[Xmca-l] Re: Non-academic book learning theory for labor educators

[HENRY SHONERD]

Hi Helen,
Bravo! I would be interested in your pages from Vygotsky, for sure, though I don’t know if that entitles me to a desk copy. In my simplistic understanding of it, I have thought that the classroom is not the only learning environment, by far, and have thought that scaffolding and the ZPD is a great way to establish commonalities across learning environments. I have heard that corporations spend billions on in-house training. Also, I have read sporadically about how model ways of organizing manufacturing get down "on the floor". The current thread on software for work flow of academics has promos that emphasize PROJECTS, which connects to the book that Andy has edited on Collaborative Projects. All seems to connect.
Henry
   
> On Feb 5, 2015, at 2:59 PM, C Barker <C.Barker@mmu.ac.uk> wrote:
> 
> Congratulations  Helena!
> 
> ______________________________
> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] on behalf of Helena Worthen [helenaworthen@gmail.com]
> Sent: 05 February 2015 18:18
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Cc: xmca-l@ucsd.edu
> Subject: [Xmca-l]  Non-academic book learning theory for labor educators
> 
> Hello -
> 
> I've just found out that my book, "What Did You Learn at Work Today? The Forbidden Lessons of Labor Education," was awarded the Best Book related to labor education prize for 2014 by the United Association for Labor Education, my professional association. With this in hand, evidence that I am not completely nuts about trying to bring learning theory into classes where nurses and postal workers are trying to learn how to organize to protect and improve their jobs, I want to turn back to my long time friends on XMCA to see if I can get a reaction from someone on this list.
> 
> My primary audience is other labor educators, who tend to come from political science and sociology, not education. But my secondary and perhaps more important audience is teacher trainers, who are being required to feed their students into the grinder of standardized testing, private charter schools an, in higher ed, student learning outcomes and who need to know that there is a theoretical framework out there that provides and alternative. The third audience would be any young kid who is trying to work at a bad job, while going to school and accumulate debt, who wonders if they are wasting their time and not learning anything.
> 
> It's not an academic book and is short on references and footnotes, although I leave trail markers about how to get to richer stuff if the reader is interested. I try to explain what Vygotsky gave us in a couple of short pages. It's written at a level to be "readable," and it seems to have enough stories in it to pull the reader along.
> 
> If someone wants a free copy, perhaps to review (if  you like it; not everyone will), I'll get my publisher to send you one.
> 
> Thanks -- Helena
> 
> 
> Helena Worthen
> helenaworthen@gmail.com
> hworthen@illinois.edu
> 21 San Mateo Road
> Berkeley, CA 94707
> 510-828-2745
> 
> 
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