RE: Reading grades on b-space

Hello all,
   I hope you all did extremely well on your finals and are now enjoying the beginnings of what I hope will be a fun-filled, safe summer for each one of you. Anyway, a number of you emailed me regarding you posted reading grades (on b-space): I just want to address this once for all. That category does not apply to our section, precisely because I did not assign traditional reading journals. Instead, our section required blog entries. I calculated your grades independent of b-space, so just to be clear, that particular category (in question) didn't factor in at all.

RE: Reflective Performances

Hello all,
   If you currently have a zero on your reflective performance, do not worry; it's my mistake. I will fix it tonight.

Short articles on stereotyping

A number of you are interested in analyzing the role that stereotypes play in the acquisition and learning of academic literacy. If there are more of you who are interestred in this line of argrumentation, I have a few ( short) articles that I can share. Just email me and I will happily send them along to you.

change in office hours today, 5-06-2011

Hello all,
   I have to move my office hours up today. So, I will hold office hours today, from 10:30-2:00, at the Tully's inside of the MLK building (on Bancroft & Telegraph). If for whatever reason you don't see me, or would like to inquire about an alternative time, please don't hesitate to call or text me: 415-786-8787.

Office hours this week

Hello all,
  I will be available for office hours this week, starting today, from 12:00-2:30; Thursday, from 12:30-2:00; and Friday, from 12:30-2:00. If you have questions regarding your progress in the class and/or your case-study project, please take advantage of theses tmes. And, as always, if you'd like to meet but none of htese times jibe with your schedule, please contact me so that we can set up an alternative time to meet.

Best of luck to each of you, as you endure finals.

I have a number of responses from "anonymous"...if you think that this may be you, please let me know.

see  above

Hello all: Clarification on blog responses

Some of you pointed out that there are only seven opportunities to respond to blog posts; that's true, however, for the initial blog question you were supposed to either answer two of the questions, or, answer one question and respond to one of your classmate’s posts, which brings the total to eight responses. If you've already done this, then, once you finish the most recent blog question--you are done with blog responses altogether. If you have not done this, please go back and take care of it. Sorry for any confusion.

Final blog question: Response due April 28th, by 11:59PM

Final blog question:

Due: April 28^th, by 11:59 PM.

Scale: 6 possible points (abridged scale below)

6 points = well-written, highly reflective/analytical account of the ways that race was manifested/performed

3 points = somewhat reflective, not particularly well-written
1 point = argument is overly simplistic, e.g., race is good or bad, poorly written

Minimum word count: 300 words (give or take)

Thinking back to the Gates, Jr., article, Race as the trope of the world, please write a short essay regarding the overarching racialized dynamics you witnessed within OMI. For example, you can discuss/analyze the racial spatialization of a given classroom, specifically, or the entire school site, more generally. Or, you may want to discuss the ways in which race informed your subjective tutoring experiences or, perhaps, how you race witnessed in the ways that other tutors or teachers interacted with particular students. Or, you may want to discuss/analyze the ways in which students acted out racialized stereotypes or, instead, purposefully resisted racialized stereotypes in their comportment and behavior. This assignment is meant to be reflective; so, please discuss what it is that you felt vis-à-vis what you observed.

Friendly Reminders regarding the remainder of the semester

1. Remember that next week we will not meet in section; instead, you all will be making your end of the year presentations on Tuesday and Thursday.
2. You are responsible for 8 blog entries and 10 fieldnotes, respectively, by the end of this semester. If you failed to contribute to earlier blog entries, please do so ASAP.
3. Your final blog entry, which will be somewhat more substantial than previous ones, will be posted Sunday, April 24th. Your response is due April 28th, by 11:59 pm.
4. Case studies are due by 11:59 PM on May 9th.

I need the groups for the reflection projects

Hello all,
   Please email me (or post to the blog) with your groups for the reflection project no later than Tuesday. Thanks in advance.

Office hours for the remainder of the semester

Hello all,
    From now until the end of the semester, I will hold office hours inside VLSB, near little Yali's on both Wednesdays, from 10:30-2:00, and Thursdays, from 11:00-12:30, respectively. If you show up and, for whatever reason, cannot locate me--please give me a call (or text) alerting me to your presence (415.786.8787). Lastly, if you'd like to me, but neither of these times work with your schedule, please email or cal me so that we set up an alternative meeting time.

For section this Thursday

Hello all,
   For section this upcoming Thursday, we will cover the readings and construct concept maps, like we've always done, albeit, sans prompts provided by yours truly. So, please read over each of the assigned readings for the week; however, because we will have assigned groups (below) you need focus on only one reading.

For Appadurai

AJISAKA, JAMIE TATSUKO

AMAKAWA, NAOMI CATHERINE
BABINA, POLINA
BONTE, ALEXANDER HARMON
BORJA, WESLEY DEAN
CLAROS, MAINOR ALBERTO

Hull & Stornaiuolo

JACOBS, KEVIN MICHAEL
KADAKIA, RIMA M
LAVOIE, ANAIS R
LEE, JEONG SEON
LIN, YVONNE SHIRLEY
MARQUEZ, JACLYN ASHLEY

Stein

MENDOZA, JENNIFER DENISE
NEVINS, JESSICA LYNN
SANDOVAL, CYNTHIA VIRGINIA
SEGURADO RODEZNO, ADRIANA MARIA
SINGH, NAVNEET KAUR

Stornaiuolo, Hull, and Nelson

WAYLAND, JEFFREY
WILLIAMS, CIARA JUANITA
WU, JOANNA SARAH
YUAN, YANG WEI WILLIAM
ZARATE, LILIANA

URGENT: Field notes

Hello all,

There are quite a few of you that are significantly behind on field notes. If you fall into this category, it would behoove you to begin making them up right away. I am not willing to be inundated with field notes over the last two to three weeks of class. Please get them in; otherwise, I will begin to dock points for field notes that are decidedly (more than one month) late.

IMPORTANT: From Adam....

Please also tell your students to bring whatever they have to work on their case studies. We may just talk about topics, but we may also do some coding.

Questions for this week: Boal; Katz; and, Newkirk

Augusto Boal, in the excerpt from The Theater of the Oppressed, while clearly invoking Freire is also making a particularly Marxist argument. Consequently, I am pasting (below) excerpts from a paper I wrote, many moons ago, on Marx's conception of commodity fetishism. These excerpts will, hopefully, give you all a better, albeit terse, handle on an (orthodox) Marxist critique of Capitalism.

         A commodity is a man-made object of utility, which in its simplest form is encountered as a use-value, i.e., it fulfills a human need. This form, however, must be changed in order for a useful thing to become a commodity. Marx gives the example of a table, a table as a table in its “tableness” is a useful article; once this very same table becomes a commodity, i.e., a product intended for an anonymous other, it is stripped of the identity that its former designation as simply a useful article, afforded it. Its usability, or use-value, is no longer important; rather, it is the ability of the table to be exchanged for something else (once it is encountered as a commodity), for some other commodity that becomes paramount.  

       This, for Marx, is the fetishism of commodities. In this transmutation, the table’s former use-value is usurped by its exchangeability in the marketplace; thus, transforming the table to an exchange-value. The table now stands as merely a value, capable, even intended to be traded, bartered, or sold, i.e., a commodity. In this transaction, the commodity-form finds its value relative to all other commodities. This transmogrification is peculiar to Marx because he asserts that, in the final instance, the only "thing" that can produce value is congealed human labor. More specifically, he argues that a commodity that requires 6 hours of congealed human labor to produce is three times more valuable than a commodity that requires only 2 hours to produce.

        Though this theory seems immanently plausible, capitalism relies on another formula altogether.

Capitalism relies on an inorganic universal equivalent: gold. For capitalists, gold becomes the expression of all abstract homogenous human labor in general, by overshadowing the real equivalent behind any monetary exchange: human labor. This usurpation by money ,as the equivalent-form, opens the door for the exploitation of wage-workers by the capitalist. Money as the universal equivalent is granted autonomy to exert its seemingly unlimited, supernatural power over the worker because of its ability, in a capitalist society, to control marketplace relations.  

       What is more, according to Marx, capitalism, primarily because of the investiture of power imbued the universal equivalent, transmogrifies the proletariat (i.e., the working class) in much the same way that it does the use-value of the aforementioned table.

          Precisely because the goal of a capitalist society is the accumulation of capital, i.e., to establish surplus-value as the source of all incomes, save wages to the wage workers; this accumulation is possibly only through the exploitation of the proletariat. Workers, unlike wealthy capitalists, are without the means to produce a commodity for sale in the market place; therefore, they must, instead, sell their ability to work as a commodity, i.e., their bodies. The ability to work/produce is purchased for an agreed upon wage by the capitalist; this commodity is called labor-power. When the agreed upon wage falls short of the value produced by,  the labor that it was used to purchase, the result is a profit which is created from surplus-value. 

(For example, a laborer is paid $5 an hour for 10 hours to create a commodity that will fetch $70 in the market, the $20 difference, in Marx's theorization, constitutes the surplus value.)

 

There will be section this Thursday.

Adam has graciously agreed to oversee section this Thursday. It will take place in our usual room, VLSB 2060, at the regular time (12:40).

IMPORTANT:Tomorrow section will begin at 1:05, instead of 12:40.

On second thought...

Hello all,
   Instead of posted question, we will cover the weekly readings in groups for section this week. We want to pay special attention to how the assigned readings conceptualize and subsequently construct case-studies. Additionally, we will talk about data analysis and coding. I am including two case studies that I have conducted, not because I am an expert, but because I can speak directly to the process that I undertook.

Weekly assignment and literacy autobiography grades

Hello all,
   I want everyone of you to enjoy every last minute of spring break, therefore, I will not post questions until tomorrow. The questions, along with discussion groups, will be posted by 1:00 pm tomorrow

As far as literacy autobiography grades are concerned, I will have them back to you along with your papers, electronically (with comments), no later than 5:00pm this Thursday.

For class tomorrow

We will use our time tomorrow much like a writers' workshop. So, please bring in what you have written thus far of your literacy auto/biography. If you want to workshop (some portion of) your paper, please bring in at least 4 copies; otherwise, you are free to spend tomorrow's section writing (in class). Additionally, I will be available for one-on-one consultations during class.

See you all tomorrow.

For section this Thursday

What to bring for Thursday:

An extraordinarily brief “prospectus”, 250 words or less,  that includes (4 copies):

• 1.      Your thesis
• 2.      Potential theoretical conceptual frame
• 3.      The literature that you plan to use/integrate

This may be in the form of an outline, or in as a more traditional (mini)prospectus.

Here’s an example of an introduction to a prospectus:

        Lev Vygotsky (1931) defines the Zone of Proximal Development (henceforth, ZPD) as the space in which a novice learner’s development can be improved through interaction with a relative expert (pp.99).This conception is consistent with my own literate awakening:  It wasn’t until my brother, who is two years my senior, decided to read with me that I was then able to begin reading at grade-level.

There is nothing particularly outstanding about this introduction; however, do take note that it is framed by a particular theory. This theoretical frame, in this case ZPD, would help to guide the rest of this paper (were it a real, as opposed to hypothetical, paper). You also want to workshop other readings that you feel are germane to your paper, i.e., readings that you plan to integrate. For example, sticking with the hypothetical paper above, I may write something like this:

        In his autobiography, Fredrick Douglass tells of his literate awakening and the effect that it had on him psychologically and even materially. His learning to read was, though it predated the concept,  also consistent with Vygotsky’s conception of ZPD. He offers the example of trading bread for literacy instruction…

more maps

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concept maps from last section.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Group assignments & Instructions

We will continue to use the group format to respond to these questions. So, to be clear: each group member can answer any question for the reading assigned to her or his group. Also, if you do not see your name on any of the reading lists below, please email me; I am working from the two most recent attendance sheets.

This week the groups are as follows:

For the Gates, Jr. reading: 

Lead discussant: Wesley Borja

Rima

Shant

Yvonne

Alex B.

Jaquelyn

Jeff

Liliana

Adriana

For Douglass

Lead discussant: Naveet Singh

Jeong Seong

Polina

Kevin

Anias

Alex

For Laurie

Lead discussant: Joanna Wu

C.J.

Jessica

Jennifer

Mainor

Wiliam

Anu

Questions for the week: Literacy and race

Gates, Jr., Race as the Trope of the World

• Gates, Jr, argues that race is a trope, i.e., a word/concept that is used figuratively, what does he mean by this?
• Contiguously, is there a problem with the metaphor that he offers? More specifically, does Gates, Jr., by relegating race to an abstract concept, a metaphor, fail to account for the real, material effects fomented by race?
• Gates writes that  (pp.591 of the original text) many Western writers and (pseudo)scientists have  sought to reify race by arguing that it is inherently biological, i.e., on page 595 of the original reading, that it is “natural, essential, and absolute.” What, in your opinion, would prompt these writers and scientist to espouse this particular stance, and, whose interests does it serve (explain)?
• Likewise, Gates argues that there has been and continues to be an (erroneous) conflation between “race” and intelligence that permeates and pervades western thinking regarding innate ability/intelligence; who are the beneficiaries of this line of thinking?

Fredrick Douglass, Narrative life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave

• On page 53 of the original text, Douglass recounts the vicissitudes of his own literate awakening. What does his account speak to regarding the internalization of negative, oppressive reinforcement?
• What caused Douglass’ aversion to thinking? Why did it quickly become the bane of his existence?

Laurie Olson, We make each other racial...

• In your opinion, is there anything particularly glaring that Laurie missed in her analysis of and and explanation of the racialized spatialization of her target school?
• Does Laurie’s assertion that “we make each other racial”, in your opinion, exculpate people and apparatuses that support and benefit from long-standing vestiges of institutional and structural inequity?
• More specifically, in your opinion, does she simply address a symptom while eliding an authentic discussion of the root cause (the disease, if you will)?

No discussion questions this week.

Instead, in addition to mapping the readings, we also will discuss both the upcoming Literacy Autobiography (3/18) and Case study Assignments. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend.

Concept map 2

Concept maps from last section.

Regarding field notes:

Hello all,
  After combing through the first couple rounds of field notes, I identified many commonalities regarding areas for improvement. As a result, I wrote, basically, the same thing on nearly all of the field notes that I read. I am pasting the generic comment below; it encapsulates my feeling regarding the direction of each of your field notes. Please let me know if you would like more individualized feedback; (though, I must warn it will not be dissimilar to what I have pasted below):

Be as descriptive as possible: it will help you later as you construct your case study. You want to really paint a picture, i.e., really place the reader within the mise-en-scene, so to speak. For example, a student mentioned nearby “tattered” apartment buildings: my advice is instead relying on the word tattered to do all of the work, describe what it is that qualifies these particular apartments as tattered. This is what I mean when I say be as descriptive as possible.

All in all, these are good starts; that is to say, continue to construct field notes in this manner, with a little more detail, and you will be fine. Just make sure that there is an overall coherence to what it is that you write; it will make it easier to pull from for papers, later. Also, if you haven’t already, begin to narrow your focus to one or two student/s and/or teacher/s.

The questions...

Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

• In Freire’s critique of the banking model of education, he argues that students are posited as receptacles or depositories (pp.72 of original text). For Freire this is problematic because he considers the banking model inherently oppressive. Do you see a way or ways in which this metaphor can be appropriated and/or re-envisioned as something positive and or generative?
• Why is it in the best interest of the oppressor to “change the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation that oppresses them (pp.74)”?
• Freire argues that the inherent contradictions, which he feels are constitutive of the banking model of education, will eventually lead the oppressed to “turn against their domestication and […] attempt to domesticate reality (pp. 74 of original).” What are the inherent contradictions that he is referring to? And, what would an attempt to domesticate reality look like?
• Freire argues for a problem posing pedagogy in order to subvert and counteract the damage caused by the banking model of education: what are the primary differences within these educational paradigms (pp.79)?

Freire & Macedo, Literacy: reading the word and the world.

• On page 98 of the original text, Freire argues that: “…the notion that literacy is [only reducible to] learning the standard [i.e., dominant] language still informs the vast majority of literacy programs…” Freire clearly has a problem with this; why?
• On page 99 of the original text (fourth full paragraph), Freire appropriates Althuasser’s (1971) conception of the ideological state apparatus (i.e., ISAs, which we discussed briefly in class) to describe the educational atmosphere in former colonies. Is the analysis of the situation that he describes limited to former colonies or can it also be applied to contemporary local and National contexts? Explain.
• In this chapter, Freire lists four approaches to literacy: the academic approach, the utilitarian approach, the cognitive development approach, and the romantic approach. Do you see parallels between Freire’s approaches and Scribner’s metaphors? Please explain.

Brumer, Phonics and the politics of reading instruction.

• In Brumer’s article, what does she feel led to the back-to-basics backlash; and, what events precipitated this backlash?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the whole—language and phonics approaches, respectively? And, what would an amalgamation of the two seemingly disparate approaches look like?

Pearson, Reading Wars.

• On page 223 of the original text, first full paragraph, Pearson argues that schools and educational staff have appropriated the “whole-language label without honoring its fundamental principles…(223).” Why do you think this is, and, is the elision of issues of empowerment consistent with Freire’s critique of the banking model of education?
• Pearson argues that issues of literacy education in general and reading research in particular are inherently political: do you agree? Please explain.

Questions for the week (Instructions).

All questions for a particular reading group need to be accounted for. Because there are more members than there are questions for each group, more than one person will answer the same question (which is fine). However, please answer any unanswered question/s before addressing one that has already be addressed by one the members of your reading team.

I am running late on posting this weeks questions...

Hello all,
   I am running late on posting the questions for this week's readings. (Busy day, and now I am getting ready to go on a long-overdue date with my wife.) I will post the questions by 12:00 pm tomorrow, which means that your responses won't be due until 12:00pm on Thursday.

Assignment for week five.

Hello all,
   Once again, great job in section. I truly believe that as a group you all have a fairly strong understanding of the readings we've covered thus far.

For this week, I will post the questions for the readings. However, unlike previous weeks you will not have total autonomy regarding the question that you answer. I want to try something a little different: students will be assigned specific readings to address. For example, if you are in the Pedagogy of the oppressed group, you need only respond to the prompts for that particular reading (and so on...). (Worth noting: It still behooves you to read all of the assigned readings, not only for your personal edification, but also because they will aid you in both your literacy autobiography and your case study.)


Group #1: Friere, Pedagogy of the oppressed.
Lead discussant: Giedre Novikaite 
Jeffrey Wayland
Liliana Zarate
Cynthia Sandoval
Alexander Leach
Jeong Lee
Wesley Borja


Group #2: Freire & Macedo, Literacy: reading the word & the world
Lead discussant: Naveet Singh
Sarah Wu
C.J Williams
Adriana Segurado
Jennifer Mendoza
Yvonne Lin
Rima Kadakia

Group #3: Brumer, Phonics and the politics of reading...
Lead discussant: Jaclyn Maquez
Anudari Haden
Kevin Jacobs
Mainor Claros
Alexander Bonte
Zoe Gholson

Group #4: Pearson, Excerpts from the reading wars.
Lead discussant: Anias Lavoie
Shant Aharonian
Maomi Amakawa
Polina Babina
Jessica Nevins

Concept map cont...

Group one's concept map:

Concept maps from today's section-2/09/11

For Dyson & Genishi, "Considering the Case"

1. Discuss the difference between Madlenka's and Tionna and Lyon's loose tooth experiences through the concepts of context, events, and practices described in the article; How does this relate to qualitative case studies?

2. How does angling visions lead to multiple cases within one setting?

For the Wong Filmore, Lily piece, Expectations in diversity

1. Fillmore explains how Cummins' argues that language proficiency is multidimensional (language skills), what is your perspective on Cummins' theory and why.

2. What does Fillmore suggest teachers should do in order to effectively teach students and for them to understand the material and what support/encouragement do they need.

Wong Fillmore: "English Language Development"

1. Fillmore explains that distinguishing between linguistic forms is crucial for learning language.  She expands on Cummins’ argument that language is NOT a unidimensional skill.  What are the two types of linguistic skills discussed and how are they distinguished from each other?
2. What does Fillmore suggest needs to be done for struggling readers to avoid a Catch-22?

Pics from Thursday's section...

Regarding Field Notes

I am combing through your field notes, I will get back to each of you, with comments, by class time this upcoming Tuesday. Generally, there will be weeks turnover time between your submission of field notes and when I reply with comments.

Great job yesterday! Assignment for next week.

You all did a wonderful job, on the "fly", of dissecting and analyzing the Rose piece. Next week we will jump right into both the Vygotsky and the Wink & Putney pieces, respectively. I want to try something different, because it is my form belief that teaching is one of the best ways to learn; so instead of formulating questions this week I will leave that up to you all.

Additionally, know that both your literacy autobiography and your case study will be impelled by (research) questions; that is to so, both of these assignments will require you to address questions that you formulate based on your observations. This assignment, then, should be viewed as a kind of preparatory exercise. (And don't fret if your name isn't on the list: everyone will get an opportunity to formulate a question. :)

Here are the students who are responsible for creating discussion question for next week:
Note: Even if you are formulating questions this week, you still need to respond to one of your classmates questions.

For the Wong Filmore, Lily piece, Expectations in diversity:
Jennifer Mendoza
Naomi Amakawa

For Wong Filmore, English Language Development:
Jessica Nevins
John Chony

For Dyson & Genishi, Considering the case...
Kevin Jacobs
Anais Lavoie

The questions should be posted by 7:00pm this Sunday, at the latest. For those of us who are not formulating questions, it is still our responsibility (myself included) to post by the Wednesday that precedes section, no later than 12:00 AM.

Please email me if you are interested in the Saturday newscast/literacy program

Hi all,

Please don't forget to send me an email if you're interested in working with this activity. Provide your first and last name, major, potential time conflicts (and dates if you know for certain), and a few lines on why you're interested in this activity. If you could do that no later than noon on Friday, I would appreciate it. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you're working with one of the other Saturday OMI programs (and that's completely fine as well).

The newscast/literacy activity runs Saturdays 10am to 1pm at OMI, and this Saturday will be our first session. We'll be doing introductions, getting logged on to the space2cre8 social network I mentioned, seeing some sample digital stories and newscasts, and basically setting the groundwork.

Thanks!

Jenni

jhiggs@berkeley.edu

For section tomorrow: Polina, C.J, Rima, Joanna, Alex will discuss their responses.

Just like I promised last week, for section tomorrow, we will cover student-generated responses to the prompts.

So for the names above, please be prepared to discuss your responses tomorrow. We will do our best to cover most of the prompts; however, the discussion will not be limited to these questions. That said my plan is as follows: first, I will try to give a brief overview of the readings; then, we'll jump into the questions. After the questions are read, I will call on you one-by-one so that we can, as a class, critically analyze the texts in an attempt to uncover pedagogical implications that may potentially improve y/our praxis.

Lecture three

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Please respond to this post ASAP

For those of you who are going to OMI on Saturday, what type of program are you interested in creating or participating in?

According to Dr. Mark Ryan (OMI Superintendent):

"We [at OMI] are offering math tutoring across all grades Saturdays with an emphasis on grades six through nine so we can definitely use help with that. We also have kids who need writing help Saturdays. All will run eight to noon except film which will run ten to one. Have folks report to Mr. Weekes Saturday. He runs the Saturday math program. Ms. Donovan will be helping with the film program... "

re: volunteers for OMI Saturday sessions

Hi all,

I'm Jenni, a Kidnet GSR working at the OMI site. We (Berkeley researchers and OMI administration) have ironed out some details about what Saturday sessions will look like (Saturday sessions will run 10am to 1pm). We can accommodate 5 of you for Saturdays due to the small number of students we'll be working with. There will be 20 OMI students max in the Saturday program, which focuses on newscasts created by student groups of 4, so we only need one volunteer per group.

To help us identify volunteers best suited for the OMI project, we'd like you to submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) statement of purpose and email it to me at jhiggs@berkeley.edu no later than Wednesday evening, 10pm. It doesn't have to be fancy; just share why you want to work at OMI, what skills/knowledge you would bring to this project (e.g., technological know-how, film or journalism experience, previous experience teaching urban youth), and why it might be a good fit.

We will read over these statements and let the five selected volunteers know by Thursday evening, no later than 10pm.

Thanks for your interest, and thanks, Jeremiah, for letting me post this here!

Jenni

Please post here to coordinate carpool options.

Questions for week 3: Schooling as Identity and Learning as Social

Responses must be posted to the blog by midnight Wednesday.

Rose:

• Based on his experiences with Vocational education, it seems as though Rose invokes his buoyancy metaphor, (students will float...), pejoratively; is there way in which it can be viewed positively? (Please explain)

• Rose described the “Voc Ed” track as a “dumping ground for the disaffected”; first of all, what does he mean by this? And, secondly, do you feel that remedial tracks still represent a “dumping ground” of sorts? Why or why not?

• What does it mean to be “groomed for the classroom”?

• On page 37 of the reading (the last full paragraph), Rose describes his subjective experience with literacy: which of Scribner’s three metaphors best encapsulates the relationship that Rose depicts?

L.S. Vygotsky:

• Starting on Page 80 of the reading, three theoretical positions, regarding the relationship between learning and development, are posited, which of the the theoretical postulations seems most plausible. And contiguously, which of the three positions (re-conceptualizations) would be most efficacious with regard to pedagogy?
• How does the Zone of Proximal Development represent a paradigmatic shift in the way in which the relationship between learning and development is conceptualized?

• Vygotsky argues that “writing must be relevant to life (pp. 118 of reading)”, what does he mean by this? Is this argument consistent with conceptualizations of culturally relevant pedagogy?

• According to Vygotsky what is the difference between (merely) teaching written letters and  actually teaching written language?

Wink & Putney:

• Wink and Putney argue that Vygotsky’s theorization of learning as social and cultural represents a paradigmatic shift in the way that the relationship between learning and development is conceived of (pp. 85 of the reading). What types of theoretical problems or dissonance does Vygotsky’s theory foment for proponents of and arguments for standardized testing?
• Create your own metaphor of ZPD; then, please explain it’s constituent parts, (in much the same way that Wink and Putney did in their text).
• What would the Vygotskyian concept of reciprocity look like in a classroom based tutoring environment?

Thank you!

I just wanted to say "thank you" to all the ones who submitted posts before the deadline. The posts are very thoughtful and very perspicacious; I am really impressed. And, they give us a lot to discuss in discussion. Please remember, if possible, to bring in a copy of your post to reference for discussion today (it can be electronic), irrespective of whether or not you posted it by the deadline.

Questions for the readings from: Class 3 (Tues. 1/25): What is literacy?; and, Class 4 (Thurs. 1/27): What is research? Writing field notes

Questions from the readings

Please address/answer/discuss at least two questions: In total your response/s, including comments on others posts, should be no less than 200 words and no more than 350 words.

Scribner:

• Why would there be proponents of bounded literacy, i.e., why would there be supporters of a conception of literacy that has fixed boundaries?

• Would it be fair to argue that the quest to offer a universal definition of literacy can be explained, at least in part, by an over-reliance on classification or scientism that (arguably) pervades western intellectual thought? Why or why not?

• Do you agree with Scribner that definitions of literacy can only be arrived at synchronically, i.e., at a particular moment as opposed to diachronically (over time)? Why or why not?

• How is literacy a social justice issue?

• To this question, how has literacy been used as a "hegemonic tool"; and, how can the obverse be made true, that is, how can literacy be used as a tactical, subversive tool? Offer an example.

Hull:

• What does it mean to expand our conception of literacy?

• How can the use of digital media serve to create more agentive young people; more specifically, how can it help traditionally marginalized (and therefore silenced) young people find their respective voices?

Willis:

• How does ethnography afford a space for representation?

• (According to Willis), why is self-making so important; and, what role, if any, does literacy play in the creation of self?

• Do you think Willis overreaches when he creates an analog between qualitative research, i.e., ethnography, and art? Why or why not?

• How do definitional issues around literacy speak to or at the very least invoke questions regarding both structural and institutional inequity?

Bogdan and Biklen:

• How are value judgments problematic with regard to field note creation? How can they be avoided?

addendum to weekly reading journal assignment

Contingent of the number of readings for a given week, up to four students will be responsible for "sparking" discussion by asking (student) prepared questions, or, by offering analysis of the texts for the week; (these questions can be the same questions posed for weekly blog entries).

weekly blog assignment

        Each week students in this section will be responsible for answering one of two (posted) reading-related questions; these questions will come directly from the readings for that week. Your responses should demonstrate some understanding of the material in question; that is to say, I am less interested in whether or not you liked the assigned articles (though I hope you do), than I am in your ability to identify and critically analyze the positions/main arguments presented within the texts.

         However, if you do not find my questions particularly compelling and wish to pose your own instead, you are welcome to do so. Your query (in order to earn the full two points) must ask an important question and provide context as to why you have deemed the question “worth asking”. Likewise, if you opt to address a post from one of your classmates (in detail) rather than answer the assigned questions, this too is acceptable. I want this blog to be our dialogue; so, to be clear I am disinterested in twenty-plus, slightly differently-worded answers to the same two questions. I much prefer and feel it is far more  helpful to have class-wide, multi-layered conversations on the texts that will be covering.

So now I’ll get to what you really care about...
In order to receive the full 2 points:
-     Responses are due by midnight on the Wednesday that precedes section.
·         Each entry should be at least 200 words, (but no more than 350 words).
·         Spelling and grammar matter.
·         Avoid summarizing in your responses; instead, offer an analysis of the text.

PART ONE: Setting the stage

WEEK 1—

 Class 1 (Tues. 1/18) and Class 2 (Thurs. 1/20): Course introduction

Coordinators from after-school programs, where students will tutor/mentor/volunteer this

semester, will visit during classes 1 and 2 to describe their sites and answer questions about

volunteering. During classes 1 and 2 we’ll also cover all course logistics, including course

requirements, grading, and attendance policies.
Each student will also choose a field site at the

end of Class 2.

WEEK 2—

Your first field note is due Friday of this week (1/28 by midnight) and should be based on your

first visit this week to your after-school site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5YvRlQBPSc&feature=related