On Teaching and Learning: Putting the Principles and Practices of Dialogue Education into Action

by Jane Vella

On Teaching and Learning takes the ideas explored in renowned educator Jane Vella’s best-selling book Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach to the next level and explores how dialogue education has been applied in educational settings around the world. Throughout the book, she shows how to put the principles and practices of dialogue education into action and uses illustrative stories and examples from her extensive travels. Dialogue education values inquiry, integrity, and commitment to equity―values that are also central to democracy. Learners are treated as beings worthy of respect, recognized for the knowledge and experience they bring to the learning experience. Dialogue education emphasizes the importance of safety and belonging. It is an approach that welcomes one’s certainties and one’s questions.  

Genres: Teaching, Education

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

JANE VELLA is adjunct professor at the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also CEO of Global Learning Partners, a consulting and training company that has grown out of JUBILEE Popular Education Center.

Reviews

[Jeff Burket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foundational work on adult learning - essential and very, very worthwhile concepts for anyone involved with teaching/education of adults.

[Jenessa Cheema · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good quotes and ideas. Helpful for educators, but similar to other education books out there

[Matthew Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive, and not my favorite teaching method. It would work well for seminars and maybe some occasional exercises in the class but not every lecture session in a 16 week course

[Drick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vella’s latest book (2006) that talks about how to structure classes in order to do dialogue education. Builds on her other books, esp Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach. While she builds on Friere’s idea of dialogue and pays lib service to the political dimension of teaching, it seems much more tradition in that teachers very much control the content and the learning process. Her basic thesis is that by setting up a clear structure (which she breaks in to 7 phases) this allows for meaningful dialogue between students (as opposed to teacher led and somewhat forced discussion). She has several examples from all levels of education and also training in NGOs

[Margaret Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my professional book. Each time I teach, my co-teachers and I review / read it together in preparation.