Fall 2019 - EDUC 100W E100

Selected Questions and Issues in Education (3)

Class Number: 5795

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2019: Thu, 4:30–7:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to a small but representative sample of basic questions and issues in education. Students will examine questions relating to: the concept or idea of education; learning and the learner; teaching and the teacher; and more generally, the broader contexts of education. This course also introduces students to different ways of exploring educational questions and issues from philosophical and critical analysis, to historical and cross-cultural studies, to empirical research. Cannot be taken for credit by students with credit for 300 and 400 level education courses. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

Education is a central feature of all societies today and learning is an essential part of who we are: learning creatures. Through our classroom discussions, readings, and online explorations, we will create a learning community, collectively reflecting on and critically analyzing various dimensions of education: our own educational journeys, the various ways we learn, the “big questions” of education, different ways of looking at learning organizations in our society, the kinds of education that are important in our increasingly complex and ever-changing societies, teachers and students, and the definition of an educated person in an educated society.

The course will be structured as a series of modules in which we explore various educational topics. Each module is a separate exploration but, of course, all the various module topics are connected in some ways. Through our classroom discussions, readings, and online explorations, we will create a learning community, collectively reflecting on and critically analyzing the purpose of education and being educated, the messages embedded in educational environments and to consider future possibilities for education.

Taught in a seminar format involving a wide variety of readings, discussions, and assignments, the course aims to develop a better understanding of the multifaceted nature of teaching and learning, schools and school systems. Part of the course is designed and taught by the students themselves, as a way of experiencing the nature of teaching first hand. Emphasis will be given to engaging in your own inquiry as a way of investigating the relationship between the personal and the universal and growth and transformation. Place-based learning is one of the topics students will read in the text and also experience in practice as the focus is on student inquiry and student centred learning rather than the more traditional pedagogy of teacher centred learning. This may be a very new experience for some students but can be a very rewarding experience as well.

As a writing intensive course, it will provide opportunities for you to develop a number of writing genres. In these writing assignments, and throughout the course, an emphasis is placed on connecting personal experience, observation and belief with an understanding of broader philosophical, social and political issues in education.

Through readings and other media sources, students will be asked to reflect on, and critically analyze and discuss the purpose of education and being educated, the messages embedded in education, and to consider future possibilities for education. Students will also have the opportunity to reflect on their own educational experiences and consider alternative ways that teaching and learning can occur. Information, questions and concepts will be shared through written and verbal exchanges, group discussions and presentations. The student presentations are intended to provide students with an authentic opportunity to engage in student inquiry and student centred-learning, as well as an opportunity to practice their prowess at ‘teaching’ their peers since this is a course designed for educational students seeking careers as teachers in the school system. As such, the course is deliberately designed for the instructor to speak less to the text and more about the assessment of assignments that include the co-construction of rubrics with students, peer assessment and self-assessment, another important aspect of classroom teaching in the school system. If time permits portfolio assessment will also be included. Student-led learning is equally or more valuable at times than teacher led learning which grounds this course.

All assignments are designed very carefully to provide scaffolding from lesson to lesson and module to module. Not only will theories be discussed conceptually but students will also have an opportunity to see what these theories look like in practice through the use of appropriate activities and explorations. Each class will devote time to these mini-lessons around theoretical aspects of learning that apply to the learning outcomes of the individual assignment. With that said, each assignment builds on the next and goes deeper conceptually and theoretically, so that by the end of the semester various types of inquiry are mastered (for example, reflective inquiry, critical inquiry).

Grading

  • Attendance 10%
  • Participation 10%
  • Quizzes/Homework 10%
  • Student Presentation in Groups 20%
  • Narrative of Educational Experience 20%
  • Final Paper/Project 30%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

We will be using TopHat in this class. The cost is approximately $30. You can purchase TopHat at the SFU Bookstore by going to the shelf where your course books are located and picking up an Access Code to be purchased at the Cashier. Your Access Code is sort of like the Gift Cards you see at your local supermarket or drugstore checkout--they have no "value" until activated. When you purchase the Access Code at the cashier, she/he will "activate" your card so that you can have access to TopHat. You may also purchase Tophat on-line as an app, which I believe is more affordable.

NOTE: In an effort to keep the cost of attending this course low, two textbooks have been placed on reserve at the Bennett library for your use. You may reserve and use them for four hour intervals and may renew them if there is not waitlist.

REQUIRED READING:

Gereluk, D., Martin, C., Maxwell, B., and Norris, T. (2016). Questioning the classroom: Perspectives on Canadian education. Oxford Press.

NOTE: In an effort to keep the cost of attending this course low, two textbooks have been placed on reserve at the Bennett library for your use. You may reserve and use them for four hour intervals and may renew them if there is not waitlist.
ISBN: 9780199010035

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS