Newest Abstract

Adam Wells

Abstract 2

John Tagg has noted that today’s universities are misaligned toward teaching, not learning, meaning that emphasis is placed on imparting knowledge on students as opposed to engaging students in a process of discovery and realization. I contend that this passive consumption of knowledge and education is a manifestation of more widespread cultural mores that devalue creativity and autonomy of Self.

There is a growing body of literature and practice among higher education professionals that has identified facets of this phenomena that I label as ‘consumer education’. Increasingly, teachers and academics are responding to the ‘misalignment’, ‘consumer’ or ‘banking’ model through alternative pedagogic practice.

Teaching for Change explores the work being done in the fields of alternative, critical and radical pedagogy and makes use of the theoretical frameworks and best practices provided by such to create a context for analysis and critique of my student teaching experience. I propose that a model of learning which relies heavily on experiential education, reflection and student autonomy is best suited for achieving the goal of transformative education and that this type of educational process is germane to the misaligned condition of higher education today.

Drafts

Consumer education model

Definition

Many students in today’s higher education system are what has been labeled as “strategic learners.” These are students who have become very adept at performing well in school while avoiding challenges or courses that might lower their GPA and therefore often miss out on the opportunity to develop deep understandings (Kain,2004). Also known as “Bulimic Learners” (Kain, 2004), these students have mastered the art of absorbing information imparted unto them for the sole purpose of regurgitating it for an exam, and promptly forgetting all about it.

This certain articulation of this model of education should come as no surprise to anyone familiar at all with higher education. Students feel the pointlessness of many courses they are required to take, faculty see blank face students who are more interested in pop media than whatever contnent they are currently consuming. Faculty blame the students for being apathetic and un academic, students blame faculty for being out of touch with what really matters.

What is lost

What is lost when this is this status quo of higher education- when the blame game goes on? Well, a variety of things, of course

One downfall of consumer model is that students who learn for the test can only use their knowledge in the contexts of tests. That is, when asked to apply knowledge to different situations, the chain of thought breaks down. This lack of what is known as “Transfer Learning” (Colby, Ehlrich, Beaumont, Stephens) makes us wonder if shit even matters.

Based on existing mental mode of pre-packaged everything.

“ ‘Strategic learners’” focusing primarily on doing well in school,

avoiding any challenges that will harm their academic performance and record, and often failing to develop deep understandings.” 34, best teachers

“bulimic learners”40 best teachers

In many cases students cannot apply what they know even in a slightly different context. The research on the lack of transfer learning is often startling, calling into question the subsequent usefulness of much academic learning. 133” Ed. Citizens

“Education is something done unto them. (Weimer, 23)”

Meeting them where they’re at.

Lot of people have commented on this (insert names). The consensus is apparnt. For meaningful constructive learning to occur, learning where students are engaged and excited, the teacher must meet them where THEY are.

Here are two examples, one success and one failure: I’ll begin with the happy story.

I’ve made a habit out of introducing Paulo’s Banking concept of education or the Mug and Jug- where students are recepticles of information and are expected to spit it out come test time. I contrast with the scaffolding method, where the instructor makes great efforts to create an environement that allows students to construct their own educational experience and knowledge base as best as possible with the materials that are provided by the instructor.

I draw the pictures on the board and draw a line between the two, and speak about how I am striving to be more in line with the latter model, noting the irony that I just presented the material in more or less a mini-lecture.

This time, however, I did something different. I began with the students, and asked them to draw their own education before even mentioning Paulo. Everyone took a few minutes to sketch out “their education”. The results were quite entertaining, and this, unintentionally provided some good group cohesion, etc. Once everyone had shared (including myself) then I went into my old routine. The difference was staggering. Students were making suggestions on how the banking system was even more dogmatic and enslaving and how the scaffolding could be more liberating. Instead of consuming this knowledge, they helped to build it. First by establishing their a base rooted in their own experience to which they are expert, then taking it a step further to look at how their experience fits into the systemic big picture.

Outline

Adam Wells

Senior Seminar

3/1/07

Outline

Q: How do you integrate social change and education?

Defining the problem

Consumer education model

Based on existing mental mode of pre-packaged everything.

“ ‘Strategic learners’” focusing primarily on doing well in school,

avoiding any challenges that will harm their academic performance and record, and often failing to develop deep understandings.” 34, best teachers

“bulimic learners”40 best teachers

In many cases students cannot apply what they know even in a slightly different context. The research on the lack of transfer learning is often startling, calling into question the subsequent usefulness of much academic learning. 133” Ed. Citizens

“Education is something done unto them. (Weimer, 23)”

Tagg

Constructive model

Scaffolding

Mary Weimer

Creating space

“How can I create an environment in which students can reason together and challenge each other?” 53 best teachers

Meaningful learning

Deep learning

Acting on these theories involves creating programs that allow students to “take responsibility for their learning, share a vision for what can be, assess their own assumptions and beliefs.

Pedagogies of Engagement- educating citizen 135

“ The business of giving students some sense of control over their own education is no mean feat given that professors control both the curriculum and the questions that arise within each course. But our subjects managed to do it primarily by helping students see the connection between the questions of the course and the questions that students might bring to the course.” 37 best teachers

“ They stressed the ability to make judgements, to weigh evidence, and to

think about one’s own thinking.” 46

Differences in Approaches

Organizing vs. Education

Horton and Friere

Approaches to Resolution of the problem

What the Best College Teachers Do

“The best teachers assume that learning has little meaning unless it produces a sustained and substantial influence on the way people think, act and feel” 17

“The best teachers often try to create what we have come to call a ‘natural critical learning environment.’ In that environment, people learn by confronting intriguing, beautiful, or important problems, authentic tasks that will challenge them to grapple with ideas, rethink their assumptions, and examine their mental models of reality.” 18

“Knowledge is Constructed, not Received” 26

“We use our existing mental models to shape the sensory inputs we receive…The student brings paradigms to the class that shape how they construct meaning”26

Stimulating construction VS transmitting knowledge27

“ People are most likely to enjoy their education if they believe they are in charge of the decision to learn” 47

“Student expertness”—65

“I cannot stress enough the simple yet powerful notion that the key to understanding the best teaching can be found not in particular practices or rules but in the attitudes of the teachers, in the faith in their students’ abilities to achieve, in their willingness to take their students seriously and to let them assume control of their own education, and in their commitment to let all these practices flow from central learning objectives and from a mutual respect and agreement between students and teachers.” 78-79

Educating Citizens

“… A growing number [of teachers] are adopting an array of other strategies, including service learning, experiential education, problem-based learning, and collaborative learning (Sax, Astin, Korn, and Gilmartin, 1999). Many of these strategies represent models for teaching that if used well can support deep understanding, usable knowledge and skills, and personal connection and meaning.” 135

“The research literature on the effectiveness of pedagogies of engagement is extensive… Taken as a whole the research indicates that if used well these student centered, or active, pedagogies can have positive impact on many dimensions of moral and civic learning as well as on other aspects of academic achievement. Teaching methods that actively involve students in the learning process and provide them with opportunities for interaction with their peers as well as with faculty enhance student’s content learning , critical thinking , transfer of learning to new situations, and such aspects of moral and civic development as a sense or social responsibility tolerance and non-authoritarianism” 136

“Broadening the array of skills, tasks, and modes of representation used in a course increases the likelihood that students with different strengths will be able to connect productively with the work.” 138

Critical Theory-Mezirow

“A critical stance frames this discussion by outlining clearly the need for professors to retool their teaching and courses to address issues of power and privilege- to weave social justice into the fabric of educational leadership curriculums, pedagogy, programs and policies” 78

Thinking contextually and critically- “epistemological cognition” or being aware of the ways that knowledges are constructed and presented based on evidence and using this awareness to formulate deeper explanations and approaches to problems. This includes an awareness the students own ‘situatedness’ which is gained thorough critical reflection. This awareness is “a prerequisite for autonomy in self-directed learning” 83

Task Force!

How Does what I’m doing fit in here

Motivation and Direction

Engagement

Beginning with where they are.

Assessment

How do these ideas, etc hold up when an emerging teacher tries them out?