Learning is Dialogical

A mentor of mine had introduced me to this mantra, “learning is dialogical.”  This mantra originates from the philosophical writings of Charles Taylor (1991) in The Malaise of Modernity.  It’s a small book transcribing Taylor’s presentation from the Massey Lectures on CBC.

Admittedly, reading Charles Taylor is not an easy read.  I was first introduced to Taylor during my Masters of Education program 10 years ago.  After the 11th read or so, The Malaise has become one of my favorite pieces of writing.  What resonates with me the most… LEARNING IS DIALOGICAL.

Early this evening, I managed to meet up with some of my Educ 809 alumni classmates on Google+.  The ABD meetings are meant to meet on campus, but somehow I managed to double or triple book myself on Wednesdays that I have not been able to go to commiserate with other ABD students.

All I can say is… THANK GOODNESS FOR TECHNOLOGY.  This is not to say that I am learning online… but I’m learning online.  I was reunited with some of my 809 buddies sharing and collaborating via computer.  I got the benefits of Educ 809 by “hanging out” on Google+.  I’m inspired.

It was amazing.  I thought it would have been another week of missing another ABD session.  Much like Weight Watchers, there is something about the weekly accountability and small celebrations that keep the participant motivated.  Thanks to Google+ and Circles, I missed nothing.

Learning via talking with others has always been my mantra as a secondary mathematics teacher.  It’s my mantra when facilitating professional development workshops.  And, dialogue is instrumental is my learning.  Thank you ABD buddies and Google+… my learning is back on track.