Trinity College

This course introduces the study of schooling within an interdisciplinary framework. Drawing upon sociology, we investigate the resources, structures, and social contexts which influence student opportunities and outcomes in the United States. From psychology, we contrast theories of learning, both in the abstract and in practice. From philosophy, we examine competing educational goals and their underlying assumptions regarding human nature, justice, and democracy. In addition, a community learning component, where students observe and participate in nearby K-12 classrooms for three hours per week, will be integrated with course readings and written assignments.

Readings:

A course reader will be available for purchase in class

Evaluation:

Five 2-3 page analysis papers 5 x 10 =50 pts

#1 Social Context of Schooling

#2 Theories of Learning

#3 Explaining Educational Inequality

#4 School-based Reform Strategies

#5 Curriculum Project Proposal

Class participation =10 pts

Hartford classroom participation (evaluated by classroom teacher) =15 pts

Curriculum Project - Oral Presentation (evaluated by coordinators) =10 pts

Curriculum Project – Final Draft (evaluated by instructor) =15 pts

Reflection journal on Hartford school placement =10 pts

NOTE: Initially, the total number of points equals 110. When calculating the final grade, your lowest 10-point grade will be dropped, resulting in an adjusted total of 100 points.

Be advised that adequate work earns a C, good work earns a B, and outstanding work earns an A in this class. Students are expected to engage in academic honesty in all forms of work for this course. If this is unclear to you, ask for clarification.

The late assignment penalty is a 10% reduction for every 12-hour period beyond the deadline, with exceptions granted only for documented medical & family emergencies.

Please notify me during the first week if you require any special accommodations.

How to succeed in this course:

• Class begins on time and we expect you to be present at every session from start to finish. If you run into a one-time scheduling conflict with our class, be sure to consult with us (by email, phone, or in person) BEFORE the conflict to inquire about alternative arrangements. If you become ill or have a family emergency, then email or phone us to inquire about what you’re missing and how to compensate.

• Participate regularly in class discussions and bring the relevant readings and notes with you. Participation is part of your grade, because actively engaging in discussion is an integral part of the learning process. At the same time, remember that being a reflective listener is crucial to meaningful discussions, especially when the views of others differ from your own.

• The short analysis papers require students to bridge theoretical readings with the participant-observation experiences in Hartford schools. They also serve as the primary evaluation tool in this course, so look for feedback about improving your writing.

• The instructor is assisted by TAs who attend all classes, facilitate small group discussions, and write comments on (but not grade) written assignments. Make an appointment with any one of us to talk about improving your learning in the course.
Tue Jan 23 Introduction to Syllabus & Placements in Hartford Public Schools

Participant-Observation Guidelines:

Clusters of students will be assigned to work with classroom teachers in five different schools in the area. In each school, a coordinator has been designated to help organize placements, guide orientations, and facilitate communication with classroom teachers.

Schools & Placement Coordinators Address Main Phone

M.D. Fox Elementary School 470 Maple Avenue 695-3600

Elise LaRosa Murphy

McDonough Elementary School 111 Hillside Avenue 695-4260

Bo Ryan

Moylan Elementary School 101 Catherine Street 695-4500

Lourdes Soto

Bellizzi Middle Sch. (formerly South) 215 South Street 695-2400

Deana Leikin

Mitch Grant

Hartford Magnet Middle School 53 Vernon Street 757-6201

Mark Flaherty

Hartford Public Schools website: http://www.hartfordschools.org/

HPS info on weather-related closings: 695-SNOW (695-7669)

Trinity Ed Studies Program website: http:/www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ

Students will work as “participant-observers” with their classroom teachers for at least 8 three-hour sessions (a total of 24 hours) over the course of the semester. The objectives are for Trinity students to:

· Integrate theoretical readings with first-hand experience, in order to complete the 5 analysis papers and journal assignments required in the course

· Develop meaningful relationships with students and teachers, to deepen our reflections on the contexts of urban schools and the purposes of education

· Identify potential resources and gain practical experience for designing a curriculum project

Clusters of students will attend a mandatory orientation session during the second week of the course with their school coordinator. (Exact times TBA).

During the initial visit with the teacher, students will complete a basic contract to establish their schedule and role in the classroom. “Participant-observation” is more than just quietly watching; it includes more active roles in the classroom, such as one-on-one tutoring, working with small groups, preparing materials for a classroom project, and (in some cases) planning and teaching a brief lesson.

At the end of the semester, school coordinators will evaluate Trinity students’ placement experiences based on their level of engagement, reliability, and effort demonstrated in the classroom.

Unit 1: The Social Context of Schooling: perspectives from anthropology and sociology of education

Question: How does the social context of schooling impact learning and educational outcomes?

Thurs Jan 25: Images of urban education

Sophie Bell, “Dangerous Morals: Hollywood Puts a Happy Face on Urban Education,” Radical Teacher 54 (1998): 23-27.

Pedro Noguera, City Schools and the American Dream. Series Foreword & Preface; Chapter 1, “Finding Hope Among the Hopeless”, Chapter 2, “The Social Context and Its Impact on Inner-City Schools” (New York: Teacher’s College Press, 2003), pp.vii-xiv and 1-40.

Video excerpts in class: Stand and Deliver, fictionalized portrayal of Jaime Escalante, (1988). [Trinity Library VID 0730]

Tues Jan 30: Education and socialization, Part I

Kathleen de Marrais and Margaret LeCompte, “The social organization of schooling” and “What is taught in schools,” in The Way Schools Work: A Sociological Analysis of Education, third edition (NY: Longman, 1999), 43-52, 222-228, 236-247.

Laurie Olsen, Introduction and Chapter 2, “The maps of Madison High: On separation and invisibility,” in Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools (NY: The New Press, 1997), pp. 9-28 and 37-57.

Distribute: Paper topic #1, DUE Monday Feb. 5

Thurs Feb 1: Education and socialization, Part II

Hervé Varenne & Ray McDermott (1999). Successful Failure: The School America Builds. Preface, Introduction p. 1-7, and Chapter 1, “Adam, Adam, Adam, and Adam: The Cultural Construction of a Learning Disability,” pp. 25-43. ( CO: Westview Press.)

Black History Month Event:

Feb 5^th Lani Guinier speaking: “Race, Gender, Power: USA 2007,” 7pm Washington Room; sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Women & Gender Resource Center

Unit 2: Theories of Learning

Question: How do classical and contemporary theorists explain how people learn?

Tue Feb 6 Classical Theories

Phillips and Soltis, Perspectives on Learning, Chapter 2

Distribute: Learning vignette writing pre-assignment

Thur Feb 8 Behaviorism

Phillips and Soltis, Perspectives on Learning, Chapter 3

Jonathan Kozol, “The Ordering Regime,” in The Shame of The Nation (New York: Crown Publishers, 2005, pp. 63-87).

Tue Feb 13 Constructivist Theories: Piaget, Dewey, and Vygotsky

Phillips and Soltis, Perspectives on Learning, chapters 5-6

Video excerpt in class: First Graders Divide 62 by 5 (TC Press, 1999). VID 2730

Distribute: Paper topic #2, DUE Monday, Feb. 19

Thur Feb 15 Languages and Learning: Applying Vygotsky to classrooms with English-language learners

Stephen Díaz, Luis Moll & Hugh Mehan, “Sociocultural resources in instruction: A context-specific approach,” in Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority Students (Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center at California State University, Los Angeles, 1992, pp. 187-230).

Required community orientation session: Thurs, Feb. 15, 7-9pm in Mather, Terrace A-B

Unit 3: Explaining Educational Inequality

Questions: How do different theories attempt to explain racial, social class, and gender gaps in educational achievement?

Tues Feb 20: The Intelligence Debate

Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray (1994), The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, Preface and Introduction. (New York: Free Press Paperbacks)

Fischer et. al (1995), “But Is It Intelligence?” and “Who wins? Who loses?”(excerpts) in Inequality by Design: Cracking the Bell Curve Myth. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.) pp. 55-69, 70-74, 86-93.

Selected data from SAT and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

NOTE: For next class, print out and read “Strategic School Profile” for your school. Go to CT Dept of Education, School Information website: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/cedar/profiles/index.htm School Profiles > Regular Education by School 2005-06 > Hartford [find school]

Thurs Feb 22: School Finance and Tracking

Jonathan Kozol, “Children of the City Invincible: Camden, New Jersey,” in Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. (NY: Crown, 1991), Chapter 4.

Jeannie Oakes, “The Distribution of Knowledge,” in Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality (New Haven: Yale Press, 1985), Chapter 4.

“Strategic School Profile” for your placement school [see directions above]

In class: Analyze metropolitan Hartford data; handout from Iva Kuzyk, Hartford Primer and Field Guide, 2^nd edition. (Hartford: Trinity College, 2003), pp. 100-103.

Tues Feb 26: NO CLASS – Trinity days

Thurs Mar 1: Class Inequality: Social Reproduction Theories

Janny Scott and David Leonhardt, “Class in America: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide,” in The New York Times (May 15, 2005).

Jay MacLeod, “Social Immobility in the Land of Opportunity” (excerpts) and “Social Reproduction in Theoretical Perspective,” Chapters 1-2 in Ain’t No Makin’ It (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995), pp. 3-7, 11-23.

Annette Lareau, “Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital,” (excerpts) in Sociology of Education 60 (1987), pp. 73-85.

Tues Mar 6: Language and inequality

Guadalupe Valdés, Chapters 1 and 3 in Learning and Not Learning English: Latino students in American schools. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2001).

In class: discussion of diversity data

Thurs. Mar 8: Race and Educational Outcomes, Part I

John Ogbu, “Immigrant and Involuntary Minorities in Comparative Perspective,” in M. Gibson and J. Ogbu, eds., Minority Status and Schooling (NY: Garland, 1991).

Ray McDermott, “The Explanation of Minority School Failure, Again,” in Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Vol. 18, 1987. 361-364.

Ann Ferguson, “Don’t Believe the Hype” (excerpt) and “The Punishing Room,” in Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000), pp. 1-3, 29-47.

Distribute Paper topic #3: DUE Thursday Mar 15

Tues. Mar 13: Race and Educational Outcomes, Part II: Stereotypes

Claude Steele, “A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance,” reprinted in Eugene Lowe, ed., Promise and Dilemma: Perspectives on Racial Diversity and Higher Education (Princeton, 1999), excerpt from pp. 107-108.

Claude Steele, “Thin Ice: Stereotype Threat and Black College Students,” in The Atlantic Monthly (August 1999), pp. 44-49.

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99aug/9908stereotype.htm

Stacey Lee, “Asian Americans: The Absent Minority, the Silenced Minority, and the Model Minority,” and “Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans,” Chapters 1 and 3 in Unraveling the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth (New York: Teachers College Press, 1996), pp. 1-16 and 52-69.

Video excerpt in class: Secrets of the SAT (PBS Frontline, 1999) [Ed Res Center]

See full interview with Claude Steele at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/interviews/steele.html

Thurs. Mar 15: Gender Bias

Myra and David Sadker, “Hidden Lessons,” Failing at Fairness: How America’s Schools Cheat Girls (NY: Scribners, 1994), Chapter 1.

AAUW, Gender Gaps Executive Summary: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children (Washington, DC: AAUW, 1998).

http://www.aauw.org/research/girls_education/gg.cfm

Piper Fogg, “Harvard’s President Wonders Aloud About Women in Science and Math,” Chronicle of Higher Education, January 28, 2005.

Video excerpt in class: Failing at Fairness (Ed Studies Res Ctr)

Tues Mar 20 & Thurs Mar 22: NO CLASS – Spring Break

Unit 4: School-based Reform Strategies

Question: How do different school-based reform strategies attempt to improve education? What assumptions do these strategies make about the causes of educational inequality?

Tues Mar 27: Cooperative Learning

Read: Robert Slavin, Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research, Practice, 2nd edition. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995), chapters 1 and 2.

In class: Cooperative learning exercise

Thurs Mar 29: Detracking and Multiculturalism

Read: James Banks, "Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform," in Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, 5th edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.

Sonia Nieto, “Multicultural Education in Practice” in Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education, 3rd edition (NY: Longman, 2000).

Rita Tenorio, “’Brown Kids Can’t Be in Our Club’: Raising Issues of Race with Young Children,” Rethinking Schools 18 (Spring 2004): 29-32.

Video in class: Michelle Fine et. al., Off-Track: Classroom Privilege for All (Teachers College Press, 1998). [VID 1931]

Tues April 3 Family-School Connections

Read: Luis Moll et.al., “Funds of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and Classrooms,” in Theory into Practice, 31(2): 132-141, 1992.

Distribute: paper topic #4; DUE on Monday, April 9

Thurs April 5 Reshaping Teachers' Work

Read: Vivian Troen and Katherine Boles, "The 'Trilemma' Dysfunction." Education Week 14 May 2003. http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=36troen.h22

Journals DUE in class

In class: “Pathways toward Teaching” website on the Ed Studies Program website

Unit 5: Curriculum Design

Question: How do educators construct instructional units that link rich objectives, activities, and evaluation components?

Tues April 10 Curriculum Design and Objectives for Student Learning

Read: Bob Peterson, “Measuring Water with Justice: A Multidisciplinary Lesson that Explores Water Issues,” Rethinking Schools 19 (Fall 2004): 33-37.

Sample curriculum projects by previous Trinity Ed 200 students [to be assigned].

Bloom's Taxonomy

/depts/educ/resources/bloom.htm

Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences

http://www.ibiblio.org/edweb/edref.mi.th.html

In class: Curriculum project guidelines and evaluation criteria; exercise on identifying and articulating objectives for student learning

Paper topic #5 (proposal) assigned; DUE via Blackboard on Sunday April 15 at 9pm

Thurs April 12 Curriculum Design and Activities/Resources

NOTE: This session will meet at _____________________

Read: Linda Christensen, “Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us: Critiquing Cartoons and Society,” in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching about Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, 2000.

Kelley Dawson Salas, “Teaching About Toxins: Students Explore the Health Issues Affecting their Community,” Rethinking Schools 18 (Winter 2003): 22-25.

Resources: Go to Ed Studies website (/depts/educ)

Click on “Resources” and see:

Ed Studies Resource Center (books and videos for loan)

Educ 200 Curriculum Design Resources (web links)

Ed 200 Curriculum Projects (PDF and Powerpoint files from previous students)

In class: Orientation to print and digital curriculum resources; test Blackboard posting

Tues April 17 Curriculum Design and Evaluation

Read: Linda Christensen, “Portfolios and Basketball,” in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching about Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, 2000.

In class: Feedback delivered on paper #5 (proposal)

Unit 6: Philosophy of Education

Questions: What is the purpose of education? What is worth learning? How should debates over these issues be resolved in a democratic society?

Thurs April 19 Conflicting aims in public education