The group looked at and discussed case studies for the online module concerning course materials. The following questions were discussed:

Questions to consider for “To Read or Not to Read”

1. How can a fairly fixed curriculum be made more relevant to students?
2. Should the department revisit the major requirements? Why or why not?
3. How might teachers facilitate critical discussion and student engagement with Eurocentric “canonical” course texts to engage students of color and diverse backgrounds.
4. How might teachers make informed and mindful decisions about which texts to include in the course (when they have this option)?
5. How might teachers who have prescribed curriculums and texts mandated by their departments make accommodations (in what we say and what we do) for students?
6. How might an instructor find an “entry point” (Gardner, 160) into their students’ learning?
7. How do instructors find out what is meaningful to their students with regards to their learning?

Questions to consider for “$250 Class Commiseration”

1. What kinds of materials could the Professor use/provide to give students more support in understanding the lessons s/he goes over?
2. How might the Professor make the practice of arithmetic relevant to students through sources and materials?
3. Besides asking students to put complex problems on the board, what could the Professor ask students to do to help others better understand the problem, concept, and solution (especially if they’ve learned and claim to understand the work from their past)?
4. Should the Professor rely on the expensive textbook? What other options could the Prof consider students buy/use as a main or supplemental text?
5. What should the Prof (and all professors of all disciplines) consider when choosing a textbook for the class?
6. What sorts of texts could the Professor find to pair with the textbook? How might s/he make the daily lessons accessible and come alive through materials/resources.
7. Does math have to be presented in formulaic forms? Are there other ways to teach math through life applications and reflection? Are there even texts and resources designed in such a way?

Groups discussed two readings. One presented Ginsberg and Wlodkowski’s Motivational Framework. We asked participants to  consider their course syllabus in light of this framework:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.466.6742&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=25

The second reading is by Django Paris who distinguishes “Culturally Sustaining” pedagogy from GLB’s “Culturally Relevant” framework.

https://web.stanford.edu/class/linguist159/restricted/readings/Paris2012.pdf

At this first session, participants read three cases and considered the syllabus in light of the Motivational Framework and the following questions:

1. What is the syllabus used for?
2. Who is (or should be) the audience of the syllabus?
3. How do instructors help students to engage with the syllabus, to understand why and how it serves the student?
4. What are some ways that instructors can be aware of protocols in place for them to create a student-friendly syllabus that provides reasonable accommodations for students who need them.
5. What assumptions do teachers make about their students’ engagement and understanding of a course syllabus?
6. How might a teacher confront his/her bias related to this situation?

Motivational Framework:

Competence: How might the response enhance students’ understanding that they are becoming more effective in authentic learning that they value?

Inclusion: How might the response help students feel respected by and connected to other students and the teacher?

Meaning: How might the response engage students in challenges that are so compelling that students lose their sense of time?

Attitude: How might the response offer students more meaningful choices and promote greater personal relevance?