NOTES ON: Strom K and Martin, A. (2015) Pursuing
lines of flight: Enacting equity-based preservice
teacher learning in first-year teaching. Policy
Futures in Education 0(0) [sic -- this is a
copy Strom sent me] 1–22. DOI:
10.1177/1478210315615475
This is about the problems of keeping going with
the pedagogy aimed at social justice in the first
year of classroom practice. Apparently
'rhizomatics, a nonlinear theory of social
activity' can serve as a framework.
It's common to revert to transmission teaching
once teachers leave the academy and into
practice. This is partly because of their
own deep beliefs, and the workplace environment is
unsupportive, and they are sometimes characterized
by being assigned challenging classes.
Socially just practice can persist but in
pockets. One secondary science teacher is
examined through the framework of rhizomatics,
which will help not only to investigate the
multiple factors involved, but help us support
'social justice - focused teaching'.
Suitable examples should be fed back into
educational policy (2).
Teaching is complex and linked to social and
cultural contexts, so it is misleading to think
that teacher training can simply be transferred
into practice, although this perspective is still
common. However, a whole 'constellation of
variables' affect teaching practice in
schools. Teacher preparation tends to take a
'social constructivist perspective' and to orient
towards social justice, and there is a
contradiction with transmission instruction models
found in schools. A fresh framework is
required to investigate these ideas and disrupt
linear conceptions. Rhizomatics sees
teaching as 'nonlinear, ongoing...
Constituted by lines, or forces' that can limit
and constrain (3), and this can disrupts more
reified or normalized forms based on
positivism. Deleuzian terminology is
translated throughout using a 'more familiar
language and concrete examples that still retain
the original complexity': accessibility is more
important than philosophical rigor.
The rhizome is taken from biological sciences,
referring to growth 'in multiple directions
unpredictably', multiple elements that are
connected. A classroom might be such a
rhizome involving the relations between teacher
students classroom spaces and ideas.
Rhizomes therefore 'represent thinking about
teaching activity in terms of systems', although
this is more political and aimed at interrupting
normal social activity. There are molar and
molecular lines at work, the first referring to
macro level forces such as institutional
structures or existing conventions maintaining the
current balance of power. These create
striated space which offers many barriers to
creativity and social justice pedagogies. In
schools they can take the form of policy mandates,
schedules or tests. Molecular lines 'do the
actual micro political work'but in a more supple
and flexible way, sometimes producing lines of
flight. As an example, individuals may have
to decide whether or not to obey laws and
institutions, or in the case of teachers, how to
deal with bureaucratic structures. Lines of
flight are temporary breaks, not necessarily
positive. They might 'take the shape of a
student led lesson, a moment of role reversal or
boundary crossing...even a loud laugh in a quiet
study hall'. These temporary disruptions are
usually recaptured, however, but there is a moment
of escape. Longer term there is a potential
to shift the status quo. We can now plot the way
in which change occurs in a classroom, mapping the
traditional structures as molar lines, and also
seeing progressive pedagogy in terms of lines of
flight.
There are therefore multiple variables affecting
the pressure towards adopting traditional
practices. Students might be failed under
particular policies, which have been interpreted
to emphasize testing or rote teaching [No Child
Left Behind in this case]. Challenging
student behavior is another factor. We can
see these as multiple molar lines affecting the
molecular work of the teacher. However,
there are some levels of unpredictability:
different personal attributes among students or
teachers, and different people occupying positions
in schools. Continued university support
through induction can also help, so can
particularly strong teachers or supportive
administrators [old 'structural looseness' stuff
really]. A case study of a successful novice
is presented, including one who was able to
maintain 'culturally responsive instruction' by
using a second language. Other factors
identified have been school partnerships,
quality mentoring experiences, induction
programmes and so on.
This study focused on one physics teacher, using a
'post - qualitative methodology' [the post meaning
something informed by post frameworks].
Traditional qualitative research can still be
positivistic, says St Pierre, persisting with
issues such as the notion of researcher
objectivity. It can avoid multiple ways of
researching a phenomenon. The technique here
use rhizomatics mapping and situational analysis,
'a postmodern form of grounded theory' (6).
It used a case study to go into depth and show
complexity.
The subject was an orthodox Jewish male, a
graduate, taking a STEM type teacher education
program, attracted by its 'social justice
focus', having noticed differences in educational
quality. He saw himself offering quality
teaching in a needful area. He had studied
Vygotsky, Freire and Dewey. He found a shift
to instruction based learning to be challenging,
and got a lot of support from faculty
members. He was hired to teach at a magnet
school located in a rundown area.
Classroom observations were gathered, recorded,
scripted and commented upon. There was a
short interview afterwards, and to further semi
structured interviews. A new Principal
arrived halfway through. Rhizomatic maps
were drawn, as in the mapping phase of situational
analysis. Data were read and reread, coded
so as to indicate links with the literature.
Some contradictions between the interviews and
actual teaching were observed. The double
bind emerged between professing one set of beliefs
that having to do something else. Main ideas
were clustered and coded, then linked to data
increasingly. Lines or connections were then
made, leading to 'organized charts of the
theorized connections'(8). 'Analytic memos'
were then developed on the basis of consulting all
the data, leading to '"data stories"'.
Checks were made to ensure credibility and
plausibility, including member checks, noting
confirmation of findings between data sources, the
construction of a reflexive online research
journal, and collaboration both with the subject
and with others. A thick descriptive case
study ensued. The effect of their own strong
beliefs is acknowledged, including their
relationships with each other.
Bruce had to negotiate a series of molar lines or
constraints, by, for example playing safe,
revising his lingering traditional beliefs about
teaching, and reacting to changes in the school
context. The team found internal conflicts
between his initial beliefs and what happened in
practice, because he did not want to rock the
boat. The effect was, for example, to teach
isolated mathematical procedures, presumed to
provide a foundational understanding of more
interesting topics [which the authors say is
'normative' or bad]. He used video and
lectures. He became worried that students
would not be adequately prepared for college
unless they received traditional pedagogy.
External constraints included administrative
disruption following a change of leadership, which
provided uncertainty about support for progressive
methods. Resources were short, especially
for more inquiry based activity: occasionally he
brought in his own equipment. He felt
isolated and insufficiently supported, and did not
work well with his appointed mentor. The
students were challenging although enthusiastic
and curious: they did seem to respond to
opportunities to participate and formed friendly
relationships. These relationships arose
from his genuine care for students, including
after school work, and his providing personal
details of e-mail. They did work on their
own problems, although there was some
disruption. However, he also used a lot of
teacher led problems [with a hint that these
dominated in the lessons being observed].
So both internal and external conditions provided
problems and induced conformity instead of risking
disruption. Rhizomatic concepts were useful
tools. Schools are bureaucratic and
dominating, clearly affecting ideas of
teaching. The split between molar and
molecular helped classify some of the
forces. Deleuze and Guattari are cited to
remind us that fascism can exist inside people as
well. Personal experience often weakens
progressive pedagogy and becomes deeply
ingrained. The elements interacted in a
complex way 'in an extremely striated space'(14),
although there were areas of agency, and a certain
flexibility of the classroom level, for example in
the way relationships with students were
cultivated. Any pedagogy can be
unpredictable, especially if it is rooted in
social justice [because it can only operate in the
cracks]. It would be rare to find seamlessly
progressive work, although lines of flights can
accumulate to transform the system into a smoother
space.
All this shows the complexity of implementing
justice-focused approach is. More studies
are needed, although we can make certain
recommendations for teacher education already:
teacher educators should recognize that challenge
offered by molar lines, and look for opportunities
to extend lines of flight; complexity should be a
central part of the curriculum; the lived reality
of teaching must be discussed rather than any
utopian ones; student should be warned about 'a
spectrum of challenges' that they might encounter
(16); educators might attempt to tie in coursework
and practical experiences to problematize situated
learning, for example by taking learning theory,
enacting it, and then problematizing their
experiences, or using thick descriptions of case
study or video, or even approximating practice by
encouraging paired teaching. Teachers must
be supported in their workplace with adequate
induction programmes. More general policies
might include working to retain instructional
leaders in urban schools.
Research methods should focus on multiple
constraints, and use nonlinear methods [which also
include actor network theory] (17). Research
itself can therefore act as a source of resistance
to linear and reductive models of teaching.
The situation might look difficult and uphill, but
the notion of the rhizome helps us challenge the
status quo, and reminders of the opportunities to
break with it. Eventually, the whole system
might change.
Deleuze page
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