Last week we had a great discussion about whether we ought to spend our time on theories relevant to education and social change or if we should be putting our theories into action as part of this class. Pleas provide some discussion about what you thought of the discussion and whether you would prefer to focus on learning theory in a more nearly traditional manner or, conversely, if you want to work on some sort of action project.
Note: there is no reason why the two are entirely mutually exclusive, it could simply be more about where we put our emphasis...
I'm game with whatever, though I lean more toward action research/service learning approaches with the caveat that I work full-time teaching in Chesterfield, so my availability would be limited to weekends. That might prove to be a challenge for any efforts tied too closely to the Monday-Friday, 9-5 world.
ReplyDeleteIn thinking about the purpose of the class as it relates to providing a theoretical foundation in education and raising questions about how thought and action can best be conceptualized, I can see how both options are not mutually exclusive. However, I personally prefer to focus on learning theory in a more “traditional” manner. The reason is that class discussions and readings help me develop ideas about schooling and how curriculum can be designed according each theoretical framework. I also feel I need to have at least a basic understanding of major theoretical orientations in curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThis will allow me to make an informed decision about the theoretical framework for my project. Considering the purpose of the class and its time limits, I am not sure I can successfully complete a project that can make a difference. I hope this helps.
I love the idea of an action project though I'm also concerned about the time commitments. Would it be possible to use our class time to work on a project that would still deliver the impact we intend? What are some ideas that could blend traditional learning with an action project that we could invest in during class time?
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the idea of a service project, and though I can't really see what that might be, I am open to suggestions. Echoing Pete's comment; I work full time so I'm not sure how much time I could commit to activities outside of class time. I also echo Moe's feelings about the readings and class discussions. Many of these things I would not read on my own, even though I know I probably should. Also, I have an idea that I am interested in pursuing for my final project that I am floating as a precursor to my dissertation and I would like to pursue that. I guess in summary, I am open to suggestions for a project, but leaning toward sticking with the syllabus.
ReplyDeleteCompleting some sort of action research or community project sounds appealing to me. For one, I feel like I would like to work alongside someone who has experience partnering with groups outside of the School of Ed to see how that plays out. Selfishly, I feel like I could stand to grow in the area of networking, so I could see this project as presenting an opportunity for that. I completely respect the time constraint concern, so my question would also be whether class time would be available, as my time outside of class is also limited. All in all, I think the greatest benefit I could see emerging from this project would be the potential for us to create something meaningful as a class. We have such diverse backgrounds that I think it'd be fascinating to see what came from our collaboration.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be great to develop an action research plan. I can’t really imagine what that topic would be, but I am up for anything. I see myself as someone who wants to take what I’m learning at VCU and apply it to see what happens and try to better inform the field. It would be a great opportunity to do that with a group of people I trust and respect. I see this type of assignment helping develop experience that could directly translate to skills needed during my dissertation. I also agree with Moe in that the more theory I get the better because I see this as my area of growth in my studies. I do think that if we do this it would be a chance to take the theory that we learn and apply it in a real world setting which would be beneficial for me grasping the material even better.
ReplyDeleteI am all for developing an action research plan. Echoing previous comments, I am not sure what that would be (but am up for anything), and I think we would need a structured plan to make it plausible with the different schedules in the class. I agree with Matt that theory is a place where I would like to grow, and I see putting theory into action as a great way to do this. I really don't mind doing either option! I do think that we have a strength in the fact that we have so many teachers that are in the field in this class and so many different backgrounds. I think spending some time today to brainstorm ideas and discuss timing/plausibility will be super helpful for us to start to make a decision on this.
ReplyDeleteFrom Brooke!
ReplyDeletePosted by Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteI am open to a community engagement project. I am, however, concerned about the time frame for planning, implementing, and analyzing. It may be that we are better served by focusing on building our theoretical frameworks. According to the course description we have quite a bit of theory to cover. I have included a snippet from that description:
This seminar focuses on philosophies of education with particular attention paid to ways of thinking about seminal ideas and their relationships to education and social, institutional, economic and cultural change in the U.S. It considers how broader social phenomena affect the purposes and structures of educational institutions as well as how educational change affects wider society. Additionally, it highlights challenges for social change within and through public schools given institutional, social and political influences. Key topics include: schooling for democracy; progressivism, pragmatism and education; eco-education; behaviorism and social utopias; multiculturalism/pluralism; contemporary political educational discourse; and the roles of theory/philosophy in education.
I would like to explore these ideas and, in that exploration, develop conceptualizations of actions that could impact future directions for education. Maybe these concepts could inform dissertations.