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