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Design, Learning, and Collaboration - Spring 2002 Assignment 13 Jon Marbach 1a. what did you find interesting about the article? Well, in general the fact that there's an existing and successful school out there that embodies all of the qualities we've been discussing it really interesting! At the same time, since these ideas are no longer new to me (thanks to this course), one of the things that stood out was on pg 406 p2: "This approach also helps students treat each other as resources and collaborators rather than adversaries, and adults as helpers rather than as judges." The competitive nature of the school system seems really unneccessary and only builds tension. Also, the notion that "Community of Learners" environments will make the adult-child barrier less intimidating could have a positive impact by mitigating the adolescent tendency to view the world as "us(young) vs. them(old)". That softening of perspective would, I think, be bidirectional. 1b. not interesting about the article? As always, I think the chapter could have been stronger if it included a "scenario" example in which they elaborated more on how a teacher provides subtle structure while students explore themes of interest. Something that I don't remember being addressed is the paper is the resource and time requirements of the model. Obviously, more resources are required since "Co-Opers" have to invest their own time. Some societal support for this would probably be necessary so that a working parent could incorporate Co-op time into a work schedule. Aside from that, does the community of learners model require a longer school day or more instructional materials? What does it take to train a teacher to be effective in this environment? I don't think the article addresses these issues... maybe that's because they aren't issues at all?? 2. what do you consider the main message of the article? That the "Community of Learners" model is at least as successful and viable as other learning models, but that it faces "Barriers to Entry" in that it involves a paradigm shift for those who have been only exposed to "Adult-Run" models. 3. which technologies are used / can be used /should be used to support adult-run education child-run education community of learners education For how technology should be used, nothing really comes to mind; in some sense I feel that technology is model-independent in that people will apply the technology in ways that suit their environment. I think that if more people were working in "Community of Learners" settings, needs would arise from the situation, and technology would be developed or adapted to suit those needs. Having said that, I think Organizational Memories and collaborative web environments like the Swiki can support all three models. 4. analyze our course from the three dimensions: adult-run education child-run education community of learners education On the whole, I see the course as maybe 75% adult-run - but a less rigid version. This I think is necessary because there is a body of work that relates to the material that the instructor is well versed in and considers important, and that material needs to be presented and explained to the students. It is less rigid though in the sense that we are responsible for our own digestion of the material and in that we set our own participation and involvement level. The other quarter I would consider more like the community of learners model in light of the projects which are "Adult" directed (at least initially) and then we carry them out on our own. I don't really see the child-run model in our course because there's nothing that's completely free of instructor direction (and I don't think that's a problem at all). Then again, I don't feel like I have the firmest grip on what child-run education is... Assignment 13
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