Posted for your amusement
May. 6th, 2005 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melwilDear Educational Psychology Lecturer,
I hated your class. Especially the bit when you always turned up late for an 8am lecture. And your poor understanding on the education system.
But that's not why I'm writing.
I want to complain about assessment. No, not the ten percent presentation that took more time than reasonable, or the 40 percent/40 page research assessment which got us to do your dirty work. I am complaining about your 'academic' case study.
Please learn to write. And stop putting Mary-Sue's in.
The Power Brokers
Hemmdinn High School
Gina Riley was excited but also apprehensive as she arrived at Hemmdinn State High School to begin her first teaching appointment. She would be teaching Physical Education (PE) as well as Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE). She felt very confident that she would succeed in her PE teaching – she absolutely loved sport and exercise, as well as being able to develop the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm of students. She was somewhat less confident about SOSE, but was reasonably sure she’d be able to make it more interesting for students than her own school experiences had been in that area.
Hemmdinn High was a moderately-sized school in metropolitan Brisbane, located just outside the CBD and nestled between the recently constructed Sooridge Arterial Motorway and a major sports stadium. It catered to a reasonably diverse range of students in terms of ethnic and socioeconomic (mostly lower-middle to middle class) backgrounds. Principal Rod Stuckey welcomed Gina and several other new teachers, and introduced them to the school’s vision and key policies. In particular, he stressed the importance of having all teachers aware of and “on board with” the school’s new discipline policy.
“Forget about all those airy fairy theories and strategies you learned at Uni”, he exhorted. “We’re adopting a proven approach based on the only theory that really seems to work. You might have heard about Responsible Thinking Classrooms (RTCs) and the Thinking About Rules and Planning (TARP) Process that they’re based on. Well, we’re working on that approach, and if we all use it consistently, the students know what to expect, and they learn how to think responsibly to keep themselves out of trouble. The program administrator, John Kohn, will run you through an induction program this afternoon”.
Gina had some exposure to similar programs during her practicum experiences. She thought it appeared to be effective for minimising most disruptions, but often seemed rather inflexible and “mechanistic” – students (and teachers) sometimes appeared to just go through the required motions rather than seriously trying to resolve anything. However she was happy to comply with the school policy, based on the experience and local knowledge of Rod and John.
During the induction program, John introduced the theory behind the program. “Our TARP Program is based on William Powers’ Perceptual Control Theory,” he said. “This theory says that what we “control” is not our behaviour as such, but our perceptions- what we see or hear. Our actions are just the means we employ to eliminate any gap between what we want to perceive, and what we are currently perceiving.” This sounded much like Self-Regulation to Gina, but all she really wanted to know was how she should apply all this in the classroom.
The teachers silently nodded as John began to articulate the stresses of trying to teach when students didn’t want to learn and disrupted the class. He expressed the right and duty of teachers to teach, the right of students to learn and their duty not to interfere with others’ rights to learn. “But we can’t control their behaviour! We can only help to clarify their perceptions. This approach respects students’ rights to make their own choices and decisions, and develops their ability to do so responsibly – without interfering with the similar rights of others.” The group was keen to know more.
John put up an overhead titled “Handling disruptions”, with a set of questions that teachers were expected to ask misbehaving students, with notes on the rationale for each one. The questions were:
1. “What are you doing?”
2. “What are the rules?”
3. “What happens when you break the rules?”
4. “Is this what you want to happen?”
5. “Where do you want to be?” or “What do you want to do now?”
6. “What will happen if you disrupt again?”
As John explained the process, a mobile phone rang. John seemed more pleased than disrupted. He turned to the teacher who was fumbling in her bag for the phone and asked in a calm, relaxed manner, “What are you doing, Claire?”
“Sorry about that.” Claire responded.
John repeated the question, “What are you doing?”
“Well, um, disrupting the seminar” Claire said, as she finally managed to switch off the phone.
“What is the rule?” John inquired.
“Mobiles should be switched off in class.” Claire acknowledged.
John asked the third question, and then stopped the demonstration to reflect on what was happening. “Notice how these questions encourage the student to think about these critical issues, and to come up with her own answers, rather than being “told” what to do. The teacher isn’t imposing anything, so the student’s conflict is between herself and the rules, not with you! Don’t bother asking “why” questions at this stage, they just generate irrelevant excuses. There are no threats or punishment”. He went on to explain how a second disruption, under the rules, meant that the student had “chosen” to go to the Responsible Thinking Classroom (all students learn that this is the answer to the sixth question).
As she learnt more, Gina was impressed. The questioning process and other neat phrases like “I see that you have chosen to go to the RTC”, put the onus onto the students for reflecting on whether their behaviour corresponded with the rules, and put them “in charge” of choosing the consequences. Time in the RTC was to be used by students to create plans for improving their behaviour. She liked the idea of being able to teach students who chose to be there. She decided to “get on board” with the program.
No time to stop and smell the… rows
Gina was so busy during her first three terms that she found she never had time to really stop and think. The break before the last term at least allowed her to take stock briefly. She knew she was doing a great job in PE – she had coached the netball team, and they’d achieved their highest ever ranking in the state competition this year. The swimming team was larger, more keen and generally looking more competitive than anyone could recall. She attributed this success mainly to her own enthusiasm and to her ability to encourage all of her students to “have a go”. Of course, quite a few of them weren’t very good at sport, but she made a point of praising everyone’s efforts anyway – even when it seemed clear that their heart wasn’t in it. She thought it would keep them motivated to try, and she seemed to remember some research article that she’d seen at uni about a theory that apparently supported her tactic.
Her Year 8 SOSE subject was less satisfying. Even though she seemed to spend ages preparing for classes, she didn’t have quite the same enthusiasm and students didn’t seem interested anyway, most of the time. She tried to develop lessons that would be interesting and relevant to students, of course, but that was sometimes difficult to tie in with the learning outcomes that she was expected to produce. In particular, many geography-related topics within the “Place and Space” strand aroused little enthusiasm, particularly as the immediate local area didn’t seem to offer anything in the way of interesting and diverse natural “ecosystems” that the students felt any connection to – instead of creeks or rivers, the only nearby things that flowed (usually) were the rows and rows of motor vehicles streaming by on the freeway, and the other major arterial road. Civics, citizenship and government-related units were even worse. A number of students seemed to have an aversion or even resentment towards laws and rules – seeing them as nothing more than restrictions on their behaviour. Politics was seen as a corrupt, inaccessible irrelevance, and active involvement in community decision making seemed to be a foreign concept to most of them.
Another development that annoyed Gina was the small but growing number of students who were quite literally “choosing” to go to the RTC. Students were free to choose to go there if they felt that they were not ready to learn and wanted to avoid becoming disruptive to others. Initially, Gina was impressed that these students were showing such effective self-management and thoughtfulness for others. However the records were showing that a few students were consistently opting out and one or two others seemed to be developing a similar pattern. Although the class was more manageable as a result, Gina felt that some of the students opting out of SOSE classes were among those with the most to gain from a better understanding of the social and environmental factors that influence people and communities.
Better watch out for the Woodbees
One day early in term four, Gina was cycling home from school when a large 4-Wheel-Drive vehicle almost shaved her as it overtook her at speed, leaving just a fraction of the minimum recommended one metre gap.
As she lurched to the left to avoid any of the various protrusions that tend to be attached to such vehicles, the driver leant on his horn, and a passenger called out something inaudible, waving an arm out the window. Gina was used to being abused by inconsiderate road users, but after the unit that she’d just completed with her year 8 class on laws, rights and responsibilities, she felt like displaying a little active citizenship herself, by encouraging the driver to be more aware of the rules and the rights of other road users. She soon caught up to the vehicle, waiting in a long queue at traffic lights.
Gina didn’t want to be abusive, but realised the TARP process wouldn’t work here, either. She approached the driver’s window, which was open, and noticed that there were two passengers in the car, both children. Gina said “Hi. Did you know what you did to me back there was illegal and dangerous?” She paused for a moment and looked at the two boys in the vehicle. The boy in the front seat was probably 10 or 11, she figured. The boy in the back was just four or five. “…I bet when these guys are getting their driving licences, you’ll be hoping they show a healthy respect for the road rules, and that everyone shows more courtesy and patience towards other road users, yeah?”
The driver reluctantly agreed. She continued, “For better or worse, the way they behave on the roads will be influenced very much by the attitudes and habits they pick up from you.”
She concluded by asking the boy in the front seat which year he was in at school.
“Year 6”, the boy replied.
“Well, I’ll see you in a year or two, I suppose.” she announced, more cryptically than ominously. And with that, she continued on her way through the stationary traffic, leaving the boys intrigued.
George Woodbee, the driver of the 4WD, was annoyed and a little unsettled by the whole event. His sons, Josh and Jeb, were not helping.
Josh’s initial reaction was “Gee, dad, you should’ve just run her over!”.
“You zip it, Josh, and keep your arms inside the car!” his father snapped.
Josh pondered, “What did she mean when she said she’d see… Oh, No! She must be a high school teacher. I hope she’s not at Hemmdinn. I’m already in trouble and I haven’t even started there yet!”
Jeb was excited by the whole episode as well. He kept asking questions like, “Daddy, are we in trouble?” and “Are you driving safe?” George thought he should perhaps stop bullying other road users.
Oasis Crescent
Josh Woodbee attended Oasis Crescent State School. His Year 6 teacher, Pat Atkins, graduated just a year before Gina, and the two knew each other. Pat was one of a growing number of Indigenous Australians to graduate as teachers in recent years. He was very enthusiastic about teaching. He felt a special connection to the Brisbane area and was pleased to be in a school that was close to his home and that serviced a culturally diverse range of students. He was particularly keen to help all of his students to gain a better appreciation of and sensitivity to their surroundings and their local communities.
Pat’s classroom always seemed to be buzzing with activity. His students appeared to operate relatively independently much of the time. It looked productive, but a little chaotic. However, on closer inspection, even the “chaos” appeared to be well-managed. Perhaps surprisingly, though, it was the students themselves who seemed to be doing much of the “managing”.
Occasionally, of course, problems would arise. One afternoon, Pat noticed Josh arguing with Pia, who was sitting at one of the computers. Pat excused himself from the group he’d been working with, and approached the students. “Hey, what’s this about, Josh?” He asked.
“I’ve got a great idea for my story and I just need to type it up before I forget it” said Josh.
“Did you book in to use the computer now?” Pat asked.
“No,” Josh admitted, “but Pia’s not really doing what she’s supposed to be, anyway”.
“Well if that’s true, then what can we do if someone else isn’t doing the right thing?”
“Umm… try ’n’ help them get back to work, or ahhm, come and ask you, if there’s a problem”.
“Good, they’re both very handy tictacs” (this was Pat’s fun term for tactics, or strategies).
“And what about arguing. Does arguing help?” Pat asked.
“No, I suppose I was getting a bit impatient”.
“Uh-huh. Any other ways you could have avoided this hassle and kept on target with your story?”
“I could’ve just booked to go on the computer next, and put my idea down on a piece of paper”.
“Now you’re thinking. So if you think before you disturb someone next time, there’s none of this bother, right? You’ve got good thinking tictacs, just make sure you use them!” Pat was genuinely impressed with Josh’s progress. Six months ago Josh would probably have simply tried to shove Pia aside to take control of the computer terminal, and there may well have been casualties.
New “tictacs”: Our Community, Our Way
The following week, Pat attended a meeting along with another teacher at his school, and several teachers from Hemmdinn High School, as well as planning and community development officers from the local council. The purpose of the meeting was for this team to work on arrangements for an exciting new educational project they were developing called “Our Community, Our Way”.
The project would involve Year Six, Seven and Eight students from the two schools in developing their awareness and appreciation of community attitudes, expectations and needs, as well as strategic planning and resource management issues within the local community. It was to be conducted mainly on the High School campus, where Year Seven students would be enrolled for Semester One, next year. Teachers from both the primary and secondary sectors would team teach for the project.
The project leader, Susanne Livingstone, Head of Arts at Hemmdinn High School, opened the meeting with a brief overview of the history, rationale and overall aims of the project: “For the new team members we have here today, this project was established in order to foster in students an understanding of past and present community development, and to create pathways for future developmental links between themselves and the community in which they live. A number of us have been concerned at the sense of alienation from the wider community that seems to be a growing problem at many high schools, and specifically at Hemmdinn. Some students appear to have become so apathetic that finding something they’re really interested in seems virtually impossible. Our suggestion, supported by Council, is to give these students a chance to have a real impact on the development of the community.”
“By researching facts and opinions, students will develop a proposal for a possible future developmental initiative in the Brisbane community, encouraging them to be active participants, even “powerbrokers” if you like, in society. The project integrates Key Learning Areas such as SOSE, English, The Arts, Mathematics and Science into the outcomes based program.”
“Today we’re looking at some of the remaining issues of student assessment within this project, our overall project evaluation strategy, as well as our strategies for ensuring that all students are optimally involved. I believe Gina Riley, a new person on the team, has some good ideas on this front.”
“Thanks, Susanne. Well, when I heard more about the project last week, I just thought, what a great idea – it’s just what our students need. My suggestion was to incorporate some team competition into the project. There could be a few different initial proposals chosen for further development, and students could choose which proposal team to join. That way, the students would be more motivated.”
The others thought it was a great idea, although Pat warned against placing too much emphasis on “winning” the competition rather than participating to develop the best possible proposal. By the end of the meeting, the team members had agreed on a plan that they felt would work well for all the students.
Afterwards, Pat and Gina caught up with each other. Gina told Pat about the TARP process and how it was based on something she thought sounded like self-regulation theory.
“TARP? Sounds more like a TRAP to me, mate. I mean, self-regulation goes well beyond just learning not to rock the boat, right? If that’s their main way of developing self-regulated learners for the real world, it seems to me like they need to seriously broaden their tictacs!”
“Tictacs?” Gina wasn’t sure whether she was more surprised by mint candies popping into the conversation or the sense she was getting that here was someone who actually found a theory useful.
END OF CASE STUDY
I hated your class. Especially the bit when you always turned up late for an 8am lecture. And your poor understanding on the education system.
But that's not why I'm writing.
I want to complain about assessment. No, not the ten percent presentation that took more time than reasonable, or the 40 percent/40 page research assessment which got us to do your dirty work. I am complaining about your 'academic' case study.
Please learn to write. And stop putting Mary-Sue's in.
The Power Brokers
Hemmdinn High School
Gina Riley was excited but also apprehensive as she arrived at Hemmdinn State High School to begin her first teaching appointment. She would be teaching Physical Education (PE) as well as Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE). She felt very confident that she would succeed in her PE teaching – she absolutely loved sport and exercise, as well as being able to develop the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm of students. She was somewhat less confident about SOSE, but was reasonably sure she’d be able to make it more interesting for students than her own school experiences had been in that area.
Hemmdinn High was a moderately-sized school in metropolitan Brisbane, located just outside the CBD and nestled between the recently constructed Sooridge Arterial Motorway and a major sports stadium. It catered to a reasonably diverse range of students in terms of ethnic and socioeconomic (mostly lower-middle to middle class) backgrounds. Principal Rod Stuckey welcomed Gina and several other new teachers, and introduced them to the school’s vision and key policies. In particular, he stressed the importance of having all teachers aware of and “on board with” the school’s new discipline policy.
“Forget about all those airy fairy theories and strategies you learned at Uni”, he exhorted. “We’re adopting a proven approach based on the only theory that really seems to work. You might have heard about Responsible Thinking Classrooms (RTCs) and the Thinking About Rules and Planning (TARP) Process that they’re based on. Well, we’re working on that approach, and if we all use it consistently, the students know what to expect, and they learn how to think responsibly to keep themselves out of trouble. The program administrator, John Kohn, will run you through an induction program this afternoon”.
Gina had some exposure to similar programs during her practicum experiences. She thought it appeared to be effective for minimising most disruptions, but often seemed rather inflexible and “mechanistic” – students (and teachers) sometimes appeared to just go through the required motions rather than seriously trying to resolve anything. However she was happy to comply with the school policy, based on the experience and local knowledge of Rod and John.
During the induction program, John introduced the theory behind the program. “Our TARP Program is based on William Powers’ Perceptual Control Theory,” he said. “This theory says that what we “control” is not our behaviour as such, but our perceptions- what we see or hear. Our actions are just the means we employ to eliminate any gap between what we want to perceive, and what we are currently perceiving.” This sounded much like Self-Regulation to Gina, but all she really wanted to know was how she should apply all this in the classroom.
The teachers silently nodded as John began to articulate the stresses of trying to teach when students didn’t want to learn and disrupted the class. He expressed the right and duty of teachers to teach, the right of students to learn and their duty not to interfere with others’ rights to learn. “But we can’t control their behaviour! We can only help to clarify their perceptions. This approach respects students’ rights to make their own choices and decisions, and develops their ability to do so responsibly – without interfering with the similar rights of others.” The group was keen to know more.
John put up an overhead titled “Handling disruptions”, with a set of questions that teachers were expected to ask misbehaving students, with notes on the rationale for each one. The questions were:
1. “What are you doing?”
2. “What are the rules?”
3. “What happens when you break the rules?”
4. “Is this what you want to happen?”
5. “Where do you want to be?” or “What do you want to do now?”
6. “What will happen if you disrupt again?”
As John explained the process, a mobile phone rang. John seemed more pleased than disrupted. He turned to the teacher who was fumbling in her bag for the phone and asked in a calm, relaxed manner, “What are you doing, Claire?”
“Sorry about that.” Claire responded.
John repeated the question, “What are you doing?”
“Well, um, disrupting the seminar” Claire said, as she finally managed to switch off the phone.
“What is the rule?” John inquired.
“Mobiles should be switched off in class.” Claire acknowledged.
John asked the third question, and then stopped the demonstration to reflect on what was happening. “Notice how these questions encourage the student to think about these critical issues, and to come up with her own answers, rather than being “told” what to do. The teacher isn’t imposing anything, so the student’s conflict is between herself and the rules, not with you! Don’t bother asking “why” questions at this stage, they just generate irrelevant excuses. There are no threats or punishment”. He went on to explain how a second disruption, under the rules, meant that the student had “chosen” to go to the Responsible Thinking Classroom (all students learn that this is the answer to the sixth question).
As she learnt more, Gina was impressed. The questioning process and other neat phrases like “I see that you have chosen to go to the RTC”, put the onus onto the students for reflecting on whether their behaviour corresponded with the rules, and put them “in charge” of choosing the consequences. Time in the RTC was to be used by students to create plans for improving their behaviour. She liked the idea of being able to teach students who chose to be there. She decided to “get on board” with the program.
No time to stop and smell the… rows
Gina was so busy during her first three terms that she found she never had time to really stop and think. The break before the last term at least allowed her to take stock briefly. She knew she was doing a great job in PE – she had coached the netball team, and they’d achieved their highest ever ranking in the state competition this year. The swimming team was larger, more keen and generally looking more competitive than anyone could recall. She attributed this success mainly to her own enthusiasm and to her ability to encourage all of her students to “have a go”. Of course, quite a few of them weren’t very good at sport, but she made a point of praising everyone’s efforts anyway – even when it seemed clear that their heart wasn’t in it. She thought it would keep them motivated to try, and she seemed to remember some research article that she’d seen at uni about a theory that apparently supported her tactic.
Her Year 8 SOSE subject was less satisfying. Even though she seemed to spend ages preparing for classes, she didn’t have quite the same enthusiasm and students didn’t seem interested anyway, most of the time. She tried to develop lessons that would be interesting and relevant to students, of course, but that was sometimes difficult to tie in with the learning outcomes that she was expected to produce. In particular, many geography-related topics within the “Place and Space” strand aroused little enthusiasm, particularly as the immediate local area didn’t seem to offer anything in the way of interesting and diverse natural “ecosystems” that the students felt any connection to – instead of creeks or rivers, the only nearby things that flowed (usually) were the rows and rows of motor vehicles streaming by on the freeway, and the other major arterial road. Civics, citizenship and government-related units were even worse. A number of students seemed to have an aversion or even resentment towards laws and rules – seeing them as nothing more than restrictions on their behaviour. Politics was seen as a corrupt, inaccessible irrelevance, and active involvement in community decision making seemed to be a foreign concept to most of them.
Another development that annoyed Gina was the small but growing number of students who were quite literally “choosing” to go to the RTC. Students were free to choose to go there if they felt that they were not ready to learn and wanted to avoid becoming disruptive to others. Initially, Gina was impressed that these students were showing such effective self-management and thoughtfulness for others. However the records were showing that a few students were consistently opting out and one or two others seemed to be developing a similar pattern. Although the class was more manageable as a result, Gina felt that some of the students opting out of SOSE classes were among those with the most to gain from a better understanding of the social and environmental factors that influence people and communities.
Better watch out for the Woodbees
One day early in term four, Gina was cycling home from school when a large 4-Wheel-Drive vehicle almost shaved her as it overtook her at speed, leaving just a fraction of the minimum recommended one metre gap.
As she lurched to the left to avoid any of the various protrusions that tend to be attached to such vehicles, the driver leant on his horn, and a passenger called out something inaudible, waving an arm out the window. Gina was used to being abused by inconsiderate road users, but after the unit that she’d just completed with her year 8 class on laws, rights and responsibilities, she felt like displaying a little active citizenship herself, by encouraging the driver to be more aware of the rules and the rights of other road users. She soon caught up to the vehicle, waiting in a long queue at traffic lights.
Gina didn’t want to be abusive, but realised the TARP process wouldn’t work here, either. She approached the driver’s window, which was open, and noticed that there were two passengers in the car, both children. Gina said “Hi. Did you know what you did to me back there was illegal and dangerous?” She paused for a moment and looked at the two boys in the vehicle. The boy in the front seat was probably 10 or 11, she figured. The boy in the back was just four or five. “…I bet when these guys are getting their driving licences, you’ll be hoping they show a healthy respect for the road rules, and that everyone shows more courtesy and patience towards other road users, yeah?”
The driver reluctantly agreed. She continued, “For better or worse, the way they behave on the roads will be influenced very much by the attitudes and habits they pick up from you.”
She concluded by asking the boy in the front seat which year he was in at school.
“Year 6”, the boy replied.
“Well, I’ll see you in a year or two, I suppose.” she announced, more cryptically than ominously. And with that, she continued on her way through the stationary traffic, leaving the boys intrigued.
George Woodbee, the driver of the 4WD, was annoyed and a little unsettled by the whole event. His sons, Josh and Jeb, were not helping.
Josh’s initial reaction was “Gee, dad, you should’ve just run her over!”.
“You zip it, Josh, and keep your arms inside the car!” his father snapped.
Josh pondered, “What did she mean when she said she’d see… Oh, No! She must be a high school teacher. I hope she’s not at Hemmdinn. I’m already in trouble and I haven’t even started there yet!”
Jeb was excited by the whole episode as well. He kept asking questions like, “Daddy, are we in trouble?” and “Are you driving safe?” George thought he should perhaps stop bullying other road users.
Oasis Crescent
Josh Woodbee attended Oasis Crescent State School. His Year 6 teacher, Pat Atkins, graduated just a year before Gina, and the two knew each other. Pat was one of a growing number of Indigenous Australians to graduate as teachers in recent years. He was very enthusiastic about teaching. He felt a special connection to the Brisbane area and was pleased to be in a school that was close to his home and that serviced a culturally diverse range of students. He was particularly keen to help all of his students to gain a better appreciation of and sensitivity to their surroundings and their local communities.
Pat’s classroom always seemed to be buzzing with activity. His students appeared to operate relatively independently much of the time. It looked productive, but a little chaotic. However, on closer inspection, even the “chaos” appeared to be well-managed. Perhaps surprisingly, though, it was the students themselves who seemed to be doing much of the “managing”.
Occasionally, of course, problems would arise. One afternoon, Pat noticed Josh arguing with Pia, who was sitting at one of the computers. Pat excused himself from the group he’d been working with, and approached the students. “Hey, what’s this about, Josh?” He asked.
“I’ve got a great idea for my story and I just need to type it up before I forget it” said Josh.
“Did you book in to use the computer now?” Pat asked.
“No,” Josh admitted, “but Pia’s not really doing what she’s supposed to be, anyway”.
“Well if that’s true, then what can we do if someone else isn’t doing the right thing?”
“Umm… try ’n’ help them get back to work, or ahhm, come and ask you, if there’s a problem”.
“Good, they’re both very handy tictacs” (this was Pat’s fun term for tactics, or strategies).
“And what about arguing. Does arguing help?” Pat asked.
“No, I suppose I was getting a bit impatient”.
“Uh-huh. Any other ways you could have avoided this hassle and kept on target with your story?”
“I could’ve just booked to go on the computer next, and put my idea down on a piece of paper”.
“Now you’re thinking. So if you think before you disturb someone next time, there’s none of this bother, right? You’ve got good thinking tictacs, just make sure you use them!” Pat was genuinely impressed with Josh’s progress. Six months ago Josh would probably have simply tried to shove Pia aside to take control of the computer terminal, and there may well have been casualties.
New “tictacs”: Our Community, Our Way
The following week, Pat attended a meeting along with another teacher at his school, and several teachers from Hemmdinn High School, as well as planning and community development officers from the local council. The purpose of the meeting was for this team to work on arrangements for an exciting new educational project they were developing called “Our Community, Our Way”.
The project would involve Year Six, Seven and Eight students from the two schools in developing their awareness and appreciation of community attitudes, expectations and needs, as well as strategic planning and resource management issues within the local community. It was to be conducted mainly on the High School campus, where Year Seven students would be enrolled for Semester One, next year. Teachers from both the primary and secondary sectors would team teach for the project.
The project leader, Susanne Livingstone, Head of Arts at Hemmdinn High School, opened the meeting with a brief overview of the history, rationale and overall aims of the project: “For the new team members we have here today, this project was established in order to foster in students an understanding of past and present community development, and to create pathways for future developmental links between themselves and the community in which they live. A number of us have been concerned at the sense of alienation from the wider community that seems to be a growing problem at many high schools, and specifically at Hemmdinn. Some students appear to have become so apathetic that finding something they’re really interested in seems virtually impossible. Our suggestion, supported by Council, is to give these students a chance to have a real impact on the development of the community.”
“By researching facts and opinions, students will develop a proposal for a possible future developmental initiative in the Brisbane community, encouraging them to be active participants, even “powerbrokers” if you like, in society. The project integrates Key Learning Areas such as SOSE, English, The Arts, Mathematics and Science into the outcomes based program.”
“Today we’re looking at some of the remaining issues of student assessment within this project, our overall project evaluation strategy, as well as our strategies for ensuring that all students are optimally involved. I believe Gina Riley, a new person on the team, has some good ideas on this front.”
“Thanks, Susanne. Well, when I heard more about the project last week, I just thought, what a great idea – it’s just what our students need. My suggestion was to incorporate some team competition into the project. There could be a few different initial proposals chosen for further development, and students could choose which proposal team to join. That way, the students would be more motivated.”
The others thought it was a great idea, although Pat warned against placing too much emphasis on “winning” the competition rather than participating to develop the best possible proposal. By the end of the meeting, the team members had agreed on a plan that they felt would work well for all the students.
Afterwards, Pat and Gina caught up with each other. Gina told Pat about the TARP process and how it was based on something she thought sounded like self-regulation theory.
“TARP? Sounds more like a TRAP to me, mate. I mean, self-regulation goes well beyond just learning not to rock the boat, right? If that’s their main way of developing self-regulated learners for the real world, it seems to me like they need to seriously broaden their tictacs!”
“Tictacs?” Gina wasn’t sure whether she was more surprised by mint candies popping into the conversation or the sense she was getting that here was someone who actually found a theory useful.
END OF CASE STUDY
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2005-05-06 02:30 am (UTC)Well, it was so fanfic-y that I had to say it (even though I did - geek that I am).
Now to sit back and wait for Gina/Josh. OMGTHEIRLOVEISSOTARPY
no subject
on 2005-05-06 08:41 pm (UTC)Gina/Pat OMGTHEIRLOVEISSOTICTAC-Y
no subject
on 2005-05-06 03:31 am (UTC)=D
no subject
on 2005-05-06 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-10 03:08 pm (UTC):D
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on 2005-05-06 05:00 am (UTC)I haven't yet picked a topic for the research report. However I don't do prac this semester, so I keep telling myself it will all be OK because I have 2 weeks on the rest of you.
I know. It's lame, but it's working for me so far...
:)
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on 2005-05-06 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-06 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-07 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-06 05:30 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-06 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-05-15 11:11 pm (UTC)if you're interested, join
sorry for any inconvenience♥