I didn't read Vickie's entire blog, but her first sentence caught my eye, and I would have to concur. I really (and I mean really) appreciated not only Newkirk's message, but his style of writing. Finally, someone who could successfully reach out to us impostors! I, too, find case studies to be especially appealing because they actually provide something concrete for me to grasp, or at least provide some semblance of touch, although I don't think I would ever assume that one case study could speak for the multitudes. Oh, don't get me wrong--I did start this whole teaching journey thing with stars in my eyes. But it doesn't take long to realize what works for one does not work for all or even some. For example, one of my students handed in an assignment today which was due yesterday. And it was crap. He knew it was crap. I asked if he could stay after class to chat a minute or two to which he agreed, but I gave him little indication as to what we would discuss as I like to keep things as confidential as possible. This gentleman needed some serious prodding with respect to this specific assignment as well as his entire lackadaisical approach to this semester in general. I blatantly told him what he handed in was "half-ass" and I knew he was capable of much more. Now, I wouldn't dare assume that I could speak to all students this way, nor should I, and get the same positive response. But I had this student last semester; I knew we had "an understanding." Obviously this scenario will not end up as a case study on students who do not work to their potential. However, case studies provide invaluable information as long as we don't assume they are scripture. And, that they provide the right amount of detail: too little and they're boring, too much and we get lost trying to make sense of the author's purpose.
As Newkirk goes on to tell of his book, More than Stories on page 143, I immediately thought of Jim Burke, author of The English Teacher's Companion. A more apt title is The Amazing Teaching Adventures of Super Jim or maybe even Saint Jim Has All Your Pedagogical Answers. Yes, Jim Burke provides tons of examples, and not one even remotely mentions less than successful results, or as Newkirk admits, "In it everything seems to work; the intentions of the teacher seem to be fully realized." After reading Burkes' book, it, too, appeared "too good to be true." Interestingly, I recall hearing about Ross Burkhardt who was featured in Perl and Wilson's Through a Teachers Eyes during the invitational summer institute and was initially startled by their candor. Nevertheless,it was refreshing to discover that not everyone can be a Jim Burke. Let's face it, sometimes we are just Ross Burkhardts.
Maybe it was just me, but I got a bit lost in Lauer and Asher's "Case Studies"--this chapter just seemed so disconnected as they attempted to provide commentary on three case studies. I tackled the chapter (it won), albeit not as smoothly as I would have hoped; I found I was continually rereading and retracking my steps in order to refresh myself as to the gist of the case studies. The good news is that after reading Newkirk, I tackled it again with a little more success. Oh, it still won, but I gave it a run for its money the second time around. Are the symbols and marks used in the tables universal, or did the researchers themselves come up with a method by which to record their observations, hence the accompanying "keys"? I did appreciate the discussion and concrete examples of the identification of variables in all three case studies on page 31! It's astonishing how excited one can get when one comes upon something concrete, something real! I'm still shaky on conceptual and operational definitions, and I'm hoping we can discuss these terms as well as the checklist for reading "Case Studies" on Page 34--some clarification here would be most helpful for my overall understanding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment