Teaching Tibet: Pedagogical Theory and Practice, and the Preservation and Education of Tibetan Religion, Culture, History and Politics

What follows is the entirety of my Division III, and appendices. The first chapter is dedicated to outlining the three instructional methods I will be employing in my classroom: mixed lecture, the Socratic method of discursive questioning, and various group interaction methods. During this chapter, I outline how I am defining these practices, and specifically the textual works I am consulting when asserting these specific classroom practices. I also relate these practices to their usefulness within the context of a course on Tibet, following a revised edition of Bloom's Taxonomy for Educational Objectives. This massive body of research is the theoretical underpinning for a six-week course I will teach at Hampshire College entitled: "Introduction to Tibet: History, Religion, Culture and Politics." The second chapter explains the curriculum for the course, as well as how I will be selectively using specific class exercises and subjects to address my educational goals. This second part outlines my initial plans and hope for the course, as well as my initial ideas on how to teach effectively. The third chapter focuses on how the class unfolded, how my teaching practices changed as the course continued, and how I assessed students for their understanding, and for feedback on my own educational practices. The fourth and final chapter is a retrospective of the whole process, as well as a prospective look towards my future in education. The appendices are critical to this project, and will provide the reader with complete access to my lesson plans, student work, their reactions to my teaching practices, as well as their reactions to, and understanding of, the content. What is posted here is my Final Draft of my Division III Thesis. You can also access the PDF [[Media: WABDiv3Thesis.pdf]]


 * Teaching Tibet: Title Page
 * Teaching Tibet: Acknowledgements
 * Teaching Tibet: Chapter I
 * Teaching Tibet: Chapter II
 * Teaching Tibet: Chapter III
 * Teaching Tibet: Chapter IV
 * Teaching Tibet: Conclusion
 * Teaching Tibet: Bibliography
 * Teaching Tibet: Appendices A-E

Final due date: Thursday April 24, 2008. Final committee meeting: May 1, 3:30-4:30 pm.

Logistics

 * This Div III was chaired by two different committees. In the fall of 2007, Laura Wenk in the School of Cognitive Science and Alan Hodder in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies served as committee chair, and member, respectively. In the spring of 2008 Kristen Luschen in the School of Social Science served as Committee Chair.


 * "Introduction to Tibet: History, Religion, Culture and Politics" ran from February 19th through April 3, spanning six weeks of sessions, twice a week, one hour each from 3:30-4:30 pm in Franklin Patterson Hall, room 103. Enrollment was six students consistently. Their anonymity is maintained throughout this work.


 * Fall Semester (September - December 2007) was spent researching Teaching Tibet: Chapter I,
 * January Term 2008 was spent writing the curriculum for Teaching Tibet: Chapter II, and
 * Spring Semester was devoted to teaching the course, and constant reflection featured in Teaching Tibet: Chapter III and Teaching Tibet: Chapter IV.

Index

 * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	2
 * PREFACE	5
 * INTRODUCTION	11
 * CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW	16
 * FOUR DIMENSIONS OF KNOWLEDGE	17
 * THE SOCRATIC METHOD	24
 * THE GROUP INTERACTION METHOD	30
 * LECTURE	35
 * CONCLUSION	42
 * CHAPTER II: INITIAL CURRICULUM	46
 * OVERALL VISION – THE COURSE AS A WHOLE	46
 * INTRODUCTION TO TIBET: WEEK BY WEEK	48
 * ADDRESSING EDUCATIONAL GOALS	56
 * RETURNING TO THE COGNITIVE: LOOKING BACK TO CHAPTER 1	70
 * HOPES, APPROACH AND CONCLUSIONS	72
 * CHAPTER III: INTRODUCTION TO TIBET: HISTORY, RELIGION, CULTURE AND POLITICS	75
 * NOTIONS ON TEACHING	76
 * LESSON PLAN AND CURRICULAR CHANGE	84
 * THE THREE METHODS	91
 * TIBETOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE	97
 * CHAPTER IV: RETROSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE	101
 * DISPARITIES AND TENSIONS	102
 * FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH TEACHING	113
 * CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE	116
 * CONCLUSION	122
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY	125
 * Appendices
 * APPENDIX A – BLOOM’S TAXONOMY (REVISED)	128
 * APPENDIX B – LESSON PLANS (FINAL)	129
 * APPENDIX C: NOTES & REACTIONS	156
 * APPENDIX D: STUDENT RESPONSES & COURSE FEEDBACK	183

Preface
The summer before my first year at Hampshire College, I bought a book in a gritty little used bookstore that stank of cigarettes from twenty years ago. The book was Seven Years in Tibet by the late Heinrich Harrer. When I began the book, I had no real expectations for it, but when I began to delve earnestly into the pages that detailed the expedition of Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter – a five year trek across the barren and bitterly cold wastes of the Tibetan plateau and the two year residence in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet – I was astonished. I was enthralled by the descriptions of the people, the way of life, that religion and everyday existence intermingled in a way that was important and meaningful and not at all sinister. I decided to learn more about Tibet, and in less than a year, I knew it was what I had to study on a permanent basis. It is hard to know why I became so excited and consumed by this observer’s notes, and why I became absolutely compelled to continue studying it. Perhaps it was that I discovered it on my own – that I had a personal sense of exploring something totally new, or that I felt something familiar about what I read. I was filled with a curiosity and an earnest interest to constantly read further into what I read about. Tibet has a unique history that developed in relative (although not complete) isolation until 1950. Tibetan Buddhist traditions have had a major impact on Tibetan societies, as they have developed alongside Buddhist tradition. This provides one explanation for much of the interest the west has in Tibet – due to the distinctive flavor of the culture, heavily influenced by Buddhism. Some have taken an interest in Tibet because they imagine some kind of unspoiled Shangri-la of James Hilton’s imagination, where the concerns of modern life cannot reach. Some have taken an interest in Tibet out of sympathy, looking on in horror at the annexation and occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China. This last point has been particularly important for generating a great deal of the study of Tibet. It is the idea that China, with a full and robust army would take over Tibet, a peaceful, predominantly Buddhist nation popularly known for its devotion and isolation that often seems to capture the mind. This juxtaposition between China and Tibet is another of the many reasons why westerners have taken an interest. Why do I feel that Tibet is important? The answer occurred to me when I first read Seven Years in Tibet, which Harrer committed to paper in 1953, three years after his flight from Tibet. Harrer occasionally drew his own conclusions and held opinions about the things he saw, as many westerners of that era had. He often noted the need to find more “scientific” answers to his questions, taking Tibetan explanations as “superstition.” But I wasn’t concerned with what he felt was superstition or not, what was deemed paranoid or strange. I was far more interested in what he saw rather than what he felt. Many throughout history have claimed that Tibet before 1950 was feudal, savage and barbaric, its inhabitants living in little better than dark caves. Others, by contrast, have portrayed pre-1950 Tibet as a utopian wonderland where religion, generosity, tolerance and peace filled the hearts and minds of all the people. But both of these are judgments – projected images, constructions and ideas of Tibet. I am far more interested in what observations can reveal about Tibet. It is not that they are somehow objective or devoid of influence from the observer, but rather that these observations paint a portrait. The opinions (like Harrer’s), on the other hand, are all those minor defects and flaws the artist finds with the painting. It may have been feudal to some, it may have been utopian to others, but in either case, it was what it was, and it is (in Diaspora and in Tibet) what it is – no value judgments. And what was it? What is it? Utopia? Medieval? My only answer is that both of these renderings vainly attempt to simplify what is profoundly intricate; it is far too complex for any one answer, and it is surely worth spending a lifetime investigating it. This still does not answer the question: why study it? As far as I can tell, my study of Tibet could have been a study of any other culture in the world. When I traveled to northern India in 2007, I saw people bathing, eating, sleeping, dying, going about their days, trying to live – precisely what we do in this country, and precisely what anyone in any country tries to do. This is how I have come to understand Tibet. It is not that I was seeing or experiencing some exotic ‘other’ that fascinated me the same way one might be fascinated by a tribe of cannibals. Rather, I was observing people doing exactly what we all try to do in our respective countries – we all do our best to get by, and we each do it differently, not strangely, not superstitiously, not backwards or perfectly, because these are all value-laden. I doubt I will ever know what it was exactly that turned me on to studying Tibetan culture specifically. Some part of the puzzle seemed to click in place for me, and I knew I had to discover more. But why do I think it is worth teaching? Given the nature of the Chinese annexation of Tibet, and especially the horrific events of the Cultural Revolution, knowledge of Tibetan culture seems to be quickly proliferating in some senses, and quickly diminishing in others. With the Diaspora of Tibetans around the world, more people (like myself) have been given a precious opportunity to learn about another people’s way of life. As evidenced by the many world leaders who continually meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet is becoming more of an issue worldwide, and more people are taking interest. But among Tibetans living in Tibet, and even some Tibetans in exile, knowledge of Tibetan traditions and ways of life are becoming more and more scarce. During the Cultural Revolution, 95% of monasteries and sacred pilgrimage sites were razed, bulldozed, shelled to oblivion, ransacked or defiled. Monks and nuns were forced to disrobe, and the ones that refused were executed publicly. This explicit urge on part of the Chinese government to eradicate and annihilate any trace of religion, culture or any ‘old way’ of thinking has declined since 1976 to a subtler system of control. Population displacement, replacing Tibetan with Chinese as the language of instruction in Tibetan schools, and passing orders that require reincarnate monks to request the government’s permission before reincarnating are but a few of the regulations that have kept Tibetan cultural practices on a “short leash,” as it were. Other issues persist for Tibetans living in exile, as well. In a conversation I had with a Tibetan shopkeeper in New York City, she suggested that I would probably be teaching her children about Tibet one day. This idea astounded me. Her adolescent children knew little of their own heritage, nor did they seem to care very much. Her husband had been a monk, and at every conversation about Buddhism, their children lost all interest and attention. In Diaspora communities, there is a palpable pressure on the youth to maintain their rich Tibetan heritage, to continue the vital traditions, to keep the unique ways of life undiminished. There is a strong urge to “remain Tibetan” amid all the other influences and cultures Tibetans find themselves living around as a result of being exiled from their home country. These challenges indicate how, to some extent, Tibetan culture is still losing ground, even without the horrific events of the Cultural Revolution. I am also drawn to teach Tibet to others because I hope to convey some element of how complex a subject it truly is. Given the wide variety of interpretations, understandings and portrayals of Tibet (from Tibetans and non-Tibetans alike), there is no room for monolithic notions of Tibetan history, religion, culture or politics. I am perpetually enthralled and simultaneously puzzled by this complexity, and ironically enough, understanding it and embracing it wholeheartedly is the only way to make sense of these widely divergent interpretations. I want to teach Tibet precisely because it is more useful to teach questions than answers. Given these reasons, I very much believe that teaching others about Tibetan history, religion, culture and politics – before 1950 and after – is a vital undertaking. I hope that through this course, I can help to preserve and disseminate knowledge on Tibet in a respectful, meaningful way. Where do I derive my authority to teach on Tibet? I often struggle with this question, for various reasons. Not being Tibetan myself, I am placed in a questionable position, and being a westerner, even more so. Westerners have often visited Tibet and regarded the people and the culture as being superstitious, barbaric, and medieval, as mentioned previously. I have studied Tibet, Buddhism and Tibet’s neighbors for four years with diligence and utmost respect. I studied for a month at the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. I have had the great honor of meeting both the 14th Dalai Lama and also the 17th Karmapa. I have had the great fortune and pleasure to work with many wonderful, interesting and helpful Tibetans, both monastic and lay, who have taught me so much about their traditions. As this project continues, I will present my curriculum to Tibetan colleagues in an effort to avoid unintentional errors or cultural insensitivities. I make absolutely no claim to be a master scholar on this information, but rather an advanced learner, who is still – and will forever be – learning. This question brings up another pertinent question: why do I, an undergraduate student feel qualified to teach a course on this content? I have only taught four class sessions in my experience as a student, and now I am proposing to teach 12. In the end, I have very little experience teaching, and I have very little experience with Tibet. However, I believe very much that I can teach others some of the knowledge I have learned, because although I am not as learned as scholars like Robert A.F. Thurman or Donald S. Lopez, Jr.,  I still feel that I know more than my average classmate about Tibet. I would like to emphasize that I am very much still a learner, and that the more I learn – the more I find out – the less I know. As I uncover a new level, as I peel a layer off, I find new topics, new ideas, new figures and stories that I am compelled to investigate further. My honest hope is to foster an understanding of Tibet in others, so that Tibetans themselves may benefit from more people in this world knowing their stories.

Introduction
When it comes to teachers and the way they teach, one finds many different kinds of instructional styles. It is safe to say that with the myriad of different teaching methods available, there is no single way to teach. On all sides of the educational spectrum, teachers advocate different approaches to teaching. Some argue that focusing on factual content is the only way to go, as indicated by the push towards standardization, accountability and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Others still argue that the emphasis should be placed on the structure of how we teach and how students learn, using teaching strategies to delve into the ways they understand the content being taught. Undoubtedly, teaching styles change depending on the content that is being taught. Not unlike teaching styles, my goal and the focus of this project is similarly multi-faceted. This Division III work is dedicated to a) introducing myself to teaching methods useful for an undergraduate introductory course on Tibet; b) designing a comprehensive curriculum for such an introductory level class; c) teaching the class itself – executing this curriculum; and d) collecting analysis and reflection on this experience. My intentions are to synthesize all I have learned in a way that will inform others, raise general awareness about Tibet, and represent Tibetan histories, religions, cultures and politics in an honest and respectful fashion. I argue that among the approaches to classroom instruction, there are three broad categories that are particularly well suited for this content: the Socratic method, the Group interaction method, and the Lecture method. This is not to say that these three broad categories exhaust the list of potential teaching styles, but rather that these three will provide a healthy cross-section of potential instructional methods. It is essential to note that in my lessons I will not be using one of these styles over another, unless the method is particularly well suited for a specific subject or goal (to be explained further in Chapter I, as well as Chapters II and III). Indeed, what I am also arguing for is balance among these three teaching styles. I am not advocating these methods on a whim, but rather I am pursuing these instructional styles in terms of the goals I have for teaching my own 12-session miniature course on Tibet, and through consulting a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. This organizational schema involves various levels of knowledge (e.g. factual knowledge, structural knowledge), and various levels of depth of understanding into these areas. These four levels of knowledge and the six levels of depth will be explained in full detail in this chapter. This arrangement is essential to my selection of teaching methods, as well. I took these concepts and applied them to the context of a course on Tibet, rendering a set of goals in terms of what I would like students to accomplish: • Know the basics of Tibet – demographics, population, facts, figures, events, dates, various religions, etc. • Understand the basics of Buddhism – knowledge about the Buddha’s life, the meaning of the Dharma, the dissemination of Buddhism and the various traditions that exist. • Understand how to conduct research on a given subject, and present information, as in a paper, a project, presentation, etc. • Analyze factual knowledge to understand how it connects to other topics, themes, facts and ideas. • Be able to recall, understand and apply generalizations, categories, and conceptual and structural knowledge to new information. This is essential when connecting it to previously existing knowledge, and when considering the large amount of factual knowledge in a subject like Tibetology. • Be able to evaluate new information against accurate information to discern its authenticity and meaning. • Create individual modes of inquiry and new ways of understanding subject content. • Be introspective and self-analytical concerning strengths, weaknesses, interests, prior experiences, and also to be personally invested and introspective about the learning process as a whole. Continuing this work, I will review the literature on the three methods of classroom instruction mentioned above. In the examination of each method, I will explicate the structure of each model, how different interpretations of a given model vary and how they compare to each other, the role of the teacher, the beneficial potentials of each, their potential shortcomings, and why these can be useful for teaching students about Tibet. Stating that there are three singular, monolithic instructional styles called ‘Socratic,’ ‘Group interaction’ and ‘Lecture’ is very problematic. Indeed, the structure and concepts within each method change drastically depending on the instructor, on the content, the classroom context, and so on. I must arrive at a definition of the structure I will be using, however, and this will be derived from multiple specific works of cognitive science and cognitive psychology literature. The teaching methods will be defined in terms of the aforementioned taxonomy as well as what logically makes sense to my own understandings of what is needed for teaching the basics about Tibet. It is absolutely vital to note that when teaching this course on Tibet, I will not be segregating these three different teaching styles – rather, all three will be used together to teach the lessons. Chapter I focuses on this literature review of cognitive research, and the definitions of these three techniques. Following this, Chapter II will present my contribution to this ongoing dialogue with my own curriculum derived from these three instruction styles and resources on Tibetan history, religion, culture and politics. I will thematically show how I incorporated each style into my lesson plans. After analyzing the curriculum, I will present my results from the course in Chapter III, specifically the changes that occurred in reference to the curricular element, my capacity as a teacher (including my analysis of how each style worked), and my understanding of Tibetology as a discipline. The fourth chapter contains my conclusion that will bring this work to an end, wherein I will discuss my final remarks and notes, emphasizing some of the inconsistencies between initial theory and eventual practice. Please keep in mind that these chapters are written in a time-sensitive manner, meaning that in some instances, topics and issues may not be addressed until later chapters, because they only occurred to me at a later date. For example, assessment (though it is an essential part of my course) will not be addressed until Chapter III, because it was not integrated into the lesson plans until after I composed the initial curriculum. I feel this is the most honest way I can approach this project; by remaining true to the developments in the order they transpired, I will be able to clearly explain and show the reader the progression of this project. This project will serve several purposes. First, it will allow me to examine various teaching methods and also allow me to explore my own understanding of what it means to teach, and how I can teach others effectively. Second, it will give me the opportunity to teach others about Tibet, thereby preserving and disseminating information about the plateau and its people. Third, this teaching experience will hone and sharpen my own skills and abilities as a teacher, providing me with invaluable experience for what I plan to be my future livelihood. Fourth, and extremely important to me personally, it will be a practical application of what has been – until now – a heavily theoretical academic endeavor. The following four chapters are intended as a guide to lead the reader through the wider changes as well as the underlying thought processes present for what has been well over four years of research, over two semesters of continual study, and six weeks (twelve hours) of classroom instruction.