Our individual work:
I believe we all worked really hard and very well together.
Upon reflection, when we first started meeting I think we were trying to make sense of the book. We were trying to figure out what kind of research book this was and where we could find practical advice. Once we let go of that expectation, I think we were able to have interesting discussions about the patterns we saw (i.e. how Julia is perceived to work better with girls, the importance of discussion in Julia's classroom, etc.), and how these patterns emerged into our themes.
It's hard for me to name exactly who did what and I don't think that's what we're supposed to do here, but it really seemed to me while we met (either during class, after class or during vacation week), we would divvy up our tasks, and then really follow through on whatever we were supposed to do. I also enjoyed how supportive everyone was with each other-- we built on each others' ideas-- both when discussing the themes of the book and while planning our presentation. I've worked in groups where someone made it very difficult (either by doing too much or too little) but this was not the case about our group.
I enjoyed getting to know everyone in our group, and would sign up to be with all of you again!
Reflection on Tonight's Presentation:
I thought tonight's presentation went really well! I think we gave everyone a lot to consider-- thanks to the questions we devised that connected to our themes, and to the questions we raised about small group discussions.
One thing we talked a lot about within our Lewis group and we didn't talk about in class was the idea of the blind spots in teaching. Maybe your small groups discussed this topic, but ours didn't at all.
I think/ hope people walked away with the idea that teaching students to read the word and world critically isn't enough; we have to pay attention to how students are talking to each other, and who we are privileging in our various class structures, and what we can do to vary these structures so that all of our students can experience the role of the insider.
I'm being pulled back into our book instead of into our reflection... ahhhh!
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better myself!
ReplyDeleteBut to add to Laura's reflection, I would have to agree that in the beginning of our study, we were all a little unsure about what exactly we should be drawing from this book and how best to represent this to the class. It wasn't until we met in person and bounced ideas back and forth that we really came to some bigger conclusions about Lewis' work. Though the blog was helpful in tracking our ideas, a lot was accomplished via e-mail as well (it seemed like we were all signed onto gmail constantly last week!)
As far as our presentation last night, I think I regressed into a Jason-type role for a second because of my own perceived social-roles (though looking back, the social dynamics should not have made me feel that way.) Lewis' book has certainly changed the way I view myself and my students as learners. I have been more conscious of what I value in my own class as well as how I interact with my students in order to create an equitable learning environment. I know the group as a whole really reflected on their individual practices in our conversations as well.
So, all in all, I felt that this was a productive assignment and everyone really shared the brunt of the workload. It was a pleasure working with you all! I will bring some libations for next week to celebrate:)
Ditto to everything Laura and Karen said about our group and working together. It was wonderful to explore these ideas with everyone.
ReplyDeleteThrough this process, one of the tools we used to collaborate and share ideas was the blog. Initially, since we are all from outside the city and work full time, this seemed like an ideal way to have an ongoing dialogue from our respective spaces. What I noticed about myself however, was that communicating on a blog was not a form of participation that was effective for me. I was starting to feel a little like James as a participant! Reflecting on my participation (or lack of) in this capacity however, also makes yet another tie to how we ask children to participate and the structures we set in place. Face to face conversations, even the brief moments before and after class, provided a space to discuss ideas and build collective knowledge, which I found much more effective (for me personally) for engaging me with the material. I wonder how many kids like James are just in need of a different way to participate - or multiple ways, such as we had. While the Lewis book raised some issues to consider, actually reflecting on my own process has highlighted some additional considerations!
Truly a pleasure to work with you all (in multiple modes) though!
I too think that our collaborative work was successful. We split up the administrative tasks but all contributed to the intellectual work. The blog was helpful to keep track of the intellectual work but I agree with Michele, Karen, and Laura that it was not as helpful for actually DEVELOPING the intellectual work.
ReplyDeleteFor me as an individual, my biggest contribution organizationally was setting up the blog. Intellectually, again, I think that we all contributed a lot. Our discussions were those sorts of situations where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. I think my ideas were grown a lot by the back and forth discussion and debate. I also think once we brought in more specific classroom data our discussions gained a lot more focus and intensity.
It's interesting that people are making connections between our own participation styles and the kids in the book. I definitely worry at many times that I am too much of a Mackenzie type of person but I tried to also recall that as an adult grad school discussion group, the dynamics are a little different too. We all had the same explicit goals in our discussions even if we had different opinions or different discussion styles. I imagine that our all being women and being in similar academic programs has a huge impact on our ability to work together and talk in productive ways.
And I agree -- it was a pleasure!
Thank you ladies, for stating all that I have been considering over the past few weeks!
ReplyDeleteI first started reading about Julia's classroom in hope of receiving a critical literacy "how to." However, after reading, I realized that there is no set way of practicing critical literacy in the classroom. Julia offered several interesting and important ideas that we discussed via blog, email, and in person. As we contemplated the various ways gender and social class correlate to students' classroom roles, I realized that we all have students' ranging in social and interpretive competence. I was able to approach my "Jasons" in a different way, creating a space in my classroom where they feel most comfortable to share their thoughts and feelings without hesitation.
I strongly believe that through the discussions my group members and I have taken part in, I have been able to apply many of the idea that I have read about to my own literacy practices. The questions that were brought up made me consider the role that I play in the classroom, and how I can assist my students in obtaining success as critical readers.
Although the blog was a way for us to collaborate and reflect on our reading and practices, meeting after class and over vacation definitely helped as we planned our presentation. I agree with Laura in that we were all very supportive of each other's ideas. We also helped each other as we planned for our presentation - Through our many email attachments, we were able to transcribe Michele's classroom conversation and share the other handouts and quotes used throughout our presentation.
It really was a pleasure getting to know you all. Thank you for all of your hard work over the past few weeks! I feel that we gave our peers a lot to consider. Hopefully the questions that we posed will have them thinking about the students who are privileged as critical literacy is practiced, and who are silenced...