1. Opportunities to Restructure the Curriculum
for Marginalized Learners
Mobilities & Place-Based Learning
Supported by Technology:
S. Otto Khera, NMSU
2. Dimensions and Forms of
Place-Based Learning
• Experiential learning where the learning tends to be
“hands-on” and situated in the actual activity or process
or phenomena, be it a mechanical activity, a social activity,
an artistic one, or any number of real-world phenomena
and activities that we can and do engage in.
• Problem-based learning where the learning relates to
solving some type of real-world or theoretical problem
based upon what is observable and known.
• Collaborative learning where the learning is conducted in
groups, sometimes in the form of experiential or problem-
based learning, that might connect to the surrounding
community and that might include a participatory action
research (PAR) strategy.
5. “The nineteenth century found its essential mythological
resources [anchored in time and principles of temporality].
The present epoch will perhaps be above all the epoch of
space” – Michael Foucault, Spring 1986
“Nothing disappears completely ... In space,
what came earlier continues to underpin what
follows ... Pre-existing space underpins not
only durable spatial arrangements, but also
representational spaces and their attendant
imagery and mythic narratives.”
― Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space
18. Solving Real-World Problems:
Local + Global
Dr. Thomas Reeves,
University of Georgia-
Athens
Stop Focusing Research on
Things:
Learning Analytics
Mobile Learning
Online Learning
3D Printing
Games and Gamification
Wearable Technology
The Internet of Things
Machine Learning
Virtual Assistants
Immersive Learning
Start Focusing Research on
Problems:
Poverty
Primary education
Racism
Sexism
Child Abuse
Crime
Lack of literacy
Poor motivation
Hopelessness
Obesity
19. Learner Self Efficacy, Agency, and
Our Curriculum
Time for change
across the
curriculum.
Community, ecology, technology, career, civic and political participation – learning by doing in support of learner confidence or self efficacy, and agency – the ability to make informed decisions based upon experience and knowledge.
Maps, place, online search now location-based since 2010 … Moving through time and space and our legs --- self propulsion. Transportation reality – planes, trains, automobiles, and sea vessels.
Foucault, M., & Miskowiec, J. (1986). Of other spaces. diacritics, 16(1), 22-27.
Post Structuralism …. Foucault -- > Globalization – Manuel Castells, Massey … Image: Wikipedia .. Lefebvre … place
GIS – book: homeschooling (growth); LeFebvre; Foucault; Gulson, K. N., & Symes, C. (2007). Spatial theories of education: Policy and geography matters. Routledge.
Smartphone, GPS, image capture, audio capture, video capture, location, text uploads, Twitter and other apps that are now location aware
Uber … GIS … Google Maps … e Silva … portending too, the “internet of things” where we interact not only in an augmented reality mode such as pokemon go which lays over Google Maps, but that includes sensors in our environment that connect to our locative media devices such as our smartphones.
Traditional vs. Today. Much has changed and we have arguably punctured the walls of the classroom through technology, allowing for interactive connections to experts and content outside the classroom in an instant. Projector, computer, in-class clickers, and other forms of technology-enhanced learning and interactivity. Rise of “Learning Environments” that recognize the library and informal spaces in addition to the classroom.
Learning Management System dominates and replicates the face-to-face classroom and sometimes inter-laces with it. For example, students might upload a presentation in the LMS which is then presented in the classroom. Or the instructor might download documents and presentation slides from the LMS, uploaded earlier, for discussion in the classroom. But the essential boundaries of access to only enrolled students seeking course credits for a high school diploma or higher education degree remains intact. Until the 2012 arrival of venture capital supported MOOCs … more on this later in the presentation.
Taking the concept of LMS presentations used in class further, many instructors are using technology to make classroom time more interactive and engaging altogether for learners by having learners view a video together with content such a readings and homework outside of class, that relates directly to and supports a subsequent in-class activity such a problem solving for engineering, math, science, or other discipline; or for group work to develop a group presentation for the class later in the period or semester. The flipped classroom strategy also reinforces the importance of well-structured curricular design, as learning activities and classroom time are carefully aligned and sequentially and contextually reinforcing.
Growth of online learning -- > Despite many earlier Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs dating back to at least the 1990s (e.g., Siemens), in 2012 companies such as EdX, Coursera, Udemy, and Udacity entered the higher education market, and were supported by millions of dollars of venture capital funding. MOOCs did not originally offer credit nor could contribute to a degree. But things are changing (Chronicle article – Jeffrey Young)
Gutierrez .. Community … funds of knowledge
Funds of knowledge
In higher education, concurrent enrollment that leverages place-based and hybrid learning opportunities supported by technology. Incoming student orientations that focus on “place” and problem solving to support learner confidence and self efficacy from the outset. With retention rates at less than 70% or sometimes at 50% within one year, and graduation or degree attainment rates of less than 25% among marginalized students, there is a need to rethink and realign education – sometimes this might require figuratively turning the campus and school upside down – flipping not just the classroom, but the entire institution.
Trade, wars, climate change, energy, economy, and equity. We are all part of this world in real ways that are consequential and meaningful for us all. We can make life better for us all, or we can reject the expectations that knowing we are all part of the same overarching reality and place. Probably it makes more sense to leverage our vast networking and technological resources to reinvent the way that we think about our reality. Perhaps the best way to start doing that is to reconsider and dive deeper into how we are now in an age of globalization and technologies that connect us all, whether communications or ever improving mobilities and transportation --- ranging from simple bicycles that are improving, to driverless cars, and soon, pilotless passenger drones that moves across spaces efficiently, safely, and quickly.
Thomas Reeves, . Formally – and in doing so, PAR – David Wiley - http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/2986 October 31, 2013.
Bandura + Funds of Knowledge (Gonzalez) + Apple
Conclusion: Our multicultural reality requires new perspectives and approaches to education, and to the overarching curriculum that remains steeped in historical contradictions of power and even oppression. For us to achieve what is possible through education and learning, whether socially, politically, economically, or technologically, we need to leverage existing realities and resources, whether MOOCs, instructional and research technologies, or our physical classrooms, facilities, and campuses that are underutilized given the amount of learning that can happen outside of the classroom. We need to construct a new spatial literacy, and to empower our youth and young and old to understand and engage the complexities of globalization that interconnect us all and that require as many of us as possible to collaborate on solving global and interrelated problems. Our best, most powerful resources are right there, under our nose.