Using the Community as a resource in
language teacher education
Amparo Clavijo Olarte
Universidad Distrital Francisco
José de Caldas, Bogotá
Colombia
Judy Sharkey,
University of New Hampshire
Manchester, NH USA
Roots of the Bogotá-Manchester
Collaboration: City as Curriculum
Multiyear project
Question: How do we promote knowledge of/in
local communities as rich resources for language
teaching and learning and integrate communitybased pedagogies into our teacher education
programs?
Question: How might sharing this work across
our contexts be mutually beneficial? Insightful?
Community-based pedagogies
Curriculum and practices that reflect knowledge
and appreciation of the communities in which schools are
located and students and their families inhabit. It is an
asset-based approach that does not ignore the realities of
curriculum standards that teachers must address but
emphasizes local knowledge and resources as starting
points for teaching and learning.
(Sharkey & Clavijo Olarte, 2012, p. 41)
Judy’s context
Manchester NH
Pop 108,000; @ 15,000 K-12 students
Growing immigrant/refugee population
(70+ languages)
40% + ELL pop in one school; 20% in
some other schools
The most CLD schools have highest
poverty rates (85% at one)
These schools have the lowest scores
-and facing punitive actions
Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas.
MA Applied Linguistics
Bogotá pop: @7 million
Large number of displaced children in the poorest public
Schools. Many don’t speak Spanish as their first language
(L1). MA students work in variety of settings: public &
private schools, language schools, and universities. They are all inservice teachers.
Similar challenges, different contexts
• Poorest schools are the most
cult/ling diverse
• Over reliance/ emphasis on
scripted, imposed curriculum
& testing
• Practices/policies devalue/
ignore the cult/ling identities
of our students/families
• Teachers don’t know how to
use ss’
knowledge/experiences in
curriculum
Local realities reflect larger narratives
Transmigrant reality of the
21st century
Demographic imperative
Restrictive national language
policies: Colombia Bilingüe;
NCLB
Increased standardization in
testing and curriculum
Key concepts
• Community Teacher (Murrell, 2001; 2003): “Possesses
contextualized knowledge of the culture, community,
and identity of the children and families he/she serves
and draws on this knowledge to create core teaching
practices necessary for effectiveness in diverse
settings” (2001, p. 51)
• Community-situated pedagogies (Schecter, Solomon,
and Kittmer, 2003): Posits community as curriculum
resource and challenges teachers to design and
implement pedagogies based on community
knowledge
Community Based Pedagogies in LTE
Research
Observation of community
practices
Community scanning
/mapping
Investigating Community
Knowledge and practices
Teaching
Understanding Learning as
a social practice within a
community
Reflecting and
Funds of Knowledge
Identifying key aspects of
community literacy
practices
Examining how Curriculum
is constructed, for whom?
Establishing possible
Connections with the
Curriculum content
Developing research
projects that address
community issues in the
language classroom
Reflecting upon the
implications in their
teaching
Integrating activities at various
points in courses & experiences
Seminar on Literacy:
Investigate the city
libraries
Intro to Research:
Community
Mapping
Community Projects with Teachers in
Bogota
Community investigations
Community
mapping using
photographs
1
Sharing the
outcomes with a
wider audience
Links with the
curriculum
5
2
Standards
Implementation
of the projects
4
Planning the
pedagogical units
using the
community assets
3
Mapeo en la comunidad escolar.
Explorar los activos y las ventajas de la comunidad,
Identificar los aspectos positivos del entorno
•Espacios Físicos: Parques, jardines. Zoologicos, areas
verdes, vias peatonales, paradas de bus etc.
• Asociaciones: grupos sociales; grupos Educativos;
asociaciones caritativas; grupos ambientales, clubes
culturles, sindicatos
• Individuos: Diferentes tipos de personas en el barrio,
familias, lideres en la comunidad, ancianos.
• Instituciones: Bibliotecas publicas, iglesias, hospitales,
colegios, policia, bomberos.
• Economia Local: Todos los defferentes tipos de
negocios existentes.
•Ahora miremos si tenemos de estos beneficios en
nuestro entorno. Encontremos de las 5 categorias
Conexiones con los estándares
Recursos &
conocimientos de la
communidad
ESTANDARES:
Lenguaje (grado 6 a 7)
Identifico en situaciones comunicativas auténticas algunas variantes
lingüísticas de mi entorno, generadas por ubicación geográfica, diferencia
social o generacional, profesión, oficio, entre otras.
Ciencias naturales
ESTANDARES:
(grados 6-7)
Identifico recursos renovables y no renovables y
los peligros a los que están expuestos debido al
desarrollo de los grupos humanos
Linguistic landscaping: how are languages/images used? For
what purpose? Who’s the audience?
Planning the language project 8th grade
Semana
2- 6 de
septiembre/13
9-13
Septiembre/13
Descripción
Objetivo
Estándares
Registro
fotográfico de
grafitis de los
barrios donde
viven los
estudiantes de
802
Identificar
grafitis en los
barrios
mediante
registro
fotográfico y
envío al
correo de la
profesora
Comprendo e
interpreto
textos, teniendo
en cuenta el
funcionamiento
de la lengua en
situaciones de
comunicación, el
uso de
estrategias de
lectura y el
papel del
interlocutor y el
contexto.
Presentación de
los grafitis,
asignación de
nombres
Reconocer los
grafitis de los
lugares
cercanos a la
comunidad y
hacer
interpretacion
es iniciales de
los mensajes
expresados
allí.
Recursos de
la comunidad
Grafitis de los
barrios
Producto
Grafitis de los
barrios (ppt)
Presentación,
nominación,
interpretacion
es iniciales
Implementation
• Foto Michelle (paro agrario)
• Video corto de lenguaje? Química?
Results & Significance
Positive:
Increased and/or changed awareness of local
resources and the neighborhoods
Making new connections with students and
families in out of school contexts
Becoming more critical
Generating Curricular ideas/possibilities
Conclusions
References
Albuja, S. & Ceballos, M. (2010). Urban displacement and migration in Colombia. Forced
Migration Review, 34, pp.10-11.
Barton, D., Hamilton, M., & Ivanic, R. (2000). Situated literacies: Reading and writing in context.
New York: Routledge.
Block, D. (2006). Multilingual identities in a global city: London stories. New York: Palgrave
MacMillan.
Delanty, G (2010). Community (2nd Edition). New York: Routledge.
Freire, P. (1988/1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed . New York, NY: Continuum.
Gee, J. (2004). Situated language and learning . New York: Routledge.
González, A. (2007). Professional development of teachers in Colombia: Between colonial and
academic practices. Íkala, revista de lenguaje y cultura , 12 (18), 309-332.
Gruenewald, D. (2003a). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Educational
Researcher, 32, (4), pp. 3–12
Gruenewald, D. (2003b). Foundations of place: A multidisciplinary framework for place-conscious
education. American Educational Research Journal. 40, (3), pp. 619–654
Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a
qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice , 31 (2), 132-141.
Murrell, P. (2001). The community teacher: A new framework for effective urban teaching. New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Sharkey, J. & Clavijo-Olarte, A. (2012). Community-based pedagogies: Projects and
possibilities in Colombia and the US. In Honigsfeld, A. &
Cohen, A. (Eds).
Breaking the mold of education for culturally and linguistically diverse students:
Innovative and successful practices for 21st century schools. Lantham, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield.
Wright, W. (2005). Evolution of federal policy and implications of No Child Left Behind
or language minority students . (EPSL-501-101-LPRU). Tempe, AZ: Arizona State
University.
Bienvenidos a mi mundo
Mu Alba Lucía abatau
Soy Alba Lucía
Fecha actual
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Mu po agarâ Kimane a
Tengo siete años
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Chamin
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Y Español.
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durante
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