Tan: Variation Theory

Variation theory is (my definition) of way of explaining phenomena what looks at the variation within rather the differences between
ex- teach less, learn more

Politics of discourse- struggle over meaning.  This related to the politics of policy making and the importance of language.

Ways phenomenon can be experienced:

• Theoretical aspect- conceptual in nature
• Analytical aspect- looking for exactness in answer
• slightly annoyed with this definition because I hate when a word in the phrase (analytical) is used over and over again in the definition- it's not very helpful 
• Pedagogical aspect- why and how people experience the phenomenon differently

Teach less, learn more cam from a Singapore educational initiative.  It came about as a vision for the country's learning environments.  I think a good analogy provided by Tan is that of switching from quantity to quality.  Instead of spending more time being taught, the time spent in the classroom should be at a higher level.  With this philosophy, there would need to be both qualitative and quantitative measures to see if it is successful, and Tan argues that it is "impossible, if not illogical" (100).  I'm not sure if I agree- I think using both types of measures are important.  It makes the research regarding the philosophy more subjective (agreed- objective measures would be better), but it doesn't mean that evaluating this philosophy in action is illogical.

Later in the article, Tan discusses that variation theory can explain how each teacher will teach a phenomenon differently and in one class how each student will understand and be influenced by their teacher differently.

I tried to summarize the article as best I could, but I am a little confused by its overall messaging.  I'm looking forward to class to help explain it!