This paper is about the notion of conflict in the work of John Dewey. Special attention is given to "Democracy and Education" (1916) because of its centennial and its acclaimed status of "magnum opus". After depicting "conflicts as gadflies" that stir thinking--reflection and ingenuity--and relating it to Socrates, in…

The article describes a student-centered approach to generating meaningful learning outcomes in a short-term study abroad program. A practice named Intention/Reflection (I/R) was used to help students to identify, articulate, and reflect upon learning objectives that were personally meaningful, within the broader framework of the intended outcomes…

Formal mentoring programs focus on the probationary period of new teachers. Providing teachers with mentoring support during the initial years of teaching requires significant commitment and investment from school districts, mentors, and new teachers. Numerous studies argue the merits of mentoring programs, yet the research has been less clear…

Because learning to meditate shares important qualities with learning to be a better reader and writer--for example, dispassionate noticing, becoming more aware of inner processes, a faith in inner wisdom, effort made with a light touch, the cultivation of a practice through simple, regular doing--practice in mindfulness meditation was used to…

This paper stems from a dialogue on the subjects of learning and learners: one forged out of experiences in research and teaching, and the application of psychodynamic insights, developmental psychology and recent work in the neurosciences, to thinking about adult learning and subjectivity. We argue that some notion of the self needs to be…