Subjects of Wonder: Toward an Aesthetics, Ethics, and Pedagogy of Wonder

Kearns, Laura-Lee

doi:10.5406/jaesteduc.49.1.0098

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Teaching with museums and their objects has the potential to surprise our students, which has significant potential from an educational perspective (Kearns 2015), specifically igniting an inquisitive mind-set and a drive to discover. There is a growing body of writing testifying to the pedagogical benefits and possibilities offered by object-based encounters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the Higher Education Curriculum

Smith¹

2017

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Connecting research and teaching in disciplinary communities 148x List of tables L IS T O F CO N T RI B U TO R S xiiand Culture, Harvard Design Magazine, and Home Cultures, as well as in edited books, including his recently published edited book Sexuality and Gender at Home. Helen Chatterjee is Professor of Biology in the Division of Biosciences, School of Life and Medical Sciences and Head of Teaching andResearch at UCL Culture, UCL. She is a primatologist with a particular interest in the evolution of Southeast Asian primates and has a longstanding interest in university museums and the use of collections in object-based learning as well as to promote health and wellbeing.Elizabeth Cleaver is Director of Learning and Teaching at the University of the West of England. She previously worked at the University of Hull where she led the development of the Curriculum 2016+ approach to curricular and pedagogic design and enhancement. Her wider interests lie in the building of connections between teaching and research in academic settings and, in particular, in supporting colleagues to develop disciplinary pedagogies and disciplinary approaches to educational enquiry. Robert Cockcroft is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics andAstronomy at Western University, Ontario, Canada. His second postdoctoral research fellowship was at the MacPherson Institute (formerly MIIETL), where he worked with a number of Student Scholars including Sabrina Kirby. Corony Edwards pursued a successful academic career in EnglishLanguage at the University of Birmingham before being appointed as the University's Director of Educational Development in 2006. In 2012 she moved to the University of Exeter as Head of Education Quality and Enhancement. In 2016 she set up as a freelancer, offering her services to the sector as an independent consultant. She is a Principal Fellow of the HEA, and has significant experience of leading institutional quality enhancement and assurance activities and projects. Nick Grindle is Senior Teaching Fellow at the Arena Centre for Researchbased Education, UCL. Over the past six years he's developed a series of projects about how students learn with objects and in particular how they learn in gallery and study room environments, based in part on his teaching as an art historian. ShelleyLeonie Hannan is a Research Fellow at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast. She is a social and cultural historian working on themes relating to material culture, gender, intellectual life and the history of the home. She has a professional background in museums and heritage and has conducted research into the value of heritage objects in teaching and learning contexts. Dawn Johnson has worked in education, including compulsory and post compulsory, for the past 32 years. She is currently Director of the Certificate in Professional Studies in Higher Education at Xi'an JiaotongLiverpool University, and previously worked as an Academic Developer at the University of Centra...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the Higher Education Curriculum

Smith¹

2017

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“…Kearns (2015) described wonder as an integral part of aesthetic, ethical and pedagogical experiences, connecting aesthetics to the appreciation of art and works of art, such as music, poetry, architecture, sculpture, painting and photography. In an empirical study, Jakobson and Wickman (2008) discussed the reciprocity between teaching science and teaching art.…”

Section: Aesthetic/s and Aesthetic Experience In Science Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earth at Rest

Østergaard

2017

Sci & Educ

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Focus of this article is the current situation characterized by students' de-rootedness and possible measures to improve the situation within the frame of education for sustainable development. My main line of argument is that science teachers can practice teaching in such a way that students are brought in deeper contact to the environment. I discuss efforts to promote aesthetic experience in science class and in science teacher education. Within a wide range of definitions, my main understanding of aesthetic experience is that of pre-conceptual experience, relational to the environment and incorporated in students' embodied knowledge. I ground the idea of Earth at rest in Husserl's phenomenological philosophy and Heidegger's notion of science' deprivation of the world. A critique of the ontological reversal leads to an ontological re-reversal that implies giving lifeworld experience back its value and rooting scientific concepts in students' everyday lives. Six aspects of facilitating grounding in sustainability-oriented science teaching and teacher education are highlighted and discussed: students' everyday knowledge and experience, aesthetic experience and grounding, fostering aesthetic sensibility, cross-curricular integration with art, ontological and epistemological aspects, and belongingness and (re-)connection to Earth. I conclude that both science students and student-teachers need to practice their sense of caring and belonging, as well as refining their sensibility towards the world. With an intension of educating for a sustainable development, there is an urgent need for a critical discussion in science education when it comes to engaging learners for a sustainable future.

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“…One of the requirements for wonder is that we are surprised (Buchanan 2007;Bulkeley 2008;Fuller 2006;Kearns 2015). What we see is totally unexpected.…”

Section: The State Of Wonder and Artmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Museum education evolved from the concept of silent pedagogy (Eisner and Dobbs 1990) What is wonder? Plato called wonder the beginning of philosophy (Kearns 2015;Vasalou 2012;Verhoeven 1972). Plato's wonder is a verb describing curiosity, questioning, and the search for knowledge and truth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…that were not familiar to the general public, and therefore would surprise, astonish, and arouse curiosity in visitors. As human exploration continued, wonder became associated with the written journals of the "marvels" of explorers (Greenblatt 1990 (Deutsch 1996;Fisher 1998;Fuller 2006;Gadamer 1986, Kearns 2015Kozin 2007;Reinerman-Jones 2013). Wonder is only experienced while gazing at a "thing;" it is object oriented.…”

Section: The History Of Wondermentioning

confidence: 99%

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The art of silence.

Kowalski¹

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This dissertation argues that the role of silence as essential to experience the full aesthetic beauty of art in a museum setting. Museums have changed their focus due to socio-economic and financial pressures. They have changed from silent "temples" for art conservation and exhibition to places for interactive art education, entertainment, and social gathering. The results of these changes have been both positive and negative. Attendance has increased, enhancing the museum experience, engaging more diverse audiences in museum activities, and dispelling the "elitist" image of the museum. These changes, however, have resulted in the loss of a silent space to quietly experience a personal and emotional connection to art. As the world becomes more urban, noisier, and addictively connected to technology, this study argues the need to include a silent experience in the art museum. This will enhance visitors' aesthetic, emotional, and educational experience with art.This dissertation is divided into seven chapters. Chapters one, two, and three explore the role silence plays in spiritual, aesthetic, and learning engagement. Chapter four examines the singular experience of wonder and its profound influence on the appreciation of art appreciation. Chapters five and six present silence and art from two vi perspectives: how artists reflect silence in their art works, and the silence viewers see in art. The final chapter seven presents a model for a room dedicated for viewing art in silence. This experience would provide an opportunity for visitors to connect personally, deeply, and emotionally with a work of art without influence from others.Each of the chapters cites research examining how silence develops the capacity to observe art with more detail, create a more personal and emotional connection with art, and to experience the beauty of art for its own sake before looking at it from an historical and analytical perspective.Further study is needed to assess the value of a silent experience in an art museum. This study provides evidence that silence can positively affect the visitors' involvement with art. Observing art in silence increases the visitors' ability to discover more detail in a work of art and connect personal experiences with it. In an increasingly noisy world, a silent space removes outside distractions and offers visitors an opportunity to have an emotional connection with the beauty of art.vii

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Subjects of Wonder: Toward an Aesthetics, Ethics, and Pedagogy of Wonder

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

Developing the Higher Education Curriculum

Developing the Higher Education Curriculum

Earth at Rest

The art of silence.

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