Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2023 - EDUC 807 G013

Inquiry into Practice (5)

Class Number: 7969

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Wed, 4:30–9:20 p.m.
    Surrey

  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance into the MEd in Educational Practice program.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Supports learners in engaging in ethical inquiry practices within their specific professional contexts.

COURSE DETAILS:

Simon Fraser University
Faculty of Education
Master of Education in Educational Practice
EDUC 807 “Inquiry into Practice”
LM 55 M Ed EP Cohort
Fall 2023

“The moon and sun are eternal travelers. Even the years wander on.
A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years,
every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
Basho, 17th century Japanese poet & traveller, from his “Oku-no-hosomichi”(The Narrow Road to the Interior)
“Attention equals Life.”
Andrew Epstein (2016), the title of his book on contemporary poetry and culture
“Without the ability to think about yourself, to reflect on your life, there’s really no awareness,
no consciousness. Consciousness doesn’t come automatically;
it comes through being alive, awake, curious,
and often furious.”
“A teacher in search of her/his own freedom may be the only kind of teacher
who can arouse young persons to go in search of their own.”
“I am what I am not yet.
I am forever on the way.”
Maxine Greene (from various writings)

OVERVIEW
In a compact sense, this course, building on the theoretical and methodological foundations you explored in EDUC 718, is mainly concerned with helping you dive into your inquiry, further develop your capacities for inquiry, and to deepen your questions about your inquiry. More specifically, it is aimed at supporting you in furthering your own powers of noticing (of observing, paying attention, of ‘wide-awakeness,’ as Maxine Greene says), of questioning through inquiry (your perceptions, observations, assumptions), of sense-making (analyzing and interpreting what you experience, and what you come to understand) and of representation (of putting these experiences and understandings into some ‘form’ that you feel both represents you and your emerging knowledge well, and which communicates meaningfully, effectively, and evocatively to others.) Through readings/viewings/listenings, various in-class and field-work activities (ie, in your classroom and school, or outside of them), along with sustained (and sustaining!) conversations with each other, the aim is to support you in being an anthropologist of your village and an artist of your practice, in a word, of being and embodying the fullest sense of
teacher you seek to be, and that you could be.

Materials

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website 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

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.