Inquiry Proposal – Dayonne, Kiran, Clayton, Natalia, Allison
Context:
We have learned that building a sense of ownership and relevancy for students is key to improving classroom motivation and meaningful engagement with materials. One area that we are all interested is in using project-based learning in which students are involved in long-term projects and are given the majority of responsibility for their own learning. In addition, we would like to explore the idea of community-based learning in which students make connections outside of the classroom to enhance their learning experience. In this project our team will consider implementation of experiential, project-based learning, as well as building community links and partnership as a means of fostering ownership and relevance in education. We are all Language Arts teachers who would like to emphasize the human in the Humanities- the real-world application of reading and writing as a means for human connection.
Inquiry question: How do teachers implement effective project-based learning that connects classrooms with a broader community?
Subquestions:
Kiran: How can the use of literature in the classroom inspire students to become involved in humanitarian work?
Clayton: What are strategies for designing effective project-based learning environments? How can teachers support students in self-directed projects?
Allison: How can literature circles be used to build positive community both in and outside of the classroom?
Natalia: What are the different perspectives with regard to student-based learning? Why are teachers resistent in breaking away from the traditional teacher-centered model of education and what are the effects of this hostility ?
Dayonne: What are the challenges and benefits of involving language arts students in service-learning projects?
Goals:
1. Demonstrate the meaningful application of arts and humanities in
real-world contexts (Life Skills and Communication)
2. Provide strong rationale for alternative learning experiences. Connect
PBL with PLO’s and communicate value to variety of stakeholder.
3. Explore resistance to SBL and inspire future educators to pursue
alternative SBL projects.
4. Foster community links. Make space for learning outside of classroom.
5. Modeling real-world communities in online spaces.
6. Building positive community through group work and ongoing
self-evaluation of student learning, both academically and socially.
7. Foster understanding of broader social issues and empower students to
make a positive change/difference/impact.
Symposium Format
Doing research outside of class time (Field Work)
-Accessibility
The Living Breathing Bibliography:
Cubukcu, Z. (2012). Teachers’ evaluation of student-centered learning environments. Education, 133(1), 49
Freiberg, J.H. (2001). From tourists to citizens in the classroom. Educational Leadership, 54(1), 32-36.
Kain, D. J. (2003). Teacher-centered versus student-centered: Balancing constraint and theory in the composition classroom.Pedagogy, 3(1), 104-108. doi: 10.1215/15314200-3-1-104
Kelly, Deirdre M., and Gabriella Minnes Brandes. (2001). Shifting out of “Neutral”: Beginning Teachers’ Struggles with Teaching for Social Justice. Canadian Journal of Education, 26(4), 437-454.
Mitchell, Diana. (1997). Using Short Story Collections to Enrich the English Classroom. The English Journal, 86(8), 73-77.
Reupert, A., and Woodcock, S. (2010). Success and near misses: Pre-service teachers’ use, confidence and success in various classroom management strategies. Teaching and Teacher Education 26(6), 1261-1268.
Seixas, P. (1993). The community of inquiry as a basis for knowledge and learning. The case of history. American Educational Research Journal, 30(2), 305-324.
Watkins, C. (2006). Classrooms as learning communities: A review of research. London Review of Education, 3(1), 47-64.
