MrL8Nite goes back to school

"I don't mind change, I just don't want to be there when it happens." --Adrian Monk

Developing Scholars

From the Syllabus...

Introduction

This course invites you to participate in a knowledge building community. It is about you and your role as a member of the academy. As graduate students you enter into the community of people who create, use, and advance the knowledge of your fields. In this course you will become ethnographers exploring the values, practices and mores [sic] of American Educational Research Association, a community of knowledge workers. We will, as a class, study their practices and work to develop a deeper knowledge of what it means to be a member of this community.

Course Objectives

To develop YOUR understanding of

  • What knowledge is and how it evolves in a community
  • The difference between learning and knowledge building
  • The role of the community in shaping and evolving its knowledge
  • The responsibility of membership in a knowledge building community
  • Service leadership in building knowledge (wikipedia, editing journals, reviewing papers)

To develop YOUR skill in

  • Participating in a knowledge building community
  • Interpretation and analysis of ideas
  • Critiquing and commenting on the work of others (peer review)
  • Using knowledge to shape practices
Professor: Dr. Margaret Riel

Note: This course was originally called "Cultural Dimensions, Global Management", but was changed just before the semester started to "Developing Scholars"

AERA Workplace Learning SIG

One of the assignments of the semester was to "adopt" a SIG or other functional group at AERA and "make a difference". Margaret wanted us to  start developing connections to both the people, the groups and AERA in general. Several of us (Marsha, James, Don, Chad and me) decided that, based strictly on the SIG's name and the brief titles of many of the sessions, that the Workplace Learning SIG would be a good match for us "Corporate" types.

In looking at the 2008 sessions, we decided to divvy them up and have at least one of us attend each of the 9 sessions offered by the SIG and to summarize them in the AERA sessions comment section of the edethive wiki (members only). Here's a quick rundown of the sessions sponsored by our SIG.     

Session 1: Symposium Epistemic beliefs and workplace learning
Session 2: Interactive Symposium Approaches and methods for the study of  informal learning in the workplace
Session 3: Symposium Expanding and converting workplace knowledge in a context of change
Session 4: Paper Session Knowledge and learning at work
Session 5: Symposium The sociality of knowledge: Professional learning in the knowledge society
Session 6: SIG Business Meeting
Session 7: Poster Session Perspectives of organizing and evaluating learning through work
Session 8: Paper discussion International perspectives of work and learning
Session 9: Paper discussion Shaping individuals’ and organizations’ learning

Additionally, we decided to offer our talents to bring their rather spartan website into the 21st century. Rather than recount the challenges here, jump over to our Workplace Learning SIG page at edethive for details.

Spring 2008 - Completed

Major contributions:

Literature review discussing Web Enabled Educational Delivery Strategies & critique of the many AERA sessions attended.

As I reflect back on this course (about a year later), I realize what the real value of this course was...it was about engaging me in the community of educators, researchers, authors, and key leaders in the areas of my field. When I took the course it was a bit vague how it all tied together. I've since reached back to the publications, the contacts, and even the experience at AERA itself to continue to grow professionally and academically. It's interesting that it's only now, as I'm facing decsions around dissertation topics and methods, that I realize how valuable this course was in the grand scheme of things.


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