ACTION FOR EQUITY: The Giving Tree, The Learning Circle, and Literacy for Diverse Classrooms

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ACTION FOR EQUITY The Giving Tree, The
Learning Circle, andLiteracy for Diverse
Classrooms
Willow Brown, Ph.D., UNBC Leah Moe, M.Ed.,
Cariboo-Chilcotin SD 27
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A Story of Knowledge Construction with, for, and
by Classroom Teacherswith 3 Chapters and an
Invitation

• CHAPTERS
• The Giving Tree Tansi Community School, SK, 2000
• The Learning Circle, Yukon, 2002 Quesnel, BC
  2004
• Literacy for Diverse Classrooms, Williams Lake,
  2008
• Your INVITATION to Comment
• on images, analogies, literature, processes
• connecting theory practice
• enhancing classroom knowledge application and
  construction

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Moving Beyond the Machine Age

• Order, predictability, structure, rationality,
  and control have not freed the human spirit,
  ignited human passions, or promoted human
  creativity, and this failure is taking a toll on
  personal lives as well as organizational
  activity, social relationships, and global
  conditions (Mitchell Sackney, 2000)

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What does a Learning Community look like?

• What image can represent
• Interdependence?
• Collective responsibility?
• Growth from within self-rejuvenation?
• Intrinsic moral purposes?
• Responsiveness to the environment?

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The Giving Tree!
Once there was a treeand she loved a little boy.
Shel Silverstein, 1964
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Organizational Capacity Structures
and Processes

• connections vs. separateness
• diversity vs. uniformity
• empowerment vs. control
• inclusiveness vs. dominance

• Note that
• The community exists for its members
• Moral purpose and learning for everyone
  are
  at the heart of a learning community
• Improvement comes from within

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Personal Capacity The Power to Grow!

• active participation in community
• commitment to community and shared goals
• strong individuals a leader-rich community
• reflective knowledge created and applied
• Creative tension generated by goals and data
• (Senges elastic band demonstration)

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Interpersonal Capacity Affective and
Cognitive Aspects of Culture

• trust
• respect
• caring
• inclusion
• support

• growth
• PD
• interest
• encouragement
• interaction

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Moral Purpose The Heart of Learning, and of the
Community

• How we treat one another is crucial to capacity
• Commitment to learning requires honesty
• Consider effects of each interaction withering
  or nourishing trust?
• Balance commitment with preservation of personal
  capacity

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When we know the characteristics of effective
schools how do we create them in new
places?

• proverbs or mantras (inner speech) to sustain and
  renew commitment
• Common goals, language and diversity
• Awareness of cultural patterns and personal
  contributions to positive direction of change
• Attention to vision and meaningful goals with
  collaborative inquiry action research as a
  circle or wheel for moving forward together

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Chapter 2 The LC Process - Learning Circles for
Learning Communities
REVISE
PLAN
TEACH
REFLECT
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4 LC MeetingsWHOLENESSAWARENESSMEANINGCOM
MITMENT
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Chapter 3 Action for Equity

• You cannot teach todays students with
  yesterdays materials and expect them to have
  success tomorrow (Rhonda Stonecipher).

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• THE PROBLEM
• The limits of my language are the limits of my
  life (Wittgenstein).
• Changing demographics
• New challenges and opportunities
• ESL/D funding and classroom reality

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• PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
• Enhance my own instructional skills in literacy
• Generate knowledge of implementation
• Increase capacity for a learning community in the
  school and district

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The Learning Circle

• Wholeness I created a vision of a literacy
  program that integrated theories of social
  constructivism and culturally responsive
  instruction.
• Awareness Adjustments were made to my practice
  as I experimented with new techniques and
  approaches.
• Meaning The data were synthesized in action step
  matrices and critical incidents were identified.
• Commitment I identified principles and
  strategies that would become ongoing aspects of
  my teaching practice and began sharing my
  discoveries with colleagues.

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Teacher Leadership Learning

• Teacher Inquiry and Educational Reform
• Commitment to improved teaching and learning
  through collaboration, shared goals, shared
  leadership and shared power
• Challenges

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• The leadership we need is available in all of
  us. We have only to make it manifest (Owen).

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INVITATION

• Comment
• on images, analogies, literature, processes
• connecting theory practice
• enhancing classroom knowledge application and
  construction