My goals for graduate school are to pick up tools, information, and new ways of thinking that will allow me to tackle problems that I face in the real world and come up with creative solutions for them. I'm interested in education, and in particular, in using education to improve the life chances and opportunities for underserved youth, and that piece of the education sector is kind of in shambles right now. I definitely want to make a difference there (lofty and vague, I know, but going into specifics might bore you), and I think one thing the field absolutely needs and absolutely lacks (but is gaining) is creative, motivated, action-oriented people.

 

In the past, I think I've been constrained by convention, so in this class, I want to push myself and my creativity to grow. I have always enjoyed learning spaces (that have been taken advantage of), and bringing learning to those spaces that have not been taken advantage of definitely interests me. I want to learn to bring a more critical eye to any space I'm in, and be able to come up with creative learning alternatives and opportunities for those spaces.

 

I think that for a lot of underserved youth, school is neither an exciting nor an engaging place to be. Part of the reason probably has a lot to do with the physicality of the schools, and one way these kids can be engaged more is by being in more engaging, learning-oriented spaces. Finally, I could definitely see myself designing programs for--or starting--my own education-related organization, and I'd love to be able to design it in the way that most effectively moves towards my goals.

 

 

Sarah - That's excellent that you want to start an education organization. We should really talk to each other about that since I want to start an after-school science program. If nothing else, we could talk about strategies for getting our programs started.

 

Jessie- Tirzah, I liked the way you articulated the search for 'tools' to help tackle challenges in the real world. I think it's great to have lofty and inspiring goals, as I dream of starting my own education-related organization at some point, and I believe the energy from dreaming big can really help keep you focused and motivated. Maybe we will get the chance to work together in the future after you finish business school :) Tirzah - I'd love to!!!

 

Dan - Thanks for sharing Tirza and of course I am inspired by the first reaction above. I hope that this class and the community of people who are in this class can help push your creativity skills as well as how to support others that aren't used to thikning creatively about problems. My experience has also been that the act of 'making things happen' (my view of the action-oriented approah you mention above) is more challenging than raising money or deciding how to spend it. Deb would have loved talking with you about how innovative spaces can support the goals of community-based organizations for underserved youth. If you haven't already done so, check out the John W. Gardner center at Stanford for more information about successful youth development programs.

 

Nesra: I agree that there should be more opportunities for the underserved youth and I am also really interested in starting an organization which would provide them with creative learning experiences and give them the chance to use technology in a productive way. I would love to hear more of your ideas about how to make this happen.

 

Claudia: I totally agree with the others above that having lofty goals is a good thing. Having some sort of motivation is key, plus isn't there a saying like if you can see it, you can be it? I think by really fleshing out your goal of having your own education-related org that it'd be a great step to actually achieving it. I'd love to hear more about it. This class sounds like the perfect place to start thinking about some more creative forms of teaching.

 

Annie A Hi Tirzah, I'm really intrigued by your goals for grad school and would love to hear more about what you're thinking of doing. One of my goals of grad school also focuses on using education and non-profits to improve the opportunities of underserved youth. I found this class particularly useful in gaining skills in creative ideation, and hopefully you'll find similar value from the class and the class projects!

 

me (Tirzah) Thanks for your feedback, everyone! I love that there is so much energy in this class and that so many people can see the ties between serving youth and well-designed spaces. Thanks, too, to Jessie and Claudia for supporting my lofty, un-fleshed out goals :)

 

What I've learned in graduate school, and how I know:

 

I loved Andrew's mind maps about what he's learned so far, and I thought of going into specifics like that, but since I hold onto large, holistic concepts and view-from-30,000-feet stuff, I'll talk about those sorts of tools and ideas rather than the content-specific stuff that I've learned.

 

1. Writing-- I considered myself a pretty strong writer coming into grad school, but thanks to a few professors' particularly high standards (POLSters might have anticipated my invoking Labaree right here), I think my writing has become much tighter and articulate.

2. Critical Thinking -- My mind was sort of fuzzy and dull when I got here, and now I feel like it's super sharp and I am thinking more analytically about everything, from my reading for classes to conversations people have to the label on my water bottle. I know I'm able to think more because I'm generally doing less than when I'm working full time, but it feels great!

3. Skimming-- there, I said it, but I'll admit I do it, and I know you do, too!

4. Effective Collaboration-- I consider working in teams one of my strengths, but working in teams in so many contexts this year has really helped me to see how I can be even more effective in collaboration and in communication through teams. (Touchy-feely played a hand there, I think.) I think I've become much better at listening in teams and, paradoxically, asserting my viewpoint and being more of an actor. Also, I've become better at consciously building on others' ideas. I just notice myself doing all of these things more, so I think that's a sign I've learned something, right?

5. Handwriting-- psych. It's gotten worse.

 

**Exploratorium Notes**

 

From visit on 5/3/08

 

Ok, I tried to copy my notes and upload my doodles, but that wasn't really working out, so I just saved it as a pdf and you can look at it there:

Exploratorium notes.pdf

 

Dan - Thanks for sharing these notes at the Exploratorium, that place is an institution in the realm of science museums.  I liked your emphasis on how learners of all ages are supposed to get something out of their interactions there, it is not just a place for kids.  Thinking about the Sue Allen piece we read for class, how might institutions like Exploratorioum or the NOCCA library balance the missions of engaging everyone while providing enough space for peopple to learn individually as well?

 

Math Library Visit

 

Here are my notes from my math library visit.  I definitely never would have expected to spend any amount of my time at Stanford in the math library (I feel like a fish out of water in a major way), but if it weren't for this assignment, I never would have discovered their awesome patio!  Anyway, here are my notes.

 

Math Library

5/23/08, 12:00(ish) p.m.

 

First, some initial observations:

 

-    4th floor of Sloan Hall (the math building)

-    really quiet—I don’t want to make any noise in here

-    not many people here

-    lots and lots of books (math books!  filled with proofs!  ew!) – most of the space is taken up by stacks, so there aren’t a ton of studying spaces in the front

-    a computer kiosk cluster in the front by the circulation desk – 4 computers or so

-    lots of individual working spaces—study booths and cubicles

-    really nice outdoor patio with 4 round tables and several chairs—could be for working together/collaborating or for just relaxing →I feel more comfortable making noise out here

 

What is being learned here:

 

If learners want to come here to research math, this space is certainly the right one for them to come to.  If they want to come to collaborate with each other (maybe research together, work on homework/proofs, or study), then the patio is a great spot for that.  I don’t know a lot about the practice of math (seems oxymoronic to me, but I have a strong bias towards non-math subjects), so I don’t know how the research and theory that is in such abundance in this library can be used in real-world applications within this space.    Overall, this library seems geared towards individual learners who want to either study or research.

 

What could be learned here:

 

There is a lot of room for collaboration in math (as in everything), and this space doesn’t seem to push that much.  The patio is nice and has a lot of tables and chairs grouped together, but it boasts few lights and hardly any outlets, so it’s unrealistic for many students to work out here for long.  Learners could use this library to learn more from each other as they work together, and depending on what real-world application in math looks like, this library could also provide venues to explore that.  There are a few private rooms, but I didn’t see any whiteboards or anything that people can write on for others to see.  Adding something like that could add to collaborative learning as well.

 

What libraries should be for learners:

 

Libraries should allow learners to work individually or collaboratively while researching, studying, doing homework, or creating and sharing new ideas.  These spaces should be flexible and learners should feel comfortable being both loud and quiet in them.  I’m on the NOCCA project, so I’ve actually been thinking about libraries all quarter, and have way more than one paragraph’s worth of ideas about what libraries should be.  So to save you—and myself—from redundancy, I’ll just send you on over to our NOCCA page. 

 

Dan - Nice description of the math library and wonderful to read about the outdoor space, sounds like a great complement to the indoor stacks.  I wonder how often math students work alone and how often they work in groups.  I don't know but if they tend to work alone more frequently then I can see this space really meeting their needs.