3. Gram, Grumpy & Me Hannah Stafford Alexander & Hannah Evans Stafford
Editor's Notes
How do we know what we know and what we don’t know? As epistemological and cultural question, as interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts, as learners and about learning.Dropping CS course 3x alongside James Shively Shakespeare course 3x – not ready for either.But finishing major in a year and seeking WmSt degree at MSU b/c of majoring in Shrewsbury and a wkg class fauclty in polisci showing me how others did this thing of PhD school and teaching within a department with huge range of political views and shared view of students: it’s about learning, peer leaning combined with faculty directed learning for the future and with authentic assessments.
Traditionallyaged students startingcollege this year will retire in2061:“Nobody has a clue,despite all the expertise…what the world willlook like in 5 years' time. And we're meant to be educating them for it.” SirKen Retire at 70A wicked problem is described as having at least these four characteristics:* Solution depends on how the problem is framed* Stakeholders with radically different worldviews / frames for understanding problem* Resource constraints, including need for changing resources over time* Never a definitive solution, but range of creative/contrary solutionsAny perusal of news reports and analyses alongside public commentary and testimony lets us tick each one of these characteristics as alive in the events of the week.With Scott & Carolyn the only one-year long experiences of good learning I’d experiencedMiss Courts lists these principles as guiding her teaching decisions in a first grade classroom: Provide experiences in group living as essence of all school living.Provide enriched social experiences many arising from students & group living.Provide enrichment through audio-visual experiences.Provide experiences in many types of creative expression.Provide an enriched reading program. Effective group work means working in a group – not on it. As long as we conceive of our function as directing students to do what we want them to do, we are not [pursuing] group-work techniques. When we use group work, we become members of the group as quickly as we can. We invite students to share the planning with us. We seek the establishment of common purpose. We develop an organization through which students can participate in the administration of the class. We stimulate the emergence of other leadership. We encourage each member to accept other members and to feel a responsibility for helping them. We bring all members in on the evaluation of activities and accomplishments. [Kimball Wiles, 1952]paraphrase/citation in Margaret Courts’ masters thesis
Learning is about ideas not about information.Learning is about the world to come not the world we’re inLearning is about integrating life and interests – home and work and communityWhat if you believe you can do it? – 4th gradeWrite just what you really think – tcr in 1874 and contentment
