**3.3 Teachers philosophizing with students - how did they experience it?**

Marcussen accompanied one of the teachers as a philosophical dialog facilitator in two of the classes where she taught Norwegian language and literature - respectively an electronics class and an elite sports class. The students were 16–17 years old, the questions explored were "what is respect for nature?" and "what is sustainable development?", and the two sessions lasted for 1,5 hours each. Afterwards, the teacher had told Marcussen that she did not experience the dialogs with the students as successful. She thought they were characterized by teacher dominance and relatively little participation from the students. However, as we shall see, the meta reflection notes of the students revealed that their experience was quite the contrary. These are three examples:


9 of 22 students described that they think differently after the dialog. Here are some examples:


Several of the students expressed that their thoughts were "opened". One example is the expression that the dialog "opened up for all my thoughts", another that s/he "learned to be more open rather than jumping to conclusions".

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

• to acknowledge that nature is alive

• to acknowledge that everything is nature

• to act with humbleness and respect for natural laws

*3.2.4 Teachers' meta reflections after the 1st full day workshop*

*and to make a system, a summary with the main tendencies."*

teachers worked with values, as stated in the introduction.

The later part of this full day workshop included a philosophical exercise where values behind emotions and/or actions were analyzed, followed by a general reflection on the possibilities of taking what we had worked with into their own practice with students in the classroom, and also with their colleagues. Finally, the teachers wrote meta-reflection notes about their experiences of the day that were gathered by us as data, while also sharing their experiences orally. This is part of the Dialogos process because it encourages participants to put words and concepts to their experiences, thus bringing the reflection process one step further. Furthermore, it is likely helping participants to psychologically "close" the process, which can be quite

As shown in the dialog excerpts above, the teachers talked about multiple perspectives on saving the planet and respect for nature. Nevertheless it is interesting how little these teachers reflected about these topics in their meta reflection notes by the end of the day. A few did though; one teacher stated that the dialogs made her *"widen the perspective on sustainability",* while another teacher wrote that it was "*interesting to see the whole picture".* A third teacher stated that it was challenging "*to work with such big topics, which otherwise often can be forgotten in a busy everyday work",* a fourth writing that it was *"an untidy topic that was tidily organized*" through the philosophical dialog. A fifth teacher emphasized the advantage of getting different perspectives and arguments from others, and that *"the challenge is to organize* 

Even if there were few reflections on the topic, no teacher mentioned anything negative or voiced criticism. However, seven out of ten answered that they were insecure about their own competence, that it was challenging and new, or that they felt insecure in general. One teacher claimed to have felt physical distress, that his heart was beating, that he felt performance anxiety and that the whole thing was rather" *hovering in the air."* Another said she had been on *"unsteady grounds"*. Three teachers were insecure or curious about how they could transform this into teaching or transfer it to others from the teaching staff. One asserted that it was *"challenging, but edifying"* and that he needed some time to digest it. However, several of the teachers stated that the workshop was relevant for them with regards to their further work with the ongoing curriculum reform, which also required that the

Some meta-reflections pointed out the challenge of philosophical dialoguing being a rather open way of working. Some wanted clear structures with unambiguous answers and guidelines, because this is what they as well as their students are used to. One mentioned that even though the dialog was interesting, he/she got a bit stressed of the dialog being a bit "floating". Another teacher wrote: "*If I would* 

• to cultivate uncultivated nature

• to understand the forces of nature

*3.2.3 Further content of the workshop*

demanding, as we shall see below.

**184**

Many noted that they have gotten new insights related to sustainability. One wrote: *"I got a new perspective on what sustainability is.*" One said that his/her awareness on the topic was raised through the dialog, while two others stated that they could go deeper into the topic, or to see *"problems and topics differently, to see values and what is important."* Four students expressed excitement for the topic and that it was fascinating to investigate it in-depth, also that the topic was *"excellent"* and funny. Two students noted that they got new ideas on what sustainability can mean, and one that he/she got an in-depth look on how to live sustainably. Some noted that they have been inspired to put sustainability into practice more often. One student mentioned that during the conversation he/she has thought about "eco-conscious decisions", another stated that he/she got deeper insight on what it means to live sustainably. One got new ideas on how to act more sustainably, while another realized *"that there is much we do that is already sustainable even though we are not always aware of that."* Two students, however, stated that dialogs are not enough with regards to sustainability: *"… it is a waste of time to discuss this without doing anything".* Another one stated: *"I think that we don't change anything by discussing this in two hours but still I leave the dialogue with more awareness."*

Students also expressed that it was difficult and strenuous to philosophize, however interesting to listen to and to explore and learn from the different views of others. One stated that he or she wanted to become better to see all sides of different issues, while others emphasized the importance of realizing that there are many ways of thinking and seeing.

#### **3.4 Teachers meta-reflections after the 2nd full day workshop**

After the second pilot group workshop with the same teachers some five weeks later, their meta-reflection notes show that the teachers were less stressed. Now none reported that they were insecure about their own competence. One wrote that he/she became more organized by letting students write meta reflection notes after sessions from time to time, something that she did not do in the beginning. Two mentioned that it had now become easier to use topics and methods from the Dialogos approach in their teaching. Another one was looking forward to trying out the exercises from this second full day workshop with the students, while another said he/she was inspired to read and learn more about philosophical dialog. Now, how can we interpret this development?

#### **4. Discussion**

A main feature of the dialogs presented in the previous section, was that the teachers brought their own experiences and more or less well-founded opinions into the philosophical dialogs. These opinions and experiences were investigated and sometimes also challenged by the perspectives and arguments of the others, and by the spontaneous questions of Weiss and Helskog. As a consequence, and contrary to learning content from books, the teachers could learn content from each other, and in this way raise their awareness on the investigated topics. This form of learning did not necessarily make the participants acquire factual knowledge, but it opened their minds and widened their horizons of understanding regarding the issues in focus, which in this case were related to sustainable development. In the present section, we will therefore discuss central features, in the form of attitudes and skills, that came to the fore in the outcomes of this project.

**187**

**4.3 Active listening**

*How Philosophizing the Dialogos Way Can Promote Education for Sustainable Development*

As shown in the previous section, several students said that such dialogs gave them the chance to learn "to think more in depth," to get "a deeper view," "to go deeper into things," and "to go deeper into myself." Such quotes indicate what in general is known by the term *in-depth learning*. More particularly, the quotes can also be related to the previously mentioned philosopher Arne Næss and his conception of *deep* ecology. Furthermore, when Næss argues for awakening the openness to diversity in people ([16], p. 386), then this is what appears to have happened with the teachers as well as with the students. In the dialogs they were challenged to formulate and share their own point of views and understandings of a topic, listen to those of others. Through that they could further develop their own understanding, which can be seen as a key-aspect of in-depth learning. Furthermore, the metareflections of both the teachers and the students indicate that the dialogs helped them in becoming more open-minded and in general more aware of the topic. In this respect, the oral meta-reflections from the students can be mentioned, where two of them expressed that dialogic learning-and-teaching does clearly not foster sustainable development. In other words, these students claimed that thinking and talking alone does not lead to change. Here however, another student interjected that dialoguing and thinking together appears to be mandatory in order to raise awareness on such vital topics. Since only with a raised awareness, as this student claimed, people will be more motivated for change. Here again, Næss' argument for awakening the openness to diversity comes into account. And being able to support your students in learning to deal with today's cultural, philosophical and even scientific diversity - i.e. by means of this dialogical form of in-depth learning - appears

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96198*

to be an important skill of the teacher in the 21st century.

practice seems to be a vital resource for today's teachers.

Another important insight from this project was that many teachers, after the first workshop, commented that this way of working, that is, dialogic learningand-teaching, felt difficult for them. Some even noted that they became anxious and on shaky ground. However, after the second workshop, the meta-reflection notes clearly indicated that the teachers from the pilot group felt less stressed. They gained more confidence in what they were doing - by doing it. And here we arrive at a crucial point when it comes to dialogic learning-and-teaching: It needs practice, it is not simply a technique that, once you understand it cognitively, you can apply it successfully. Rather, it is the experience that comes from participative dialogic practice which helps the teachers improve their dialog facilitation skills as well as develop the attitudes with which they can go into such dialogs. Instead of being anxious, they were much more self-confident when facilitating their second or third dialog. And though it is not a skill in the actual sense, but rather an attitude, improved self-confidence in their teaching

With respect to the previous sentence, one teacher can be mentioned again, who

first thought that the dialog she facilitated went rather bad. Only when taking a look at the meta-reflections from the students, she could see that the contrary was the case. Here, one should not underestimate the power of active listening, which forms an essential aspect in this approach to dialogic learning-and-teaching. Silence in a dialog does not mean that nothing is going on. Rather, it often indicates that

**4.2 Improved self-confidence**

**4.1 In-depth learning**

*How Philosophizing the Dialogos Way Can Promote Education for Sustainable Development DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96198*

## **4.1 In-depth learning**

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

*hours but still I leave the dialogue with more awareness."*

**3.4 Teachers meta-reflections after the 2nd full day workshop**

ways of thinking and seeing.

how can we interpret this development?

**4. Discussion**

Many noted that they have gotten new insights related to sustainability. One wrote: *"I got a new perspective on what sustainability is.*" One said that his/her awareness on the topic was raised through the dialog, while two others stated that they could go deeper into the topic, or to see *"problems and topics differently, to see values and what is important."* Four students expressed excitement for the topic and that it was fascinating to investigate it in-depth, also that the topic was *"excellent"* and funny. Two students noted that they got new ideas on what sustainability can mean, and one that he/she got an in-depth look on how to live sustainably. Some noted that they have been inspired to put sustainability into practice more often. One student mentioned that during the conversation he/she has thought about "eco-conscious decisions", another stated that he/she got deeper insight on what it means to live sustainably. One got new ideas on how to act more sustainably, while another realized *"that there is much we do that is already sustainable even though we are not always aware of that."* Two students, however, stated that dialogs are not enough with regards to sustainability: *"… it is a waste of time to discuss this without doing anything".* Another one stated: *"I think that we don't change anything by discussing this in two* 

Students also expressed that it was difficult and strenuous to philosophize, however interesting to listen to and to explore and learn from the different views of others. One stated that he or she wanted to become better to see all sides of different issues, while others emphasized the importance of realizing that there are many

After the second pilot group workshop with the same teachers some five weeks later, their meta-reflection notes show that the teachers were less stressed. Now none reported that they were insecure about their own competence. One wrote that he/she became more organized by letting students write meta reflection notes after sessions from time to time, something that she did not do in the beginning. Two mentioned that it had now become easier to use topics and methods from the Dialogos approach in their teaching. Another one was looking forward to trying out the exercises from this second full day workshop with the students, while another said he/she was inspired to read and learn more about philosophical dialog. Now,

A main feature of the dialogs presented in the previous section, was that the teachers brought their own experiences and more or less well-founded opinions into the philosophical dialogs. These opinions and experiences were investigated and sometimes also challenged by the perspectives and arguments of the others, and by the spontaneous questions of Weiss and Helskog. As a consequence, and contrary to learning content from books, the teachers could learn content from each other, and in this way raise their awareness on the investigated topics. This form of learning did not necessarily make the participants acquire factual knowledge, but it opened their minds and widened their horizons of understanding regarding the issues in focus, which in this case were related to sustainable development. In the present section, we will therefore discuss central features, in the form of attitudes and skills, that came to the fore in the outcomes of this

**186**

project.

As shown in the previous section, several students said that such dialogs gave them the chance to learn "to think more in depth," to get "a deeper view," "to go deeper into things," and "to go deeper into myself." Such quotes indicate what in general is known by the term *in-depth learning*. More particularly, the quotes can also be related to the previously mentioned philosopher Arne Næss and his conception of *deep* ecology. Furthermore, when Næss argues for awakening the openness to diversity in people ([16], p. 386), then this is what appears to have happened with the teachers as well as with the students. In the dialogs they were challenged to formulate and share their own point of views and understandings of a topic, listen to those of others. Through that they could further develop their own understanding, which can be seen as a key-aspect of in-depth learning. Furthermore, the metareflections of both the teachers and the students indicate that the dialogs helped them in becoming more open-minded and in general more aware of the topic. In this respect, the oral meta-reflections from the students can be mentioned, where two of them expressed that dialogic learning-and-teaching does clearly not foster sustainable development. In other words, these students claimed that thinking and talking alone does not lead to change. Here however, another student interjected that dialoguing and thinking together appears to be mandatory in order to raise awareness on such vital topics. Since only with a raised awareness, as this student claimed, people will be more motivated for change. Here again, Næss' argument for awakening the openness to diversity comes into account. And being able to support your students in learning to deal with today's cultural, philosophical and even scientific diversity - i.e. by means of this dialogical form of in-depth learning - appears to be an important skill of the teacher in the 21st century.

#### **4.2 Improved self-confidence**

Another important insight from this project was that many teachers, after the first workshop, commented that this way of working, that is, dialogic learningand-teaching, felt difficult for them. Some even noted that they became anxious and on shaky ground. However, after the second workshop, the meta-reflection notes clearly indicated that the teachers from the pilot group felt less stressed. They gained more confidence in what they were doing - by doing it. And here we arrive at a crucial point when it comes to dialogic learning-and-teaching: It needs practice, it is not simply a technique that, once you understand it cognitively, you can apply it successfully. Rather, it is the experience that comes from participative dialogic practice which helps the teachers improve their dialog facilitation skills as well as develop the attitudes with which they can go into such dialogs. Instead of being anxious, they were much more self-confident when facilitating their second or third dialog. And though it is not a skill in the actual sense, but rather an attitude, improved self-confidence in their teaching practice seems to be a vital resource for today's teachers.

#### **4.3 Active listening**

With respect to the previous sentence, one teacher can be mentioned again, who first thought that the dialog she facilitated went rather bad. Only when taking a look at the meta-reflections from the students, she could see that the contrary was the case. Here, one should not underestimate the power of active listening, which forms an essential aspect in this approach to dialogic learning-and-teaching. Silence in a dialog does not mean that nothing is going on. Rather, it often indicates that

#### *Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

participants are going on deeper levels of reflection – something that seems to be confirmed in the meta-reflection notes from the students in this dialog.

Even though students listen to the teacher too when the latter is using a more traditional form of didactics, like when presenting facts and knowledge on a powerpoint. However, active listening as discussed here slightly differs from this form of listening. Active listening appears to happen more likely in conversations, i.e. in a dialog, rather than in speeches. And this difference appears to be decisive for the previously mentioned in-depth learning - active listening is prerequisite for this form of learning. Therefore, making one's students listen actively appears to be a necessary ability of teachers today.

#### **4.4 Cultivating one's not-knowing**

One could of course be critical towards this dialog-oriented approach and say that facts about the topic were hardly or not present at all in these Dialogos workshops on sustainable development. But here the absence of well-founded pre-knowledge on the topic with the participants appears to be decisive. Would they all have known all the facts, figures and theories about the topic, the chances would have been high that they would have just ended up in mere discussion, where each participant would have been concerned with defending his or her point of view. And this was not the case in these dialogs, rather – in reference to Socrates – the participants knew and acknowledged that they did not know, or only knew little, about the topic. In other words, having an awareness of not knowing everything about a topic, seems to constitute a vital attitude that is required by the participants of philosophical dialogs. *Not knowing* in a dialog keeps the learning process alive, since it fosters curiosity and wonderment.

As a consequence, one could even go so far and say that if the awareness of one's own not-knowing is a driving force in dialogic learning-and-teaching then this educational approach can also be used for other topics, and not only sustainable development. In this way, both the teacher and the students are cultivating their not-knowing - and in a complex and diversified world like ours, where one simply cannot know all, a cultivated attitudes not-knowing appears to be of central value. However, as already mentioned previously, dialogic learning-and-teaching should not replace traditional lecturing. Nevertheless, it appears to be a valuable and fruitful approach when education has to deal with phenomena and topics that cannot be put into "square-shaped boxes."

#### **4.5 Togetherness**

Furthermore, based on the reflection notes from this action inquiry project, one can come to the conclusion that dialog fosters the social relationships between the participating individuals. With the intention to investigate sustainable development issues together – with the emphasis on "together" – there never appeared to be the need for any participant to come up with the best argument or "winning" the conversation, as it would be in a discussion or a debate. Rather, because both the teachers as well as the students showed a certain curiosity in the topic, on the one hand, and because this curiosity was rooted in the fact that none of them possessed expert knowledge about this complex topic, on the other, they were willing to listen to the other points of view. And here another positive effect of this educational approach comes to the fore which can be formulated in the words of Richard Kahn ([20], p. 77), in which he states that caring, dialogical, and transformative relations would promote cooperation, democracy, and positive cultural values, as well as promote communication, esteem, and freedom in relation to each other. In other words,

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*How Philosophizing the Dialogos Way Can Promote Education for Sustainable Development*

knowing how to foster togetherness with the students appears to be an important skill of the teacher in order to promote what is called democratic citizenship.

Another positive aspect of such a dialogic approach to learning-and-teaching might be the following: In the discipline of so-called philosophical practice one can find a key-assumption held by several practitioners, namely that each individual has his or her own philosophy of life – not in terms of an elaborated theory, but in terms of lived values and beliefs, expressed in feelings, attitudes and actions (see i.e. Lahav: [27]). In this respect Næss can be mentioned again who believed that one of the solutions to the world's ecological problems is to inspire people to formulate their life philosophies, i.e. about diversity and how things are connected ([18], p. 31). And when it comes to the dialog processes as described in the present article, then this seems to be what happened. Due to the dialogs, the participants became inspired to reflect and think about their own philosophies of life – or at least about a certain domain of their philosophy of life in terms of questions like "How do I relate to my surroundings, not only on a local but on a global level?", "What are the values that come to the fore in this reflection, that appear to be important to me, and how might I be able to practice them?" In one way or another all these questions – which for sure are only a few examples - seem to have been relevant and even investigated in the dialogs. It has to be mentioned though that working with one's own philosophy of life was not an explicit goal communicated to the participants. Nevertheless, investigating this kind of philosophy – especially in relation to sustainable development topics – appeared to have happened at least with some participants as the meta-reflection notes indicate. The ability that was fostered here is the ability of self-reflection and subsequent selfknowledge - an ability that was already held in veneration in old Greece (i.e. in the

The obvious limitation of this study is that it focuses only on one project with rather small groups of teachers and students. It is thus not possible to generalize directly to other contexts. Regardless of the limitation, the study might serve as an inspiration for teacher practitioners who want to try out the Dialogos approach to philosophizing in their classroom, or for researchers who would like to study educational processes through Dialogos or similar approaches in action research in their own context. As such, the article describes the Dialogos approach and three dialog formats in such a way that teachers can try them out in their own classrooms. As to further research, it would also be interesting to try out the Dialogos approach on a broader scale, nationally as well as internationally. The processes

could be researched through quantitative methods as well as qualitative.

However, because this study is based on several years of similar action and practice-research (see for instance [4, 35, 36]), we are bold enough to claim that the Dialogos approach to philosophizing is a fruitful way to contribute to education not only for sustainable development, but more generally as an approach to dialogic

The guiding question of this paper asks *how* training teachers in philosophizing the Dialogos Way might promote dialogic learning-and-teaching, and support

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96198*

form of the Socratic "Know thyself").

**4.7 Limitation**

learning-and-teaching.

**5. Conclusion and final remark**

**4.6 Life philosophies**

knowing how to foster togetherness with the students appears to be an important skill of the teacher in order to promote what is called democratic citizenship.
