“According to Kinloch, the writing located out-of-school can serve, for youth, as a model of critical literacy. In this way, Kinloch considers out-of-school spaces just an important as in school spaces because ‘signs of history, writing, and a historic community are visible’ (p87). Many other literacy researchers and educators concur with Kinloch. For example, Hull (2003) views out-of-school as the site where literacy is most alive, authentic, and meaningful, where the contours of the educational changes that many educators desire are most pronounced.” (Researching and Teaching English in the Digital Dimension / Kirkland, 2009)

One of the central tenets of my philosophy education is to teach toward action-based outcomes. Action-based outcomes are, of course, situated in “out-of-school” or “unofficial space.” In other words, I seek for students to take learning outcomes of official/school space and apply them in their communities to positively impact their own lives and the lives of others. Kirkland’s discussion on the intersectionality of space and its pedagogical implications forced me to re-evaluate what this tenet truly means and how best to accomplish it.
Prior to my reading this article, my approach to achieve action-based learning outcomes would have predominantly been to situate learning in the official school space and through scaffolding help students transfer skills to the unofficial contexts of their lives. However, this approach is hindered by a strict adherence to the dichotomous nature of the first wave approach to space. Transposing this approach in light of the second wave conceptualization of space allows for a much more direct and impactful approach to action-based learning outcomes. My revised approach would situate official space learning activities in the space of the student’s unofficial worlds, thus creating an embedded or third space depending on the design of the lesson. By using the two spaces in conjunction the learning outcomes are proximally closer to the unofficial space, which I seek to effect. This removes the need for extensive scaffolding aimed at transferring skills to real life contexts. In place of this scaffolding, I can incorporate an actualization piece into my lessons and further empower and encourage student action and community engagement.
The quote I selected serves as evidence for the feasibility of my revised approach to action-based learning outcomes. By situating out-of-school context within official space, creating either embedded or third space learning contexts, students are critically engaging with the rich history, texts and living communities from which they come. Not only will the authenticity and meaningfulness found in out-of-school contexts enable actualization of learning outcomes, but also it will improve student’s engagement through exigency and thus increase improve learning outcomes themselves. This two-fold benefit makes compounds the power in action-based applications of learning.