BATES COLLEGE EDUCATION 450 Seminar in Educational Studies FALL 2009 PETTENGILL 116 T/Th 2:40-4 Patricia Buck, PhD. Associate Professor pbuck@bates.edu 786-6282 Office Hours: Thursday 10-12 and by Appointment The Education Department Departmental Mission The Bates College Department of Education seeks to foster the democratic possibilities of schooling through the study of American public education and other comparative systems. The aim of the department is to create an environment in which students and faculty together analyze the complex dynamics between the purposes and products of schooling, and the social structures and cultural processes that comprise the broader context for education. In particular, we want to nurture in our students the development of these qualities: Critical action and civic responsibility –Because we want our students to develop a sense of social responsibility and concern for the common good, we encourage them to be involved in the local community and beyond through field work, service learning projects, policy analysis, student teaching, and empirical research. Reflection and engagement – In our vision of education, reflection and engagement work together to deepen students’ understanding and foster their personal growth. Imagination and a passion for learning - With imagination, a passion for learning, and the skills and knowledge that we help them develop, our students are well prepared to pursue their interests in education. Commitment to social justice – Throughout our program, we encourage students to recognize and address the influence of social context on the democratic possibilities of schooling. 1 The Service Learning Requirement Every course offered within the Education Department includes a 30 hour field placement requirement. Placements are most often in local schools, institutions, or community organizations and are coordinated through the Harward Center for Community Partnership. Placements are designed to provide a “service” to both participating parties. The Bates education student is provided with an opportunity to spend time in a setting in which many of themes, issues, and perspectives introduced in the college classroom are manifest in daily life. Through engagement in the dialectic relationship between first hand participant observation, critical reading and writing, and classroom discussion, students in education courses are invited to construct personalized knowledge and philosophies about pertinent lines of inquiry and debate within the field of education. For their part, local hosts are provided an additional educational resource. The service provided by Bates education students varies widely depending on the nature of the Education Department course in which they are enrolled, their level of experience, initiative and interest, and the expressed need(s) of the community host. Sometimes students simply offer an extra pair of hands providing one on one tutoring or serving as a “reading buddy” for individual pupils. Other times Bates students work closely with their host to develop in depth research projects; lesson plans and curriculum units; or educational events, workshops, or programs. The exact form of any given field placement is shaped collaboratively by the student, community host, education coordinator for the Harward Center, and Education Department faculty. Given the long term and reciprocal relations upon which the service learning program depends, it is imperative that education students meet their service learning obligations through regular attendance and maintenance of open lines of communication with the community host. Department Library The Education Department lounge houses a wide-ranging collection of books and journals, organized in broad topic sections. Feel free to browse there and to sign out an item by completing a check out card and filing it in the box left for that purpose on a small table in the lounge. Please cross out your name when you return the item. The Course Course Description Required of all students in the educational studies minor, the educational studies seminar helps senior students to reflect upon and synthesize their previous education courses, courses in related fields, and their field experiences. Students produce and present a culminating project through which they lend depth to the breadth of knowledge they have acquired in the field of educational foundations. A thirty hour field placement is required. 2 Course Readings Chapter 5, ‘Reflection and Reflective Practice’ in Anne Brockbank’s (2007) Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education. New York : McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing (Ebook) Chapter 14, ‘Writing About Yourself: The Memoir’ in Howard Zissner’s On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York : Harper & Row (Lyceum) Barnett and Coates’ (2004) Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education Maidenhead : McGraw-Hill Education Blacklick. (Ebook) J. Jipson et al. (2004) Repositioning Feminism and Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social Change. (On Reserve in Ladd and Available at Bookstore) A.J. Angulo's (2008) William Barton Rogers and the Idea of MIT. Johns Hopkins University Press. (On Reserve in Ladd and Available at Bookstore) P. Carter’s (2007) Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White. Oxford University Press. (Ebook) Assignments Journal Entries: Over the course of the semester, students will complete four journal entries. In the first three entries students are asked to reflect back upon aspects of their life at Bates. These entries should be informed by the topics, controversies and lines of inquiry introduced in the appropriate assigned readings and class discussions. The final journal entry asks students to apply key lessons and identified interests to the development of a culminating project in educational studies. Journal Conventions: Each entry should be 5-8 pages, double spaced with proper citations. Journal Entry I: Reflecting on Personal Life at Bates, Due September 24th Journal Entry II: Reflecting on Academic Life at Bates, Due October 6th Journal Entry III: Reflecting on the Education, Due October 15th Journal Entry IV: Proposing a Culminating Project, Due October 19th Culminating Project: The nature of these projects will vary and will be developed in close consultation with me, Due December 10th 3 Portfolio The final portfolio should include An introduction (3-5 pages) that offers a descriptive evaluation of the course and your engagement within it. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? How are course and personal strengths and weaknesses reflected in the accumulated work? Journal Entries I-IV Your Culminating Project Completed Log Sheet and Teacher Evaluation Due December 10th Assessment Class Participation Journal Entry I Journal Entry II Journal Entry III Journal Entry IV Culminating Project Portfolio 15 Percent 10 Percent 10 Percent 10 Percent 10 Percent 40 Percent 5 Percent 4 CLASS SCHEDULE CLASS Thursday September 10th Tuesday September 15th TOPIC READING DUE UNIT ONE: LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD Introduction Thinking Reflectively Thursday September 17th Tuesday September 22nd Thursday September 24th Students Present on Personal Life at Bates Tuesday September 29th Thursday October 8th Tuesday October 13th In Class Refection Carousel In Class Expansion: Reflecting on Personal Experience Journal Entry I: Reflecting on Personal Life at Bates Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education (Ebook) Barnett and Coates’ Thursday October 1st Tuesday October 6th Chapter 5, ‘Reflection and Reflective Practice’ in Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education (Ebook) Chapter 14, ‘Writing About Yourself: The Memoir’ in Writing Well (Lyceum) Selections from C. Rosen’s My Fundamentalist Education (Lyceum) Selections from C. Rosen’s My Fundamentalist Education (Lyceum) Barnett and Coates’ NOTES Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education (Ebook) Students Present on Academic Life at Bates Journal Entry II: Reflecting on Academic Life at Bates J. Jipson et al. Repositioning Feminism and Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social Change J. Jipson et al. Repositioning Feminism and 5 Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social Change Thursday October 15th Tuesday October 19th Tuesday October 27th Thursday October 29th Tuesday November 3rd Thursday November 5th FIELDTRIP! Students Present on Educational Studies at Bates Journal Entry III: Reflecting on the Education Minor Students Present on Journal Entry Proposed Projects IV: Proposed Project: What is your Project? Why this project? How is it related to results of reflective process? UNIT TWO: THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES History of Education A.J. Angulo's William Barton Rogers and the Idea of MIT A.J. Angulo's William Barton Rogers and the Idea of MIT Sociology/Anthropology P. Carter’s Keepin' It of Education Real: School Success Beyond Black and White (Ebook American Educational P. Carter’s Keepin' It Studies Association Real: School Success Meetings Beyond Black and White (Ebook Discuss AESA Meetings Tuesday November 10th TBA Thursday th November 12 Student Selected SubTuesday th Field Within November 17 Thursday November 19th Student Selected Reading From SubEducational Studies Field Within Educational Studies Student Selected SubStudent Selected Field Within Reading From SubEducational Studies Field Within (cont.) Educational Studies UNIT THREE: THE FINAL LAP 6 Tuesday December 1st Thursday December 3rd Tuesday December 8th Thursday December 10th Student Presentation of Final Project Student Presentation of Final Project Student Presentation of Final Project Wrap-Up 7