by James | Jul 17, 2020 | JamesEd
Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire, translated (Schor, 1992), is a great read. I initially read it with an unconscious assumption that he was a western philosopher; or at least spoke to an audience that was the same as western philosophers. However his government was actively making progressive education very difficult! When I read more into his country’s economic and political situation, and saw his impact on revolutionary activities, I realized that he was coming from a very different cultural background. I appreciated a moment of reflection: that the thoughts of teachers worldwide share many common grounds.
Campus Party
In my own experience, I can relate one experiences in particular. The first was attending a conference called “Campus Party Sao Paulo”, which is shown to be heavily focused on technology entertainment and hobbies (Torre, 2019). I attended as an instructor, and helped people learn to build simple electronic circuits. A primary issue I heard from many attendees was that they wanted to participate in electronics like friends in America and Europe, but were intentionally hindered by the government with a variety of barricades. After reading Freire, I think that their educational philosophies were similar to mine, western progressive, but like Freire’s audience in Brazil were hindered by government policy. The feeling I get from both of them is very wistful and curious.
Dr. Qais Faryadi
In sharp relief to this was my experience reading Dr. Qais Faryadi’s personal explanation of educational philosophy common among Islamic educators trained in traditional Islamic methods, which relies in part on the holy book the Al-Quran, and in part on modern science (Faryadi, 2015). I admit that my initial impressions were heavily influenced by him writing in English rather than using a translator to localize terms, and his insertion of Islamic script into the paper. A book should not be judged by its cover, but first impressions are unavoidable. Dr. Faryadi’s focus on detailed explanation on the moral reasons for education spoke to me as I imagine someone unfamiliar with American democracy would read Dewey.
Commonalities that Exclude Myself
To synthesize the two impressions I had, from Freire and Dr. Faryadi, I would like to draw a connection between the two philosophers which *excludes* my own experiences. This connection is one that I need to reflect upon and feed into my own viewpoints, so that I may evolve my teaching philosophy and be better informed when implementing lessons. The connection is around cultural certitude. In Islam it is dictated by religion and in Brazil it is dictated by government. In my own small-town American education, certitude was looked down upon as a bad behavior, perhaps described as “righteousness”. However, I need to recognize that not everyone is coming from this perspective. Two teachers who both believe in creating confident, aware, and capable students can have very different viewpoints on the certainty of their beliefs. I am sometimes at a disadvantage when I leave questions hanging in the air like, “…but in the end, who knows what behavior is right? The only thing we can do is set examples and encourage open minds.”
Conclusion
In the future, I’ll consider my audience more closely before making my statements. I believe, and hope, that I will still make them, but understanding my allies will give me more tact and I could receive more uderstanding.
References
Schor, I. (1992). Education is politics: Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. In Paulo Freire: A critical encounter. [pdf] (pp. 24-36). Retrieved from eBook Central in LIRN.
Faryadi, Q. (2015, Nov. & Dec.). An Islamic perspective of teaching philosophy: A personal justification. Retrieved July 12, 2020, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED574266.pdf (9pg)
Torre, Dalla (2019, Feb 24). Campus Party Brasil 2019. Youtube. Retrieved July 12, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieNzCptrW0
by James | Jul 16, 2020 | JamesEd
The Impact of Organization: Classroom Seating
Seating arrangements influence classroom social behaviors, sources of knowledge, and the allocation of responsibilities. Social behaviors adapt based on who is in a student’s group of accessible people. Traditionally, this is just the teacher, but it can be expanded outwards to include small groups or even the whole classroom. Sources of knowledge adjust to include additional sources beyond the teacher’s words. A traditionally arranged classroom can achieve this if the teacher focuses on it, but alternative arrangements come with an in-built assumption that information can come from other sources, not just from the teacher’s lecture. Finally, the perceptions of responsibilities are altered, focusing around self-agency and empowerment to fulfill your own needs, changes based on the rules of interaction. However, I assume a typical set of rules in each seating arrangement, though it is certainly possible to put into place one seating arrangement and use the rules of another. We won’t delve into that in this study.
In traditional rows, the classroom is arranged such that each student sits individually in a grid pattern at their own desk. Rules and procedures can be dictated or created; however, this seating arrangement comes with some built-in assumptions that play a large role.
- Students have an expectation to be quiet
- Students receive knowledge from the teacher
- Students raise their hand if they need anything outside their immediate space, but otherwise follow instructions independently with interacting with other students
In a small groups arrangement, student desks can be combined or tables can be set in such a way that 3 to 5 students might face each other and work together.
- Students talk to each other loud enough to be heard by all group members
- Students receive knowledge from the teacher but help on following instructions from teammates
- Students raise their hand on behalf of the entire group if anything outside their immediate space is needed, often discussing the needs with the group prior to requesting help
In open layouts with activity centers and movable desks, seating is arranged to accommodate specific types of work. A photography center might have a seat for a photographer and assistant, and a place to stand for the student being photographed. Or a hot glue station might be established at a table with standing-room only.
- Students sometimes talk loud enough to be heard across the room, if they are working in groups but have group members dispersed across activity centers
- Students receive knowledge from activity centers, and this can be from either a teacher, another student, or a mechanical source like a book or tablet.
- Students approach the teacher if they need anything not available from the classroom activity centers or their classmates. Sometimes students might yell across the room, but this should be corrected to a lower volume.
Personal Preference
In the majority of my classes and class plans, I use the “small groups” layout. It appeals to me because I enjoy the mildly similar classroom mood to a traditional layout, which results in students being able to fall back on learned behaviors and expectations in times of confusion or stress. This is not an ideal scenario, but I recognize that my teaching desires do not immediately translate to teaching capabilities. I feel that this compromise between “what I believe in” and “what I believe I can do” is reasonable and ultimately the most beneficial scenario for my students.
Many teachers see a changing seating arrangement to be the best, “flexible seating options are lifesavers. Students learn differently and have different bodily-spatial and kinesthetic needs.” (Petlak, 2015, para. 2). This is true, but generally changing layouts mid-class will take 10 minutes at least.
I run open layouts frequently, and often experience too-much noise, confusion around the value of knowledge, and a messy space. I take advantage of relative quietness, implied teacher-based knowledge source, and implication that all needed materials are at the group table. On top of this, I discuss with the class special rules or procedures that we can implement during activities. This is in line with Paulo Friere’s ideas regarding participatory and democratic classrooms (McLaren, pg. 32). I lead these procedures to empower non-teacher knowledge sources and give some freedom to group representatives to move about the classroom gathering materials or getting help from other groups.
Conclusion
We have reviewed three student seating arrangements and seen pros and cons for each of them in three different categories. I hope this gives a clear description of my personal preference, and a situation that I believe occurs in many classrooms where teachers seek to adopt progressive methods but are limited by class time, training resources, and assessment flexibility.
References
Petlak, L. (2015). Functional, flexible classroom seating options. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/lindsey-petlak/functional-flexible-classroom-seating-options/
McLaren, P., & Leonard, P. (1993). Paulo Freire: A critical encounter. London: Routledge.
by James | Jul 14, 2020 | JamesEd
Work Stations
Work Stations are currently in use in my classroom, where students can approach an area of the class to accomplish some specific task or utilize particular tools. There is a mix of mentoring work stations and independent work stations. Oftentimes the physical function of a work station will remain consistent, but whether the station is mentored or independent changes. This is usually in support of classroom needs, but sometimes the needs are mismatched or cannot be met. In these situations, it is often easy to reflect on the stations with the classroom and gain some useful conclusions about improving the stations.
What and Why
The work stations are based around a Design Thinking cycle, and include activities like interviewing, brainstorming, storyboarding, hot glueing, or presenting. Some of the major reasons I use them are the promotion of:
- Self-paced learning, which relates to the “Challenging Activities” referenced by Designing effective activity centers for diverse learners (Hilberg, 2003).
- Utilizing credible information sources that are disassociated from the teacher. Hilberg also recognizes the value of this in the Joint Productive Activities standard.
Positive Environment
These workstations contribute to a positive classroom environment. Even it situations where they are the source of issues and challenges, students are able to reflect on the causes of the issues and take ownership in redesigning the stations for more effective use in the future, or by the use of other classes.
For new classes, the experience can be challenging. Use of the workstations can feel chaotic and non-traditional, especially with older students who expected lectures. In these cases, I find it useful to review literature on progressive educational philosophies, so that the concepts can gain credibility through citation and well-respected organizations.
References and Further Reading
Freire, P. (1993). A Critical Encounter. London. Routledge.
Hilberg, R.S., Chang, J., & Epaloosse, G. (2003). Designing effective activity centers for diverse learners: A guide for teachers at all grade levels and for all subject areas. Retrieved from http://manoa.hawaii.edu/coe/crede/wp-content/uploads/Hilberg_et_al_20031.pdf
by James | Jul 9, 2020 | JamesEd
Experiencing Success and Failure
Setting up and enforcing classroom rules and procedures is critical to a successful classroom, and a positive classroom environment. Classroom rules lead students into forming mental models of the classroom, which students can rely upon when reflecting upon the classroom experiences. Clearer impressions of the classroom give students greater freedom when reflecting to imagine future scenarios of accomplishments or challenges; without a clear model the reflections are not strengthened by certain knowledge of causes and effects and become more like daydreams and less like actionable steps. A huge variety of classroom rules exists, in part because of the role that the teachers and students play in creating them. When done effectively, these roles have an immensely positive impact and, very importantly, create a safe working environment (Rosevear, 2009).
Classroom rules and procedures differ in many important ways, and I would like to highlight that whereas rules generally exist at all times or the majority of times whether or not they are called upon, procedures can be initiated infrequently according to whether or not the situation to use them arises. Rules against bullying exist and are in effect at all times whether or not bullying is occurring, whereas earthquake procedures only come into effect during an earthquake. In appreciation of this, classroom procedures can often take on an experimental model, and allow students to experience control over the classroom that is transient and less capable of long-term damages. It also allows for more procedures to be created, in excess of the low number of rules that needs to be maintained in order for everyone to simply remember them all (Parton, 2009). Failure is an important experience, and there are opportunities in classroom procedures for students to experience failure of creating solid procedures. For example, procedures governing the presentation of science projects may only occur once a semester, so if mistakes are made it would be easy to reflect upon them as a class after the event.
Guiding Method
My personal model of discipline is the guiding method. I begin semesters with a higher amount of teacher decision making, but gradually imbue the classroom with control. Initially I create all classroom rules, relying upon convention and generalizations openly with my students. Establishing this quickly is a foundation of the classroom environment, so that expectations for the rest of the year are set (Wong, 2012). For example, asking students if they are okay arrive on time and answer roll call, based on what they’ve seen in other classes, or if I need to personally create rules and enforce them. However, after the class has experienced some success in typical behavior, I enjoin the students to debate the necessity for fine details of typical rules and call for classroom buy-in to any suggestions that I feel are reasonable. The expectations can be set early, but still need to be built upwards.
Group Work Rules
Group work classroom rules and procedures are a useful testing ground for incorporating student input. Group work frequency can be controlled by the teacher, and group work procedures can be trialed before the teacher initiates conversations around generalized classroom rules. For example, during group work periods, special procedures can be created for students leaving to use the bathroom. Due to the self-management of individual groups, it may be appropriate to set up procedures that rely less upon raising your hand and asking the teacher for permission, and more upon evaluating the situation and deciding if it’s appropriate to step out of the class or not. Invariably, boundaries are tested, and teacher involvement is needed, but often an acceptable procedure can be created with student input because of the additional commitment they put into things they create, as William Glasser believed and advocated (Parton, 2009, p. 31). In the best case, this procedure can become a rule that is used at all times in the classroom, not only a procedure that is in effect during group work periods.
Positive Environments Grown from Failure and Success
In these situations, positive classroom environments are created from rules created in cooperation with students. Classroom rules are tested out as procedures and only become rules if they are proven to have a positive impact. However, positive environments are not always immediately created from procedures created in cooperation with students. When Parton says that meaningful lessons are the best thing to nurture positive behaviors (Parton, 2009, p. 30), I believe the lesson itself can be on behavior. By design, failure is built into this methodology where students are empowered to create procedures with negative outcomes. This is done with long-term positive impacts in mind, and all members of the classroom must be aware of this, especially when things are going poorly. Generally, control that is not given to students includes to ability to lead the classroom into conclusions that are not obvious, or to contextualize non-standard situations as successes or failures.
Classroom Management and Order
A teacher can assess the effectiveness of their policies around creating classroom rules and procedures by observing how frequently students stay on task, and whether the students themselves are aware of if the classroom order is contributing to work being done or not. Teachers often know whether or not students are on-task, but students should also be able to easily observe whether other students are on-task or not. This contributes to a feeling of fairness and safety, which is important in establishing an effective classroom environment (Rosevear, 2009). If a class commonly seems disorganized and chaotic, but all students are both on-task as well as being aware that the classroom is, on a whole, on-task, then the teacher can feel relieved that an effective system is in place.
Conclusion
This review has shown a guiding method of discipline influencing the creation of classroom rules and procedures. It involves a heavy amount of student input, and results in both successes and failures. The method creates a positive classroom environment through testing, reflection, and selection of the best procedures. It helps maintain classroom order by focusing on classroom order as an ability of students, imbuing them with self-agency, but also allowing them to observe the behavior of other students in order to see how effective their choices have been when other students must follow the same rules. This assessment of effectiveness is critical for both students and the teacher to be able to reflect and act upon and should lead to a positive learning environment.
References
Partin, R.L. (2009). Classroom teacher’s survival guide: Practical strategies, management techniques and reproducibles for new and experienced teachers. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Rosevear, J.E. (2009). First month: Classroom rules that work. Instructor, 119 (1), 57.
Wong, H., Wong, R., Rogers, K., & Brooks, A. (2012). Managing your classroom for success: Organization in the first week is the foundation for a successful school year. Science and Children, 49 (9), 60+.
by James | Jul 9, 2020 | JamesEd
Progressivism in the Classroom
Western education has a number of educational philosophies impacting the development of the school and the classroom. Different educational philosophies are documented in regard to both educators employing them, as well as philosophers advocating them. In some cases, educational philosophies have more practitioners than advocates, but researchers often seek to explain common practices of classrooms relative to the defined philosophies, rather than seeking explanation based on the teacher’s intellectual preferences.
In this review I will examine progressivism and detail its effect on classroom practices. I will compare it to practices which do not follow its principles, either through the teacher’s belief than another educational philosophy is superior, or through the realistic pressures of employing techniques in a live classroom. I will further detail how progressivism might be applied to these scenarios, or at least the instructional models upon which the scenarios are based.
Summary
A strong way to communicate the base of progressivism is to look at the works of John Dewey, who was regarded as the leading philosopher to support the idea (). “John Dewey proposed that people learn best by social interaction and problem solvin.” [sic] (Lynch, 2016). I employ this philosophy in the majority of my lessons, and I believe that this will give my students the best chance at self-awareness, self-control, and confidence that I can provide. I believe it will inform students about the correct ways to evaluate authority and academics, which are taken at face value in essentialism, a disadvantage of essentialism when viewed in isolation. Progressivism allows for the consideration of employing some elements of essentialism, when evaluated through self-reflection and open-mindedness.
This paper will state six important principles of progressivism and refer to a mixture of three IB principles and three personal principles in connecting these principles to positive outcomes. References to external sources are made to justify common beliefs or known aspects of progressivism, however the analysis speaks to the impact of progressivism on my personal classroom practices and teaching methods.
Social Interaction & Inherent Goodness
John Dewey maintained that social interaction and problem solving was the way that people learn best (Lynch, 2016). In my lessons social interaction is practiced and reflected upon rigorously, and we do so in order to prepare students for real life scenarios. Cooperation, conflict resolution, and empathy are all skills that students will need to successfully navigate their personal lives and careers.
Separately, Rousseau “maintained that people are basically good” in his writings, and the progressive education buys into the idea (Lynch, 2016). I believe this ties into the value of social interaction, in that if students are essentially good, then lessons learned from each other will ultimately be good. The IB system has students “consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action.” (Design in MYP, n.d.), and I consider this to reveal that students are inherently good and social beings.
In the classroom, I often push students to acknowledge and respect knowledge that is generated internally, rather than from cultural artifacts and books, signifying to them that their own thoughts and those of their peers are equally or more respectable.
Entrepreneurship
The IB MYP Design Cycle is based around the design of usable products (Design in MYP, n.d.) and has the feasibility of meeting customer needs as a key component. Designing products is, in the modern era of technological development and global economies, a forte of entrepreneurship. In the past, the fortes of entrepreneurship may have been accounting, partnerships, and capital control. This is an important distinction to make, in that progressive-oriented classes extoll the virtues of entrepreneurship but may disdain businesses and characteristics that are sought in office workers. Social entrepreneurship may be a more accurate description of the ultimate values held around this aspect in progressive classrooms, but nevertheless ideas around marketing, customer research, and user-oriented design abound.
Personalized Learning
Progressivism stemmed from a rebellion against standardized education and rigid essentialism structures (Sharpes, 2013). Personalized learned gained a lot from concepts stemming from the line-line assumptions that humans are good, society is bad, and social interaction is useful. It appreciates students for different levels of accomplishment, and different techniques of reaching those levels. It does not eschew timeless works but may avoid entire categories of lessons that include them, solely because the teaching philosophies under which they are presented were rooted in essentialism teaching techniques.
Hand-On Learning & De-Emphasis on Textbooks
Two categories that are similar but deserve separate mentions are hands-on learning, and an notable decrease in the reliance and respect for textbook knowledge. We can see a strong “Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, expeditionary learning, experiential learning” (Amidon, n.d.). This is accompanied by a necessary “De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources” (Amidon, n.d.)
Part of this is due to the restraint of time. Many teachers might simply wish to add hands-on learning experiences, while maintaining the same level of textbook study. However, student schedules are extremely regular from year to year, and it follows that they are fully scheduled. Adding in hands-on learning means that there is less time in the day and that something must come out.
In western countries, feelings reinforce this course of action and phrases can be heard like: “creativity and feelings are more important than facts.” (Western philosophies, n.d.). In the MYP Program overview, IBO mentions that students do well at critical academic tests, but does not emphasize academic learning, instead focusing on confidence and global mindedness (“What is the MYP?”, n.d.) This represents a decrease in the amount of time spent with textbooks, in order to gain time with hands-on learning and socialization.
Conclusion
The principles of progressivism abound in progressive classrooms, when they can be achieved. Thesis and papers on these principles are created with diligent thought and implementing the principles in a classroom requires much of that thought be participated-in and discussed by both teachers and students.
The principles should be employed and reflected on, but they are not a gold-standard to achieve. Instead they provide visible points of reference for participants to guide themselves and each other, collectively, as the goals of the classroom are built.
References
Lynch, M. (2016, November 03). Philosophies of education: 3 types of student-centered philosophies. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/philosophies-education-3-types-student-centered-philosophies/
Amidon, J., Monroe, A., & Ortwein, M. (n.d.). Progressive education. In Education, society, & the K-12 learner. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/progressive-education/
“What is the MYP” (n.d.) Design. Published by IBO. Retrieved July 5, 2020, from https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/design/
“Design in MYP” (n.d.) Design. Published by IBO. Retrieved July 5, 2020, from https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/what-is-the-myp/
Western philosophies of education. (n.d.). In S. Sikhauli (Ed.), MA.Edu.Philosophy (pp. 49-55). Retrieved March 3, 2018, from https://www.academia.edu/34327764/M.A._Edu._Philosophy
Sharpes, D. K. (2013). Modern educational philosophies. In Advanced educational foundations for teachers: The history, philosophy, and culture of schooling (pp. 399-430). Retrieved March 1, 2018, from eBook Central.
