Dear Aga,
I hope you do not mind if I respond to a few of your responses!
"1. Ron: Prior to respond to your very challenging question on assessment techniques to categorize functional and academic learners, I would to like present my point of view on Bob’s following comments (in red), which will help in explaining assessment techniques: “most people are what they are”. “It's unfair to penalize them or reward them. This is true most people are what they are. That’s why as a society or a nation or a religion or a culture or a system of justice, we require people to behave in a certain way. For example we all appreciate that all sorts of crimes such as murdering, stealing etc. are not acceptable behavior.
Therefore, it is not unfair to penalize them. Referring to recent Arizona incident. Do you think that shooter is “most people are what they are. It is unfair to penalize him”. On the other hand, a Nobel Prize winner should be rewarded because he or she has done something good for human being. Is it unfair to reward them?"
* What *are* and what we *do* are two different things; what we are is not a conscious a choice, while what we do involves both deliberate and conscious choice, so the analogy between rewarding and penalizing personhood and punishment of crime is a false one.
"2. In other words, suppose you didn't know what nation, what social class or what material conditions and so on would be your lot. What form of justice would you design as "just"?. No judgment can be made without a criteria or standards. All those factors such as social class, material conditions etc. constitute in helping to develop a criteria of judgment. However, people will not get justice, if criteria is unfair and contains loop holes for subjective interpretations and provide power to judge as a sole discretion."
* The form of justice that you would wish to have applied to your behaviors and their consequences if *you* did not know what class, background, sex, age etc you were. i.e. One that would not penalize you in any way because of your age, class, sex, race etc.
"11. You may find, some learners can be neatly classified as functional and academic learners and further as engineers, doctors, teachers, scientists, plumbers and so on. Some may be 70% functional learners and 30% academic learners and vice versa and some are bit of both. 12. You may ask this question to yourself: Are you functional or academic learner? What sort of profession do you like? Can you neatly classify yourself as functional or academic learner or you think you are more academic and occasionally functional and so on."
*I'm not familiar with the idea of a 'functional' vs and 'academic' learner. As I'm not up on this at all, I'm afraid I had thought that function was a degree of ability within academic learning. Can you point me to some literature on the subject? But from what I understand you to be saying, I think I would argue that any 'type' of learner can more accurately be described only as someone with a current learning tendency, (in the sense that a physicist might use the word tendency!) which may subsequently change or be changed.
love
Sara
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From: "Tinsley, Ron" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 10 January, 2011 6:28:57
Subject: Re: Educational influence and Social Formation
Aga:
I am intrigued by your posting and feel that it brings forth fundamental questions that still need to be addressed both within local educational systems and at our global level.
Assessment has become a dominant term in education. One possible use of educational assessment data is the sorting individuals into categories, as you prescribe. I am curious: what are some specific assessments you would feel appropriate to use at steps 1 and 2, as you describe below? Knowing these might help me to better understand your philosophy and practice.
As many of us may be aware, there is a long line of thought (going back to the ancients) that assumes people ultimately sort themselves, to some degree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_fittest
But I must still question this line of thought: Is it the role of educators to capitalize upon the notion of sorting people out and to pursue the practice in a systematic fashion using the knowledge we have acquired? Or, is the mission of educators, rather, to help liberate the next generations from being sorted out by forces of which they are not aware?
People do not know what they do not know. Tautologically, the role of educators is to educate.
Best wishes,
Ron
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From: Practitioner-Researcher [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of aga yamin [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 4:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Educational influence and Social Formation
Dear Alan, Sara and All
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I think it is important if we clearly define all concepts as I talked about in my previous email and analyze the implications of learning style and traditional differentiations for learning and teaching strategies as Alan pointed out.
1. Traditionally Blue Collars are those people who belong to working class and perform manual labour. While, White Collar are those who work for service sectors and their jobs are not considered manual labour
2. I have to modify the term “Blue Collar” as it is not representing truly what I mean by Blue Collar in terms of teaching & learning , We may call them “Functional Learners” These are those, who learn by gaining hands-on experience. Not necessarily these learners are labourers or from working class. They could be a future surgeon rather than a physician or a mechanical engineer with responsibilities of vehicle or machinery assembly rather than designing machines on drawing board or an inventor. On the other hand, we may call White Collar as Academic Learners. These are conventional learners.
3. As per my previous email, the whole philosophy of differentiation needs to be changed from result-based differentiation to “Aptitude-based” Differentiation. If this the case then the following learning model may be delineated:
• Step-1: Classify learners as Functional and Academic by employing appropriate assessment techniques
• Step-2: Assess each learner’s aptitude towards learning. (As we know, Aptitude is an innate ability of an individual to learn or perform certain tasks or activities.) We need to find out what are those “certain activities “ which people like to learn and perform. For example, in case of functional learners, some may like to assemble machines rather than to design them on the drawing board. It is vital to differentiate learners according to their aptitude and progression needs
• Step-3: Assess learning style. Learning style comes after classifying learners according to their aptitudes. It does not come at the first level of initial assessment as we normally practice. Although, generally people fall into established learning styles categories defined in VARK. Honey and Munford or Kolb’s Style, models but learning styles are not that simple. It varies according to our experience, mood, nature of topic, environment, mates, tutors, personality and a wide range of factors. Learning style is a variable factor. It varies from day to day or from weeks to weeks or months or years.
• Step-4: Formulating learner-Based Teaching & Learning Strategies: By this stage, now one should have sufficient data of functional and academic learners aptitudes and learning style, It is convenient to design teaching & learning strategies. Learning and teaching strategies Cover the following areas:
• How to teach the same standards and learning outcomes to functional and academic learners?
• What kind of tutor (person specifications) requires to teach functional learners and what kind of tutor requires to teach Academic learners
• What are the commonalities between functional and academic learners and how those commonalities should be taught?
• How individual’s learning style should be addressed? and so on
Regards
Aga
________________________________
From: Joan Lucy Conolly <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sun, 9 January, 2011 9:17:44
Subject: Re: Educational influence and Social Formation
Dear Sara
Thank you for the reminder that "there is always hope and that everything we do matters even when it does not seem to...". A timely - and heart strengthening - reminder for us all.
I am so delighted that your imagination, creativity and sheer hard work, all infused with so much love, has been recognized for what it is. I share your joy! Not only because it has happened to you but also because my group and I have had similar recognition for our work where we are. I am hoping that there will be many more stories of 'recognition, acceptance, and support' for such initiatives reported in this conversation space in 2011.
Take care
Joan
-----Original Message-----
From: Practitioner-Researcher [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Salyers, Sara M
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 9:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Educational influence and Social Formation
Wow! White collar and blue collar? (Alan, do you still doubt that the industrial model persists?)
1. Learning styles are important but the tip of an iceberg; context, meaning and relationship are more significant factors in and predictors of success than texts or teaching style.
2. Brain research hows that, unless there is a physical/neurological impediment, every human being has the capacity to become an Einstein or a Da Vinci;
3. We cannot create learners; human beings are already created as phenomenal learners and our job is to facilitate (rather than mutilate) what is already there;
4. I teach blue collar 'types'. They are exactly the same as white collar types once they have learned the language of formal/universal English.
5. The essential distinction is not between formative or creative-style teaching. The difference is between impositional and oppressive, 'engineering' education (reflected int he notion that we do something to our students), and human, non oppressive contextual, authentic and relational education (reflected in the notion that we do something along with out students. Personally, I regard it as helping to get them out of their own way so that they can be as amazing as they really are.)
6. I can verify the effectiveness of the latter from the results coming out of my classroom which are both holistically significant (in terms of levels of satisfaction, pleasure, self awareness, empowerment, and self expression), and academically significant (in terms of fluency and voice in good 'correct' formal English). Incidentally, I teach formal English entirely as the means to an end - the medium of communication in the endeavor to explore and communicate, through with and to, self, world and other. It is a matter of emphasis that is crucial in its effects.
I have two positive things to share. First, I had an amazing opportunity to 'spread some love' on Thursday at our first Spring semester in-service, where I'd been asked to give a presentation on the use of my audio immersion technique with my transitional writing (developmental) students. I showed a group of transitional writing instructors (an *awesome* bunch of human beings by the way), the 'progressions' of transitional students who were listening to formal English - some of which are breathtaking - and some of their written discussions at the 'oh-no!-now-i've-started-correcting-people-around-me' stage of this process. The delight and pleasure, laughter and excitement at who these students really are and what they are truly capable of (as opposed to what the story about them says they are capable of), was more than heartwarming; it was absolutely thrilling. Sharing love and delight with others: it was better than.. (I'll let you fill in the blank!)
Second, and especially for those who helped me to deal with my pain and hopelessness over the fate of our pre-transitional students (under-under prepared you might say)... something lovely has happened and I hope you will forgive me for sharing it despite the lack of proper modesty I may display by doing so. I mentioned a few moths ago the unlikelihood that, even if I were successful with this one class, we could get a grant, now that state funding has been withdrawn, to show that a different approach *could* change their prognosis - and the program outcome. Anyway, at his request, I sent our VP the final grades/outcomes for that class. Here's his reply of last week:
"I appreciate your willingness to share your success numbers with me. They are outstanding. I could tell during my visit that something important was taking place in your class; I wish you continued success with your courses this semester. I'll spend some time looking for a grant and a will similar to yours.
Best..."
I'm half ecstatic and half 'holding my breath' about the grant. (And then I have to outline a syllabus and show other instructors how to do what I did so that I can still go off - please God - and do my PhD in the Fall!) Thus I have gone from 'what am I doing this for, when there's no hope', a few months ago, to sitting myself down and giving myself a stern lesson on remembering that there is always hope and that everything we do matters even when it does not seem to...
love
Sara
________________________________________
From: Practitioner-Researcher [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Alan Markowitz [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>]
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 9:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Educational influence and Social Formation
Dear Aga,
The idea of classsifying students by learning style undermines the whole premise of the theory. First of all, our goal should be to create learners who can adapt to different styles of knowledge acquisition. Secondly, the concept of differentiation of instruction requires us to present information in different formats throughout an instructional period so that all are exposed to working with other students with differing styles of learning.
Thank you for the stimulating topic.
Alan
Dr. Alan Markowitz
Program Chair- Graduate Teacher Education
College of St. Elizabeth
(973)290-4328
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]><mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 3:29 AM, aga yamin <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]><mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>> wrote:
Dear Brendan
I am sure Je Kan will provide you with the better explanation of your concerns related to creativity and productivity especially in relation to SAT and social formation. Meanwhile, please find my point of view as follows:
1. Perhaps I agree with your boss, the "right" creativity or more appropriately "Innovation" can bring better SAT results. At present, we are differentiating students according to their results by assembling them into sets. Top set, bottom set etc. Perhaps this approach is not that effective as expected as evidenced by the results
2. I think we should classify students according to their aptitude rather than results and teach them accordingly
3. For example, generally speaking, there are two types of people: one are "Blue Collar", and others are "White Collar"
4. Blue Collar learn through hand-on experience. The others can learn through conventional learning techniques. If you try to teach a blue collar student by using conventional techniques, you may find very challenging and difficult to induce concepts in them. It does not mean that they are not interested in learning. We are not applying the right approach to develop them
5. First we need to classify students into blue collar and white collar
6. Second we need to further identify their aptitude toward their learning.
7. Third we need to identify their learning style
8. It will give you the right parameters to develop your learner-focused teaching & learning strategies
8. You may conduct a pilot study and assess the results. Depending on your learning & Teaching strategies, If your results are positive then it means you have influence educationally on your students and managed to gain social validation of your work and created a new social formation in terms of students learning
Regards
Aga
________________________________
From: BRENDAN CRONIN <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]><mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>>
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]><mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Sent: Fri, 7 January, 2011 13:00:43
Subject:
Dear All,
Thanks Jack and Je Kan. Thanks Jack for those references and our thoughts on Wenger. I find Je Kan your thoughts on the self interesting. What is the relation of my self to others? Is the idea of the self illusory? But domination of one knowledge in the workplace is of course a strongly political thing, an essential part of the social formation and can act to oppress and dominate. It can contrain individual action. You are the boss, you tell me that the dichotomy between performativity and creativity is a false dichotomy, but I in my practice find this to be a falsehood. The boss says get on. I want to see you teaching in a creative way and getting first class SATs results. Who suffers? The children. me and in the end the school because it is unachievable.
I only want to try to quantify influence on colleagues and them on me in order to develop some model of workplace learning, a model which would be deeply democratic, based on the needs of the learner and essentially anarchistic. It will be a model of learning and a model of professional development.
Cheers,
Brendan
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