If you get a chance, you should give a look to Rebecca Cox's "The College Fear Factor", if you haven't already. Her treatise is informed largely by Freire's work, but applied to North American/Western education, particularly undergraduate work as pertaining to required/general education courses where the students are assigned, rather than choosing to be there on their own. It explores the "get it over" mentality that pervades the student body, and the difficulty in implementing Freire's "problem posing"/Socratic methodology with students who don't want to be there.
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exactly. I've lived that perspective; I'm looking for inquiring learners to talk with.
I've had the same problem in my own classes, it feels like pulling teeth so much of the time. The only engagement I've seen is when I allow them agency in their learning, getting to pick their own topics and readings. Even if it's from a pre-approved list, it's still their choice, and they'll be a little more invested in the outcome.
yes, that's semi-effective (nothing's perfect!)
Do you have them critique each other's work?
Oh definitely, once they have rough drafts and have been instructed in how to do constructive peer review.
so that's an opportunity for them, great!