In my reflection work with my students I tend towards the critical,
challenging institutionalized positionings of teachers and learners, of
parents and children, etc. Assumptions are challenged in the work we do.
Including assumptions about and rigid notions of a more 'knowledgeable'
other.
It opens up opportunities to mess with understandings of the zpd and to
engage in conversations about scaffolding versus mediation.
In some of the product oriented work, like the assessment project, it
allows my students not only to engage in interesting conversations about
policy, politics, accountability measures, etc and how it impacts on our
understandings of children learning to read. In this project, requested
by the Title teacher of a school, I hope my students will come to see
how our grassroots efforts can address the inadequacies of the 'system'.
Revealing the limitations of accountability with regard to its impact on
teaching, as well, is what I see emerging in our Readers Theatre Club.
Many of my students believe they live in a homogenous world where
everyone has equal opportunity and that such things as the Aryan Nations
are in the past and best ignored or slavery is in the past and
irrelevant to Idaho. Learning to break through the veneer of
appearances, developing a critical lens on multiple
levels...incorporating theory in a meaningful and practical way rather
than a text book understanding... these are some of my goals.
~em
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
On Behalf Of Peter Smagorinsky
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 2:08 PM
To: 'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'
Subject: RE: [xmca] The national context for education funding in the US
I realize that service-learning has gotten a bad rap, which doesn't mean
that it can't be carried out with intellectual rigor. My sense from
being in
a Fellows group on my campus is that serious s-l education is designed
both
to serve the community and to challenge students intellectually, and
ideally
to promote conceptual change regarding issues such as poverty,
immigration,
etc. If it's a research site (like 5D and ultimately, I hope, like my
course), it could also provide a Hawthorne effect that could enhance the
experience.
I'm fairly comfortable with the term service-learning. The hyphen,
incidentally, is less a grammatical touch than a sign of the connection
between the two terms and constructs. And so while service comes first,
and
while courses no doubt don't eradicate poverty etc., s-l courses can
help
feed hungry people (my colleague's course does this) and help kids
graduate
(my course does this), and so they help chip away at larger problems. In
my
case, I developed the course because most students who enter our teacher
ed
program come from the honors/AP track of their high school and never met
the
kinds of kids they mentor/tutor in the alternative school; and yet their
careers will undoubtedly begin with assignments to teach middle and low
track students. So it was set up as a learning experience for my
students in
which, in conjunction with book club readings and discussions in class,
they
learn about populations with whom they have had little contact and
develop a
personal relationship with one kid from such a background, then put the
experience and the readings/discussions in dialogue in order to write a
case
study. The book clubs are also designed to model a pedagogy that lies
outside the repertoires of most of my students, who have been lectured
to
for most of their education, and suggest to them that alternatives are
available.
I was supposed to present something on this site at AERA but have no
travel
money left, and so have had to cancel my trip. This is the first year
I've
offered the course and so the syllabus will get revised in light of some
realities that have come into play this semester (e.g., what to do when
a
mentoring relationship is undermined by the student's unannounced
absences).
But I think it's going well.....only the course evaluations know for
sure. p
Peter Smagorinsky
Professor of English Education and Program Chair
The University of Georgia
125 Aderhold Hall
Athens, GA 30602
smago@uga.edu/phone:706-542-4507
http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/faculty/smagorinsky/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
On
Behalf Of Mike Cole
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 2:19 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] The national context for education funding in the US
What bothers me about the term, service learning, Peter, is that it
implies
no serious
intellectual engagement related to the critical, scholarly activities at
the
university.
While we still run a 5thD course of the kind described, it is by no
means
restricted to education
or psych majors. Majors from all over the map participate.
And we also are engaged in an entirely different sort collaboration
with a
learning center at a HUD housing
project. The range of joint activities is vast, as are the serious life
problems facing all residents, so it provides
a marvelous canvas upon which students can explore the relationship
between
their own life paths and the
conditions of life of people in very different circumstances.
I gather, Peter, that your experience is like mine: There is a serious,
positive, improvement of a generalized sort
in the further education of the undergrads. There are also some nice
outcomes, sometimes, for people in the
community, but it is a little difficult to erase poverty, sexism, and
rascism by this means. But since the question
Jay posed was about improving higher ed, and since these kinds of
efforts
are in perfect allignment with the
policies of the present administration in Washington (for the moment)
this
line of action seems timely.
Thanks for the links.
mike
On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 10:44 AM, Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu>
wrote:
Hmmmm, this sounds remarkably like the way the 5th Dimension
experience at
UCSD works.
I know that others attempt similar ways to integrate student work into
communities, a.k.a. "service-learning" in US contexts. I'm teaching
such a
course this semester (see
http://www.coe.uga.edu/~smago/SL/SLSyllabus.htm<http://www.coe.uga.edu/%7Esmago/SL/SLSyllabus.htm>
<http://www.coe.uga.edu/%
7Esm <http://www.coe.uga.edu/%%0A7Esm>
ago/SL/SLSyllabus.htm>
for the syllabus), which I developed through a grant from UGA's Office
of
Service-Learning. One of my friends from the Fellows has a great
project
described at http://www.uga.edu/columns/070910/news-urbanfood.html.
These
efforts can also serve as great research sites and thus combine
teaching,
research, and service into one project. They also provide students
with
important experiences and close the town/gown gap by serving community
members in need. p
Peter Smagorinsky
Professor of English Education and Program Chair
The University of Georgia
125 Aderhold Hall
Athens, GA 30602
smago@uga.edu/phone:706-542-4507
http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/faculty/smagorinsky/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
On
Behalf Of Mike Cole
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 12:02 PM
To: Jay Lemke
Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] The national context for education funding in the
US
My answer to your last question, Jay.
Make participation in real world settings, linked to relevant academic
work
including reading and writing, mandatory for all students attending
any
college or
university. Use money to do this mainly to support grad student
supervisors
who themselves are gathered into groups supervised by senior
professors as
one
of their courses.
All evidence is that such practices improve student commitment to more
serious study at the university, increase the intellectual and social
capital of those with whom
they work, and increase understanding of social justice issues among
more
privileged students, e.g., those who can afford to attend a
university.
mike
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