A SOCIOCULTURAL ANALYSIS OF HOW STORIES ARE USED AND TRANSFORMED

IN COGNITIVELY CHALLENGING REFLECTION

CHRISTOPHER G PUPIK DEANCPU@GSE.UPENN.EDU

Stories from service

Purpose and Significance

Democratic practice How can SL be political? Talking about public issues & public actions –

engaging with others across difference to collectively solve public problems

Cognitively challenging reflection: An important part of service Opportunity to develop the civic practice of discourse

around public issues and public actions Need more detailed analysis of this practice

Study and Methods

Qualitative study of a 10th grade service-learning class in an independent Quaker school (Eastern Friends School – EFS) Tutoring 1st graders in public school 3 month class Privilege

Ethnographic participant observation Participant observation on all service tripsVideo recording of all EFS based classesInterviews: pre, post, critical incidentReview of student work

Analysis

Qualitative thematic coding Initial review of all data:

A priori coding (Miles & Huberman, 1994) Sociocultural themes (Cole & Engeström, 1993;

Engeström, 1987; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) Open coding (Strauss & Corbin, 2008)

Selective coding Stories about others

Telling Stories

Stories from service were tools to explain their experiences like: Academic disparities Teacher practice (curriculum & discipline)

The transformation of stories

Particular stories persisted, but changed… how?In class:

Teacher challenges weak or focusing

Supporting and counter examples From other students From class activities

In service: Observations through:

Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) (Lave & Wenger, 1991) Allows engagement across difference to work on common

practice Without it, stories are still transformed, but maybe not in the

ways we hope.

The cases:

Learning without LPP (talking about): Parents of the 1st graders – do they care about their

children?

Learning with LPP (talking about and working with) Teachers of the 1st graders – are they good teachers?

Parents

Initial stories: During class reflection Naomi shared:

there was this little girl, her name was [Alison] and the teacher asked if she had done her homework and she said, she said she had it, but her mom wouldn’t help her do it, so I just took note of that (Class video, 9/14/2012).

Culminating stories This became a tool to explain struggling students

Naomi: especially for the [students] who were behind, you could really tell that their family wasn’t helping them that much (Interview, 12/6/2012).

The story did not maintain its original form. Naomi: But there were some kids that said, ‘oh yeah my mom

helped me with my homework’ (Interview, 12/6/2012).

Parents

Process of change: In class - Teacher Teacher (counter):

Scott: I only have two kids, but to try to find time to read twenty minutes to this one and help that one with homework, I mean something simple like that, it is very taxing (10/27/2012).

Parents

Process of change: In class - other counterexamples Echoes (supporting):

Jessie: I mean, I know, like the one girl had said that she didn’t have her homework because her mom wouldn’t help her the night before, and that’s kind of like, I would never think that my mom or any mom would kind of ignore and neglect that for homework, I mean, like, it’s school, it’s important, especially at a young age (Interview 9/20/2011)

Other stories (supporting): Tania: I know we were talking about Halloween, cause it was like

the day after and one kid, I was like, oh, did  you go trick-or-treating? He was like, yeah, but, I was like, who did you go with? He was like, I went alone. He’s like, 7 years old or something. I was like, you went alone? He was like, yeah, my mom was out and my dad couldn’t go and he was tired or something. And so I was like, oh, just like, I was not expecting that at all.  (Interview 12/13/2011)

Parents

Process of change: In class - other counterexamples Waiting for Superman (counter):

Rae: “In Waiting for Superman, you see how much the parents love their children and how much they will do for them, how they will… like, Francisco’s mother was taking him to reading specialists, trying to make sure he wasn’t getting behind” (10/27/2011).

Naomi: there are a majority of kids in our class that have said “my mom hasn’t helped me with my homework, I wasn’t able to do it cause I didn’t understand, my parents wouldn’t help me,” so family does play an important role in a child’s education and the sacrifices they would make, or, unfortunately wouldn’t make” (10/27/2011).

Parents

Process of change: In service Very little opportunity for direct contact (no LPP)

Max: I didn’t really see too many of [the parents]. A couple of them walked in late. Other than that, a lot of them looked like they were tired. (Interview, 12/8/2011)

Parents

Final stories: caveats added Rae: I know that some of the kids who asked for help

from their parents and didn’t get help, those were definitely kids who were struggling more than other kids. And then there was this one really good reader… and she was so good… and she was like, I practice a lot with my mom. (Interview 12/12/2011)

Parents

So what? Story from service

Used as explanatory tool Had staying power Supported by echoes and further stories Challenged by a counterexample added caveats

Students had very little direct access to the parents

What about the goal? Practice of engaging with others? Without LPP: Talking about rather than talking/working

with.

Teachers

Focus of stories about teachers: Curriculum Discipline – initial thoughts

Hugh: Our teacher was mean. (Class video 9/14/2011) Guy: the teacher is very uptight about what the kids do

and I think it is hard for them to learn when the teacher is like that cause the teacher is always screaming at them and she said to them: you got bad grades on the test, get all these letters soaked into your head. She shouldn’t really do that when they are only in first grade. It is not the right way to say it. (Class video: 10/12/2011)

Max: She seems to be very controlling, she is very… she is that kind of person. She doesn’t let the kids get out of line. (Interview, 10/19/2011)

Teachers

Discipline – concluding thoughts Darren: I have come to the conclusion that she does

care a lot about all of her students. Although she may raise her voice a lot, and not correct them in the right way because they are so young, she does know each of the kids learning abilities. Every time she knows who needs help with certain things and who comes in late for breakfast, things like that. I am glad the students are getting good attention. (Written Reflection 11/2/2011)

Teachers

Process of Change: In class – teacher Scott: Um, maybe she could have said it in a nicer

way, I don’t know, but, you know, …. (Class video 9/14/2011)

Guy: I was working with some kids and she got upset at them, like, because they were not sitting properly even though they were trying to learn, so, uh, I mean, I don’t think it is the right thing to do, but I understand she is stressed out” (Interview, 10/27/2011)

Teachers

Process of Change: In class – teacherIn class:

Scott: I am curious of this theme of interaction, cause I know, you know, um, the one classroom, […] the teacher kinda lets the kids give you a hug and stuff, and then there is another classroom and they are like “No Fun!” [laughter] (Class video 9/28/2011)

Interview: Joseph: I have heard some of the teachers are nice,

and then some are mean, like, that is what Mr. Scott was saying, like, “No Fun!”, that is what some of the teachers are saying.

Teachers

Process of change: In service Bringing in detailed stories:

Fernando: Um... teacher seems a little strict, like she's gotta... I mean with good reason, she's gotta keep her class or twenty some kids, 1st graders, in line and has to get their breakfast together and the {course} and some of them are working with us while others are working with her and, uh, I can see how it could be pretty chaotic. And, uh, yeah, it definitely shows with how she's pretty stern with them... but... she's nice. (Interview 10/18/2011)

Rae: Instead of punishing them when they did bad work, she kind of praised them when they did good work… so… which I thought was a good method, like she had these little stickers or cards that you handed to, like, a kid when they did a good job, and at the end of the day, if they had, like, four or five cards, they could pick a treat or a present out of, like, or a little surprise out of like, she had this little chest and it had colorful pencils and stickers and that sort of stuff. (Interview, 12/12/2011)

Teachers

So what? Stories transformed through dialectic between:

In class discussions (driven by teacher) Detailed observations from service

KEY

What about the goal: discourse across difference? LPP allowed greater engagement as partners

Conclusion

Cognitively challenging reflection allows for development of practice of engaging with others across difference when there is dialogic interaction between service experience and reflections. What representations are available to students?

Parents: Stories from students, Waiting for Superman

Teachers*: Detailed observations of teachers teaching LPP is critical component

*changes not linked to larger discussions of teachers

References

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