Silence as a pedagogical issue: heuristic perspectives

Abstract

The article is aimed to specify the concept of ‘silence’ from the viewpoint of pedagogy based on literature sources analysis, to reveal methodological foundations for designing the didactics of silence, its content, forms and methods. The role and place of silence in learning are examined based on a synthesis of extensive cultural, historical, philosophical and pedagogical experiences. Pedagogical silence is considered in two ways: silence as a stage when there is nothing to say and silence as a competence where the student ‘reveals’ himself – meanings, goals, his mission – and creates his own knowledge. Special attention is given to the relationship among silence, ‘interrogation’ and heuristics. Speaking and silence reflect two fundamental ways of existence of a human being – their expansion outside and their deepening inward both having two basic views on the nature of the world and man in it. That involves the differences in the atomistic and wave nature of consciousness, thinking, and language characteristic of civilisations of the Western and Eastern cultural types. A philosophical and methodological basis for silence in learning based on a heuristic dialogue has been drawn up. The author conducted a comprehensive analysis and summed up the experience in the field of studying the topic of silence to present a holistic view of the main components of didactics of silence: goals, content, methods, and assessment criteria. The scholar also elaborated a methodology, technology, tasks, assessment criteria and structure of the lesson content using silence methods. The author found that silence competency correlates with questioning competency.