Education: An Annotated Bibliography

 My research process has been informed by my own experience, as well as class discussion. I have written multiple blog posts summarizing personal thoughts and reflections on my own educational experiences (notably the transition from High School to University, and Music Education).

Several aspects of this bibliography inform our group’s emphasis on the role and effect of motivation in education. The sources relating to Karl Marx were pivotal in our application of the concept of Alienation. In addition, the thought leaders below are representative of the viewpoints and ideas in the modern educational reform arena.

Further Reading:

Singer, Peter. Marx: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 2001.

http://www.amazon.com/Marx-Short-Introduction-Peter-Singer/dp/0192854054/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329031098&sr=1-1#reader_0192854054

The title of Singer’s work very accurately describes its scope. Of particular note here is his treatment of Marx’s influences, including Hegel, whose thoughts on Alienation Marx later expanded and applied to economic theory.

[This book was assigned to me at the start of the course. I purchased the e-book version for use on a kindle.]

Buchholz, Todd G. New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought. Plume. 2007.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Ideas-Dead-Economists-Introduction/dp/0452288444/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329031020&sr=8-1

Buchholz’s work provides a short overview (10-15 pages) on several of the most noted contributors to Modern Economic Thought, including Karl Marx. Accordingly his chapter on Marx is not nearly as in depth as Singer’s work, but instead draws broad conclusions concerning Marxist influence today.

[I read portions of this book for an introductory economics course. Since it is written in conversational prose, I consider it a good companion to Singer’s more academic approach.]

Xiang, Yun; Dahlin, Michael; Cronin, John; Theaker, Robert; Durant, Sarah. Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students. Thomas Fordham Institute. 2011.

http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/high-flyers.html

This study, published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute (www.edexcellence.net), explores “the achievement of high-performing students over time at the individual level.” This study is important in that it considers the “high-performing” segment of primary and secondary students, while much of the evidence and motivation for education reform focuses on the lower end of the spectrum (those students defined as “struggling”).

[I discovered the Fordham Institute early in my research. The above article had been mentioned in a blog I was following at the time, and its title caught my attention leading me to download the full paper for my own reference.]

Thought Leaders:

Dale J. Stephens

UnCollege Movement, Hacking Your Education. Penguin. 2013 (forthcoming)

Dale J. Stevens is an educational activist and founder of the UnCollege movement. He focuses his efforts the ideas that education only happens in schools and that one must possess a college degree in order to be successful.

[I first learned of the UnCollege movement from a fellow student via google+ feed. I read through the website and consider it a good case study for self-directed learning.]

Ken Robinson (Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative. Capstone. 2011)

Sir Ken Robinson is known for his TED talks on creativity and education in 2006 and 2010. A major theme of his work is that the educational system stifles creativity.

[Robinson’s support of the idea that everyone has the capacity to be creative and great in some domain or another resonates with me. My first exposure to him was through one of his TED addresses, viewed online.]

 

Clayton Christensen (Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. McGraw-Hill. 2008)

Clayton Christensen is a professor at the Harvard Business School. He is credited with coining the phrase “Disruptive Innovation.”

[Clayton Christensen comes up frequently in class discussions on Education. I will be attending his lecture at Brigham Young University on March 22, 2012.]

Personal Formative Educational Experience (reflection)

Over the past two weeks I have been reflecting on and comparing my experiences in music education as opposed my experience in traditional public schools. My sub topics have been: the role of a teacher, iterative learning, certification and qualification, enrichment, availability/accessibility, the concept of practice. I feel that my experience is an effective case study particularly for educational motivations and iterative learning styles. For this build, I have included two sections: The Role of a Teacher, and The Concept of Practice.

The Role of a Teacher

 In my music education, I have had both teachers who take a dominant, authoritative role, as well as those who acted more as guides.

A one-on one teaching model has taken a primary role in my musical education. Most commonly, I met with my instrument teachers on a weekly basis for at least one hour. I would play for my teacher and receive verbal feedback, profiting from the opportunity to apply knowledge in a new environment with a critical audience. Commentary from my teachers was specific to my level of understanding and playing ability. Many exercises assigned for reinforcement were tailored for a specific technique or musical layer in a way that would help me develop. I would also play with my teacher in order to comprehend and internalize new musical goals or concepts. I would listen to and watch my teacher play passages in yet another dimension of learning.

There have been many “teacher figures,” each with different perspectives and areas of expertise. I have learned in one-on-one settings with cello instructors, improved my ensemble playing and general musical knowledge with conductors, and picked up other pieces of technique and knowledge from section coaches, guest artists, and fellow student cellists.

The Concept of Practice

There is a pronounced element of self-directed learning in music education. A teacher may give specific assignments for practice, especially to younger students. To continue progressing past a beginner level, however, the student must learn how to direct his own practice time.

I have always been drawn to music over other academic subjects because a performance equating to a high grade can’t be “crammed for.” A culminating performance, whether with an orchestra or in recital, has always seemed a true representation of effort and mastery. Definitions and formulas can be memorized short-term and regurgitated on a test, but a piece of music cannot be learned, analyzed and polished in one go. Five hours of practice spread over a week will always produce better results than five hours expended the night before. It is easy to determine when a player has not engaged in regular practice over a period of time, but it can be difficult, on the basis of an objective evaluation or a paper (read only by the student and instructor) to assess true mastery and understanding of academic concepts.

If we agree to compare musical performance with traditional, graded academic evaluations, we can consider a method of evaluation in light of its power to motivate action.

Was I more motivated to practice diligently over time because I would be playing for a teacher with whom I had a meaningful relationship, and didn’t want to disappoint him or her? Did I feel obligated to prepare more carefully for my music lessons because I knew how much money my music education was costing my parents? Did the fact that music education was as important to my parents as school work have an effect on my practice? Yes, yes, and yes.

These factors, and probably others, yielded more quality practice (read: self-directed learning) and as a result I developed the ability and desire to make music for its own sake.  

The Increasing Misery of the Student

­­­­­­­One of the philosophical flaws of mainstream education models lies in the use and interpretation of grading scales. What does a grade really reflect? It depends on the author of the rubric. A grade may reflect the percentage of intended learning opportunities “completed,” or the percentage of a given evaluation deemed to have been “correctly completed.” It cannot be equated to real learning however, nor is it an accurate measure of progress in most cases. The reason is that learning is not a static activity. It is never finished. No concept is ever fully mastered, no theory ever truly perfected. Learning cannot be measured quantitatively.

In his analysis and critique of capitalism, Karl Marx articulated “laws” of capitalism that would lead to its inevitable downfall. One of these “laws” is restated by Todd G. Buchholz as the “Increasing Misery of the Proletariat.” He further summarizes Marx’s ideology: “To Marx, work plays a special role in human life. Human beings are impelled to create and enhance their lives through nature and through relationships with other people. The human personality cannot develop without creative work. Under capitalism, labor becomes just another commodity. People are forced to accept routine, dull jobs. They become animated tools. They feel alienated from themselves, the world, and each other. "

Karl Marx perhaps appeals to the humanist in his use of the concept of Alienation. He paints an idealistic view of work, occupation, and labor. What if we applied this thinking to the flaws of mainstream education? Have you ever felt “alienated from [yourself], the world, and each other” as a result of a capitalist academic economy?

Grades are becoming a primary form of “wages” in the capitalist academic economy. The artificial inflation of a grade’s value in spheres outside the classroom has fueled the transformation of grade point average from statistic to currency. 

Grades in one stage of traditional academic life are for many a determining factor of educational opportunities during the next stage. GPA is required on applications for jobs, internships, and further educational pursuits as an identifying piece of information. The profile of your potential value to an organization or program is being generated in part by a grossly inaccurate “measure” of your learning.

Marx’s solution to the faults of capitalism was to encourage a revolution by the proletariat against the capitalists. They would then (somehow), implement the ten-point plan he included in the Communist Manifesto. I submit the quest for a new model for the use and interpretation of grading scales as a potential topic in the Education Content Group.

Where Marx and Engels declared: “Workingmen of all countries, unite!” I say: “Students of all countries, unite!”