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!