Powerful Techniques for Teaching Adults Stephen D. Brookfield Powerful Techniques for Teaching Adults JOSSEY-BASS A Wiley Imprint www.josseybass.com Copyright(cid:2)c 2013byJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.Allrightsreserved. PublishedbyJossey-Bass AWileyImprint OneMontgomeryStreet,Suite1200,SanFrancisco,CA94104-4594— www.josseybass.com Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning, orotherwise,exceptaspermittedunderSection107or108ofthe1976UnitedStates CopyrightAct,withouteitherthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher,or authorizationthroughpaymentoftheappropriateper-copyfeetotheCopyrightClearance Center,Inc.,222RosewoodDrive,Danvers,MA01923,978-750-8400,fax978-646-8600, orontheWebatwww.copyright.com.Requeststothepublisherforpermissionshouldbe addressedtothePermissionsDepartment,JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,111RiverStreet, Hoboken,NJ07030,201-748-6011,fax201-748-6008,oronlineat www.wiley.com/go/permissions. LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandauthorhaveusedtheir besteffortsinpreparingthisbook,theymakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswithrespect totheaccuracyorcompletenessofthecontentsofthisbookandspecificallydisclaimany impliedwarrantiesofmerchantabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.Nowarrantymay becreatedorextendedbysalesrepresentativesorwrittensalesmaterials.Theadviceand strategiescontainedhereinmaynotbesuitableforyoursituation.Youshouldconsultwith aprofessionalwhereappropriate.Neitherthepublishernorauthorshallbeliableforany lossofprofitoranyothercommercialdamages,includingbutnotlimitedtospecial, incidental,consequential,orotherdamages.ReadersshouldbeawarethatInternetWeb sitesofferedascitationsand/orsourcesforfurtherinformationmayhavechangedor disappearedbetweenthetimethiswaswrittenandwhenitisread. Jossey-Bassbooksandproductsareavailablethroughmostbookstores.Tocontact Jossey-BassdirectlycallourCustomerCareDepartmentwithintheU.S.at800-956-7739, outsidetheU.S.at317-572-3986,orfax317-572-4002. Wileypublishesinavarietyofprintandelectronicformatsandbyprint-on-demand.Some materialincludedwithstandardprintversionsofthisbookmaynotbeincludedine-books orinprint-on-demand.IfthisbookreferstomediasuchasaCDorDVDthatisnot includedintheversionyoupurchased,youmaydownloadthismaterialat http://booksupport.wiley.com.FormoreinformationaboutWileyproducts,visit www.wiley.com. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDatahasbeenappliedforandisonfilewith theLibraryofCongress. ISBN978-1-118-0-1700-5(cloth);ISBN978-1-118-41570-2(ebk), ISBN978-1-118-41857-4(ebk),ISBN978-1-118-55598-9(ebk) PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica FIRSTEDITION HBPrinting10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii About the Author xix 1. The Essence of Powerful Teaching 1 2. Teaching for Critical Thinking 35 3. Using Discussion Methods 63 4. Fostering Self-Directed Learning 89 5. Democratizing the Classroom 119 6. Teaching About Power 149 7. Teaching Using the Creative Arts 185 8. Negotiating the Emotions of Powerful Teaching 217 References 245 Index 265 vii Preface As a teacher of adults I live simultaneously in two educational worlds. In one, you might call it Powertopia, power is expe- rienced as an enabling and equalizing force. Here people exercise power to make space for each other to speak, as they strive to un- derstand another’s point of view. Compassion is the quality valued above all other virtues, so Powertopia’s citizens ensure no one is marginalized, diminished, or demeaned. Put colloquially, nobody getsscrewedinthisworld.IntheclassroomsofPowertopia,poweris exercised judiciously to support everyone’s growth; egomaniacs are not rewarded for steamrollering and shutting down other learners; racial, class, and gender microaggressions are unknown; and peo- ple’smindsareopentoconsideringideasandpracticesthatthreaten their own comfortable sense of identity. This dreamlike version of Habermas’s (1979) ideal speech situ- ation where everyonestrives forintersubjective understanding and is open to critical thinking doesn’t, of course, exist. But it’s what I’d like to see in place in my own classrooms even as I live in the second of my educational worlds, the real world. One set of toes, if notoneofmyfeet,isalwaysinPowertopia.MuchofhowIexercise powerintherealworldisgovernedbyadesiretocreatePowertopia. I suspect that many teachers of adults have their own version of Powertopia lurking at the fringes of their consciousness, and mea- suretheireffectivenessasadulteducatorsandtrainersatleastpartly ix