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There were many quotes that stuck out to me about this essay, but the one that hit me the most was the following:

"What is required is a paradigm that... acknowledges the inevitable interaction between knower and known, and... respects the equally inevitable gap between theory and phenomenon" (quoting Keller, 11). The inevitable gap between theory and phenomenon... I take this to mean that there are differences between theories that are developed mathematically, scientifically, or philosophically, and phenomenon that are developed socially by exploring within the classroom. I am wondering exactly what the author meant by these two terms - theory and phenomenon. Which one is the less accurate, if any?

"The action of the knower alters what we know." This is the foundation for McIntosh's phase 5 theory, and it validates her theory for me with its philosophical logic. It allows the educator to take facts for what they are... created and altered by the student, or the knower. If everyone is a knower, there should be no hierarchy between teachers and students in terms of exploring knowledge. And since there is no such thing as a "fact," even in science when teaching a transdisciplined class, that allows the knowledge to become even more free-flowing.

I really enjoyed the essay included from the student in this article. It did, however, make me wish that we would have had an exclusively creative writing assignment in which we could further explore the inner workings of our own minds in a way that is not only theory-based. The student's essay had a linear flow to it that will probably stick with the reader in a more meaningful way than my highly theory-based thesis on politics in Russia. I think it would be really great for the next set of students who take this class to be assigned something like the essay that was included in this article.