Ed. 42: Teaching the Young Learner

 

Spring 2002                                                                            Diane D. Anderson

Class: Monday 1:15-4                                                             <danders1>

Office hours: Monday & Wednesday                                     610-328-8065

10 AM –12 Noon                                                                    Pearson 203                                                                                                                           

 

This course explores the ways in which young children acquire and construct meaning in their personal, community, and school settings. Learning through literacy, numeracy, science, and studies of the social will be exemplified. Students will draw upon their personal learning and schooling histories, their field experiences, course readings, class activities, and discussions to analyze the settings, conditions, methods, and strategies for learning with children. The following questions will be explored:

 

How do and how can theories of learning as transmission, psycho-social construction, and situated socio-cultural participation shape views of children’s learning and activities and methods of teaching children?

           

What conditions are constitutive of various kinds of learning? What counts as intelligent behavior for children?

 

What counts as learning and teaching in American schooling? What can we learn from cross-cultural, familial, and community studies of learning and teaching that can inform our learning/teaching practices? What can we learn from remembered and fictional accounts of learning?

 

How do schools’ foci on what children can do/can’t do and what they know/don’t know shape approaches to learning/teaching and relationships in the classroom?

 

What aspects of learning are notably absent from elementary teaching methodologies?

 

How can we, as teachers of children, develop ways of actually learning from children?

 

Course texts: These are available in the bookstore and are on reserve in McCabe Library and the Educational Materials Center in Pearson.

 

Calkins, L. (1983). Lessons from a Child. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay, M. (1993) An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Gibbons, K. (1987). Ellen Foster. NY: Random House.

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Taylor, D. & Dorsey-Gaines, C. (1988). Growing Up Literate: Learning from inner city families. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ma, Li Ping. (2000). Learning and Teaching Elementary Mathematics……

Suzuki, S. (1983). Nurtured by love. Athens, OH: Senzay Publications.

 

Additionally, weekly articles can be found on Blackboard.

 

Course tasks:

 

Course Participation

1.     Each of you will write selected personal memories of learning as assigned during the semester. These frequent assignments will connect with the readings, with your past and present experiences, and with the major tasks of the course. You will come to class prepared and be involved in class and small group discussions and activities. These and your weekly contributions to and participation in class will count as class participation. (10%)

 

2.     Each of you will participate in fieldwork in an elementary classroom in Swarthmore or Chester. You will work directly with children at the teacher’s discretion and write fieldnotes afterwards. From these fieldnotes you will write learning vignettes as assigned during the semester. You will use the Palm Pilot provided to record fieldnotes after at least 3 classroom visits. Otherwise you are free to record your fieldnotes as you wish. The Palm Project is funded through a Figleaf Technology Grant. Your feedback on the use of the Palm Pilots for classroom data recording will be solicited as part of a technology in education research project. (10%)

 

Pair or Group Project

3.     The “Science/Natural Concept I Don’t Understand” project and presentation will be done in small groups. You will choose a concept that is difficult for young children (yourself?) and devise a way to teach it to young children. You will present your approach to the class. You will provide everyone with a one page handout that links your approach to a theoretical base.(10%)

 

Feedback Project

4.     During the Constructivist Theory part of the course you will learn how to construct a good problem and give feedback to young problem solvers in the Math Forum’s Problem of the Week. You will do this for approximately a month, during which time you will be provided feedback on your responses to the children. (20%)

 

Major Written Assignments

5.     Each of you will analyze a curriculum or curricular approach using the theoretical lenses of the course. This is a major analysis, synthesis, application, evaluation essay which is meant to consolidate your course learning. (25%)

 

6.     Drawing upon fieldnotes, theoretical understandings, and vignettes you will participate in a descriptive review presentation and write a learner narrative of a student with whom you have worked. (25%)

 

In addition to these assignments, you will all be invited to contribute one piece of writing to the Ed. 42 Reader for the end of term. (Gold stars and a souvenirJ)

 

Grades: The grading percentages are noted above. I will set the course up so that early drafts are due in class; I will allow you to revise your papers based on feedback. You must come to class and you must attend your field placement in order to get full credit for the course.