This article articulates a theory of 'presence' in teaching and seeks to establish a theoretical foundation for presence that can serve as a platform for further research. It seeks to address the current educational climate that sees teaching as a check list of behaviors, dispositions, measures, and standards, and to articulate the essential but elusive aspect of teaching we call presence. Presence is defined as a state of alert awareness, receptivity, and connectedness to the mental, emotional, and physical workings of both the individual and the group in the context of their learning enviroments, and the ability to respond with a considered and compassionate best next step. The article is divided into four sections and explores existing conceptions of presence: presence as self-awareness, presence as connection to students, and presence as connection to subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. Within each section the role that context plays in a teacher's ability to be present is also explored. The authors draw upon papers and stories from student teachers, interview data from children and experienced teachers, and stories from a study group of experienced educators that explored the notion of presence on three different occasions. They conclude by connecting presence to the essential purpose of teaching and learning, the creation of a democratic society.
How do children understand the ways that classroom relationships shape their capacity to trust what they know? This article argues that students have remarkable abilities to read the relational tenor of their classrooms and shape their spoken knowledge accordingly. Based on an in-depth study with sixth-grade students, this research demonstrates that students’ construction of trustworthy knowledge in school depends heavily on the quality of their relationships with teachers and peers. In order to study the relational context of learning, the study employs student self-assessment work as its vantage point. Using the Listening Guide methodology of narrative analysis, the study examines children's understanding of this highly relational school practice as a window for viewing how teacher-student and peer relationships can both augment and constrain children's trust in their emerging knowledge. This research reveals children who vividly portray a process of sharing and suppressing knowledge that relies on their understandings of salient school relationships—relationships with themselves, peers, and teachers. The study locates the integral link between students’ understandings of these school relationships and their capacity to trust their knowledge and learn in school. The article challenges researchers and teachers to examine the complex relational life in our schools and the ways in which classroom environments can both support and constrain students’ ability to trust what they know.
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