Three Developmental Theories: The parts to my current whole

 

The beginnings of a reflection that I am posting and yet hoping no one actually reads. It is a sandbox of all sandboxes. In my head, I can feel connections that I cannot see: contours are a blur. I need time. I need time to deliberate. 

This post is written from a place of a presuming state; that there is an assumption on the part of the writer of the reader to have confidence that the writer's understanding of what is shared is stronger than what is written. It is equally assumed by the writer that this is not so. This paradox, of sorts, makes for great grounding if one is willing to step and to equally misstep. 

Graduate School: 1993-1995

I entered the world of education at a time of 'pure' constructivism. Or, as a professor once shared, a belief that learning is nothing more than throwing a pig in mud and asking it to learn by rolling. At the time I was less challenged by the idea of constructivism and more challenged by its interpretation of theory to practice.  It seemed to me at an intuitive level that interruptions were required beyond the capacity of the self and such interruptions could be qualified by value of impact. 

I was a science teacher. I saw an immediate need to intervene in the learning pathways of students by appealing to emotions and cognition, to adjust the experience with both tacit and explicit supports. I saw myself, as Vygotsky might argue- as a more knowledgeable other. 

I sat in the space-of-attempt to manipulate the mediative between the agents of development in service of supporting the capacity of the student to sit in this same space.


Post Graduate School: 2001-2003
I am then compelled to consider how Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Niche Theory fits in and into seeing interacting directions of influence coursing through concentric circles-- from the micro to the macro to the meso and from the meso to the macro to the micro.


Post-post Graduate School: 2021-
Superimposed on Wilber's quadrants that retain distinction within each quadrant and create meaning of phenomenon by the whole of its parts.



And as I reflect on these three theories I can see the need to integrate and to differentiate. We seek patterns and crave order. Order, I see Wilber might argue, does not necessarily come in familiar patterns, and patterns are not necessarily evidenced across but from within.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hobfall's Conservation of Resources (CoR)- SCT and Adaptive Leadership

Image
Conservation of Resources An interesting title for a theory that I've come to learn is associated with crisis management.  Bajaba et al., (2021) interject Hobfoll's (1989) theory as a means to explain how particular managers recognize and are able to adjust resources that create conditions necessary in a time of crisis. These resources are not limited to physical assets. These resources include personality traits and skills of individuals within the organization that advantage opportunity and overcome challenges in times of crisis: traits and skills that become invaluable resources in times of stress. "COR theory, a motivational theory introduced by Hobfoll (1989), defines resources as "those objects, personal characteristics, conditions, or energies that are valued by the individual or that serve as a means for the attainment of these objects, personal characteristics, conditions, or energies" (Bajaba et al., citing Hobfoll, 1989, 2021, p. 3);  The authors prese...
Read more

Looking past the 'what we do' and focusing on the 'why we do'

Image
I was watching a movie last night with my family- Inception. The storyline is very complex but it goes something like this... invading the dreams of others to learn more about what they know and why they do what they do in order to change or explain what has been and influence the actions of the dreamer (at the subconsciousness level) to change a future outcome.  One scene has the character seeking out the sage advice from another character, attempting to dig deeper into the subconscious dreamworld of another. The advice was simple, one cannot assume that merely entering and influencing sufficiently changes the course of action. One must delve into the idea at a point of inception- the place in which the idea is reduced to its simplest form. If you enter anywhere higher up the perspective-evolutionary ladder, you risk obfuscating the idea and calling it something that it isn't holding the belief that this "is", which means that the change you incite does not change the o...
Read more

Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings: A Commentary

Image
  Conservation of Resources Steven E. Hobfall Individuals hold on to the things that are central to their perceived wellbeing and safety. O bjects, personal characteristics, conditions, or energies when “threatened, lost,[or] believed to be unstable" are recognized as having value and are perceived to be of value. W hen "individuals and groups cannot set a path to the fostering and protection of [these] resources through their joint effort” stress is experienced (Hobfoll, 2001, p. 342); w hen such conditions persist, the "stress resistance" within the individual or the group is compromised. Furthermore, a  persistent loss of resources contributes to further loss of resources, enabling a cyclical process referred to as a loss spiral, leaving individuals and groups even more vulnerable (Hobfoll, 1998). In such times of loss, individuals and groups take great effort to adapt in ways to conserve and utilize available resources . If such adaptation is successful, there ...
Read more