References

The Star & Ladder

Model
The Star

Fritz, C. (n.d.). The

Theory of Paolo Freire.
Retrieved December
3, 2015.

Boyd, G. M. (2004).
Conversation theory.
In D. H. Jonassen
(Ed.), Handbook of
research on
educational
communications and
technology (2nd ed.,
pp. 179-197).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.

In
teaching
subjects
within
the
humanities, such as literature, history,
and social sciences, problem-solving
through discussion seems to produce
the best results for students to
comprehend new material and explore
problems in a more in-depth manner.
The Star signifies this strategy well, as
we shall see, yet this strategy is mainly
enhanced through the image of the
Ladder. Each point represents a student
in the discussion group, in which each
student teaches the others, sharing the
responsibility of learner and teacher
interchangeably.
The Ladder
Within the discussion each individual
learner has an equal opportunity to
teach others within the group. Breaking
down this framework between each of
the students shows that the Ladder
gives a more in-depth strategy for
analysis of problem solving. Imagine two
students in the group are the sides of
the ladder and the discussion through
conversation are the rungs. One student
may present the problem to the other
students, and, in response, the other
students may question the problem
further through questions like why?
and how?. Questions like these
enhance the discussion and progress the

Star &
Ladder
Expanding the Path to Knowledge
through Inquiry, Perseverance, and
Perspective.

Inspiration for the Star

& Ladder Model

Gordon Pask

Paolo Friere

Born on June 28 1928 in Derby, UK, Dr.

Gordon Pask contributed much to the study
of cybernetics and educational theories.
Considerably useful for teachers are his
contributions through conversation theory.
This theory explains how individuals use
discussion through conversation as a
problem solving technique. It is the basis in
the construction of the Ladder model. The
students use analytics within conversation
to progress up the rungs of the ladder
towards a deeper knowledge of the
material.

Born in Brazil in 1921, Dr. Paolo Freires

work on the human consciousness and
social culture has contributed much to
modern educational theories. Undoubtedly
his best work comes from his book
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, a work which
details how education has been performed
for years, but must be reformed. One such
opinion was the idea that teachers treated
students like objects which to be filled with
knowledge
on
a
particular
subject.
However, Freire believed that students
were independent subjects, not objects,
who could transcend the social boundaries
within education.
Yet, the particular inspiration for this
learning model, specifically the Star, is
Freires theories concerning dialogues
between learners and teachers. In Freires
view, there is equity between the learners
in which no one is particularly an expert on
the subject, not necessarily even the leader
of the discussion group. Equity among the
different points gives the students a
freedom to add their personal perspective
to the discussion of many topics.