Wands or Quills? Lessons in Pedagogy from Harry Potter

College English Association. Web site: http://www.cea-web.org

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17

Literature; Books; Fiction; Teaching Styles; Teaching Methods; Experiential Learning; Problem Solving; Rote Learning; Cooperative Learning; Competition; Active Learning; Educational Environment; Critical Thinking; Fantasy

0007-8034

This essay is grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning and will focus specifically on the ways in which the Harry Potter books highlight the diversity of learning and teaching styles; privilege active experiential learning and problem solving over passive rote learning; and emphasize the benefits of collaboration over competition. Through analysis of the teaching styles and pedagogy of Professors Binns, Umbridge, Snape, Lupin, and Sprout, I illustrate that a pedagogical approach such as active learning is only successful when coupled with a supportive, non-threatening, cooperative learning environment in which critical thinking and risk-taking are encouraged and rewarded.

As Provided

19

2016

EJ1087198