Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Censorship Of Lgbtq+ Books: Causes And Consequences, Merrick Glass

Honors Projects

Censorship in the United States of America has accelerated over the past four years. LGBTQ+ books are specifically being targeted and banned within high school classrooms. Banned books are nothing new--court cases today are influenced by Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) plurality decision on censorship. Students and professionals alike have power in their rights and voices. In the framework of bell hooks, the classroom can be perceived as a site of resistance in order to take power back into students' hands. Without a diversity of books, students will lack cognitive development and community.

James Baldwin's Classroom And What He Can Teach Us About Queer Representation, Matthew Callahan

Scholars Week

James Baldwin writes about the importance of the representation of race in school classrooms in his essay A Talk to Teachers. Baldwin's discourse surrounding the representation of race in schools can be extended to the queer community and the importance of representation in the classroom of these marginalized communities. Combining Baldwin's essays and fiction with educational research, I plan on highlighting the importance of representation of marginalized communities in the classroom and the role that educators play in ensuring that all students feel seen in the classroom.

Front Matter - Jaepl - Volume 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Front Matter

Why Moffet Matters Now, Stephen Lafer, Jonathan M. Marine

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

James Porter Moffett (1929–1996) was a ground-breaking teacher, author, and theorist of language learning who had a profound impact on the fields of English Education, Language Arts, Composition, and Educational Psychology in the mid to late 20th century and was the first member of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning (AEPL). In the inaugural Moffett’s Corner, Steve Lafer and Jonathan Marine discuss how they came together, why they wanted to start this column, and what they hope to accomplish.

Jaepl - Volume 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Full Issue of The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning Volume 28.

Table Of Contents - Jaepl - Volume 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Table of Contents

Storying Science: Preparing Stem Students To Engage With Discipline-Specific And Public Audiences Through The Ted(X) Genre, Erica M. Stone, Sarah E. Austin

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Communicating about science with public audiences is becoming increasingly important for STEM students, both during their studies and once they enter a specific scientific workplace. Using two different general education writing courses as case examples, one at Middle Tennessee State University and one at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School, this article offers a model for how the rhetorical structure of the TED(x) presentation genre can be used to prepare STEM-focused students to better engage with non-expert audiences. Through narrative reflection and assignment examples, we build on Joshua Schimel’s framework for communicating science and provide a replicable model …

Coastal Communications: Teaching Civic Scientific Literacy In English And Environmental Science And Resource Management Classes, Stacey Anderson, Kiki Patsch

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Named after the national park that lies just off of our Ventura County shores, California State University Channel Islands draws faculty who are committed to integrating the coast into their teaching and research. This context has inspired our interdisciplinary collaboration as teacher-scholars who hail from separate departments (English and Environmental Science and Resource Management). Our work together is designed to amplify civic scientific literacy in our classrooms as a means of elevating discourse on the growing challenges that threaten our coastal communities.

Addressing Gaps In Science Competencies: Incorporating Science Communication Into Existing Classes, Amy J. Hawkins, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith, Nicole C. Woitowich

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Regardless of which career path a scientist decides to take, they must be able to communicate effectively with broad audiences. As such, science communication training has become an essential component of STEM professional development. While multiple national scientific societies have articulated the need to address these skills as in fundamental training, few undergraduate scientific training programs have formally addressed this in their degree programs. Here we present an innovative approach to teach this skill set by blending an online science communication course with existing curricula in the biomedical sciences. Online content from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology …

Weaving Science Communication Training Through An Undergraduate Science Program With A Focus On Accessibility And Inclusion, Adina Silver, Zoya Adeel, Tim Li, Abeer Siddiqui, Alexander Hall, Sarah L. Symons, Katie Moisse

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Science communication training can help scientists engage diverse audiences with the promise and process of science, helping to strengthen science literacy and preserve public trust in science. But not all scientists have access to such training. To address this shortfall, we have embedded a suite of science communication courses in the Life Sciences Program, the largest undergraduate science program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. A foundational course focuses on making science accessible through inclusive language and media, while more advanced courses emphasize the importance of understanding and centering the values, beliefs, questions, and critiques of audiences, and using narratives …

Connecting Introduction - Reciprocal Engagement And Imperfect Pedagogy, Christy I. Wenger

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Connecting Introduction - Reciprocal Engagement and Imperfect Pedagogy

Part 1: Creating Scientist-Citizens Through A Writing Minor, Melissa Carrion, Ed Nagelhout

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Part 1: Creating Scientist-Citizens through a Writing Minor

Part 2: Learning To Communicate About Science: Writing About (Science) Writing And The First-Year Writing Requirement, David Gerstle, Sarah Seeley, Marc Laflamme

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Part 2: Learning to Communicate About Science: Writing About (Science) Writing and the First-Year Writing Requirement

English 101, Naomi C. Gades

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Poetry: English 101

Sessional Spa Time, Amber Moore

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Poetry: Sessional spa time

Aepl Members Respond To Lynn Z. Bloom’S Recipe1, Lynn Bloom, Bruce Novak, Geri Deluca, Libby F. Jones, Jeffrey Seizer, Elizabeth Vickers

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

AEPL Members Respond to Lynn Z. Bloom’s Recipe

Contributors To Jaepl, Vol. 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

List of contributors and biographies for JAEPL, Volume 28.

Back Matter, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Back Matter

Public Narratives, Storytelling, And Trust: A Case Study In A Stem-Based Writing Program, Jeff Gagnon

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In recent years, a growing body of scholars have argued that narrative storytelling is an effective and necessary science communication tool for the education of undergraduate STEM students. This research comes at a time when many in the public are becoming distrustful about science, scientists, and scientific communication. However, questions remain about which genre and style of narratives are most effective at building trust among STEM communicators and public audiences? My essay answers this question through a case study of narrative communication in my first-year writing classes. I analyze my attempts to teach STEM students that “public narratives,” a genre …

Embedding The Scientists: Civic Issues As Context For Teaching And Learning, Heather Lettner-Rust, Alix Dowling Kink, Edward Kinman, Joellen Pederson, Phillip Poplin

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

We teach science as a path to meaningful civic engagement in a participatory democracy and as a path that should be open to all; our concern lies in how the next generation of young citizens1 address challenging civic issues both by applying science to other contexts—public and civic—as well as communicating science to others—peers and the public. To that end, our article seeks to explain an interdisciplinary capstone course for our general education program that we developed to promote and support science learning and science communication by teaching in the context of important civic issues.

Rethinking Science Communication: The Need For Dialogic, Transdisciplinary Collaboration, Julia Kiernan

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Rethinking Science Communication: The Need for Dialogic, Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Science Storytelling Beyond The Dramatic Arc: Narrativity And Little Red Schoolhouse Principles In Science Communication, Daniel A. Newman

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Narrative is widely recommended for improving science communication, yet the main approach to science storytelling is limited and limiting, advocating fixed dramatic arcs and the ideal of narrativehood, the absolute quality of being a coherent narrative. Neglected by this approach, I argue, are the finer grained linguistic patterns that give texts local narrativity, the quality of being narrative in a scalar, adjectival sense. I harmonize narrativity with the well-established principles of clear technical writing developed by Joseph Williams, then demonstrate how these principles might be used and taught through a comparative reading of several texts discussing a single topic in …

Negotiating Scientific Identity And Agency: Graduate Student Perspectives On A Public Communication Of Science Course, Lilly Campbell

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Drawing on interviews with nine graduate science students, this article explores perspectives on a Public Communication of Science (PCS) course designed to help students translate their research for a public talk given at a local town hall. I first outline the history of the student-run course and then discuss three course components—public rhetoric of science; improvisation; and audience awareness. Within each component, I describe one student’s particular experience with the course. I describe how students transferred rhetorical lessons from the course to their academic writing but could also transfer rigid views of communication from their scientific work back into their …

Getting Beyond “Craap”: Scientific Literacy In Fyw And Wad, Erica Duran, Lauren M. Springer

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

While first-year writing (FYW) programs often bear the responsibility for teaching students to write across the disciplines (Downs and Wardle), too often students restrict the concepts learned in FYW to the humanities, or even worse, a single class. Moreover, students frequently complete research assignments in FYW which restrict them to scholarly or peer-reviewed sources, hindering their ability to learn how to assess popular sources. This can be especially problematic with scholarly STEM sources, which are laden with unfamiliar technical terms. Although the writing and research skills learned in FYW are often intended to be interdisciplinary, FYW faculty have opportunities to …

Engl 200: Writing About Writing (The Problem Of The University), Flora De Tournay

Open Educational Resources

"The Problem of the University" is a (largely) open education syllabus that marries a criticality of/with the university as a site and space of knowledge making and knowledge suppression with a metacognitive writing approach for undergraduate students. The syllabus' contents include texts from bell hooks, Paolo Freire, Derrida, Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, among others.

Complete and updated syllabus available at https://waboutw.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Engaging Students And Teaching Life Skills Through Community Collaboration, Kim Stein

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Collaboration with the Youth First Program of Saginaw increased students' engagement in eleventh-grade English. Students bonded with community partners, their teacher, and their peers in new ways which produced an environment of mutual respect and deeper learning. Students engaged in a debate project which garnered recognition from school administrators and community members, who were influenced to enact positive changes for the school community.

Doing The Work -- Collectively Pursuing Anti-Racist And Equitable Teaching: One High School English Department’S Journey, Sharon Murchie, Anthony Andrus, Pat Brennan, Gina Farnelli, Shelby Fletcher, Dawn Reed, Emily Solomon, Benjamin K. Woodcock

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Our district has long been heralded as a beacon school, one that delivers exceptional education in an exceptional community. Peeling back the layers, however, revealed a district that lurched towards the traditional, even with the hiring of DEI faculty and the step away from an historical indigenous mascot. In a time where teachers are exhausted and afraid of community backlash, our

English department dared to tear off the scabs of old wounds and united to push toward what is best for our changing community and students. Hard conversations, difficult topics, and months of legwork at last successfully provided the impetus …

Unit Plan For A Course On Banned Books For 11th And 12th Grade, Jonny Gherman

English Capstone Projects

This lesson plan will teach high school students (11th-12th grade) what censorship is, why it is powerful, and what to do with it. Aligned with Pennsylvania State Standards, students will identify common themes between the two most popular genres of banned books (race & gender/sexuality). Through a series of activities, discussions, and a final project, students will practice close reading, critical thinking, and basic research skills.

Reimagining The Humanistic Tradition: Using Isocratic Philosophy, Ignatian Pedagogy, And Civic Engagement To Journey With Youth And Walk With The Excluded, Allen Brizee

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

The world is in a perilous place. Challenged by zealots, autocrats, a pandemic, and now a war in Europe, elected officials and their constituents no longer exchange ideas in a functioning public sphere, once a hallmark of the humanistic tradition. The timeliness of the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs), therefore, is profound as they provide beacons of light for dark times. In this article, I trace Isocratic philosophy through Ignatian pedagogy and contemporary civic engagement to argue that we can use these three models to help us Journey with Youth and Walk with the Excluded. Key to this approach is a …

Breaking Bias, Building Belonging: Racism And Misogyny In Campus Communities, Kayla Batalha

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

Breaking Bias, Building Belonging: Racism and Misogyny in Campus Communities is a project that uses art as a research medium in order to first understand how the Bryant community perceives issues of race, gender, and bias, as well as using creative modes of expression to educate participants on issues that are often invisible and go undiscussed on campus. Using qualitative and ethnographic research methods, this exhibit is infused with both primary and secondary research. Data gathered from the literature review explores the theme of community, which serves as the foundation for this project that was subsequently narrowed to focus on …