Learning by Making and Philotekhne as an Idea of Bildung
Matti Vesa Volanen, University of Jyvaskyla, FINLAND
Over and above theory and praxis, Being and Doing, we have a third tradition of learning, the tradition of poiesis, Making. We can understand the way in which the content, the material of learning, is shaped into concepts in a particular context as a process of making, of producing not only a new conceptualised content within a context but also the space of learning itself. This is a learning space based on getting the feel of and responding to the material of learning, the content, making sense of it. This is the main idea of Bildung as philotekhne. It is a space of learning at the very heart of craftsmanship. What is more, the tradition of craftsmanship enables us to create a new horizon of learning: Every work situation is something that we ourselves constitute. We learn by producing a given content by using concepts in a context. The constitutive moment of expertise comes about not within the thin space of theory/praxis (crossing between concepts/contexts) but within the fat space of theory/praxis/poiesis where we are faced with the three always open questions that emerge at the very instant of making: How are things (theory, Being)? How should they work to be good (praxis, Doing)? How to make them real according the rules of beauty (poiesis, Making)? Using craftwork as a methodological mirror, which brings us face to face with epistemological, ethical and aesthetic challenges, enables us to analyse and construct the curriculum of vocational education as a question of Bildung and philotekhne.