Reflections on Ethnography Forum: Using an Open Syllabus
I’ve been thinking about a few different things this week with my inquiry question. Last weekend at the Ethnography in Education Research Forum, I attended a very interesting presentation on using an open syllabus in undergraduate and graduate classes. An open syllabus was described as an “attempt at democratic education” and involved allowing students in a course to design their own syllabus, including choosing which topics to study, what assignments to complete, and how grading would be decided. During this presentation from a panel of professors and graduate students, I began to think about my own research with transparency in my teaching practices.
Many of the professors talked about providing students with a curriculum map with many different topics they could study and allowed the students to collaboratively decide what was most important to them, and also how they wanted their learning to be assessed. I liked the idea of an open syllabus, but I wondered how I could attempt to be more open and transparent in an environment that is usually very closed and opaque (traditional secondary education). While there are unique school models that promote more student agency and inquiry, traditional schooling positions teachers as experts and students as learners. I wondered if I could ever create a space where students felt comfortable challenging this traditional model.
As I listened to the conversation, I also realized that there was a difference between an “open” class as it was described that day, and my understanding of a “transparent” class. Open classrooms rely much more on students’ intrinsic motivations and desire to take more control over their learning experiences, while transparent classrooms have a set curriculum for the year, but there is flexibility, and the teacher gives students the opportunity to develop intrinsic motivation and invites student feedback and input, but doesn’t require it. I think teacher transparency that encourages student opinions and suggestions is more feasible in traditional secondary schooling environments, because not all students will want to take so much control over their learning or they may not feel comfortable expressing their ideas.
During this presentation I began to think about how I could provide space for my students to share their opinions and criticisms. I knew that I wanted to get their feedback on our new unit and novel, Invisible Man, but I was not sure what questions I wanted to ask or what feedback I was really looking for . . .
I’ve been thinking about a few different things this week with my inquiry question. Last weekend at the Ethnography in Education Research Forum, I attended a very interesting presentation on using an open syllabus in undergraduate and graduate classes. An open syllabus was described as an “attempt at democratic education” and involved allowing students in a course to design their own syllabus, including choosing which topics to study, what assignments to complete, and how grading would be decided. During this presentation from a panel of professors and graduate students, I began to think about my own research with transparency in my teaching practices.
Many of the professors talked about providing students with a curriculum map with many different topics they could study and allowed the students to collaboratively decide what was most important to them, and also how they wanted their learning to be assessed. I liked the idea of an open syllabus, but I wondered how I could attempt to be more open and transparent in an environment that is usually very closed and opaque (traditional secondary education). While there are unique school models that promote more student agency and inquiry, traditional schooling positions teachers as experts and students as learners. I wondered if I could ever create a space where students felt comfortable challenging this traditional model.
As I listened to the conversation, I also realized that there was a difference between an “open” class as it was described that day, and my understanding of a “transparent” class. Open classrooms rely much more on students’ intrinsic motivations and desire to take more control over their learning experiences, while transparent classrooms have a set curriculum for the year, but there is flexibility, and the teacher gives students the opportunity to develop intrinsic motivation and invites student feedback and input, but doesn’t require it. I think teacher transparency that encourages student opinions and suggestions is more feasible in traditional secondary schooling environments, because not all students will want to take so much control over their learning or they may not feel comfortable expressing their ideas.
During this presentation I began to think about how I could provide space for my students to share their opinions and criticisms. I knew that I wanted to get their feedback on our new unit and novel, Invisible Man, but I was not sure what questions I wanted to ask or what feedback I was really looking for . . .