7:2 - Dialectic

When & Where: To be honest, I have been comparing/contrasting my experiences as an education major at SUNY Oswego to my experiences at Nazareth lately. I have been reading through some of the articles one of my professors at Oswego has published in order to refresh my memory. One of the words that came up in the article I looked at today was 'dialectical.'

Definition: According to merriam-webster.com, dialectic means,  "any systematic reasoning, exposition, or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usually seeks to resolve their conflict."

Level of Familiarity: I knew that dialect means a certain way of speaking, so I thought it might have something to do with having a conversation. I knew from the context of the article that three distinct and conflicting ideas were being compared. But that is as far as I got with understanding that word before I looked it up in the dictionary.

Reflective Commentary: In the article in which I discovered this word, the author specifically made a reference to research that argues there are three models of reading (cognitive, expressivist, and sociocultural) which occur in a dialectical relationship. Many contradictory ideas that exist within education in general have to be reconciled for progress to occur. It is important to understand the relationship between competing philosophies so that we may synthesize information in order to form new conclusions and ultimately, to better support our students.