Dissecting Dialogue: The Value of Music Education in ESL/ELL Programs

Among educators and philosophers alike, critical dialogue is widely regarded as one of the most effective ways to communicate and educate in the classroom. In his quintessential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire reflects upon the importance of dialogue stating, “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue, there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education.” This point is reinforced in other notable texts such as Teaching as a Subversive Activity, which describes the “new education” as not only student and question centered, but “language-centered” as well. From a theoretical point of view, these approaches to learning bear merit and, in many cases, are effective when successfully applied in the field. However, with the dawn of the twenty-first century and the continued growth and complexity of globalization, these theories are in need of constant revisions as educators attempt to apply dated practices in an ever-changing society. Particularly in the United States of America, which since its inception, has maintained its reputation of a “melting pot” of peoples and cultures, it is vital that educators incorporate progressive interpretations of these principles in order to best enlighten, and therefore educate, an increasingly diverse population of students. Accompanied with a wide range of cultural beliefs that span numerous languages, educators currently face this paradox: How does one use dialogical tools to nurture what Freire deems “critical thinking” in classrooms where linguistic differences inhibit the implementation of these same tools? In response to this dilemma, the responsibility falls on music educators and administrators to develop policies that address the educational inequalities produced by the cultural and linguistic differences found in classrooms to provide an egalitarian and accessible education to all students that simultaneously encourages and utilizes dialogue and praxis

Researching Writing Program Administration Expertise in Action: A Case Study of Collaborative Problem Solving as Transdisciplinary Practice

Theorizing WPA expertise as problem-oriented, stakeholder-inclusive practice, we apply the twenty-first-century paradigm of transdisciplinarity to a campus WID Initiative to read and argue that data-driven research capturing transdisciplinary WPA methods in action will allow us to better understand, represent, and leverage rhetoric-composition/writing studies’ disciplinary expertise in twenty-first-century higher education

A Summer Academy Program for Prospective Teachers: Model Teaching Experiences

This article describes the project, A Summer Academy Program for Prospective Teachers: Model Teaching Experiences, of the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative (O-TEC), one of the nation’s Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP). To recruit highly qualified teachers in science and mathematics, O-TEC institutions promote a program of summer academies that provide prospective teachers with opportunities to become familiar with effective teaching methods. During the academy, high school juniors and seniors explore inquiry-based teaching strategies, exemplary curricula, science and math content, and state and national standards in math and science education-all under the tutelage of mentor teachers, a Master-Teacher-in- Residence, and university faculty. The prospective teachers have opportunities to put into practice what they learn about effective teaching. For two weeks, the prospective teachers experience teaching science lessons to elementary children from neighboring school systems. These experiences help the prospective teachers perceive the challenges and rewards of teaching at a pivotal time in their lives. This material is based upon the summer academy program supported in part by the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative, the National Science Foundation, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative, the National Science Foundation, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University

The Centrality Of Culture And Community To Participant Learning At And With The Math Forum

In this chapter, the terms culture and community are problematized, and their centrality to participant learning at and with The Math Forum (mathforum.org) is discussed. Culture, as it is used here, refers to the rituals and norms that come to be associated with a site and its functioning. Community describes recognition of connections to and identification with other participants. The Math Forum is an interactive and inquiry-informed digital library, or virtual resource center, for mathematics education. Previous chapters have addressed the ways in which The Math Forum has leveraged the concept of community in order to become a dynamic and resource-rich educational site (Renninger & Shumar, 2002; Shumar & Renninger, 2002). In the present chapter, this analysis is taken a step further. The culture of The Math Forum is described as providing its participants with a unique set of opportunities for learning and for making the relationship between the individual and the community one in which individual and community needs can both be met. Site culture enables contributions from individuals that by definition help to build out and sustain this community. Math Forum participants include Math Forum staff members and a mix of teachers, students, and other individuals such as parents, software developers, mathematicians, math educators, professionals, and tradespeople, many of whom also volunteer their time as mentors for the site. Participants differ not only in terms of their roles, but in their experience, level of expertise, and interest for mathematics (Renninger & Shumar, 2002)

Integrating Faith and Learning: Preparing Teacher Candidates to Serve Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

This essay examines how liberation theology and critical pedagogy inform the integration of faith and learning of a teacher educator who felt called to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students in the United States. The essay provides a brief cultural background of the educator’s journey from instructional assistant in an English learner program to teacher educator at a Christian University. The essay explains how liberation theology and critical pedagogy provide a coherent framework for preparing teacher candidates to work with English learners in public schools

Paradoxical personality scale: Its development and construct validity analysis

Se presenta el proceso de construcción y validación de la Escala de Personalidad Paradójica, diseñada a partir de la propuesta de Csikszentmihalyi (1996), quien describiera el concepto evaluado en relación a los individuos creativos. Se redactaron 150 reactivos que fueron sometidos a juicio experto y a examen de validez aparente en un estudio piloto. La versión resultante fue usada en un estudio factorial exploratorio (473 estudiantes; 50.5% varones, 49.5% mujeres; 18 a 35 años; = 21.82; DT= 3.14). La estructura resultante, de 6 dimensiones y 30 ítems, fue confirmada mediante un análisis factorial confirmatorio (800 estudiantes universitarios; 44.4% varones, 55.6% mujeres; 18 a 35 años; = 23.47; DT= 3.30). Ambas muestras provenían de la población de estudiantes universitarios de Buenos Aires, Argentina. También se analizó la consistencia interna y la estabilidad temporal de las puntuaciones, obteniéndose en ambos casos coeficientes aceptables, dada la composición de las dimensiones subyacentes al constructo analizado. Se discuten los resultados a la luz de los modelos teóricos propuestos, las ventajas de la brevedad y sencillez de aplicación y según nuevas líneas de investigación.The development and construct validation process of the Paradoxical Personality Scale is presented in this paper. The concept assessed has been posed by Csikszentmihalyi (1996) and was described as related to creative individuals. Following his guidelines, 150 items were designed and judged by five experts, and later analysed from a facies standpoint. The resulting version was used in a sample of college students (n=473; 50.5% males, 49.5% females) from 18 to 35 years (M = 21.82; DT= 3.14), to explore underlying dimensions. A 30item/6-factor solution was firstly isolated and after confirmed by a confirmatory factor analysis developed with 800 college students (44.4% males, 55.6% females), between18 and 35 years (M = 23.47; DT= 3.30). Both samples were selected from the population of college students from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Internal consistency and temporal stability of scores were also tested, obtaining adequate coefficients in both cases, in view of the composition of the dimensions underlying the construct analysed. Results show acceptable psychometric properties as well as shortness and simplicity for data gathering, which are discussed taking into account theoretical models and new research lines.Fil: Freiberg Hoffmann, Agustín. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: de la Iglesia, Guadalupe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Stover, Juliana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Liporace, Maria Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentin

The effect of game-based learning on middle school students\u27 academic achievement

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the connections of paratexts and multiple literacies in game-based learning to traditional literacies and examine the effectiveness of game-based learning on middle school students\u27 academic performance in STEM subjects. Thirty peer-reviewed journal articles with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods as well as literature reviews were surveyed. Research shows game-based learning is a viable instructional method that offers close connections to traditional literacies in the classroom and an opportunity for improving student academic achievement when implemented purposefully in STEM content areas. Recommendations for teachers\u27 effective implementation and the future directions for the research are discussed

Code, space and everyday life

In this paper we examine the role of code (software) in the spatial formation of collective life. Taking the view that human life and coded technology are folded into one another, we theorise space as ontogenesis. Space, we posit, is constantly being bought into being through a process of transduction – the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices - as an incomplete solution to a relational problem. The relational problem we examine is the ongoing encounter between individuals and environment where the solution, to a greater or lesser extent, is code. Code, we posit, is diversely embedded in collectives as coded objects, coded infrastructure, coded processes and coded assemblages. These objects, infrastructure, processes and assemblages possess technicity, that is, unfolding or evolutive power to make things happen; the ability to mediate, supplement, augment, monitor, regulate, operate, facilitate, produce collective life. We contend that when the technicity of code is operationalised it transduces one of three forms of hybrid spatial formations: code/space, coded space and backgrounded coded space. These formations are contingent, relational, extensible and scaleless, often stretched out across networks of greater or shorter length. We demonstrate the coded transduction of space through three vignettes – each a day in the life of three people living in London, UK, tracing the technical mediation of their interactions, transactions and mobilities. We then discuss how code becomes the relational solution to five different classes of problems – domestic living, travelling, working, communicating, and consuming