Hays - Going with the Flow -- Teaching as Being not Technique

Going with the Flow1
: Teaching as Being,2
not Technique
Jay Martin Hays
Unitec Institute of Technology
Auckland, New Zealand
ABSTRACT
This paper explicates and integrates a number of concepts, principles, and practices that bear on the
experience and efficacy of teaching and learning. Grounded in the philosophies and theories of
ontology, existentialism, phenomenology, epistemology, and pedagogy / adult education, as well as
Eastern perennial tradition,3
the notion of Teaching as Being is explored and contrasted with the
“doing” of teaching and teaching technique. Being and doing are shown to be qualitatively different,4
with the former superior in aspects of humanity and the human condition such as authenticity,5
relationship and relating, and fulfilment. Teaching as Being focuses attention on the experience of
teachers and students, highlighting that experience is inextricably linked to learning. As the quality of
the experience varies more or less positively so does learning. Evidence provided suggests that what
is learned and the kind of learning that takes place are deeper and more transformative than might be
the case in a more conventional approach. Conventional teaching skills and methods are cast as
platforms for teaching at a higher level, necessary foundations for qualities of being in the classroom,
including the dynamic and reciprocal nature of presence, agency, and flow between teachers and
students. While not discounting conventional teaching skills and methods, over-reliance on and
overemphasising them are limiting, deceptive, and perhaps even counterproductive. Suggestions for
increasing being and flow in the classroom are provided, and caveats, considerations, and
implications for higher education teaching and learning are discussed.
1
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was perhaps the first scholar to research and popularise the concept of flow, publishing an
impressive list of articles and books on related subjects from the mid-1960s onward. In terms of flow, this paper
draws mostly on Csikszentmihalyi’s (2002) Flow: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness. Ackerman’s
works (1986 referenced here), though directed to organisational leaders, provide basis for the notions of energy flows
between and amongst teachers and students. See, also, Dreher (1996): The first two chapters in her thoughtful work,
The Tao of Personal Leadership, address flow (zanshin), process, and the role of energy flow in, around, and
between people. Teaching as Being also draws on the theory and practice of improvisation theatre (Gesell, 2006)
and certain elements of Dialogue to represent energy flows in group dynamics and interaction (see Hays, 2009, for an
overview of the research in the area; also Isaacs, 1993 and 1999). Finally, Vogt (2005) critiques Csikszentmihalyi’s
notions of flow and happiness, finding it insufficient to explain “what makes human life human (p. 119), and adding
his insights on human capabilities theory and how to achieve “human flourishing.”
2
Teaching as Being may be a new expression, if not a new idea. The author has found no scholarly works using
Teaching as Being as connoted here. It is acknowledged, however, that Peter Vaill (1996), coined or popularised the
phrase “learning as a way of being” with his book Learning as a Way of Being: Strategies for Survival in a World of
Permanent White Water. At least four of Vaill’s seven ways of learning as ways of being (LWB) are relevant to
Teaching as Being: Creative, Expressive, Feeling, and Reflexive, with the latter two of particular relevance.
3
See Dhiman (2002) and Smith (2007) for examples of perennial [wisdom] traditions, as used here.
4
See Table 1 for a comparison of “teaching as being” and “teaching as doing.” Howard (2002) distinguishes and
examines the relationship between “our being” (who we are) and “our doing” (what we do) in her paper on learning
in the workplace. Rowan (2002), while writing on psychotherapy, maintains that there are only three ways of
relating to clients: instrumental, authentic, and transpersonal. He notes that the transpersonal form of relating
involves Being (a state of consciousness), Doing (the actual techniques and methods), and Knowing (the theory as to
what is being done). These forms of relating apply directly to teachers and students in Teaching as Being.
5
Hartman and Zimberoff’s (2003) article on existentialist therapy addresses the social, cultural, and spiritual
concerns of life, what they refer to as the “human condition.” “Becoming a more spontaneous, confident, and
effective person is not the result of becoming a better ‘you’ or something new, but of becoming a more truly you,”
writes Gesell (2006; p. 19). Driver’s (2007) paper on meaning and spirituality at work offers insights on
authenticity. Also see any of the following for observations on and applications of authenticity: Harvey et al (2006),
Novicevic et al (2006), and Zhu et al (2004).

Foreshadowing
Ever since I was very young teachers and parents said I had a way with people. And, from the time
I was twelve or so, people said I was a “born teacher” and a “natural” trainer or coach. I took the
feedback and praise in stride, neither knowing what it was that I did that was so special nor
appreciating the implications for my future; I just did what came naturally. Through adult eyes and
the dimming of experience that occurs over time, I still know that time disappeared when I was
tutoring schoolmates or coaching soccer. Nothing seemed like work, really, and both I and my
“charges” enjoyed our time together learning new things and developing new skills. Everything
was simple then… simply wonderful: effortless, seamless, and fulfilling. I thought that was how
teaching was. Then, responding to both external urges and a nascent calling from within, I began
studying to become a teacher. I learned all about instructional design, motivation, and classroom
management technique. I was exposed to the science of pedagogy and a confusing array of
learning theories. I realised, then, how lacking my own practice had been, with no structure, rules,
or logic. I was deflated, though hopeful that my newfound grasp of theory and practice would
enable me to become an exemplary teacher.
My first years of teaching were onerous, frustrating, and disappointing. No matter how hard I tried
and how “best practice” my lessons were, neither I nor my students were enjoying the experience
of learning. In classes, energy was low and attendance was poor. Everyone—myself included—
was happy when semester finished. And, even though exam results and course evaluations
confirmed that most students were getting the material sufficiently, I was empty and feeling burnt
out. Worse, I was questioning my decision to teach and wondering how long I could keep on
going.
Introduction
Beginning a paper on teaching with a disheartening example is unconventional and, perhaps,
irrational. It is, however, nonetheless compelling. As we will see, Gabriel’s story, as begun
under the heading Foreshadowing, has an optimistic and inspiring conclusion. But arriving at
that destination is only meaningful when the journey is understood. Gabriel’s journey is an
important undertaking of relevance to teachers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, counsellors,
supervisors, and others who would serve to support and promote the learning and development of
other human beings, and—of particular concern in this paper—students.
There are undoubtedly amongst readers at least some for whom Gabriel’s story rings familiar,
either having experienced something like Gabriel or know someone who has. While not all
readers will have ever naively thought that teaching is inherently effortless and rewarding,
anyone who teaches (of their own volition) believes (or once did) that it is an important,
meaningful, and fulfilling career, if not an enjoyable one. These purposes, or desirable outcomes,
drove Gabriel to become a teacher. He had experienced what teaching can be like, and wanted a
career that could provide him and those he served with a sense of elation and accomplishment.6
The glimpse into Gabriel’s life afforded above has within it the crux of this paper: teaching (and
learning) is as much about being and experiencing as it is about knowledge, technique, skill, or
media. This is especially true when assessing not merely a teaching event or activity, but when
6
In seeing teaching as service and students as amongst those whom he serves, Gabriel wants to do well for them, he
wants them to benefit, to be fulfilled and transformed through the learning experience. For Gabriel, teaching is not
just a job or a chance for his own aggrandisement or ego titillation, but an opportunity to contribute—a privilege and
a weighty responsibility. Bowman (2005), Hays (2008a), and Herman and Marlowe (2005) have each written on
teaching as service (the teacher as servant leader). In addition, there is a rich – if small – body of literature on
servant leadership. Hays (2008a) provides a fairly useful and current set of references. Two of the most recent,
subsequent works include: Ramer (2008) – medicine; and Sussan et al (2008) – education.

considering teaching over a long period or as a career. Sustaining enthusiasm, commitment, and
a sense of “freshness” may be as challenging as it is important. This paper considers how a
teacher may find and sustain these attributes, as well as how they instrumentally impact teaching
and, thus, learning. Passion for a subject, for instance, has little to do per se with teaching skill,
method, or technology. Yet, as many students and teachers report, a teacher’s love for subject
and fervent delivery of material make a huge difference in the classroom. The difference is a
qualitatively experiential one having significant
implications for both teachers and students.
Unfortunately and paradoxically, fixation and
reliance on delivery may actually impede the quality
of the delivery, eroding experience and undermining
the potential learning that might occur (Dall’Alba,
2005; van den Berg, 2002).
As a youth and unencumbered by notions of best
practice, Gabriel relates naturally to his “charges.”
While roles are clear and separate, “teacher” and
student experience and relate to one another in
dynamic interaction7
as two (or more) human beings
engaged in common pursuit of something important
to both. Gabriel can “forget time,” devoting all his
intention, focus, and energy to the task at hand,
because he feels little to no self-consciousness about
his teaching. He is just “doing what comes
naturally.” Free from preconceptions, external standards, self-consciousness, and other
handicaps, Gabriel can “just be” with his charges, authentically and fully present.8
This allows
Gabriel and his charges to co-exist within the same learning space, co-creating the learning
activity and what it means to them.9
They can be “as one” within the moment10
, not separated by
7
By dynamic interaction is meant a natural “flow” between teacher and student or amongst teacher and students, an
uninterrupted giving and receiving and mutual creation of meaning (as opposed to more static exchanges or
transactions). See, also, Footnote 10.
8
Amongst elements of central concern in Teaching as Being are three crucial aspects: presence, authenticity, and
agency. See corresponding box insets; and, for authenticity, Footnote 5. Presence is covered in its own section later.
Refer to any of the following for elucidations and applications of [human] agency: Alkire (2005), Bandura (1989),
Bleiker (2003), Chen (2006), Courvisanos (2006), Garikipati and Olsen (2008); also Piper (2004), cited elsewhere in
this paper.
Not only are presence, authenticity, and agency Teaching as Being manifest, but they also are “ways of being” about
which students can develop a consciousness and begin to embody themselves as a fundamental part of their personal
and professional development—their becoming. This is part of a process of moving from (transcending) a view of
education as merely acquiring knowledge (know that) and skill (know how) to more sophisticated understandings at
and beyond the level of “know why” (see the section of epistemology for distinctions amongst these types of
knowing).
Take leadership as an example. From an educative perspective, the [practical?] difference is that between a course
“about” leadership (factual, rational, clinical, abstract, objective, safe, distant) and one that “is” leadership (messy,
contextual, experiential, subjective, personal, intimate, threatening). It is easy to teach and learn about leadership
from a safe distance; it is another thing entirely to embody and experience leadership first-hand.
9
This draws on constructivist theory (see Kumar, 2006), and ideas on the social construction of meaning: (Gherardi
et al, 1998; Sense, 2005).
10
In the moment is an important concept. Being “in the moment” implies a full and engaged presence, spontaneity,
responsiveness, and flexibility that allow one to “go with the flow”: to remain present during, adapt to, and capitalise
upon shifts in topic, activity, and personalities (roles taken, shared, and handed-over) as currents of energy ebb, flow,
and migrate in a dynamic classroom. In the moment classroom events figure prominently in Wheeler and McLeod’s
(2002) paper on teaching effectiveness. In their case, in the moment classroom events are cast as difficult and
stressful occurrences (crucibles?) the effective resolution of which leads to improved learning, classroom dynamics,
Presence
In this connotation, presence is “being there,” fully
involved in dynamic activity and reciprocal relating.
It has a mindful sense in terms of being alert and
aware of being there, not in a self-conscious way but
in so far as being conscious of involvement and how
ones behaviour may be influencing others and the
overall process, and how one is reacting and
responding to others and emerging situations.
Presence concerns being engaged, and knowing
you’re engaged and how. In teaching, it is about
feeling “a part of” the dynamic learning environment
as opposed to “detached from, outside, or over” it.
Presence enables responsiveness: it is about being
receptive, flexible, spontaneous; it is about letting
go, letting come, and engaging with and capitalising
upon learning moments as they arise.

Authenticity
By authenticity or authentic presence is meant being really
there, not just fully present as implied by presence, but
genuinely and honestly there. This is the “what you see is
what you get” or the “real deal” view. The genuine teacher
gives little thought to generating an acceptable persona or
managing the perception of professionalism, but gives of him-
or herself as he or she really is. Thus, students gain insight
into the real uniqueness and humanity of the teacher. It is
liberating to be real, to not have to manufacture and maintain
an identity, to just let ones own essence emanate. In such a
presence, students can also be themselves which, for too
many, unfortunately, can be a unique opportunity.
artificial and unnecessary divides. (Such divides might be mental or physical, as discussed later.)
Learners are likely to be much more engaged—fully in the moment—when the teacher is freely
and fully present.
Unfortunately, Gabriel experienced first-hand the contrasting possibilities in teaching. His
childhood experiences were blissful and empowering (accepting that some of the more difficult
aspects were forgotten with the passing of time). His adult, professional experiences were
disappointing and dispiriting. While there are many possible explanations for this and the causes
are likely complex, one of the overarching differences is that with adulthood, professional
credentialing, and the responsibilities inherent in the title “teacher,” Gabriel determined that “he
had to get it right.” That is, that effective teaching embodies a set of knowledge and skills in
addition to and on top of subject matter expertise in which it may already be difficult to remain
current. Whether or not he would be held accountable for teaching mastery, Gabriel felt obliged
to incorporate and demonstrate best practice in his teaching. Some of the more well-known
examples are presented later under the heading Pedagogy. In so doing, Gabriel paradoxically,
unintentionally, and unconsciously distanced himself from the aspects of teaching he loved best
and that comprised his natural strong suit. In distancing himself from “what came naturally,” he
distanced himself from his students as well.
Without understanding the cause, the divide plagued Gabriel and undermined his teaching and,
thus, the actual learning taking place and the experience of learning. This is not to say that
instructional skill and methodology are irrelevant or in and of themselves counterproductive.
They have helped many teachers and trainers
organise their lessons and present material
efficiently and will continue to do so. They
have especially helped novice teachers and
those lacking content confidence to get past
difficult starts and to keep on track. The
point is that there is much more to the story
of teaching effectiveness and the experience
of teaching (and learning) than instructional
skill and methodology. By the same token,
it is not content expertise, per se, that enables
good teaching, as we have probably all
experienced from either the teacher’s or
student’s perspective, if not both. It is how
content (facts, theorems, principles, etc.,) is put into perspective, embodied, contextualised, and
made relevant that accounts for much of the difference between mechanical and meaningful
teaching.11
Given the above, Teaching as Being, not Technique proceeds from this proposition:
Instructional skill and methodology (technique) may be necessary to effective teaching and
learning (especially for immediately-measurable learning outcomes and for some particular
and teacher-student relationships. Teachers might react to these challenges by becoming more rigid and controlling,
which is counterproductive. They need to respond flexibly and adaptively “in the moment” to capitalise on these
opportunities. In contrast to the view put forward by Wheeler and McLeod (2002) Teaching as Being is “all the
time” – a global orientation of responsiveness and presence – (not merely a positive response to problematic events
and students), but like these scholars Teaching as Being sees all occurrences, shifts, even disruptions and distractions
as opportunities for learning upon which the always-ready teacher can capitalise.
11
This begs the question, can one teach mechanically for meaningful learning?

types of material) but they are insufficient in producing deep, transformative learning12
or
enabling rich experiences of learning amongst teachers and students.13
Back to Gabriel’s story, while legitimate debate is possible concerning whether or not as a youth
he organically, inherently, and unwittingly incorporated and demonstrated best practice principles
and theory into his teaching and whether or not his “charges” objectively learned and could
demonstrate specified knowledge or skills, of more interest here is how richly Gabriel and his
charges experienced the learning (and each other). In addition to the foundational proposition
stated above, supplementary propositions addressed in this paper are that:
1. Teaching (and learning) are not just tasks dealing with specified content (learning objectives)
more or less effectively. They are experiences, more or less positive. They need not remain
merely transactions, but can become transformations.
2. The experience of teaching and learning can be described and assessed. That is, more positive
experiences can be distinguished from the less so. Both teachers and students can and do assess
and describe the experience.
3. The quality of the learning experience influences (a) not only what is learned but also (b) how
teachers and students think about learning, which would impact on other current and future
learning scenarios.
4. The learning experience of both teachers and
students is mediated by teaching style and instructional
methodology; and, thus, making learning situations
more encouraging and rewarding is within our control.
5. The learning experience of students (and, thus,
impacting on teachers’ experience) is mediated by
learning style or orientation.14
6. What and how students learn in the Teaching as
Being environment is qualitatively different than in
12
There are many insightful and helpful sources on transformational learning. Hays (2008b) presents a useful
overview of transformational learning and provides an extensive set of relevant references in his article “Threshold
and Transformation.” Particularly germane to Teaching as Being is Piper (2004) who undertakes the topic of
transformative learning in his work on the phenomenology of self-awareness. Kegan (1994) wrote that
transformative learning represents how someone changes “not just the way he behaves, not just the way he feels, but
the way he knows—not just what he knows but the way he knows” (p. 17). We will not debate at this time whether
deep, transformative learning is [always] needed or desired.
13
Dall’Alba (2005) notes that by “focusing on epistemology [knowledge and skills acquisition], we fail to facilitate
and support … transformation [to skilful practice]” (p. 363). Van den Berg (2002) concludes that “teaching and
learning do not involve only knowledge, cognition, and skills [but] also involve an affective component or
‘emotional practices’” (p. 586). In terms of Teaching as Being, students and teachers don’t just think and do, they
feel, they experience.
14
This is not a topic undertaken substantially in Teaching as Being, but the author recognises that students may be
more or less “receptive” to the practice of Teaching as Being depending on both prior experience and predominating
learning styles. See, for example, Nelson and Harper (2006) and Boström and Lassen (2006) who, by the way,
submit that “learning should facilitate changes in ways of being or acting, in changed ways of thinking or feeling,”
(p. 184).]
Agency
The basic idea of agency is that human beings
have control over their behaviour and can be
agents of their own actions (as opposed to
having their actions ordained and constrained by
external structures). Agency associates with
efficacy and autonomy. Teaching as Being
asserts that people (students) have a right and
an obligation to express agency and develop it to
its fullest potential.

more conventional classrooms. This is measurable. Learning is probably deeper, more
individual, and of a higher level of complexity. These may pose a variety of challenges, not the
least of which is to typical assessment regimes.
The underlying thesis and main premise of Teaching as Being is that:
A teacher’s authentic and full presence and engagement in the classroom are essential to
creating the richest possible classroom experience for self and students. This includes
adapting to and capitalising upon the dynamic flow of energies, topics, and opportunities for
learning as they arise.15
Experience and Efficacy
In this paper the author attempts to explicate and integrate a number of concepts, principles, and
practices that bear on the experience and efficacy of teaching and learning. The purpose of this
endeavour is to propose an approach to teaching that reveals the inherent insufficiency of
instructional technique and technology and emphasises neglected aspects of teaching and
learning.
Experience. Experience, here, applies to both teachers and students. The term was deliberately
chosen to suggest that teaching and learning are not just a one- (or even two-) way transmission
of content—that which is to be learned—between teacher and student, or even amongst teacher
and students collectively. Teaching and learning are qualitative experiences. While content
matters (for example, some topics or material are more interesting to teachers and students than
others), quite separate from content, teaching and learning (or not) are experiences, felt or
perceived physically and emotionally, as well as cognitively. The experience can be animated
and exciting, poignant or wrenching, blasé or, perhaps, preoccupied: richer or poorer, depending
on many factors. Some, if not most, of those factors are within the control of teachers and
students, or at least can be influenced by them. This paper explores those factors and how
teachers and students can—without deception, manipulation, or artifice—affect those factors and,
thus, improve the overall experience of the learning situation, including and not insignificantly
the relationship between teachers and students and amongst students themselves. The quality of
the experience is enhanced for both teachers and students. They may experience and express it
differently, but both would know a better from a worse learning scenario and be able to
meaningfully describe it, as the vignettes presented later compellingly illustrate.
Efficacy. Efficacy as a term was chosen to describe the potentiality of teaching and learning in
their fullest and richest effectiveness: a potential for transcending modest or mediocre standards
and expectations to exceptional levels, and the real opportunity to increase both the scope of
learning and the quality of the experience for teachers and students alike. Efficacy implies the
ability to produce meaningful and desirable outcomes. Efficacy and efficacious behaviours are
instrumental in making good things happen. As will be elaborated, however, efficacy here does
not merely imply efficiency, as in the methodical management or production of stipulated
performance measures linked to prescribed learning objectives employing the best prescribed
approach. In fact, much of the “goodness” of education – the quality of the teaching and learning
experience and its potential to enable extraordinary outcomes – is lost in the effort to deliver the
methodologically-soundest and technologically most-sophisticated instruction. In our striving for
precision and replicability, and favouring technique, technology, and even skill, we are in danger
of losing sight of the humanity and deeper meaning of teaching and learning. Attention focused
15
Hence the paper’s title “Going with the Flow.” See Senge, et al (2005), under complementary readings, for a
significant treatment of “presence”, and the brief section on presence in this paper further along.

Being Doing
Students are doing, active, busy; responsible for success of
each activity and their—and their classmates’—learning.
Teacher is doing, active, busy; responsible for success of each
activity and the learning of all students.
Teacher is attuned to what might be done, and how to
capitalise on each passing moment, and how to enrich each
topic and activity.
Teacher is attuned to what must be done, maximising
efficiency of each passing moment, ensuring each topic and
activity are the best uses of everybody’s time.
Teacher democratic with students having much say in how
things are run.
Teacher authoritative; decides most matters, and is more
directive.
Teaching tends to be more conversational and facilitative. Teaching tends to be more lecture-based and didactic.
Interaction is omnidirectional, students interact frequently and
intensely with one another, as well as with the teacher.
Interaction tends to be question and answer, between student
and teacher.
All are seen as resources, students and teacher. Teacher seen as main resource.
Individual students and groups of students alternate as focal
points, as well as the teacher.
Teacher is main focal point.
Class management loose and informal. Class management rather formal, and can feel restrained.
Agenda based around general objectives and outcomes
desired, but flexible. Departures the norm.
Agenda fixed with respect to objectives, activities, and timing.
Departures seen as exceptions and problematic.
Principles-based – what’s important are the underlying
principles and how they can be adapted within and by the
class.
Content-based. Whatever the content is it must be covered.
What’s important is what was planned to be instructed.
Organic flow to material, with topics and intensity rising, falling,
and shifting almost as if they have “a life of their own.”
Logical flow to class (material) delivery. Sequence and
progression important. Instructional design mastered. Delivery
best practice “by the book.”
Teacher tends to be spontaneous and extemporaneous, doing
“what comes naturally” and capitalising on “the learning
moment.”
Teacher tends to be planned and methodical, ensuring what
needs to be covered is covered, more or less according to
plan.
Lessons often greater than the planned content might suggest;
opportunities to integrate, reinforce, and extend material are
rife. There tends to be lots of “big picture.”
Lessons generally consistent with the lesson plan and cover
designated content. The picture stays within the frame.
Learning tends to be very active and experiential. Students
take part in instruction.
Learning tends to be more passive. Students receive
instruction.
Students assessed as to the level they show deep
understanding by applying the material in a variety of contexts.
Students assessed in accordance with the specified material
and generally in a format resembling the way it was taught.
Teacher “mixes it up” with students. Teacher keeps a safe distance.
Class is like a community or team. Everyone gets to work with
one another to get to know each other.
Class is more regimented and purposeful.
Lessons (indeed significant portions of a semester) may seem
chaotic, disorganised, lacking in structure and clear direction,
and devoid of “content.” Students may not know what is
expected of them or what they are learning.
Lessons are well-organised, with clear structure and direction.
Students know what they are expected to learn and how they
will be assessed. There is little ambivalence, ambiguity, or
equivocation.
Class may drift “off assigned / planned topic;” class can fall
behind on scheduled material.
Class stays on topic and on task. Schedule is adhered to as if
it were a contract.
Table 1. Comparison chart of “being” and “doing” showing general contrasting distinctions / tendencies.

on “best practice” and maintaining control, we miss the preciousness of the learning moment,
unaware of its passing. In light of this, instrumental efficacy, then, is more about facilitating,
creating, fostering, supporting, enabling, and permitting [“letting learn,” as Heidegger (1968, p.
15) has said], than it is about prescribing, controlling, or measuring.
Converging Experience and Efficacy. What enables a teacher to most effectively create and use
rich learning circumstances are certain attributes that have to do with being, more so than skilled
doing or expert knowing. This ontological stance might be represented by expressions such as
“being there,”16
“in the moment,” “finding yourself,” “going with the flow,” (and even the much
touted as of late “authenticity” or authentic presence). Such states of being allow the teacher to
respond to and capitalise upon opportunities as they arise, such as might be the case when a
student asks a question or makes a comment that seems off topic or proposes an unexpected or
ostensibly “wrong” answer to a problem. Perhaps flexible and generative response to such
occurrences is not new to readers, but many would appreciate that any teacher “fixed” on a
particular instructional objective and associated strategy, with a prescribed correct answer in
mind and a preferred method of reaching it, would find it difficult to see other possibilities, make
the best of the opportunity presenting itself, or even “regroup” after getting off track or losing
presumed momentum. Add to this the problem of “time management” (sticking to a tight and
packed schedule in order to cover all preordained material) and a teacher has little room to
manoeuvre.
Having dealt with the terms experience and efficacy and their place in teaching and learning, we
will now focus briefly on presence, as it plays such a central in Teaching As Being. Following
this short, but essential discussion, we turn to the set of concepts, principles, and practices alluded
to in the opening paragraph of this paper.
Presence
A teacher’s presence in the classroom is as important, if not more so, than the instructional skill,
teaching method, or technology employed to bring intended content across to students.17
This
may even hold true for content expertise. Many readers would be familiar with brilliant experts
who have trouble connecting with or relating to students. A single-minded focus or dependence
on content (at the expense of process) may actually impede learning and undermine experience.
For some teachers and other leaders the answer, and perhaps the way there, is obvious; they have
little patience for learners who don’t
automatically “get it,” see other
possibilities, or just need to spend more
time with the problem—being with it, so
to speak.
Amongst other things, presence concerns
and is manifested by an authentic “being
there” in the classroom or other learning
16
It is hard to resist referencing the great feature film Being There, starring Peter Sellers (nominated for best actor)
and co-starring Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas (who did win an Oscar for best male supporting actor).
While misunderstood and attributed with profound wisdom, Chance was just “being there” authentically expressing
his existence as a gardener whose only exposure, ironically, to “real” life was television. (Being There, 1979;
directed by Hal Ashby and written by Jerzy Kosinski.)
17
Please note that the author uses “students” or sometimes “participants” as opposed to “learners” (his preference) to
allow for the notion that both teachers and students can and should be learners. One of the core concepts, here, is
“teacher as learner,” drawing on the notions of humility and, from Zen Buddhism, “the empty cup” metaphor.
S O
C C
Awareness Engagement
self other
content context
Figure 1. Presence: awareness and engagement.

environment or situation. Presence involves an awareness of self, other(s), context, and content
and full and spontaneous engagement with the dynamics of the learning situation.18
This is
represented simply in Figure 1.
Along with other holistic principles for management development drawn from Taoism that in
many ways capture of essence of Teaching as Being and remaining in flow state, Shefy and
Sadler-Smith (2006) align presence with being centred. “We remain centered,” they write, “by
being present,” adding “The centeredness principle calls for the managing of the here and now.”
(p. 372; emphasis added). In “Tools for Transformation,” one of Gesell’s (2006)
recommendations for improving team performance is to “focus on the present.” Staying in the
present, he explains, involves: resisting “the urge to plan, evaluate, or anticipate what others will
do”; responding “in the moment and only to what is available”; and keeping our “minds open and
focused on what is happening rather than on what is expected or desired” (pp. 16 – 170;
emphasis added). For teachers this means that one cannot be spontaneous and fully in the
moment if “scripting” your own or your students’ thoughts, words, or actions. The same, of
course, could be said of students who may be so busy trying to manage the perceptions of them
held by teachers and other students (to look and sound smart) that they fail to be fully present and
authentic. Impression management is hard work and could reasonably be expected to impede
being and flow, and the richness of experience they have to offer.
Csikszentmihalyi (1997) himself characterised flow as focused and intense concentration on the
present, on the “here and now,” where action and awareness are merged, and distractions are
excluded from consciousness. He notes that self-consciousness disappears and there is little
worry of failing: “we are too involved to be concerned with failure” or to worry about how we
look” (pp. 10 – 11). This comes about, he believes, because there are clear goals and immediate
feedback in flow circumstances, and because of a balance between the challenge and the agent’s
competence and confidence. Csikszentmihalyi’s (1997) work generally applies to Teaching as
Being. One slight adaptation might be to consider broader learning outcomes over specific goals
that might limit classroom spontaneity and interaction dynamics. This shift applies to feedback
as well, allowing for wider and unspecified student responses and other behaviours. This requires
of the teacher heightened flexibility and receptivity to what students may be learning and how
they may be demonstrating it.
In “Being Present at your own Life,” authors Gunn and Gullickson (2003) affirm the preceding
notions on presence, and identify some of the distracters that impede it, including anger,
resentment, worry, anxiety, second-guessing, guilt, and desire for approval. Their
recommendation for becoming more frequently and fully present is patience: “staying easy and
alert as things unfold” (p. 14). They continue that we must:
 drop our expectations of what should be or has been;
 stop comparing things to what has happened before or to what someone else has done or is
doing;
 eliminate or dampen the urge to exert effort or control (“The more effort and control we try to
apply, the more we limit the number of possibilities available to us.”)
18
The environment or context envisaged here and in which the learning dynamics of concern apply most directly are
the classroom setting or lecture theatre—that is, in situations where teachers and students interact face-to-face.
While the concepts, principles, and practices discussed here should be of interest and relevance to teachers
employing virtual, technology-mediated instruction, their incorporation poses unique and different challenges.
While such instruction may moderate, diminish, or obviate the impact of presence, that discussion is beyond the
scope of this paper and should be the focus of separate investigation. Readers are referred to Smith (2006) who
entertains these issues in her article on best practices in distance education.

 learn to remain calm as this allows us to connect with and stay connected to our own internal
resources and others around us when we need them most.
Patience, write Gunn and Gullickson (2003; p. 14; emphasis in the original),
makes room for the interplay of thinking, clarity, and connection. Some would term this a
state of profound concentration—of being completely aware of yourself and others and being
able to perform with ingenuity, verve, and spontaneity. It is the power of presence that allows
the leader to fulfil her fundamental responsibility: sustaining and environment in which people
feel confident enough to do their best.
This quote has significant implication for Teaching as Being, especially if we replace “leader”
with teacher and people with “students.” Students are not at their best when they are “…just
telling you what you told me,” as a student recently said in response to the professor’s critique of
the young fellow’s lack of insight and inability to apply the material in a novel situation. They
are not at their best when they can sufficiently repeat dot points from lecture slides or text
readings. In contrast, they are at their best when they can be inventive, resourceful, adaptive;
when permitted – encouraged – to go where they haven’t gone before and maybe even where the
teacher has not gone. When they are willing and able to do that, they are ready for the real world.
A passage from Senge et al’s (2005) engaging and insightful book on presence captures its
essence with respect to Teaching as Being, and provides segue to the following section. Their
thoughts on both “letting go” and “letting come” are germane. Here we may also be reminded of
Heidegger’s notion of teaching as “letting learn” cited previously.
We first thought of presence as being fully conscious and aware in the present moment.
Then we began to appreciate presence as deep listening, of being open beyond one’s
preconceptions and historical ways of making sense. We came to see the importance of
letting go of old identities and the need to control and, as Salk said, making choices to serve
the evolution of life. Ultimately, we came to see all these aspects of presence as leading to a
state of ‘letting come,’ of consciously participating in a larger field for change. When this
happens, the field shifts, and the forces shaping a situation can move from re-creating the
past to manifesting or realizing an emerging future. (pp. 13 – 14).
Letting go and letting learn in the classroom (by both teachers and students) is necessary if we
are to move beyond replicating the past and perpetuating the status quo, and truly moving
forward – allowing what will to emerge – into the realm of the new, the creative, and the
necessary.
Teaching as being is about, if nothing else, presence. The author has both been and witnessed the
teacher who is there in body (barely) only, going through the motions, perhaps preoccupied by
other interests, obligations, or woes; sometimes driven by the material or his own needs and
expectations, and essentially unconscious of or at least unresponsive to student needs and the
opportunities of the moment. It is tedious and boring. No wonder that students fail to turn up
and fall asleep when they do, and that professors can’t wait to return to their offices or labs to
continue their work. It is a vicious cycle. That spiral downward, however, can be reversed.
Teaching as Being holds the virtuous promise of inspiration, aspiration, and action.

Theoretical, Philosophical, and Conceptual Background
Given the prominence of such ambiguous, but none-the-less profound ways of being expressed as
“being there,” “in the moment,” “finding yourself,” and “going with the flow” featured
previously, it may come as no surprise that Teaching As Being draws on a range of philosophies
and sciences increasingly linked19
, but seldom amalgamated and incorporated in the literatures on
teaching and learning. These are brought together in this next section, which briefly examines
and integrates ontology, existentialism, phenomenology, epistemology, pedagogy, and Eastern
philosophy and wisdom into one coherent set.
Teaching as Being seems a simple enough concept at first blush. Those three simple words are
deceivingly complex, however, immensely deep and wide-ranging. Throughout history,
profound thinkers have endeavoured to understand mind, meaning, and wisdom—to make sense
of the world—and convey that sense to others through, amongst other modalities, teaching.
These and related themes touched upon in this paper are both timeless and universal. Questions
of existence and what it means to exist, for example, have not been conclusively answered and,
perhaps, may never be. Metaphysical questions may remain ultimately unanswerable, but that
does not mean that they are not worth asking.
Teaching as Being raises questions of teaching and learning to a level seldom undertaken. It is
not that the practical and technical of teaching and learning are irrelevant or unimportant, but
rather that being and the experience of teaching and learning are neglected. It may be that deeper
questions of meaning may seem indulgent and unessential in this fast-paced environment where
quick and tangible results are all that matters. We researchers may unintentionally fracture the
wholeness of teaching and learning by focusing, for example, on a particular medium or method
and on what may be immediately observed and measured. As teachers, preoccupation with
technique or technology may mask that “something is missing” for us and our students, or detract
us from thinking about what it is that more fundamentally is eroding the experience of teaching
and learning. We may be so captivated by the medium or the message—trying to “make
meaning”20
—that we can fail to be, allow our students to become, or to create a meaningful
experience for ourselves and our students.21
19
Ikehara (1999), for example, links gestalt therapy, organisational learning, holism, and existential
phenomenology. Hays (2007) assembled a range of theoretical and philosophical frameworks in his portrayal of
organisational wisdom. Nicolaides and Yorks (2008) present an epistemological thesis on lifelong learning that
integrates construction of meaning, complexity theory, experiential learning, and enquiry. Goleman’s (2003), Ricard
and Thuan’s (2001), and Wheatley’s (1999) books, all referenced under complementary readings, bring together
“new science” concepts and traditional wisdom principles and practices to help us understand human behavior.
20
“Make meaning” in this case is pejorative and coercive, implying that teachers can or even should force meaning
upon students. At the same time, it is recognised that meaning-making occurs across contexts, including teaching
and learning, is desirable, and is often conceived of as a leadership requirement and a crucial capability. Allard-
Poesi (2005), Schwandt (2005), and Weick (1995) have contributed significantly in this area. In a brief but insightful
article, highly relevant to Teaching as Being, Liu (2003) notes that meaning is created “moment-by-moment, based
on one’s openness to seeing meaning possibilities” and that “life is a continuous creation rather than a series of
unconnected experiences and activities” (p. 23).
21
The notion of becoming is as important as the notion of being. Becoming expresses ideas inherent in terms such as
emergence, maturation, unfolding or opening, and evolution, dynamic properties of life and learning, as opposed to
static paradigms. Fabry (cited in Liu, 2003) writes that meaning is defined as the freedom to become. Bowers
(2005) speaks of students becoming through dialogue and deeply ontological interaction in the classroom, something,
he asserts, can only happen when students and teachers are involved “in the moment.” “The self,” then, “is
understood to be always under construction…” (Piper, 2004; p. 287; emphasis in the original) [and earlier] “part of
the continual flow of experience” (p. 286). See also Sturdy, et al, (2006) and their qualitative study on existential
and emotional aspects of learning, what they refer to as “learning as becoming.” Finally, Akan (2005) distinguishes
modern and post-modern ontology, with the former stressing being (things are as they are) and the latter emphasising
becoming (things are coming into being).

This neglect has unfortunate and unnecessary costs. First of all, it robs teachers and students of
the fulfilment and bliss inherent in teaching and learning, qualities accessible when “losing
oneself” in the task or “in the moment.” Secondly, neglecting things that matter more
fundamentally in favour of specific and fragmentary knowledge, skills, or even entertainment
comprises a vicious cycle. Very functional, pragmatic, and mechanical instruction is not likely to
be inspiring, hopeful, or compassionate, not to mention integrating, holistic, or humanising. With
both teachers and students disenchanted with teaching and learning, or at the least focused on
practical (and perhaps trivial) concerns, few will be inclined to invest themselves wholly.
Education will become, like so many things, transactional rather than transformational.22
So, while this paper cannot do justice to either teaching or being separately, not to mention
collapsing the two constructs into one, Teaching as Being asserts that both, separately and
together, are worthy of a deeper look. A synthesis of teaching and being offers a unity and
harmony amongst elements too often treated independently, an intellectual and practical division
that undermines a natural companion or symbiotic state. This unified state of being or experience
can be productive and sustaining for both teachers and students, generating deeper and more
meaningful learning and relationships than could ever be attained in more mechanistic and
transactional instruction.23
Foundations for such assertions “exist” in several related streams of philosophy and science:
ontology and epistemology (from metaphysics); existentialism; and phenomenology. Pedagogy
is not silent on deeper and more meaningful dimensions of teaching and learning either, as we
will see below. Buddhist and Taoist teachings are included in this section as well because of
deep parallels and significant points of convergence between the Eastern perennial traditions and
these Western disciplines. Each of these topics is briefly described here and linked to the central
points advanced in Teaching as Being.
Ontology. Ontology is the study of the nature of being. As a science, ontology involves
observation and representation of phenomena; its task is to reveal the type and nature of the
22
Transactional instruction is contrasted, here, with transformational, with the former characterised by exchanges:
teachers provide certain learning content and students return it in kind, in the better cases adding something to it or
using it in novel situations. Transactional learning is not a common concept and when referred to is used in a
positive sense, more interactive and engaging than transmission, which is one-way (Wason-Ellam, 2001) or to denote
experiential learning of transactional skills, such as needed in business (Hannon, et al, 2000) and law (Freeman,
2008). Transformational learning implies that the learner is somehow changed through and as a result of the learning
process; knowledge and skills are not merely exchanged (or even accumulated), but the learner is more of a person,
transformed, uplifted. The usage and comparison, here, is similar to that between transactional and transformational
leadership, as introduced by James MacGregor Burns (1978) in his much lauded Leadership. From the large range
of sources available on transformational leadership, Bass and Steidlmeier’s (1999) paper is compelling, well-
rounded, and widely-applicable.
23
As used here, mechanistic teaching or instruction is a machine metaphor or paradigm (Griffin, 2008; Sementelli
and Abel, 2007). Not merely used in the sense of teaching “automatically” or on “auto pilot” but in the engineering
sense of instruction designed with precision to deliver set standards of performance and predictable, measurable
outcomes (as if teaching were a rather static “closed system”). A large part of Axley and McMahon’s (2006) critique
of management education centres around what they call its “mechanistic grounding,” an outmoded way of thinking
and organising that undermines higher education and leaves graduates unable to deal with the complexities and
ambiguities of the modern world. This mechanistic paradigm can be productively compared to an organic or
organismic metaphor, teaching more characteristic of “complex adaptive systems”, responsive, adaptable, and
evolutionary (Brodbeck, 2002; Hall, 2005). Such a system envisages teachers and students in mutual, dynamic
interaction. They are not just being independently, as corresponding machine parts, they are inter-being (Hahn,
1991), intrinsically related and interdependent.

phenomena under investigation (Scholz, et al, 2006).24
With “being” in the title of this paper and
the quintessence of Teaching as Being, reference to ontology is mandatory and at least a
minimum understanding of ontology essential.
Ontology’s concerns are existence and meaning: what does it mean to be? Teaching as Being is,
then, clearly an ontological notion or expression. One is a teacher, which accords identity and
everything that goes along with it. This is contrasted with teaching (as “to teach”), which is an
active, doing endeavour. One may teach (and, presumably teach technically well) without being
a teacher. One may also be a teacher and seldom experience being as intended here. Moreover,
teachers and non-teachers alike can experience Teaching as Being—more than a state of mind or
consciousness, a state of body-mind (Shefy and Sadler-Smith, 2006) where the teacher is in touch
with her deepest self and intimately connected with those she is teaching. Teaching as Being is
more than identity, ego, role, skill, knowledge, or technique. It is full presence and engagement,
the experience of them, and the efficacy and fulfilment that such being-in-the-moment enables.
Heidegger is the quintessential ontologist (although there is reason to place him as an
existentialist, as well, and as a phenomenologist (see Waugh, 2004). Without going to the
original source, for instance Heidegger’s Being and Time25
, much of Heidegger can be
understood by reviewing applications of his philosophy in such works as Bolle (2006), Dall’Alba
(2005), Hyde (2005), and Sewchurran (2008). Interestingly, ontology takes centre stage in
Courvisanos’ (2006) article on human agency in novelty and innovation.
Ontology consists of two main streams that attempt to explain causality of human behaviour (in
terms of being and existing), an external one (structuralism) and an internal one (agency).26
Neither fully explain human behaviour, and both are relevant in terms of teaching and learning.
For our purposes here, a teacher might work to create conditions in her classroom that overcome
entrenched assumptions and behaviours whose cumulative effects include intractable student
passivity, dependence, deference, and surface learning; while encouraging and enabling students
to find and express themselves—to come into being as more mature learners. The teacher cannot
do this through instruction alone or by setting assessment and assignments intended to get
students to “go deeper,” but must live (role model) the values and aspirations at the heart of
meaningful teaching and learning: Be the learner you want your students to become. Teachers
must connect with students in a meaningful and genuine way, a task virtually impossible in
transmission and factory models of instruction. It may be a given that teachers must be authentic
– to be who they really are – if they are going to relate to students in an authentic way, and to
bring out the unique human being at the heart of each student—commitments of the ontological
teacher.
In Teaching as Being students are encouraged to be and to become. They are not merely seen as
one side of the transaction equation and limited by outmoded pedagogical notions, including
24
A second (less metaphysical) understanding of ontology is that it is concerned with the basic categories of things
and their relationships. Thus, you will see ontologies used in or as knowledge structures (see, for example, Linstead
and Brewis, 2007, or Baqir and Kathawala, 2004).
25
One source (translation) is: Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Macquarrie, J., and Robinson, E. (trans.).
London: SCM.
26
Dixon and Dogan (2003) explain and distinguish ontology and epistemology in their analysis of global
governance failure. Ontology, according to the authors, consists of structuralism and agency, while epistemology
comprises naturalism and hermeneutics. Taking this, they show in a 2 x 2 grid that four methodological families
arise from a juxtaposition (matrix) of ontology and epistemology, producing: naturalist structuralism and
hermeneutic structuralism, and naturalist agency and hermeneutic agency.

adhering to a strict instructional regime and mastery of specified content as assessed through
standard examination or performance under prescribed conditions. In the Teaching as Being
classroom, the ontology of being a student is rewritten. What it means to be “a student” or “a
teacher” is turned on its head with students being much more active in setting and conducting the
learning agenda and teachers taking on more supportive and facilitative roles. Students’ being is
limited only by their potential to become and the teacher’s capacity to “let learn,” (within time
constraints of the semester and other parameters that cannot [yet] be altered).
Existentialism. Where ontology is about being, the fundamental concern of existentialism is
meaning. Where does meaning come from and what is the value or place of meaning? Other
concerns of existentialism are identity and purpose. Why exist and how? A central tenet of
existentialism is that meaning is individual and conferred by human beings, and a critical aspect
of this is the notion of choice. Things that people care about having, knowing, doing, or being
are choices. In choosing the things we care about, we imbue meaning to our existence. (This is
not a debate about God or higher explanations of life and existence; some existentialists believe
in God, e.g., Kierkegaard, while others do not, e.g., Nietzsche.) In addition to Kierkegaard and
Nietzsche, other early and prominent existentialists include Husserl, Sartre, Camus, Jaspers, and
Marcel. Heidegger may also be considered to be an existentialist.
Since choice is important, it follows that freedom, or free choice, is likewise important, and this is
a strong undertone amongst existentialists27
. Existentialism stresses individual experience
(Ikehara, 1999) and authenticity (Cohen, 2003; Jackson, 2005). Having the freedom to choose
and making free choices are tantamount to authenticity or “being real.” This is of central
importance to Teaching as Being. Not only is authenticity crucial to rich experience and relating,
as discussed previously, but the Teaching as Being classroom embodies freedom and choice.
While total equality and absolute freedom are seldom fully achieved, the existential classroom is
as Democratic and empowering as possible. Unnecessary limits removed, students can
experience themselves, each other, and their teacher more authentically. They may move the
course and its instructor, and one another; they may become new, more complete individuals.
As will become clear, the existentialist paradigm is closely related to phenomenology. Useful
background on the existentialist movement and applications to public administration can be found
in Waugh (2004). Ford and Lawler (2007) present a formidable paper on existentialist (and
constructionist) approaches to leadership studies, providing a good overview of existentialism.
They go into some detail on Sartre’s views on being, identifying three forms: being in itself
(unreflective), being for itself (reflective), and being for others (reflecting on being objectified by
others). This thinking on the reflective self is particularly applicable to Teaching as Being as
reflective practice may be instrumental in fostering greater appreciation for and significant shifts
in being.
Phenomenology. Phenomenology, as the name suggests, is the interpretive study of phenomena:
what things mean to people and how we make sense of the world. The phenomenon or object of
study might be an emotion, relationship, situation or event, or idea. What sets phenomenology
apart from many other scientific disciplines or approaches is that it centres on the actor’s own
27
Hartman and Zimberoff (2003), in their impressive overview of existentialism and its place in therapy, identify
five pervading themes, generally applicable to Teaching as Being, one of which is this notion of freedom of choice
and responsibility for the consequences of our choices. The additional four are: Meaning is found in the living of
each moment; expression of ones humanity is manifest in passionate commitment to purpose and values; openness to
experience affords the greatest fulfilment of potential; and in the ever-present face of death we find commitment to
life. There are, by the way, clear parallels between their work and the Buddhist psychology of Brazier (2003), one of
the complementary readings.

perspective: how the world is experienced. Like existentialism, phenomenology stresses
individual experience and interpretation. This being the case, everyone will have his or her
unique interpretation of a given phenomenon. The four different perspectives presented in the
next section of Teaching as Being are representative of this phenomenological stance.
Husserl (1859 – 1938), mentioned previously as an existentialist, was one of the original
phenomenologists. He, and a successor, Schutz (1899 – 1959), were amongst those who
introduced phenomenology, a movement still gaining interest today. Phenomenology appears
recently in a range of studies. See Metcalfe and Game (2008) for an interesting paper on teaching
and learning focusing on dialogic pedagogy, which incorporates phenomenology, making
reference to some of the most influential phenomenologists, including Hegel, Sartre, Buber, and
Merleau-Ponty. Bolle (2006) writes on “existential management,” referencing Heidegger and his
view that people are continually designing themselves anew (becoming). Existentialism and
phenomenology are often linked as in Olivares, et al’s (2007) framework for understanding
leadership experiences, and in van den Berg’s (2002) study on teachers’ meanings.
Phenomenology is relevant to teaching and learning, and to Teaching as Being in particular, in
that being a teacher or student in a given situation and confronting its material, or substance, is
experienced differently and individually. The four vignettes that follow are individual
interpretations of the same event. Each view is very different, and each is true for the observer.
Each actor gets something else from the teaching situation. The phenomenological approach
taken here isolates and legitimates each interpretation and experience. Taken as a whole, the
complexity, richness, and diversity inherent in the scenario are revealed, producing an entirely
different and much more encompassing understanding of what actually transpires in a teaching
encounter. The implications of this are profound, and far exceed what might reasonably be
considered to be the “stuff” of an instructional period, as defined and constrained by learning
objectives, activities and strategies, resources, and assessment.
Epistemology. Epistemology is the theory and study of knowledge, including generating,
integrating, and using knowledge (Scholz, et al, 2006). Epistemology is experiencing a high
point currently with continuing interest in Knowledge Management and organisational learning
(see Cook and Brown, 1999; Gueldenberg and Helting, 2007; and Hall, 2005, for interesting KM
and OL applications), and explains part of the rapid growth of Communities of Practice
(Gherardi, 1998; Hays, 2007b). Teaching as Being is less concerned with knowledge than many
expositions on teaching and learning might be because, as previously mentioned, being is
emphasised over knowing and doing. This paper starts from the assumption that most classrooms
are predominated by epistemology (what is knowledge (and, thus, what needs to be learned)) and
pedagogy (what is the best way to teach), leaving scant room for being.
Nevertheless, being a teacher presumes a certain base of knowledge and skill. Also implied in
teaching and learning is that students acquire knowledge and skill. Epistemology, then, remains
an important element of the Teaching as Being classroom and, thus, of this paper. What is
learned and how remains a concern of teachers, students, administrators, parents and guardians
(in some cases, at least), employers, and other stakeholders, issues taken up in Kumar’s (2006)
article on constructivist epistemology. Boyles (2006 presents an essay on epistemology and
classroom practice that is relevant, here, as is Hung et al’s (2006) article on constructivist
epistemologies in learning communities. Gherardi et al (1998) consider the relational nature of
learning. They describe it as ontological (what they refer to as people “being-in-the-world”) and
epistemic (abstract knowledge).

There is also a distinction between learning and teaching the realisation of which seems to be
growing in importance. In a world characterised by phenomenal rates of fundamental change,
static knowledge (what is known or “what exists”) becomes less important than the capacity to
continually learn and adapt in a dynamic way to what is not, yet, known. What does not, yet,
exist or is “coming into being” has profound implications for business, schools, and societies.
How best to prepare employees, students, and citizens for problems and opportunities that do not,
yet, exist, but may present themselves soon, remains an open question. But conventional
methods of instruction with one right answer and a preferred method of arriving at it are not the
way. At best, they reproduce what is already known and how accepted knowledge is attained.
Teaching and learning for “real-world” and potential problems – the uncertain and ambiguous;
the best solution amongst imperfect alternatives; for problems impacting diverse stakeholder
groups, all wanting something else – poses challenges to teachers and learners alike. Few people
are really comfortable and effective in unpredictable situations, a condition exacerbated by years
of education being a certain way, where roles are clearly defined and expectations reinforced
through word and deed, not to mention the systems upholding them, such as workloads and
promotion criteria, course requirements and sequencing, course outlines (syllabi), and exam
schedules. Instructional activities that allow and develop the skills of discovery and
experimentation are steps in the right direction (Prince and Felder, 2007), especially when the
answers or strategies for discovering them are not “givens.” In this regard, work being done in
education and professional development on ambiguity, tension, paradox, and contradiction seems
fruitful (Axley and McMahon, 2006; Lewis and Dehler, 2000; Hays, 2008b). Dey and Steyaert’s
(2007) insightful paper on the failings and promise of management education is particularly
germane to Teaching as Being. They note that the wisdom of teaching (and learning) involves
downplaying competence and expertise in favour of ideas, invention, and imagination. In
particular, the authors suggest that wisdom is “holding back,” not subscribing to one right
answer, but allowing for “whatever might come up” (p. 455).
Epistemology relates to Teaching as Being indirectly. Epistemology is of more obvious concern
to conventional teaching and learning where it plays two main roles. The first is the “knowledge”
that is the content to be taught by teachers and mastered by students. The second is the
knowledge and practical “know how” of instruction: how to bring the designated content across
best to learners. This includes understanding of instructional method and learning theory. This
second knowledge type is the purview of pedagogy, and is discussed more thoroughly in the next
section. For our purposes, here, the epistemology domain considers both of these forms of
knowledge as discrete knowledge bits, separate from and outside the teacher and student; or, at
best, something they might possess or be able to do.28
In the Teacher as Being, these two forms of knowledge are fundamental parts of being, fully
integrated, internalised; part and parcel of who the teacher is. Thus, it is not what she knows, but
who she is that is of concern. None of this is to suggest that epistemology is unimportant; but,
rather, to highlight that teaching does not necessarily have to be about something “out there,”
distant and abstract. It can be something “in here”: something in and of our core being as
individual teachers, and something in, of, and amongst teachers and students in the classroom.
Epistemology has much to say about what is taught, when, and how. It has much less to offer on
28
Grayson (2004) presents a critique of conventional teaching that treats knowledge and, thus, students, as separate,
leading to, amongst other things, one-way transmission, perpetuation of unproductive classroom dynamics,
relationships, and expectations, and an insidious, if unintended, undermining of higher-order educational objectives.
She distinguishes such traditional “monologic” schooling with “dialogic education,” and presents compelling
evidence that dialogic classrooms produce students who are more engaged, collaborative, discerning, and
exploratory.

ontological and existential concerns of or the human condition in the classroom. The palpable
connection at the level of being amongst those present in the Teaching as Being classroom, for
example, is a quality that epistemology cannot deal with. This rapport can neither be packaged
nor purveyed. Yet, it is undeniable.
Pedagogy. Pedagogy is the science of education, and may be thought of as the art and practice of
teaching. Pedagogy includes and often refers to educational theory, teaching strategies and
approach, and instructional methodologies. As education is concerned with learning, pedagogy
also covers learning theory and aspects of the learner, such as learning styles and developmental
stages. It was once in vogue to distinguish pedagogy from androgogy, a concept popularised by
to Malcolm Knowles in the 1960s.29
Though less seems to be made of it these days, the
distinction was thought important because of differences in the way children and adults learn,
and, thus, how they should be best taught. Many were quick to jump onto the andragogical, or
adult learning, bandwagon, and its emphasis figured prominently in the author’s own education,
doctoral studies in Human Resource Education in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Exposure to
adult learning theory and, more importantly, to professors demonstrating if not embodying
andragogy in practice, undoubtedly influenced the author’s own approach to teaching.
Pedagogy applies widely to Teaching as Being, with the andragogical approach being most
applicable because it is student centred, empowering, and treats students as adults. Andragogical
teachers allow students much latitude in defining what and how they will learn, serving as
facilitators and resource persons. They appreciate that learning is a life-long endeavour, and
work to enhance learners’ capacity to continue learning. They want students to become fulfilled
through learning, instead of wanting to fulfil curriculum requirements. That said, there is
nothing, per se, about pedagogy or andragogy that is or leads to Teaching as Being. Teachers and
students may or may not achieve flow, but it is not the educational approach that makes it
happen. In fact, flow states and the richness of experience and efficacy they permit are generated
outside or beyond instructional method. They cannot be explained by or achieved directly
through adherence to technique. Rather, they are facilitated by “letting go” and allowing. They
are attained through being—a state the awareness of which can be developed and the pathways
learned over time, but not so much taught as a pedagogical content or process.
One reason teachers and administrators work so hard to define curricula and manage instructional
content and method is to reduce risk. There are all types of risks, from losing control to losing
face. No one wants to be seen as failing to meet performance expectations, however they might
be defined. Of course, a second reason is best intentions. Surely everyone involved wants
students to learn as much as possible. It is in everyone’s best interests for in higher education
programs to succeed. But despite all the controls and best efforts to deliver higher education that
matters, criticisms and calls for reform continue (Emiliani, 2004; Waltermaurer and Obach,
2007). According to the critics, higher education tends to be fractured, superficial, and irrelevant.
This is especially true for management education and the MBA30
where practical relevance is
particularly important and visible. Criticisms and calls for reform aside, higher education has
come a long way, and there exist rich programs and laudatory teachers invoking experiential,
29
Note that androgogy (as spelled by Knowles, himself) is more frequently spelled “andragogy” and, hence, from
this point, will be spelled with an “a”. Sources on andragogy / adult education include Brookfield (1986), Knowles
(1990), and Merriam and Caffarella (1991); and more recently Kessels and Poell (2004) and Notten (2002).
30
Dozens of scholarly works reviewed as potential sources for Teaching as Being are grounded with claims of the
inadequacy of management education. Some of the more convincing and that generally support the ideas put
forward here include: Andersen and Rask (2008); Axley and McMahon (2006); Gold and Holman (2001); and
Marsick (1998).

holistic, and transformational models (Grauerholz, 2001; Hays, 2008b; Hutchison and Bosacki,
2000; Marsick, 1998; Torosyan, 2001).
In general, the management classroom that overcomes many of the criticisms and equips students
with relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes:
 Is, first and foremost, active. Students get involved and engaged, physically, mentally, and
emotionally. In a three-hour seminar, for example, students may work in two or three different
groups on various activities related to the theme for the day. Artfully crafted, a teacher need not
lecture at all, but students discover what they need to know through a role-plays, debates,
competitions, and the like.
 Treats students as the adults they are, showing due concern, respect, empathy, and trust.
Appreciates and uses their experience, accommodates and negotiates their objectives, needs, and
expectations.
 Attempts to expose learners to real-world problems and apply proven and accessible problem-
solving and decision-making techniques; the best problems are those students bring to class from
their own life and work.
 Creates (or allows) conditions in the classroom that are real and that represent what learners
are experiencing or may experience outside of the classroom; here students can practice
behaviours and develop skills that will make them more effective inside and outside of the
classroom.
 Promotes self-awareness and understanding of others through dialogue and individual and
shared reflection. Gets students to think more deeply about their own learning and behaviour.
 Encourages students to experiment, invent, and create rather than merely repeat or replicate;
students are encouraged to be bold and different; thus guidelines are minimal.
 Develops collaborative skills and engages students in team projects and group activities;
evaluates students collectively, as opposed to individually. Projects are real and meaningful,
neither contrived nor scripted.
 Places a high level of responsibility on students for significant portions of their learning,
including involvement in planning and/or evaluating course. Students may design and conduct
their own learning activities, teaching and learning from one another.
 Fosters independence, autonomy, initiative, and self-direction. Teacher relinquishes
appreciable amounts of control, allowing students to take more risks and assume more
responsibility.
 Develops awareness and appreciation of complexity and systems; dispels myths and
expectations of simplicity, predictability, and control. May incorporate and integrate widely
diverse theories, approaches, media, and activities to foster a sense of connection and relatedness.
 Accepts and works with the gamut of students’ lives: material and experiences in the
classroom; personal life, social spheres, and extracurricular activities; work and professional
domains; public issues—brings it all into the classroom as the “stuff” of exploration and
discovery.

 Uses holistic approaches and exercises students’ range of learning modalities and preferences.
While not exhaustive, the preceding list of attributes conveys what the modern management
classroom might be like. It need not have all to be progressive and, indeed, readers may disagree
with some of the points or have others they feel are more relevant. But many would agree that
the “teaching tips” are generally useful and feasible at least in part and where used judiciously.
These characteristics are not precise or prescriptive. They don’t say when to do what, or how.
They are general guidelines, aspirations. They are not about skill, particularly, or technique.
They are less about knowing and doing, and more about being: How are teachers and students?
How are they relating to one another? What is the progressive classroom? While not “there,”
yet, this is where pedagogy is headed. The management classroom of the future is alive, vibrant;
not just well-meaning, but rich in meaning.
Eastern Philosophy and Wisdom. The author has been studying and attempting to apply Eastern
philosophies and practices for twenty-five years. What began in youth as martial arts training
(initially Hapkido) has become a life-long quest for deepening understanding and appreciation of
“the way,” as understood in Taoism and “the middle way” in Buddhism. This quest includes
studies in several martial arts, as well as Tai Chi and Qigong; a stay in Tibet with visits to
Buddhist monasteries; the reading of several dozen books on Eastern philosophies and religions,
and a gradual incorporation of their theory and practice in everyday life, scholarly activities of
teaching and writing, and management consulting. With about two thousand five hundred years
of history and development, this short section cannot do justice to the ancient and important
wisdom of the set of Eastern philosophies and religions that include Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, and others. Rather than an awkward attempt to identify and elaborate on core
features of Eastern philosophy, and in keeping with their teachings and those of the existentialists
and phenomenologists, the author will provide a personal, experienced-based interpretation.
The main lesson for me has been and continues to be that there is a truth “out there” and in me—
in each of us—that remains for the most part clouded by our own egos and delusions. Access to
truth or reality is possible for each of us, but takes continual practice and discipline (if not great
effort). “Staying the course” of this practice is what is meant by “the way,” which is attention to
compassion, moderation, and humility. Egocentric and ambitious, the pursuit of each of these
three elements has been a life-long challenge to me. Keeping in mind the middle way—a path
between extremes—serves as a constant reminder to indulge myself neither in self-criticism nor
self-aggrandisement, both which interfere with “seeing things as they are,” including myself.
One area where I’ve made some progress is in my façade, what might be called “impression
management.” I have gradually peeled away layers of identity—the person I want others to see
me as… the protective masks… the things I do, say, or believe that are fabrications—trying to get
to the real me, the essence of who I am. While not there, yet, I have found this process liberating.
I am liking myself more, but in a less egotistical way.
The idea of Nirvana has always appealed to me. Nirvana (unlike Heaven) can be experienced
while still on and of this Earth. Nirvana, which basically means enlightenment or liberation, is
the state of being that we can attain when we have detached ourselves completely from ego,
defences, wanting, and identity. I may never be able to let go entirely, but I value that I am a
work in progress; I am becoming. As a part of becoming, or gradual improvement and progress
along “the way,” reflection has become a central facet of my life. Reflection helps me remain
conscious of what I am and am not doing, to know how well I am keeping to “the way” and
when, why, and how I lose my bearing. My training and studies have all emphasised the

importance of awareness or mindfulness.31
I am much more aware these days of others, my
surroundings, and myself as I encounter and engage the world. Reflection contributes to
mindfulness, and mindfulness provides substance on which to reflect. Liu (2003) goes a step
further, asserting that: “Through reflection on our actions in the world we gain insight into our
core being” (p. 23), a message targeting the heart of Teaching as Being.
Much of my martial arts training and many of the teachings I have heard and read concern force
(as in life force) or energy (Chi or Qi). Whether you believe in God or take a less spiritual view
of cosmology, there is “a flow of the universe” and a force behind the natural order. Human
beings are at their best (most natural) when aligned with the flow and character of nature. You
see this is as the notions of “softness” and yielding in martial arts. The Chinese speak of “wu
wei,” or effortless action, and “pu,” or simplicity and receptiveness. Mastery is not simply or
exclusively a matter of single-mindedness or effort: when you have exhausted yourself trying
hard, you might find that other doors open themselves to you. Or, when you relinquish fixation
on a particular objective or strategy, more important ends may become apparent or more effective
ways of attaining it (them) may reveal themselves. Either your objective or the path you take, or
both, may need changing. For me, and for Teaching as Being, it’s a matter of finding and going
with the flow.
The Complementary Readings section includes a range of texts that address various aspects of
Eastern teachings. Drawn from a growing body of literature that incorporates and applies Eastern
philosophy in Western contexts, the following references are illustrative, interesting, and
relevant: complexity and social systems (Jones and Culliney, 1998); counselling /group process
(Forester-Miller and Gressard, 2004); education (Brady, 2008); leadership (Hinterhuber, 1996;
Korac-Kakabadse, et al, 2002); management development (Shefy and Sadler-Smith, 2006) and
management education (Clawson and Doner, 1996); management theory and practice (Saha,
1992; Weymes, 2004); organisational behaviour (Durlabhji, 2004); organisational wisdom (Hays,
2007); strategic management and ba (Nonaka and Toyama (2007); and virtual team leadership
(Davis, 2004).
Self-Perpetuating Nature of Classroom Dynamics
Being There is neither easy nor automatic. The system as we know it works against Teaching As
Being. Familiar factors, some external and some internal, drive a teacher to demonstrate content
expertise and efficient and economical classroom management and instructional delivery and to
be perceived as being effective and in control. Some of these include rewards for non-teaching
pursuits (research / publication), large class sizes, student expectations and demands, and features
of the learning environment, often perceived as “givens” or limitations. On top of some of the
external and more-concrete factors, the teacher’s own ego plays an influential role in Being
There. The greater the need to be perceived as expert and effective, for instance, the less likely
the teacher can just “be” in the classroom, reducing opportunities for spontaneity, capitalising on
emergent topics and energies, and generally “going with the flow.”
Classrooms and other learning situations have their own moderating influences: they strive to
correct and bring back to baseline aberration. In other words, (if unchecked) they self-perpetuate
the status quo. If, for example, a teacher interested in but inexperienced at and perhaps lacking
confidence in using ideas such as “going with the flow” tentatively attempts unstructured,
31
As an example of the incorporation of meaning and mindfulness in martial arts, Liu (2003) writes that “meaning
requires intentional personal action” and that mindfulness practice or “being intentional in what we do on a moment-
by-moment basis… requires that we be aware of the choices we make—and of the circumstances surrounding these
choices” (pp. 22 – 23).

unscripted lessons or activities, any early indication of failure may cause the teacher to revert to
more familiar and comfortable territory. Students might, for example, complain or choose not
engage. Less directly, feedback after class (first- or second-hand through other students,
colleagues, or even department head) may lead the teacher to discontinue experimentation and
rely on more conventional and acceptable methods.
Both students and teachers contribute to the self-perpetuating dynamics of classrooms.
Overcoming them may require commitment and persistence on the part of the teacher, and
adopting a more open mindset on the part of students. How students may become more open is,
itself, a process of becoming, not unlike the challenges faced by teachers for whom Teaching as
Being is a worthwhile but new endeavour.
Caveats and Considerations
Despite the foregoing, it is not the intent, here, to dismiss or trivialise teaching skill and
technique, instructional methodology or technology, or content expertise. These are all important
and useful components of teaching and learning. They may even be necessary, and at high levels
of proficiency they are most likely sufficient in bringing essential content across to students and
assisting the learning process. Skill and method can be at least efficient and repeatable. As such,
they provide adequate foundation and structure for learning. In many cases, they permit the
content and tools developed by one person to be delivered and used by another. They may be
“taken as givens” or seen as prerequisites to the teaching and learning environment. We might
ask, however, what we potentially forgo in service of economy and simplicity. Even pedagogical
best practice does not provide or reveal the aesthetic beauty of teaching and learning. Models of
efficiency and economy in classroom management and instruction do not foster spirit or
spontaneity, and may even impede flexibility and creativity. It is the teacher’s unique way of
being32
in the classroom and using material and method that gives learning life—that creates
meaningful experience for herself and her students. The “self” that teachers bring to the
classroom is what gives content wings and technology the human touch.
Views of Teaching As Being
The Vignettes. This section presents four vignettes that illustrate alternate and multiple facets of
Teaching As Being, as portrayed in this paper. While any given scenario has many angles, at
least as many as the actors in the story and those observing, four views are presented here of the
same situation, reflecting how “going with the flow” teaching is perceived and experienced by
two sets of participants and / or observers. The first set comprises two teachers, one practicing,
or embodying, Teaching As Being in the classroom (the self), and one (the observer), more
conventional, but known as an exceptional teacher, who has “experienced” the former teaching or
working with students on a number of discrete, if brief, occasions, and who has conversed with
the former, seen his work, and heard from numerous students who have had both instructors as
course convenors and primary lecturers.
The second set consists of two students enrolled in the same course who have very different
“takes” on the teacher and his course. Narratives are a synthesis of remarks from student
reflective learning journals, course evaluations, e-mail correspondence, and discussion inside and
outside of class. van den Berg (2002) effectively used a similar device in his exposition on
32
Dall’Alba (2005) speaks on “transforming and enhancing ways of being university teachers, through integrating
knowing, acting and being” (p.361; emphasis added) and ibid: “…epistemology is not seen as an end in itself, but
rather it is in the service of ontology.” Her notions of knowing and acting (epistemology) and being university
teachers (ontology) are congruent with Teaching as Being.

meaning, juxtaposing two teachers’ views on a teaching and learning innovation to show how
differently the same situation can be interpreted and experienced.
The Context—Course and Scenario. The scenario covers the bulk of one class in a post-
graduate Management and Organisation course. Class sessions run three hours, and typically
have between 15 and 40 students. (An undergraduate version of the course wherein similar
activities are conducted may have up to 100 students.) The author debated whether to showcase
one class and how it was experienced or describe an entire semester. To provide a useful level of
detail and enable practical application of the material, the single class segment was chosen.
Detailing the semester is beyond the scope of this paper and summarising it would be too general
to be of practical utility.
While a segment with “stand alone” features was chosen to illustrate Teaching As Being, it must
be understood that this segment occurs within the larger course. Some contextualisation would
have occurred before this segment: students would have been introduced to the instructor’s
classroom management and general teaching style, as well as to unconventional treatments of
material. There would also be follow-on activities that refer back to this showcased segment or
depend on students having “experienced” the material. There is an implicit expectation that
students will adopt, adapt, and incorporate elements of this type of “lesson,” demonstration of
which is evidenced (as one example) in the class sessions they, themselves, run. All students, in
groups of three to five, are responsible for teaching a chapter or major section of a chapter from
the course text. Groups perform extraordinarily well on this task, with lessons rivalling and
surpassing the instructor’s own in terms of creativity, relevance, variety, novelty, interactivity,
and engagement.
This “lesson” is from the early part of the semester, so students know less what to expect and
react more intensely to the “not knowingness” of the class. As a reminder, the thrust of such
activities is to move students forward carefully and prepare them for even more sophisticated
activities, for which they will be increasingly responsible and that will call upon greater
confidence, skill, and positive and open attitudes, exercising physical, intellectual, and affective
modalities, that is, doing, thinking, and feeling. Laying the foundation and building instruction in
this way is nothing new. What is, perhaps, different is that what is being taught (instructional
objectives) here is not [easily or necessarily] codified and explicit. It does not appear as bullets
on a PowerPoint slide; it is not spelled-out in the text. It cannot be learnt by memorisation, and
does not lend itself to exam. It is, instead, role-modelled by the teacher (and, increasingly, by
students themselves), and experienced, interpreted, and judged by them. They will know they’ve
learnt (or, better, integrated) the material when they, themselves, have designed and delivered
their own “experience,” such as that enabled by the requirement that they teach a class segment
or when they get the chance to run an activity in another course, university or community
function, or at work.
The class is on communications and interpersonal relations (Chapter 17 in the text, one of the last
chapters, but moved to the beginning of the semester because everything the students will be
doing in the course hinges on their communication effectiveness). Communication here is not
about theory or models. Many students actually come with a good theoretical understanding of
communications, having had various courses or parts of courses devoted to the theme; but they
are generally woefully prepared to communicate publicly and are often inept or unable to assert
themselves even in small groups. At the same time there are those who naturally (or culturally)
are more assertive and, thus, come to dominate both large- and small-group discussions, whether
or not they have more to offer. So, Management and Organisations—amongst a host of other
crucial, competing topics—is concerned with communication and its practical applications,

development of communication skills and heightened awareness about communication. The
course is, then, not about communications in the abstract, it is communications. It does not
intellectualise communication; it embodies communication and makes communicators. One of
the practical applications of communication in the course is stakeholder engagement, as students
must determine, design, and implement a community project. They apply what they learn in the
classroom setting in their community project work (and elsewhere), the results of which, then,
become material for further learning and improvement.
Learning objectives for the “communication day” include:
 Heighten awareness of habits that impede and promote
effective communication.
 Develop of a set of communication norms that participants
commit to practicing in the course and the conduct of the
community project.
 Provide opportunity for students to practice communicating
and develop their communication skills, particularly listening
appreciatively and allowing and encouraging others to
speak.
 Accustom participants to interactivity and engagement, and
help them to become comfortable being a part of the
learning process (as opposed to having it done to them as if
passive recipients).
 Introduce (or further explore) the use of metaphor for
learning.
 Reveal that many answers exist within a group already
(they don’t need to be told).
 Have fun; and do things differently.  Give students license to be themselves.
 Set the stage for development of the community project
communication plan.
These objectives may be very much like those readers would set, or quite unlike them. While
providing direction and focus for the lesson, they also permit room to move. They are more on
the order of principles or even values that guide action, rather than specifying it. Objectives may
or may not be given to students, before or after the session, depending on the fundamental
messages (or learnings) the instructor seeks. Many younger or less worldly students feel more
comfortable with something tangible, such as a list of objectives, an outline of the process
employed, or a subsequent summary of the lessons learnt, as if they need “proof” that they have
learned. In addition to any immediate comfort or other benefit, such items can contribute to a
portfolio for students’ future reference.
The Agenda. An overview of “communications day” is shown here.
AGENDA
Warm-Up ~15 mins.
The Traffic Metaphor ~45 mins.
Community project communication planning, and writing of the plan ~100 mins., w/ break
Reflective “Check-In” ~15 mins.
Times are always announced as approximations, stressing that each segment takes as long as it
takes and reassuring students not to worry if times “slip.” Some inevitably do (that is, times slip
and students stress). Almost every class begins with an informal conversation about something
related to the topic of the day or where students are in the project. Sometimes the instructor
shares a reading or a passage from his course reflective journal. Most classes conclude with a
reflection on or critique of the day. This is used to consolidate learning and to position the
following class session. Warm-Ups and Check-Ins during and at the end of class are used to
engage students on a more intimate level and to connect teacher and students. This course, in
particular, is about building community and community is built through personal relationships.

The Traffic Metaphor. The central activity for the communications class is an exercise called
The Traffic Metaphor. The exercise has several steps, all interactive. After a brief stage-setting
introduction, the facilitator calls for “driving behaviours” participants have witnessed or
perpetrated themselves. While no one ever suggests that the driving behaviours identified
(brainstormed) need be bad, illegal, dangerous, or stupid, many of the items people come up with
fall into those categories, making for a lot of fun and laughter. When momentum begins to
dwindle, participants are asked to find analogies from communication episodes (meetings,
encounters, interactions) to the driving behaviours listed (“leadfoot,” changing lanes without
indicating, tailgater, and so on). Many hilarious analogous will be made. The next step is to
develop a “rules of the road” set of norms for communicating. This may be accompanied by a set
of punishments for infractions (like pay the fine bucket, funds to be used for …) and / or rewards
for driving excellence, like the Driving Ace award one team developed to reward exemplars.
Here ends The Traffic metaphor as a lesson, but it can be “debriefed” and elements can be taken
forward into subsequent activities.
Making it Real. Since every class in some way links to the community project, a practical and
real application during communications day involves the students beginning to develop their
project communication and engagement plan, the draft of which must be presented the following
week. With the foregoing context-setting, the following perspectives reveal just how differently
the same situation can be experienced and valued.
The Self Perspective
I feel really good about class today. Time flew for me. Sometimes we start out a bit slow as we
feel our way into day, and let topics and energies reveal themselves. This is a fairly reliable
process as much of what students are experiencing in class or in the community project can be
related to the theme for the day. I knew, for example, that students would connect their
experiences interviewing students and faculty with the lessons of The Traffic Metaphor. There’re
always ways to reinforce and illustrate relevant points arising in dialogue. It helps to know
beforehand what the important points are—they come out. But you don’t have to be particularly
pedantic or meticulous about the points or how they’ll be made. They’re more natural when they
just flow out of activities and conversations.
I had a tentative agenda drawn up for the day, beginning with the typical opening check-in.
The “check-ins” almost always are worthwhile. They provide a transition “space” for both me
and the students, a “settling in” period. But, sometimes, the mood is sedate and contemplative,
and if we don’t then do something very interactive and exciting there is a risk that the whole
session will be lower in energy—this feels unproductive and the sessions drag. But that wasn’t
the case today. I skipped the check-in and launched right into The Traffic Metaphor. As usual,
students loved it and, also predictably, it didn’t go exactly like any other time: every group
brings a new experience to the exercise, as well as different “driving behaviours” and new
analogies.
Characteristically, the group struggled… or lost momentum at the juncture where the “rules of
the road” were met. They tried really hard, but it was a challenge to come up with meaningful
norms and ways to reinforce the communication rules of the road. Someone’s idea to send
people to “drivers education” classes was inspired, as was the brief discussion of on what the
classes might consist. We didn’t get to the point of clear and enforceable norms this time, a
problem I’ve had before. I might follow up with a short handout presenting some guidelines. It
was clear, however, that students took much of the exercise “on board,” as they employed
effective communication principles throughout the remainder of the class, including coaching one

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