Readings for May 13-14

note: Our final book for the course, Richard Light's Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds, will be postponed to May 20-21
--------------------------------------------------------------
don't look at these
          unless you want to:

Is Alfie right? (why or why not?)

Even apart from how more of one kind of motivation can mean less of another, the simple fact that there are different kinds can change the way you look at kids in school. Say you walk into a classroom and find everyone in the middle of doing an assignment. All the kids are busy and "on task," as some educators like to say. But don't leave without asking a few kids what they're doing* — and why. If the most common answer is "Because Mr. Riley told us to" or "Because it's going to be on the test," then something here may be terribly wrong just below the surface. The kind of answers we hope to hear sound more like this: "Because I just don't get why the character in this story told her friend to go away!" or "Because we're trying to figure out a better lunch schedule for all the classes. You want to see what we've come up with?" Both sets of answers may indicate that students are motivated. But the kinds of motivation are altogether different -and so are the long-term effects. [*fn. omitted]

Alfie Kohn, The schools our children deserve: Moving beyond traditional classrooms and "tougher standards" — p. 126

Three pages each from Hirsch and from Kohn on "motivation"

Note: Some members of the Wednesday section have expressed an interest in reading this book by Etienne Wenger, co-author of the Lave & Wenger book that is assigned for April 15/16. This book is extremely valuable for curriculum inquiry. I would encourage anyone who wants to read it. It is very rich and very demanding, so it is not a lightweight undertaking. I do want to help make it possible for anyone who wants to read this, though, so I have told the Wednesday students that anyone who reads this book and could bring insights from their reading into our class discussion can use this book as a substitute for reading the book by Lampert that is assigned for April 29/30. They are both very valuable but demanding books. I will say more about this in the Tuesday section next week.

Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (P), wENGER, E

         

Communities of Practice:

EDUC 897 SPRING 2003 - Books

Schedule of Readings (as revised after snow cancellation)

online reserve readings for Feb 26 - March 5

Readings for May 6-7

Readings for March 18 (T) & 19 (W)

Readings for March 25 (T) & 26 (W)

Project Ideas Discussion Forum (should be working now)

other items of course-related interest (not assigned)

 

Hit Counter