Readings for 10/18

Mmmm, Donuts...

The Powell and Davidson article, "The Donut House..." made me think about how, when trying to spread a good idea around, the true benefit gets diluted. How many of us have gone on a field trip, maybe taken notes or drawings during the field trip, written or drawn up a report, and maybe written a thank-you note? The field trips of my youth certainly weren't wasted, but they weren't milked for everything good that could have come out of them. The classroom in the article didn't just go on a field trip, they investigated, explored, and recreated the process of setting up a business. The teacher made the effort to sustain the activity until real work (aka, learning) happened. While I don't know this for a fact, I'm guessing the teacher made sure that props and equipment were available during all free play times so that her students could continue to refine their ideas and extend them in new ways.

To me the approach in the article is reminiscent of some of the philosophies behind the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. You may have seen schools advertised as "Reggio-inspired" and the like, and there have been attempts to bring the philosophies to the US with varying degrees of success. The students in those schools study things, and much of their learning revolves around the things they are studying. Young children are expected to take notes, build models, and have ideas that the teachers use to extend the learning as far as it can go. Through their study topics they cover literacy, math, science, music, art, and history. Isn't that more interesting that studying the letter of the day or writing whatever the teacher tells you to write? I think so. Typically, they study something close enough to their school that they can walk to it, much like the doughnut shop in the article.

MGRP

Allen's book on multigenre research papers has so far been practical and filled with good examples. I'm feeling a little better about the genre part of our paper, but it's still scary for me. One thing that stood out, that I'm sure the author didn't intend, was the internet portion of one chapter. Note to self: If I write a book, don't be specific about technology! Any teacher following the advice in the book due to ignorance would find herself losing credibility with her students. This is the second book in the last few months that has had the same outdated tech problem, so I would encourage anyone who publishes anything to be less specific.