Traditions in Educational Experiences Paper:
This assignment is designed to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the curricular traditions in education (e.g. Conservative, Progressive, and Critical traditions). This paper builds off your first paper that describes your educational experience but requires students to apply an analysis to their experience. Students will make connections between course readings and class discussions and use it to critically analyze their educational experience. Students will write a 4-5-paged paper about how the various traditions as well as other broad social issues (e.g., social reproduction, privilege, race or class bias, struggles of identity and culture, etc.) were or were not reflected in their educational experience. As such, you should reference class literature and/or outside sources to define each education tradition and in the analysis of the social context of your education. You should anticipate utilizing at least 5-6 sources in your paper.
For many students, a particular curricular tradition may have been more significant in their educational experience and this should be reflected in their papers. However, students should also interrogate how other curricular traditions could have been reflected in their schooling experience. Students should demonstrate an understanding of the way all three traditions could be utilized in school settings, including their pedagogy and purpose.
Be sure to discuss the curricular traditions by giving examples of various classes, relationships with teachers, extracurricular activities, etc. and connecting them to course readings:
How would particular writers or theorists from course readings classify the teaching and learning? (i.e. Hirsch, Dewey, Kohn, Freire)
What critiques might course writers and theorists make about the teaching and learning?
What traditions were missing from your experience? Why?
What was the most dominant tradition experienced? Did it clash or compliment other traditions in your experience? How so?
Did the traditions change during your educational career (i.e. at a new school, high school vs. middle school)? How so?
Be sure to discuss other concepts or broad social issues that were relevant to your educational experience. What might course writers say about these issues (i.e., Oakes, Tatum, Anyon, McIntosh)?
Be sure to give your overall reflection of your experiences while unpacking the broader societal implications of the education system.
Grading: Papers will be graded on the following criteria:
Depth of knowledge about curricular traditions and issues in education with examples and references to readings (e.g. at least 3-5 citations from course material).
Detailed description of educational institutions and experiences that support claims about its representation of various traditions and issues in education;
General thoughtfulness and emerging position about the influence of education of society;
The quality of your writing.
