Week 1 (Aug. 29,06)
Agenda for today Learning community building Course overview Intro to research: ways of knowing -
epistemology & science
Shufang Shi
Know you, know me Name/Nickname Where are you from? Are you are teaching, what grade? If not teaching what are you working on at
the time being? What other obligations do you have in
addition to taking this course? Find out five things you share in common.
One person reports for the group to the class.
Know me more
In 10 words or less, tell us something about yourself that no one could guess by looking at you.
Your VIP Card Name/Nickname Where are you from? Are you are teaching or doing substitute teaching,
what grade? If not teaching what are you working on at the
time being? Write a sentence about yourself that you believe
is different from anyone else in the class such as I once climbed Mount Everest. I own a dog with three legs. I tried to throw the gum out of the driver’s window and
the gum happened to land on a guy’s nose and that guy became my husband.
Wish List Top 5 reasons why you take this course Wish list from taking this course
Picture Taking (during class break) Any volunteer to help?
Developing a Goose Sense of Community The Goose Story
This springwhen you see geese
heading north for the summerflying along in a "V" formation, you
might be interested in knowing what sciencehas discovered about why they fly that way. It
has been learned that as each bird flaps itswings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately
following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71%
greater flying range than if each bird flew on
its own.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
Whenevera goose falls out
of formation, it suddenlyfeels the drag and resistance
of trying to go it alone, and quicklygets into formation to take advantage of the
lifting power of the bird immediately in front. (Ifwe have as much sense as a goose, we will stay
in formation with those who are headed thesame way we are going.) When the lead goose
gets tired, she rotates back in the wing andanother goose flies point. (It pays to take turns
doing hard jobs - with people or with geeseflying north.) The geese honk from behind to
encourage those up front to keep up theirspeed. (What do we say when we honk from
behind?)
Finally(Now I want
you to get this),when a goose gets sick,
or is wounded by gun shotsand falls out, two geese fall out of
formation and follow him down to help andprotect him. They stay with him until he is
eitherable to fly or until he is dead, and then they
launch out on their own or with anotherformation to catch up with the group.
(If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.)
Shufang Shi
Homepagehttp://web.cortland.edu/shis
EDU651 Course Website http://web.cortland.edu/shis/651
My Teaching Philosophy I strongly believe the social-cultural perspectives of
learning. Instruction is more effective when it takes form in discussions or dialogues in small groups wherein learners interact with peers and teachers who challenge, support, and scaffold their learning.
I expect you participate in both small group discussion and whole class discussion.
My Teaching Philosophy (cont.)
I measure the value of a student not by aptitude, but by a desire and motivation for learning.
I measure my success not by popularity, but by the progress of my serious students. I will consider myself a successful teacher if these students know that they are more knowledgeable and better thinkers because they have taken my course.
Classroom Guidelines and Expectations Bring with you a positive attitude and
enthusiasm to the class every Tuesday evening.
Be punctual (3 points bonus). Refrain from side-conversation. Communicate with me the instructors
openly.
“Research” What does “research” mean to you?
Search again and again, search for what? For truth, for knowing, to know – ways of knowing – epistemology
How do we know?Ways to make informed decisions?
e.g. adopt a new method of teaching reading, modify the behavior of a depressed
adolescent use a new/better teacher evaluation form
that will result in improved instruction, etc.
What could we base this decision on? Elicitation – pair work
Ways of Knowing
Personal experience Communicated experiences of others Accepted authority Logical reasoning
Personal Experience Ways of personal experience? What are the problems?
Personal Experience
Can be biased by personal feelings, May not have knowledge- decision is
beyond scope of experience,
Communicated Experience of Others Ways of communicated experience? What are the problems?
Communicated Experience
Second-hand knowledge Written descriptions of experience Discussions Media reports Photos, video tapes, audio tapes
Leads to expanded world view Validation of personal experience
Problems with Communicated Experience Problems of personal experience Problems of communication Consensus does not imply truth
Authority
Expert opinion
Religion
Problems with Authority Expert opinion can be wrong Experts often disagree Authority necessitates the communication
of others Authority can lead to diverse
interpretations of common revelations Experts and authorities must be chosen
Logical Reasoning New information from known information Deductive reasoning
Accepted facts (axioms) Strict formal rules
Inductive reasoning Repeated observations Emerging patterns Common sense
Problems with Logical Reasoning Improper application of rules of logic Problems with accepted facts Failure to recognize patterns Acceptance of “patterns” on scant
evidence Observed patterns may change
The Scientific Methods Brainstorming:
All of the above? Goal? How? Theory? Nature?
How do we know? Prioritize methods of knowing Develop a consistent system for acquiring
knowledge that is based on these priorities Use this system to search for truth
The Scientific Methods Personal experience and reasoning take
priority Observations result in pattern detection Models are developed to explain observations Critical observations are made to test models
Goal: is to explain and predict How: empirical and verifiable observations Theory: theoretical and refutable models Nature: public
The Scientific Methods:Introduction to Research in Education Introduction to Research: What does
“research” mean to you? What do we typically do when we ‘do a
piece of research’?
NEXT WEEK!