Teaching Perspective. 'Post-modern Thought

Shortcomings are becoming increasingly apparent in modern instruction, which is characteristic of monologue, including too much emphasis on knowledge transference, over-protruding of teacher's subjectivity, over-certainty of instruction contents and over-emphasis on instruction procedures. These shortcomings are closely related with linear and closed modernism mode of thinking popular since Newton and Descartes. This dissertation will review instruction in a view of new mode of thinking represented by postmodernism. Postmodernism, with equality and tolerance as its spiritual core, emphasizing non-center, difference, uncertainty and inconsistence, proposing multiplicity of significance and value, caring for the marginal and the vulnerable, will profoundly influence instruction and facilitate a series of changes in instruction ideas, practices and researches.As far as instruction ideas are concerned, they will undergo the following changes in the perspective of postmodernism. Firstly, influenced by Descartes' linear mode of thinking, modern instruction is regarded as a simple, definite and controllable activity. But in the perspective of postmodernism, the unavoidable complexity of "person to person" life system and multiplicity of significance determine the uncertainties of instruction, and the modern instruction ideas ignore or suppress these factors deliberately. Therefore, instruction should get back to its complexity, represented as uncertainty, non-linear cause and effect relations and irreversibility. Secondly, in modem instruction, cognitive activity, as an importance part of instruction, is often regarded as an one-dimensional and linear process in which objective and definite knowledge is transferred from teacher to students. While in the perspective of postmodernism, with postmodern transformation of knowledge conception, that is, with the objectivity, universality and value neutrality of knowledge replaced by its natures of culture, context and value, this activity will become a process of knowledge construction based on dialogues between teacher and students. During this process, knowledge not only can be found, but also should be produced and created. Lastly, in modem instruction, teachers often act as craftsmen of instruction with certain knowledge and instruction skills, and mainly responsible for knowledge transference and related management affairs. However, in the perspective of postmodernism, with the volatility of instruction and changes of knowledge condition, teachers will become creators and developers with practical wisdom. They will skillfully and wisely deal with instruction affairs, influence students spiritually, and at the same time, pursue self-completeness.As for instruction practice, in the perspective of postmodernism, it will keep open to all the people's real life and potential creativity. It will make itself much closer to reality but away from systemization and symbolization by putting into serious consideration interference factors called noise by modern instruction such as unrelated factors of problems, accidental events in class and students' affection and experience and so on. Concretely speaking, 1) Emphasis on inter-subjectivity enables both teachers and students to become closely related instruction subjects. The relationship between teacher and students changes from the relation of I-He to that of I-You. 2) The content of instruction will return to life world from science world in a style of openness and evolvement. This returning on one side provides students with complex and open problems of the real life world, on the other side, no longer only emphasizes indirect experience but begins to emphasize the dynamic balance between indirect and direct experiences. 3) Instruction practice, in the perspective of postmodernism, will encourage students to creatively interpret instruction texts by creating relaxed class atmosphere, making flexible instruction plan, allowing students express themselves freely and providing opportunities of reading creatively etc. 4)...