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.
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.
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:
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.]
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