Community Based Pedagogies
to Enhance the EFL Curriculum
Amparo Clavijo Olarte PhD
Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas
Bogotá, Colombia
LESLLA 2014
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Context
2008-present
Integrated CBP activities in the literacy and research
courses in the MA program in Applied Linguistics
2012-2013 Community Based project with 15
teachers in four schools in Bogotá
Multiyear Collaborative Study
Colombia-USA
Question: How do we promote knowledge of
local communities as rich resources for language
teaching and learning integrating communitybased pedagogies?
Conceptual Framework
Critical
perspectives
to literacy
Sociocultural
approach to
language
Funds of
Knowledge
Community
based
Pedagogies
Sociocultural approach to language
and literacy
“The nature of literacy embeds the
interaction between the humans and
their environments”. Barton (2007, p.29)
“Literacies are situated and all literate
activity is an indicative of broader social
practices”. (Barton & Hamilton, 2000 p.1)
Critical Perspectives to Literacy
“Literacy implies more than reading the world; it deals with
having learners write and re write reality, transforming reality
through a conscious work.” (p. 56).It implies reading the wordreality because “there is not any use of language that is not
related to reality.” (Freire and Macedo, 1987, p.53)
Funds of knowledge refer to the “historically accumulated and
culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential
for household or individual functioning and well-being” (Moll,
Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 1992, p. 133).
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)
Research Methodology
We employed a collective case study methodology in our investigation. For
our project, the study is bounded by participants, location (i.e., school sites),
time, and task (i.e., curriculum that reflect community knowledge).
Data from interviews to teachers, classroom observations, Curricular units,
Students´ community projects
Participants: EFL teachers and adult learners from basic English level at two
universities in Bogota.
The study also included two public schools: School 1: Alfonso Lopez
Pumarejo, 27 students, age 16-18; low working class, 3 hours English per
week.
School 2: IED Jazmin, three elementary school teachers, low working class
students.
.
8
Community-based Pedagogies Framework
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
Video with pictures of mapping the community
around the school
Video of children reporting about their visit to
the community
Community as Curriculum: Linking
the community, school, and home in the lives
of refugee students (Manchester, USA)
An exploration of the
community through the
eyes of refugee
students, visiting places
such as:
• Parks
• Police station
• Boys and Girls Club
• Currier Museum of Art
•
Evidences
-Student´s artifact -Survey
Evidences
Students´artifacts
Universidad Nacional
Teachers and students explore
places in the community and
interview some inhabitants.
Community Investigations
Community
asset 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
Findings
Human Assets
Linguistic Assets
Recognizing
Community assets
How do we promote knowledge of
local communities as rich
resources for language teaching
and learning integrating
community-based pedagogies?
Cultural Assets
Ecological Assets
Historical Assets
Identifying connections
between the community and
the curriculum
Renewing curriculum
through community
projects
Designing community
projects with students
Sharing the project results
with an academic audience
Human assets
http://youtu.be/slEWOwyl1Yw
Ecological Assets
Ecological assets.
National University in Bogotá has a resource that benefits the university community, Surrounding
people and to Bogota, the flora that is present on our campus, which creates a quiet space in
which we conduct our activities academic daily.
The flora of the campus is comprised of native plants, And introduced plants. As an example of an
introduced plant found a beautiful tree known scientifically Eucalyptus globulus known as
Eucalyptus (photo 1). this tree up to 100 m of high originating in Australia and very used in marshy
areas by their ability to absorb large quantities of water and pleasant aroma is one of my best
friends. With a group of companions the named Lipton. he is behind the engineering classroom
building and CYT, the side of a companion of the same kind sadly marked with blue spray as
Bathroom.
We visit Lipton more than once a week for lunch, relax and share. He gives us peace, company,
wisdom, and foster care; Lipton connects us to the natural world taking us out of the routine, we
disconnected from the Internet, television, cellular, stress, the contamination which are subjected
to everyday. etc; with its lovely fragrance relaxes and helps to recognize our animal part that we all
have inside.
(Andres’ first posting, September 24, 2012)
18
Communitarian Assets
The university offers a plethora of
services for community inhabitants
and citizens in general. Libraries,
cafeterias, dentistry, veterinary
hospital, legal aid clinic and
psychological service are some of
these services that have been
created to assist the larger society.
19
Linguistic
Assets
http://youtu.be/qfNe9yIKar4
20
Cultural Assets
“A nivel general el proyecto sobre la comunidad me ayudó en varios aspectos:
Conocer la riqueza en espacios que tenemos en la universidad los cuales en muchas
ocasiones no son aprovechados por nuestro propio desconocimiento de las actividades
que ofrecen y todo lo que nos pueden aportar social y académico para nuestro paso por
la comunidad. Conocer que diversidad cultural y social podemos encontrar en la
comunidad para así distinguir la riqueza social que tenemos de la cual se puede aprender
y enriquecernos” ( Romapega, Students’ survey, UNAL, November 2012 )
21
Recognizing Community Assets
McKnight and Kretzman (1993): a
process of documenting the
tangible and intangible resources of
a community by viewing the
community as a place with
strengths or assets that need to be
preserved and enhanced, not
deficits to be remedied.
Recognizing valuable sources
available in the community
helps learners acquire
knowledge embedded in
social, cultural and material
contexts (Gee, 2000).
Five types of assets were
identified in the community as
follows: human, cultural,
historical-ideological, ecological,
communitarian and linguistic.
22
Community as curriculum
Community-situated pedagogies (Schecter, Solomon, and Kittmer,
2003): Posit community as curriculum resource and challenges
teachers to design and implement pedagogies based on community
knowledge.
Curriculum change (Canagarajah. 2006) considers that curriculum
change should be a ground up construction taking into account
resources and knowledge, with a sense of partnership between local
and outside experts. Teachers in different communities have to
devise curricula and pedagogies that have local relevance (p. 20).
English in the Community
“In my neighborhood There are some
ads in english…. Why?
- I ask the owner ,why?
He say : Because people likes it … so I
sell more.”
Student’s mapping, 2013
Foreign Language Standard: “I can recognize other cultures
and their values and this allows me to construct my own
interpretation of their identity” 10th &11th grade
Renewing Curriculum
Connections with
Resources
the Level Syllabus
Weeks
Assignment
Description
Week 1
Walking around
the UN
community: A
picture
Students walk around the university or
browse their Facebook pictures and
choose an image of something that
catches their attention from the
University or the surrounding
community.
Students post a voiced comment about
the picture of an emblematic place of the
university.
Writing descriptive
texts.
Writing Narrative
texts.
NarrativeTenses
Voicethread
Present simple.
Present Perfect.
Webpage with
instructions: pictures
of the community
taken by the students.
Forum
Week 2
Common places
at the university
Week 3
Interviewing a
person from the
community
Individually or in groups, students
interview a person of the community
they find meaningful to their daily lives.
Reporting
statements. Reported
Speech Questions
Pictures, videos, or
any other media
students choose.
Week 4
A story about
our University
Community
Narrative Tenses
Reported Speech
Questions
Pictures, discussion
boards.
Week 5
Video Script
Students write a complete story about the
place, person or image of the
community that they have shared in
previous forums.
Students write video scripts about
community topics.
Discussion boards,
newspapers etc.
Week 7
Video recording
Week 8
Video posting
shared in the
forum.
Narrative Tenses
Reported Speech
Questions
Pronunciation /
Fluency
Expressing opinions.
Modals
Week 10
Reflection
Self- assessment
Online survey
Students record and edit their videos
about the university community.
Students publish the videos and post
them to the forum. Comment and rate
their favorite videos
Students fill in an online questionnaire
about the process of the project they
have carried out.
Video resources
Discussion boards,
newspapers etc.
Community as Curriculum
From the teacher perspective:
“It was an opportunity for me to learn more
about their community. I could engage my
students in their English learning in a more
authentic way—they saw their environment as a
resource.”
Teacher’s final interview
From Students’ Perspective
“This project allowed us to find out about the life-story that forms part
of the university. We found out about the teachers that give us their
best to improve the university as well as the administrative staff whose
smiles make us feel at home in the same way as the smiles of our
fellow students do”. (Leidy’s survey, November, 2012)
“A nivel general el proyecto sobre la comunidad me ayudó en varios
aspectos: Conocer la riqueza en espacios que tenemos en la
universidad los cuales en muchas ocasiones no son aprovechados por
nuestro propio desconocimiento de las actividades que ofrecen y todo
lo que nos pueden aportar social y académico para nuestro paso por la
universidad. Conocer que diversidad cultural y social podemos
encontrar en la universidad para así distinguir la riqueza social que
tenemos de la cual se puede aprender y enriquecernos”.
(Romapega’s survey, November 26,2012)
Reflections
In the development of community projects teachers and
students:
 Increased and/or changed awareness of local
resources in the communities
 Valued students’ agency in the co- construction of
curriculum
 Made community knowledge applicable and relevant
in the content areas
 Used the community as a learning resource by
examining students´reality.
Publications
Sharkey, J. and Clavijo, A. (2012). Promoting the value of local knowledge in ESL EFL teacher
education through community-based field assignments. In Medrado, B. and Carla
Reichmann (Eds.). Projetos e praticas na formacao de professors de lingua inglesa. Paraiba:
Brasil. Editora Universitaria UFPB.
Clavijo, A. & Sharkey, J. (2011). Community-Based Pedagogies Projects and Possiblities in
Colombia an the United States. In Andrea Honigsfeld and Audrey Cohan (Eds.). Breaking
the Mold of Education for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. R & L Education
Graduate students’ theses
Ana Milena Valcarcel . Inquiry as a way to generate inclusive learning environments in EFL contexts.
2014
July Rincón. Fostering students’ inquiry skills through the exploration of community based pedagogies
and expressed in an EFL blog.2014
Ángela Pamela González . Community Based Pedagogy and Ӗbẽra Immigrant Kids Schooling Process in
Bogotá. 2014
Leidy Maje. EFL University Students as inquirers investigating community problems.2014
Rosa Alejandra Medina.Community Based Projects as Literacy Resources in an EFL course of a Virtual
Program.2013
Questions and Comments
aclavijoolarte@gmail.com
http://aclavijo.wordpress.com/
http://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/ojs/index.php/calj