It was a quick note and not well explained, but you have caught me in the middle of adapting the model -- work in progress. I don't actually use the word 'group'. The way I am adapting the model, is to think of the 'community' category as a way to capture the next level up in the hierarchy, and hence the next level of analysis. The hierarchy is the way we, who are within the system, characterize the organization of our institution, for example the level of accountability. So for example, a course is taught here within a program (or 'division'), so the triangle represents more or less well, the system of the course (I'm refering to a particular section -- not the generically designed 'course', but one taking one semester and enacted by an ensemble of students and an instructor). A triangle may represent one section of the science course in the elementary program.
'community' within that triangle captures how that course is woven into the next level up the hierarchy, i.e the program in which the course is taught. An instance of this level is the elementary education program. A second triangle represents the program, and in turn its community category capturing the next level up on the hierarchy of the school, i.e school of education. The Sch. of Ed. is related in turn, through community in its triangle to the university. The model is iterative and it scales.
Community as I have begun to apply it, can be thought to be fairly broad at any level, and indeed, for any course, there is sometimes a group of instructors who irregularly meet, (subject category in the triangle the next level up) and who could be considered part of the program 'community' for any instance of teaching the course. But the instructors do meet irregularly, and, it is plausible that using an adaptation of Barker's interdependence rating that they do not contribute as heavily to shaping any instance of teaching a course as do other aspects of the 'community'-become-activity-system of the program. But keeping 'community' more or less confined to those within the university, school, program for each of their embedded levels, keeps the analysis fairly neat. And it is after all a model, just a model, to capture the complexity and interrelatedness, and non-linearity of cause and effect within the institution. What I mean by 'more or less' is that we must address state mandates for teacher competencies, and so the state, outside the university, contributes to 'rules'. An exception to a clean model.
bb
>Bill, what criteria did you use to judge some group to be a community? I
>assume, in asking this, that not all groups or collectives are communities.
>Is that a valid assumption?
>
>djc
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bill Barowy [mailto:wbarowy@mail.lesley.edu]
>Sent: Friday, May 11, 2001 12:29 PM
>To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>Subject: LBE and 'community' category
>
>
>Just a quick comment, Don, about the category 'community' and the triangle.
> I'll be doing a presentation in DC at the end of the month about the
>systemic changes at LU that would coincide with the adoption of computer
>modeling practices here (for a DoE grant). The 'model' I'll be using is
>the triangle, and 'community' allows the analysis of one triangle being
>embedded within another,
>
>i.e. classroom->program->school->university
>
>in what might look rather fractal in form, if drawn completely. It is not
>the only way to break out triangles hierarchically. For example lbe chpat
>2 breaks them out differently into 'subject producing', 'artifact
>producing' and so on. But the one i have chosen captures well the
>hierarchical organizaiton of the university, and provides a way to
>understand the points of friction and leverage within a large institution
>that is durable in many ways. (If not the institution, then at least the
>model is pliable.)
>
>Basically a small team of us have adopted this model to help us think
>through what strategies will be proactive and effective within our
>university setting.
>
>bb
>
>Bill Barowy, Associate Professor,
>Lesley University, 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790
>Phone: 617-349-8168 / Fax: 617-349-8169
>http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/wbarowy/Barowy.html
-- Bill Barowy, Associate Professor Lesley University 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790 Phone: 617-349-8168 / Fax: 617-349-8169 http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/wbarowy/Barowy.html _______________________ "One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful." [Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]
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