[From Bruce Nevin (980704.1205)]
I'm not suggesting that we need to use the word "empowerment" and give it a
technical definition, but Bruce Gregory is referring to something that
should not be obscured just because the word he used has been abused.
Here's a start, anyway. I'd welcome improvements.
Rick Marken (980704.1850) --
Bruce Gregory (980703.1945 EDT) --
[...] removing the disrupting influence
from the classroom is a key element in allowing teaching and
learning to occur [...]
_why_ this process
changes the climate in the school [...]
is that the staff now has a way to empower the
disruptive student to successfully return to the classroom
Is this a fact to be explained by PCT -- the fact that the staff
_empowers_ disruptive students? If so, I have to know what
you mean by _empower_?
Define "being competent" something like this:
capable of making _and executing_ plans
to allow her or him to meet her or his goals _and_ to be
successful in the classroom.
A student who is empowered perceives herself as competent, is perceived by
others as competent, and perceives those others as people who perceive her
as competent.
A student who is disempowered perceives herself as incompetent, is
perceived by others as incompetent, and perceives those others as people
who perceive her as incompetent.
A number of kinds of perceptions are involved here. Each of us has beliefs
about ourselves, about others, and about others' expectations of ourselves,
and each of those others has their actual expectations of us. These
perceptions, what we observably do controlling them, and how they affect
one another through time, are an essential part of social relations.
Bruce Nevin
[From Bruce Nevin (980704.2113 EDT)]
Another piece that makes this first sketch a bit more concrete and
specifiable: if the student believes that he can't do a thing, he almost
certainly won't try. (The cases where you attempt something that you
believe you cannot do require explanation, in other words.)
Define "being competent" something like this:
capable of making _and executing_ plans
to allow her or him to meet her or his goals _and_ to be
successful in the classroom
and perceiving that this is true of oneself.
A student who is empowered perceives herself as competent, is perceived by
others as competent, and perceives those others as people who perceive her
as competent.
A student who is disempowered perceives herself as incompetent, is
perceived by others as incompetent, and perceives those others as people
who perceive her as incompetent.
A number of kinds of perceptions are involved here. Each of us has beliefs
about ourselves, about others, and about others' expectations of ourselves,
and each of those others has their actual expectations of us. These
perceptions, what we observably do controlling them, and how they affect
one another through time, are an essential part of social relations.
Bruce Nevin
[From Bill Powers (980705.1809 MDT)]
Bruce Nevin (980704.1205)--
A student who is empowered perceives herself as competent, is perceived by
others as competent, and perceives those others as people who perceive her
as competent.
It's interesting that you leave out one factor in this definition: whether
she is actually competent.
Best,
Bill P.
[From Dick Robertson (980706.0629CDT)]
Very nice post, Fred.
Best, Dick R.
[From (Bruce Gregory (980706.1100 AM)]
Bruce Nevin (980707.1013)
I accept your claim generally (that they already are capable etc.), though
conflict can effectively impair this capacity, and the interrelations I
sketched can surely occasion conflict in the student, or they can come to
school already in pretty heavy-duty conflict as Tom's appendix
suggests, so
that "empowerment" has a lot to do with avoiding or resolving conflict.
There is also the problem that some students have difficulty acting on the
basis of programs in order to achieve goals that compete with goals that can
be achieved without such plans. (I think the term "impulsive," albeit not
PCT Orthodox, applies here.) The RTP allows them to practice developing this
fundamental skill (which seems to play little or no role in the existing PCT
research).
Bruce Gregory
[From Bruce Nevin (980707.1013)]
Bill Powers (980705.1809 MDT) --
Bruce Nevin (980704.1205)--
A student who is empowered perceives herself as competent, is perceived by
others as competent, and perceives those others as people who perceive her
as competent.
It's interesting that you leave out one factor in this definition: whether
she is actually competent.
Competence was defined as
capable of making _and executing_ plans
to allow her or him to meet her or his goals _and_ to be
successful in the classroom
In a previous post, you said that the students already have this capacity,
and I agree, so in that context I thought it went without saying.
I accept your claim generally (that they already are capable etc.), though
conflict can effectively impair this capacity, and the interrelations I
sketched can surely occasion conflict in the student, or they can come to
school already in pretty heavy-duty conflict as Tom's appendix suggests, so
that "empowerment" has a lot to do with avoiding or resolving conflict.
So yes, indicating how their actual competence fits in, and how the process
of teaching/learning new capabilities fits in, would be improvements of the
kind I asked for. How do you see them fitting in?
In another direction entirely, why do you say that it is "interesting" that
I left this out? Do you have another agenda here? Could you make it explicit?
I'm going to be a bit slow responding for a couple of days because of some
deadline crunches.
Bruce Nevin