The stereotypical images we hold of certain groups are powerful in influencing what people see and expect of students. Unless educators consciously try to undermine and work against these kinds of stereotypes, they often act on them unconsciously. Continue reading Are teachers assumptions correct?
Category Archives: Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe
The Faintest Ink is Better than the Best Memory
“Jottings are crucial to the note taking process. You want to take as many jottings as possible when you enter your scene. Your memory might not be the best at first, so record as much as you can about your scene …… don’t make the mistake of thinking “nothing will happen” on a particular day at your site and end up having to jot on napkins or your hand. Make a habit of carrying a small notebook or device everywhere, and at all times, this semester or trimester or quarter. Though you may not even be in your site, you never know when those headnotes you’re working on need to be turned into jottings.”
It resonates me the most because as a former journalist, I found that the job of a participant observer is much like the job of a journalist, which is to actively observe, to interview and to jot down as much as I can and then process the primary data into good articles.
The first step might be jotting through active observation. For example, whenever a journalist enters a news spot or a field researcher enters a researching field, he/she has to use all of his/her senses to feel the environment, record details, and then synthesize the important information in his/her mind—to create headnotes. At the same time, he/she needs to jot down as much notes as he/she can to keep all the feelings fresh.
To get further information, interview is an irreplaceable way because it allows interviewers to ask specific questions regarding their thoughts, understandings, and confusions. To be an effective interviewer, being fully prepared and listening actively are two essential skills that will provide us good opportunities to get in-depth information that cannot be obtained through observation. Of course, after all of these stages, processing and revising the primary data are the final steps for completing our journalist article or our research report.
As a classroom observer, I should realize that observing other experienced teachers’ student teaching is an excellent way to improve my teaching and class management skills. To maximize the outcome of my observation, I can combine the strategies taught in this article and my previous journalist experience together to learn more useful experience from other teachers. Another very important thing I should remember is that never feel there is nothing worthy to be observed and jotted down; just simply write down whatever engages me. After a while, there will be a lot of material that I can use to make my own “artwork”.
Malley, S. B. & Hawkins, A. (n.d.) Writing fieldnotes. In Engaging communities: Writing ethnographic research. Chapter 4. An Open Access ethnographic text. Available from http://www.engagingcommunities.org/.
Acting White = Acting American???
“The other thing that was changing for Joaquin was his sense of how he had to present himself when he was out on the streets and in school. As he grew older, Joaquin felt the need to project the image of a tough and angry young black man. He believed that in order to be respected he had to carry himself in a manner that was intimidating and even menacing. To behave differently – too nice, gentle, kind, or sincere – meant that he would be vulnerable and preyed upon. I learned that for Joaquin, part of his new persona also involved placing less value on academics and greater emphasis on being cool and hanging out with the right people.” – Sadowski, 2008 (p. 24)
In this story, Joaquin was trying desperately to figure out what it meant to be a young black man. The stereotypes of being a black man is opposite to nice, gentle, or kind, otherwise which will refer kids to be “acting white.” However, the concept of acting white itself is discrimination. Continue reading Acting White = Acting American???
“He’s basically white”
“As they start to realize that in this society to be black or brown means to be seen as “less than”—whether it be less smart, less capable, or less attractive—they will often express a desire to be associated with the dominant and more powerful group,” (Noguera, Pedro A., 2008, 588).
Cultural norms: students have them too
“Children and adults are never solitary individuals, immune to the social and cultural forces around them. Gaining understanding of the cultural norms and assumptions we bring as teachers, as well as those brought by each of the students in our classes, is an often difficult task but is essential to providing a learning space that is welcoming and caring and sets up all students for academic and social success.” (p. 154, Mathew Knoester (2008), “Learning to Describe, Describing to Understand”) Continue reading Cultural norms: students have them too