1. what did you find

1.1. interesting about the article?

I thought that the
idea of having parents participate in the learning of their children, not just
at home, but at the school, is a very interesting concept. Parents often complain
about what goes on at their child's school, but do nothing more than attend
a PTA meeting (if they are even that motivated). Having the parents there to
show that they care and are directly (not indirectly) involved in education
really seems like it could motivate students, especially at a younger level.

1.2. not interesting about the article?

I didn't really think
anything was uninteresting, but I was a little concerned about the feasibility
of this across different schools and communities. It seems like only certain
types of communities would be able to make this work (i.e. it seems harder for
low-income families and schools to institute something like this as opposed
to a wealthy, somewhat small, suburban school.

2. what do you consider the main message of the article?

The main message
of the article is that having a method of learning and teaching that breaks
away from current methods of adult-run education and encompasses a full array
of participation from teachers, students, and parents is a unique, but powerful
way to learn. The community of learners the rises from this theory helps increase
student understanding and parent involvement in learning and curriculum.

3. analyze your own educational experience and

3.1. provide a rough estimate in percentage points for each category and

Adult-run: 85% Child-run:
0% Community: 15%

3.2. one example for each category (in case you have encountered all three approaches)

Adult-run: Basically
all of elementary school, middle school, high school, and college

Community: Instead
of kindergarten, I went to a montessori school. Parents were heavily involved
and we were able to have a lot of activities and time exploring different things.


4. which technologies are used / can be used /should be used to support

4.1. adult-run education

Internet, data projectors,
powerpoint, DVD, video, the clickers

4.2. child-run education

Internet, squeak,
games

4.3. community of learners education

Internet, DVD, video,
games, interactive, modules

5. analyze our course from the three dimensions:

5.1. adult-run education

I think there is
some of this in our course, probably about 2/5 of the class is spent listening
to a lecture. However, usually the lectures stimulate discussion.

5.2. child-run education

I think having things
like the independent research and the class projects are good examples of child-run
eduation.

5.3. community of learners education

Class time usually
represents a community of learners well. By having Gerhard facilitate topics
and discussion, and having us as students react to them and tangent off into
perhaps other topics, some interesting conversation can develop and learning
can always be occurring. I guess the only major difference is that our parents
aren't here.

6. which possibilities do you see to effectively integrate adult- and child-run
education?

I think having a
time where facilitators are allowed to motivate students and share some basic
concepts or instruction is certainly essential. Once the children are motivated
and ready to begin discovering on their own, a child-run process can occur.
I think a great example of the integrating of these models was in the squeak
classroom in the video we watched a month ago or so. The teacher facilitated
and motivated the students, and then they were able to use technology and physical
discovery to learn some important concepts.

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