Gert Biesta

Keynote by Gert Biesta

How to prepare for the incalculable?
On teacherly artistry, absolute beginnings, and the role of rehearsal.

Teaching is a situated art. Despite all the pressure to make teaching into an evidence-based profession in which teachers are supposed to follow research-based scripts, nothing works in the classroom if teachers are not sensitive to the situation in front of them and are able to make good education out of what is there. On the one hand this raises questions about the qualities that are needed for teachers to be responsive professionals. On the other hand, this raises questions about how future teachers can be prepared for and can prepare themselves for the encounter with always new and unique situations. Using a phrase from Jacques Derrida, who speaks about the paradox of preparing for what is incalculable, I will explore this tension, paying particular attention to the role of rehearsal in working on one’s own teacherly artistry.

About Gert Biesta
Biesta is a prominent Dutch educational theorist and philosopher known for his influential contributions to the fields of education, philosophy of education, and educational research.  He is currently Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh.  He has been affiliated to several universities around the world.  Biesta is one of the most important voices in the international pedagogical discourse and he has made significant contributions to the understanding of educational purposes, pedagogy, and the role of education in society.  Biesta is also a member of the international advisory board for the ReTPro-project.