Pedagogy of Dialogic Communication: Becoming Aware of Our Unconscious Beliefs
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2025
Publication Title
International Journal of Transformative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Abstract
Norms of the classroom limit our learning about ourselves. Hidden scripts guide our behavior. Beliefs we are unaware of are often behind our responses to ideas. Unconscious beliefs are connected to our immediate, spontaneous responses, referred to as intuitions in social intuitionist theory. Intuition is what we believe and can access at high speed without being aware of what we believe, without being aware of our reasons for believing it, and without knowing how we came to this belief or how we access it in memory. We experience intuitions as knowing something all at once. We know what we like, what we agree with, and the meaning of something all at once. We often know how we feel about something in a flash. The classroom is a place where we not only do not openly explore our intuitions, emotions, or who we are, but also a place where we ought not to deal with emotions or ourselves, and a place where we ought not to challenge one another’s beliefs. These are norms of classroom communication. We confuse disagreeing with others’ beliefs with disrespect. This paper argues that our beliefs are who we are and that learning who we are is best accomplished in dialogue that includes discussing our strong beliefs and challenging others’ beliefs. If we rule out expressing emotions, conflict, and deep beliefs in the classroom, we go a long way toward killing learning at its best: learning about ourselves.
Recommended Citation
Shedletsky, Lenny PhD, "Pedagogy of Dialogic Communication: Becoming Aware of Our Unconscious Beliefs" (2025). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 126.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/usm-faculty-and-staff-scholarship/126
