To receive
a presentation from Jennie Downs on Cynefin and spiritual development in the
Humanities area.
Minutes:
The item was presented by Jennie Downes (Post-graduate
Student) on Translating the Untranslatable. The presentation was an exploration
of how to shed light on spiritual development in the Humanities Area of
Learning through the Cynefin lens, with a particular focus on learning within
Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE).
During the presentation, the following main headings
were discussed:
·
An introduction to and brief background of the
research into Cynefin.
·
A look at Welsh legislation and the Curriculum for
Wales.
·
Trying to understand the question: How can learners
(Progression Steps 1 to 3), through engagement with Cynefin, be supported to
respond to the spiritual element in their learning within RVE?
·
Scope of the research on Cynefin.
·
Applying Cynefin in curricular practice.
·
More in-depth research focusing on the Welsh Bible.
·
Further research into the curriculum review and global
context.
·
Spirituality and Religion, Values and Ethics.
·
The Global Focus within the Curriculum for Wales.
To close, the following findings were taken from the
research:
·
The need for a 'safe' learning environment to be able
to explore the challenging concepts of RVE, whilst acknowledging and valuing
spiritual progression.
·
That the Welsh Bible and its translations could be
used as an authentic context for learning across the curriculum in Wales.
·
That it was important to develop a culture of
acknowledging and valuing the emerging practices in RVE.
·
That further research was needed on the narrative and
Cynefin, which would be explored during the next stage of the research.
She was thanked for the presentation.
A question was asked as to how best the findings of
the research could be shared with schools and how to convert the research into resources for teaching the curriculum. In
response, it was noted that the Bible Society had created a small resource
based on the research focusing on local history, which was a positive starting
point. It was noted that there would be an opportunity to share the
presentation with schools and that she was happy to do so personally.
The importance of ensuring that schools explored their own history and local
stories when discussing Cynefin and the research was emphasised. It was noted
that Dr Gareth Evans-Jones at Bangor University had presented the research
within the University, and that the next steps involved publishing the research
in a journal in November.
A question was raised about whether the tension
between the concept of being connected to a place and being over-connected had
been explored in the research and, if not, whether any other research was known
to have explored this area. In response, a personal interest was expressed in
stories and narratives and the way that they are passed down from one
generation to the next and from one culture to the other. She noted that she
intended to carry out further research into this area.
Given that the original New Testament had been written
in Greek, not Aramaic, a question was asked as to what impact this had had. In
response, it was noted that William Morgan had worked from the original Greek
scriptures, not from the Aramaic translation. An opinion was expressed that
William Morgan's work was incredible, and that the Welsh translation of the
Bible had a much deeper meaning as a result.
It was noted that there was a need to distinguish
between different translations of the Bible - those that tried to keep to an
authentic translation and those that attempted a commentary by paraphrasing the
text. It was further noted that there were probably differences in how the same
meaning was conveyed between the Welsh Bible and English Bible. It was noted
that studying this within the context of RE was extremely interesting and a
valuable lesson for learners.
It was noted that the presentation had been extremely
interesting. It was noted that the hope was to integrate this research on
Cynefin into schools' lessons on the 'bro' (community) theme.
It was decided that a copy of the presentation by
Jennie Downes would be sent to RVE/RE teachers in Gwynedd.