1

I have looked up the word decanter in several dictionaries to find a meaning that matches its use in the sentence below, but I failed.

In a problem-based learning setting, teachers need to decanter their roles as the source of knowledge by consciously refraining from giving only right-wrong answers.

Can anyone help me, please?

Improve this question
10
  • 9
    I think this is a typo for the "decenter", a word which has recently become very chic in academic circles.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 20:43
  • 4
    I can think of several teachers who would rather be decanting than decentering!
    – WS2
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 21:16
  • 1
    decentre for those of us across the pond :o)
    – ne1410s
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 21:26
  • 1
    Or more decent, @ne1410s, for those of us who prefer the compound comparative ;).
    – Brian Donovan
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 21:27
  • 1
    Yes, it seems like "decanting" is exactly what they want to avoid -- the "pouring" of "knowledge" into kids' brains without accompanying comprehension.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 1:46

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

I take this to be a typo for decenter—that is, for the loathsome but (alas) grammatical verb = "de-center", not the ungrammatical but at least tolerable comparative adjective, "decent-er".

I post this as a community wiki to encourage further explanation by anyone who both understands this faddish use and is not nauseated by it.

Improve this answer
1
  • I do find decenter faddish, even awkward as used, but thankfully not quite nausea-inducing. Nice work on figuring out it was a typo/spell check word substitution issue!
    – Developer63
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 21:50

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .