LEARNING TO TEACH, LEARNING TO LISTEN

WHY DOES DANAH ZOHAR CALL DIALOGUE A QUANTUM PROCESS?

Danah Zohar calls dialogue a quantum process the means of doing quantum thinking .since the universe is seen via quantum as energy, dialogue can be seen as to improve the learning process. Dialogue not only helps us to improve the learning process but it also helps us to select or design what we have to teach. It means that through dialogue we can even know the students’ needs. As he theory of quantum physics offers a radically new perception of the universe and our role in it, dialogue offers a new perception of the learning process because it helps us know that our is not just to teach but also to listen to our students.

To begin, maintain, and nurture the dialogue, we need to put into practice the twelve principles:

1-Needs assessment: in this principle, it is important the participation of the learners in naming what is to be learned.

2-Safety: it means to provide a good environment for students and also to respect learners as decision makers of their own learning.

3-Sound relationship: this means an open communication between teachers and students.

4-Sequence and reinforcement.

5-Praxis: it is action with reflection. This means tat students may reflect on what they learn by doing.

6-Respect for learners as decision makers: this means that the dialogue of learning is between two adults: the teacher and the learner; therefore, adults decide what occurs for them in the learning event.

7- Ideas, feelings, and actions: they are also called cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of learning.

8-Immediacy: it means that learners need to see the usefulness of new learning: skills, knowledge, or attitudes they are working to acquire.

9-Clear roles: it means to recognize the role of the teacher and the student in the dialogue.

10-Teamwork:  it provides a quality of safety.

11-Engagement of the learners in what they are learning.

12-Accountability: what was proposed to be taught must be taught; what was meant to be learned must be learned; the skills intended to be gained must be visible in all the learners; the attitudes taught must be seen; the knowledge conveyed must be manifest in adult learners’ language and reasoning.

All of these principles are related to each other and also important to develop the dialogue as a quantum process.