Educational Methods Commons^™

Power To Change: Math As A Social-Emotional Language In A Classroom Of 4 And 5 Year Olds, Elinor J. Albin, Gretchen Vice

Occasional Paper Series

Tells the story of how mathematics influenced a long term investigation around feeling powerful within an early childhood classroom. Written by Early Childhood Teacher, Elinor J. Albin, and Dean of Faculty, Gretchen Vice, this essay outlines the guiding questions by which teachers at The Advent School in Boston, MA connect mathematics to overarching themes and social-emotional learning. “Power to Change” concludes with observations about how and why mathematics provided a language for building social-emotional intelligence in four and five year olds.

The World In Your Pocket: Digital Media As Invitations For Transdisciplinary Inquiry In Mathematics Classrooms, Lynette Deaun Guzmán, Jeffrey Craig

Occasional Paper Series

Building a curriculum from online digital media may provide opportunities for students to draw on their funds of knowledge, deconstruct dominant narratives, and engage with complex multimodal artifacts. We focus on an example of how we have used a digital infographic, The World as 100 People, to unpack global and local issues in mathematics classrooms. Using digital media as invitations for critical mathematical inquiry, we call for mathematics educators to push back on (1) the way mathematics should be formally taught in schools, and (2) a common practice of social media restrictions in schools.

Collaboration And Critical Mathematical Inquiry: Negotiating Mathematics Engagement, Identity, And Agency, Frances K. Harper

Occasional Paper Series

When faced with the challenge of supporting students to do the “messy” mathematical work necessary for exploring social justice problems through critical mathematical inquiry, teachers might rely on more procedural or direct instruction. Because how students learn matters as much as what they learn, this can inadvertently limit students’ engagement with mathematics. Instructional strategies designed to foster equitable collaboration can support critical mathematical inquiry by promoting norms for equitable student engagement and mathematics identity development. As teachers and students negotiate what counts as mathematics engagement and who has access to mathematics, students’ authority over mathematics and social justice issues increases.

Cultivating A Space For Critical Mathematical Inquiry Through Knowledge-Eliciting Mathematical Activity, Debasmita Basu, Steven Greenstein

Occasional Paper Series

Learning mathematics becomes more effective when teachers leverage their students' mathematical and everyday knowledge as resources for instruction. Thus, tasks that reveal these forms of knowledge would be especially useful to teachers. Unfortunately, such tasks are hard to find and even harder to create. Consequently, we developed a collection of mathematical tasks that we hoped would elicit “children’s multiple mathematical knowledge bases (i.e., the understandings and experiences that have the potential to shape and support children’s mathematics learning—including children’s mathematical thinking, and children’s cultural, home, and community-based knowledge)” (Turner et al., 2012, p. 68). These tasks proved to be productive …

Re-Designing Mathematics Education For Social Justice: A Vision, Fahmil Shah

Occasional Paper Series

With a recent push within recent years incorporate issues of social justice within mathematics classrooms, it is important to consider the practicality of addressing these issues in classrooms. Using a theoretical framework developed through a historical analysis of mathematics and its development in school systems around the world, this paper addresses aspects of the current US educational system that limit the feasibility of incorporating social justice in mathematics classrooms. The author also provides recommendations for the field that might pave the way for progress towards a socio-analytical focus in mathematics classrooms in the future.

Teaching For Social Justice Through Critical Mathematical Inquiry, Steven Greenstein, Mark Russo

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Patriotism? No Thanks!, Madhu Suri Prakash

Occasional Paper Series

Patriotic fever reigned supreme in my son’s fifth grade classroom in the public elementary school he had attended since kindergarten. It was in a middle-sized university town in the United States.

Framed photos of each student flouting the flag with patriotic pride announced his teacher’s curriculum and pedagogy. Mrs. ABZ’s message, at least as experienced by my son and me, was “Do or die!” You either subscribe to her patriotic philosophy of education, or you die as a legitimate and valued member of the class.

The school principal accepted that this was unpalatable, undemocratic, inappropriate, unjust and mis-educative—to say the …

A Love-Hate Relationship: Personal Narratives Of Pride And Shame As Patriotic Affects, Mark E. Helmsing

Occasional Paper Series

The Office of Alumni Relations for George Mason University—in Fairfax, Virginia, where I teach—is located centrally on the campus. The exterior of the building faces a busy walkway, displaying in vinyl lettering the official slogan of the university’s alumni association: “once a Patriot, always a Patriot.” This motto refers to the university’s Patriot mascot and implies that once a person joins the university as a student, that person becomes a Patriot and will forever remain a Patriot, which, the alumni office presumably hopes, will result in feelings of goodwill that prompt generous financial contributions from alumni donors.

In considering the …

Patriotism To People In Diaspora Is Love Of Humanity, Ming Fang He

Occasional Paper Series

Patriotism is always contested. It is even more contested for people in diaspora. Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά – “a scattering [of seeds]”) refers to the movement of a population sharing common ethnic identity who are either forced to leave or voluntarily leave their indigenous or ancestral lands and become residents in areas often far removed from their former homes (He, 2010).

In a broader sense, diaspora refers to the situations when indigenous peoples, immigrants, and emigrants are forced to leave or voluntarily leave their tribes, native lands, territories, communities, or countries due to such reasons as imperialism, colonialism, political persecution, …

Constructed Patriotism; Shifting (Re)Presentations And Performances Of Patriotism Through Curriculum Materials, Nina Hood, Marek Tesar

Occasional Paper Series

What does it mean to be patriotic? How are notions of patriotism (re)presented and performed in curriculum materials? In attempting to answer these questions, we contend that it is necessary to move beyond the word patriotic as an isolated concept to explore it in relation to specific temporal, geographic, political, economic, and institutional contexts. Patriotism, or to be patriotic, is conceptualized and means something quite different—and manifests differently—in different eras and in different countries.

We utilize curriculum materials and documents as a lens through which to explore different conceptions and manifestations of patriotism as they pertain to the education of …

Patriotism, Race, And The Militarization Of Citizenship, Jenna Christian

Occasional Paper Series

The visual essay emerges from 2.5 years of ethnographic and arts-based research on the politics of race, citizenship, and military recruiting among Latinx youth in Texas. The essay juxtaposes two examples of how the military intersects with racialized constructions of a patriotic citizen: 1) the case of Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem at NFL football games, and 2) the role of military-run Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs in teaching citizenship. Through the two cases, the essay challenges readers—and educators—to attend to how patriotism is linked to both white supremacy and militarization within the United States.

This Is About Us: Drama Workshop As Patriotic Education, Samuel J. Tanner

Occasional Paper Series

For 15 years, I was a drama teacher in two large urban high schools in Minnesota. My classes were designed with the belief that theatre requires the downplaying or even sacrifice of the individual for the success of the collective. Yes, these classes involved practices that helped students rehearse basic tools of performance but, more importantly, they required participants to work together as a group. Each semester-long class ended with a theatrical production written, produced, and performed by the students for audiences of their peers. Careful not to impose my vision on the content of their productions, I worked to …

On Patriotism, William Ayers

Occasional Paper Series

What’s so great about America?

Near the top of my list is sweet home Chicago—a mesmerizing metropolis, once home to generations of Illini, Winnebago, and Miami peoples, rising along the shore of that immense inland sea and sweeping toward the dazzling prairie just beyond.

There’s Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Saul Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie March, and Richard Wright’s Native Son. There’s Nelson Algren’s The Man with the Golden Arm and Studs Terkel’s Division Street, Gwendolyn Brooks’s Maud Martha and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

So …

Fostering Democratic Patriotism Through Critical Pedagogy, Hillary Parkhouse

Occasional Paper Series

When I was a high school US history teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, I sometimes wondered about the relationship between patriotism and critique of one’s nation. Specifically, I questioned just how critical students could be without becoming disaffected toward the United States. I tried to be honest with my students about the nation’s mixed record of democracy—how the country was founded on ideals of equality and yet stole land from Native Americans, kidnapped millions of Africans as part of a massive system of chattel slavery, and denied the vote to women until 1920. But I …

Patriotism And Dual Citizenship, Patricia Gándara

Occasional Paper Series

I am a citizen of two countries—the United States and Mexico—and I have a deep love of both, for different reasons. I believe that being a citizen of two countries allows me to be a partial outsider in each, which perhaps gives me an uncommon perspective on both. I know that there are those who argue that it’s impossible to be truly loyal to one country if one is also a citizen of another, and there are those for whom any criticism of one’s country is tantamount to treason. I reject both of those positions.

First, I believe that a …

Loving America With Open Eyes: A Student-Driven Study Of U.S. Rights In The Age Of Trump, Margaret N. Becker 9828901

Occasional Paper Series

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, the students of my 4^th grade classroom in a public school in East Harlem had lots of questions about our country. Over and over they wondered: What is a right? How can we protect ourselves when we disagree with the government? This paper stories the year-long study of rights in the United States that grew out of these questions and the learning that came out of this curriculum, as well as works to define what patriotism means to me as an educator and a citizen.

“That's Quite A Tune”: An Interview With Bruce Springsteen, Mark T. Kissling

Occasional Paper Series

Greetings from State College, Pennsylvania.

My name is Mark Kissling. I am an assistant professor of education at Penn State University. I’m also the guest editor of the Bank Street Occasional Papers Series issue #40 titled, “Am I Patriotic?” The purpose of the issue is to complicate how we think about and enact patriotism, with a particular focus on how teachers teach and students learn about patriotism.

So how does this relate to Bruce Springsteen and the interview that you’re about to hear?

In mid-December of 2008, I spent two days at the Woody Guthrie Archives—then in New York City, …

A Note From The New Editor-In-Chief, Gail M. Boldt

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Learning And Teaching The Complexities Of Patriotism Here And Now, Mark T. Kissling

Occasional Paper Series

Last June, the day before the Philadelphia Eagles franchise was scheduled to celebrate its Super Bowl victory at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump revoked the invitation.

The majority of the players had made clear that they would skip the event. Instead of attending the presidential spectacle, they planned to celebrate elsewhere in Washington, D.C., including by touring the nearby National Museum of African American History and Culture (Nakamura & Lowery, 2018). In place of the event, the President led a ten-minute “Celebration of America” on the White House lawn that featured the playing and singing of the national …

Over The Hills And Far Away: Inviting And Holding Traumatic Stories In School, Lesley Koplow, Noelle Dean, Margaret Blachly

Occasional Paper Series

Thousands of young immigrant children enter school each year, bringing their immigration stories with them. They enrich the communities that receive them, bringing hope and new perspectives, new languages, and experiences of other worlds to share with peers. Sometimes their stories include experiences of loss and trauma in their lives prior to entering school. Studies estimate that more than 51% of immigrant families have experienced at least one traumatic event or loss, and at least 15% of immigrant parents and children present with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Aragona, Pucci, Mazzetti, Maisano, & Geraci, 2013). These traumatic histories can include difficult …

Experiential Knowledge And Project-Based Learning In Bilingual Classrooms, Adriana Alvarez

Occasional Paper Series

Culturally and linguistically diverse children deserve sophisticated and dynamic biliterate learning opportunities that integrate the children’s life experiences and keen intellects. Dynamic learning in early childhood classrooms, including progressivist pedagogical approaches like project-based learning, has been shown to facilitate academic achievement as well as high-level learning capabilities including critical thinking, agency, problem solving, and negotiation (Adair, 2014; Bell, 2010; Hyson, 2008; Katz & Chard, 2000). Too often, culturally and linguistically diverse children are offered learning opportunities that fall short of helping students achieve their potential or of validating their life experiences (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Nieto & Bode, 2008; …

Editor's Note, Jonathan Silin

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Principal In School Reform, Michael Fullan

Occasional Paper Series

Fullan examines the principal's role in school improvement and reform. He describes where principals are and what they do and don't do in relation to change. He then talks about the complexity of leadership and offers guidelines for how principals might lead change more effectively.

Introduction: A Principaled Approach, Patricia A. Wasley, Judith Rizzo

Occasional Paper Series

This introduction highlights the collaboration between Bank Street College and the New York City Board of Education who developed an approach to preparing principals that has proved highly effective. Wasley and Rizzo briefly describe the program's history and its evolution, and concludes by analyzing why it has worked so well and what they would do to further strengthen the approach.

Small Schools And The Issue Of Race, Linda C. Powell

Occasional Paper Series

Bank Street College of Education, in conjunction with the Consortium on Chicago School Research did a study of small schools in Chicago. This paper examines one element of the findings in depth - the interaction of race and school size. Powell argues that small schools are by their very nature an anti-racist intervention.

Historical Perspectives On Large Schools In America, Robert L. Hampel

Occasional Paper Series

Hampel evaluates the large school versus small school debate from a historical perspective. Until the 1970's, the small school was seen as the problem, not the answer. This essay will look at five beliefs, each firmly held for a long time by most educators.

Small Schools And The Issue Of Scale, Patricia A. Wasley, Michelle Fine

Occasional Paper Series

Wasley and Fine write this essay to respond to the oft-heard claim that small schools are not a systemic reform strategy. They argue, instead, that there is now a broad professional and community consensus for small schools; major policy moves within urban, suburban, and rural communities are being advanced to create and maintain small schools, and substantial social science evidence documents the efficiency and equity potential of small schools .

Small Schools: What's Small?, Matt Gladden

Occasional Paper Series

Essay examining the question of what constitutes a small school through the Chicago Small Schools Study. It explores why educators are founding new small schools and documents the diverse range of small schools that flourish throughout Chicago. Building from these observations, it then seeks to identify characteristics that delineate small schools and provide them the opportunity to improve students' educational experiences.

Black Girls Are More Than Magic, Gloria J. Ladson-Billings

Occasional Paper Series

Despite the current interest in "Black Girl Magic" this essay argues that what Black women have accomplished and endured is more than mere magic. Instead, they reflect a dogged determinism to work toward liberation of all people. That determination has been in the forefront of human liberation for centuries.

Untying The Knot, Charisse Jones

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.