, this is not a faith-based school. This has posed particular challenges, and freedoms, for teachers.

(2010). A Buddhist in the Classroom

International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 2010

Lau, N. S. (2010). A Buddhist in the Classroom’ by Sid Brown. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 15(2), 195-197.

Review of Haroutunian-Gordon, S., Learning to teach through discussion: The art of turning the soul

True education is always oral because only the spoken word makes dialogue possible, that is, it makes it possible for the disciple to discover the truth himself amid the interplay of questions and answers and also for the master to adapt his teaching to the needs of the disciple. Pierre Hadot 1 toward this kind of seeking and self-understanding, the teacher must not only avoid supplying answers, but must also encourage questioning, scaffold inquiry that is both critical and collaborative, and model her own seeking -an art for which, Haroutnunian-Gordon emphatically states, - [t]here is no fixed procedure-no method‖ (p. 10).

Kertarajasa Buddhist College Inter-religious Learning from the Perspective of Self-Study of Teaching Practice

Using the self-study of teaching practice (S-STP), this research examines the process of inter-religious learning at Kertarajasa Buddhist College. The S-STP applied to this study is a potential alternative to answer many teaching challenges that were left out by other educational research approaches. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the courses of inter-religious learning were offered online. These courses were designed and taught by the first author who is a non-Buddhist teacher-educator works in a Buddhist teaching institution. The courses were delivered using various online learning tools, assisted with scaffold learning, and included guest lectures. In the learning process, students were given opportunity to interact with the instructor and guest lectures. The guest lectures are liyan (the others) and subject-matter experts. The interactions mean to develop students' awareness of other religious communities and the room for them to experience the religious moderation. This study reveals that the S-STP provides scientific method for the instructor to study own teaching practices. The S-STP as a research approach enables the course instructor to reflect on opportunities and challenges on teaching. The research approach also enables the instructor to self-assess the professional development as a teacher-educator. Moreover, feedback from the critical friend unveiled strengths and weaknesses of the teaching that were possible unseen by the instructor.

STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I take teaching to be a situation-specific art, not only in regard to the institution in which I teach, but also the particular aptitudes and peculiar personalities of the students in a given class. With this in mind, my pedagogical style and strategies, and the principles they attempt to uphold, are shaped both by the core values of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and by the desire to be broadly applicable to a diversity of students and adaptable for specific classes. In the present statement, I describe my general pedagogical approach as an interdisciplinary scholar and teacher focusing primarily on religion, philosophy, and art; and I discuss five interrelated pedagogical principles and attitudes that inform my teaching.