Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning EDUC

Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning EDUC 3400 Glenys Mac. Leod

Saturday, September 6 Intent: 1. Review course outline, assignments and timeline, 2. What is sociology? 3. What are the characteristics of our society? 4. How can we measure the success of a society? 4. Reflection Assignment #1

Course Outline Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning EDUC 3400 This course is an introduction to the study of learning utilizing sociological principles. Social factors affecting teaching and learning will be examined. It will consider educational settings as learning environments, examining such features as the social characteristics of students, schools and their surroundings, that have an impact on school performance. Some attention is given to a consideration of the relationship between school learning environments and educational reform.

Course Objectives: • □ To examine the relationship between education and society, • □ To discuss the role of education in Canada as seen through the lens of various social theories, • □ To explore the role of factors such as gender, ethnicity, class and disabilities in social reproduction, in social capital, in teaching and learning, in the education system and in society. • □ To develop a critical perspective on classrooms and schools. Wotherspoon, Terry. (2009). The Sociology of Education in Canada. Third Edition. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press Canada.

Assignments Reflection Assignments 30% Reflect or respond to a relevant issue or specific question form our class discussions. Criteria for these assignments will be developed during our first class. Length: 1 - 1 ½ typed, double spaced pages (approximately 300 words) Educational Settings 20% Monday, July 13 Choose two educational settings. Provide a physical description of the settings. Discuss the learning objectives, the curriculum and teaching strategies present. Compare the social factors that contribute to a learner’s success in each environment making reference to topics discussed in the first four classes. Length: 3 - 4 typed, double spaced pages (750 - 1000 words). Inequality in Educational Settings Presentations 20% Friday, July 24 and Monday, July 27 In this 15— 20 minute presentation individual students or student groups will discus a dimension of Educational Inequality. The discussion will focus on the factors surrounding this type of inequality: the effect on individual student learning, the impact on the classroom and school community, support for the learner and examples from the field.

http: //www. edu. gov. mb. ca/k 12/assess/docs/report_card/full_do c. pdf

Planning for Social Factors in Classroom Learning Environments 30% Wednesday, July 29 Create a series of lessons (minimum 5 lessons) in which you incorporate the major themes of the course. You will be provided with a fictional class, school and community to guide your planning. Each lesson must include specific curricular outcomes, teaching strategies, learning activities and an assessment plan. A discussion section must follow each lesson and will include an analysis of equality of access, opportunity and achievement, evidence of differentiation, links to the purpose of education, incorporation of employability skills, opportunities for the development of learning behaviours, as well as an evaluation of the elements of social and cultural capital that may favor some students over others. You will share a Project Proposal, a 2 or 3 minute summary of your ideas (What outcomes you have chosen? What assessments are you considering? Which social factors will be the most difficult accommodate? How will you support struggling learners? and How can we help? ) Wednesday, July 22

What is Sociology?

What might this image be saying about society? Please add your ideas, comments, questions here.

Sociology The scientific study of society including patterns of social relationships, social interactions and culture. Auguste Compte, 1830, synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity. Sociologists study human interactions between two people (micro) to complex multination relationships (macro). Dictionary of social sciences, Craig Calhoun, 2002, New York, Oxford University Press

How can we measure the success of a society?

Reflection Assignment #1 Options Do only 1 “We create society at the same time as we are created by it. ” Anthony Gidden Illustrate this quote through words, drawing, models… Create an analogy to describe school. Create an analogy to describe society. Society is like…

Next … q Learning the Student Role q Reflection Assignment