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CREW GRADUATE SEMINARCourse Description
RESEARCH SEMINAR ON EDUCATION AND WORK. This seminar is for graduate students in Education and other departments who are conducting research on various aspects of education and work, including learning in workplaces and other non-school settings as well as work-related programs in schools. Students will be expected to present their own research papers, prequalifying papers, proposals, or work in progress, and to provide constructive feedback for other students. Enrollment for the entire year is encouraged, but students have the option to enroll for only Fall or Spring semester.
See Course Notes, below, for a general description of each seminar session.
Course Enrollment Information: Fall 1997 and Spring 1998
The fall 1997 CREW seminar met on alternate Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. The first meeting was on August 28 in 4635 Tolman; subsequent meetings were held in the conference room of the NCRVE headquarters, 2030 Addison Street, 5th floor. The course number for the fall semester was EDUC 290A, section 2, course control number 22971.
The spring 1998 CREW seminar will meet from 4-6 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: January 28, February 11, February 25, March 11, April 1, April 15 and May 6. Meetings will take place in the conference room at NCRVE, 2030 Addison, Suite 500, across from the Berkeley Repertory Theater. If you are interested, but did not participate last semester, you are welcome to join now. If you have questions, please contact David Stern.
The course number is EDUC 290A, section 2. The course control number for the spring semester is 22957.
Past Course Notes
Orientation meeting August 28, 1997, 4-6 pm 4635 Tolman Hall
15 participants came to the first meeting
Professor David Stern intentionally left the CREW seminar syllabus blank and the course format largely up to participants. We arrived at a sort of formulation of the course, in which the idea is that the seminar will be a sounding board and source of ideas and help for people half the time, and a discussion of relevant literature that people might use in their work the other half. Amanda Godley said that she (and her research group) was ready for feedback and assistance, so the seminar agreed to hear from her and Jane first, during the second half of our next meeting. We also planned to read three short pieces pertaining to work/learning issues: your "Hearing other voices," Steinar Kvale on learning, and Stephen Barley's introduction to his new book with Julian Orr, Between Craft and Science.
Some people did feel that having a sense of the relevant strands of research that might inform work-education research would be helpful, so some discussion of readings seems appropriate.
Three people volunteered to lead discussion of the readings next week. A CREW seminar mailbox was established outside the POME offoce for readings, etc.
2nd meeting September 11, 4-6 pm NCRVE conference room
Again 15 participants (two dropped, two additional came).
We re-introduced ourselves for the benefit of the new folks, and then launched into a reading and discussion of Amanda and Jane's human subjects protocol for their CREW-sponsored research project into how professors' and graduate students' assumptions about learning and knowledge are reflected/constructed in classroom discourse. (Project title: Reflexive inquiry into the intellectual work of a graduate school of education.) We discussed this proposal for over an hour, with virtually everyone participating to some degree. Amanda and Jane said it was extremely helpful to have such attention paid to their project. Much of the discussion was focused on the requirements of the human subjects committee, as well as the phrasing of interview questions and permissions forms.
A half hour was devoted to a discussion of the introductory chapter from Barley and Orr's book, Between Craft and Science. Questions and comments centred on their concept of the "technization of work", and whether and in what ways work is in fact changing.
This led to a brief discussion (to which we agreed to return next week) about Glynda Hull's "Hearing Other Voices," particularly about the socially constructed nature of "skill".
Janice offered to present her work on the design of high schools next week, and the readings are: Kvale ("The psychology of learning as ideology and technology") and Murnane & Levy (Teaching the New Basic Skills).
3rd meeting September 25, 1997 NCRVE Conference room
Several seminar participants attended Vicki Smith's talk about temporary workers, in the Sociology department. We made a tape of this talk.
The class discussed Kvale's "Psychology of learning as ideology and technology," and Murnane's Teaching the New Basic Skills.
4th meeting October 9, 1997 NCRVE Conference room
Twelve participants, plus visitor Jim Andrews, learning technology specialist from Hewlett Packard.
Recap of Kvale's article, with handout and summary/observation by Margaret. Class discussed what behaviorist conceptions of learning entail.
Deb and Koko presented Stasz and Kaganoff's "Learning how to learn at work: Lessons from three high school programs." Discussion of the interconnection between the work/academic components of such programs, and her conclusion that there isn't much connection between them, besides physical proximity in the case of the enterprise education program. The social aspects of learning emphasized, and we talked about the relevance of Lave's concept "community of practice," and the relation/interpersonal nature of significant learning experiences of seminar participants.
This led to Larry's discussion of the present state and future fate of distance learning in universities. Discussion of the commodification of learning, and the difference between the college experience, and purchasing a credential through distance learning. How distance learning does/doesn't incorporate the interpersonal aspects of learning. How a community of practice might arise more easily, in a distance learning context, in the corporate world than the academic world.
Next meeting 10/30: Janice and others will present work. Readings will be left in CREW mailbox outside POME. Primarily a meeting to respond to people's research.
5th meeting October 30, 1997 NCRVE Conference room
David Stern just back from a trip to Norway, where he was looking at their education system and how the country is trying to make it flexible enough to allow people in the vocational ÔtrackÕ to switch to the academic, and vice versa. He talked briefly about his trip.
Seminar participants (about 10 present) each took a few minutes to check in, describe the state of their work/research this semester, and the challenges and questions involved.
Janice was'nt present to talk about her work on the design of high schools; we hope to hear from her next time. Helen Duffy presented her research proposal called ÒAn Investigation of Formal and Informal Learning Practices in a Corporate Setting,Ó outlining how she came to be interested in the topic by combining her backgrounds in business and high-school teaching (in a school undergoing conversion to career academies). Responses and questions from participants tried to unearth the questions driving her research, the audience it would be intended for, and the perspective it would portray.
Amanda reported that the proposal to research discourse practices in GSE/LLC classes has been held up due to dfficulty gaining access to fall semester classes for observation.
6th meeting November 13, 1997 NCRVE Conference room
Twelve participants. Everyone reported on the state of their research projects, and their activities over the past couple of weeks. This informal check-in was deemed enjoyable and valuable.
Jennifer presented her research proposal for her dissertation, entitled "Doing Good and Preparing Well: Learning to Work through Service and Work Experience Programs." The discussion centered on how to use theory, how many theories one ought to incorporate, and how to develop a qualitative theoretical framework and qualitative methods protocol. David talked briefly about integrating qualitative and quantitative methods. The fundamental task of research like Jennifer's, he noted, is "to try to get to the essence of what you think the experience of participants [in service-learning programs] might be, and then go after it."
Deb presented her research questions for a study on school-based enterprise education and its relationship to academic achievement and educational experience. The discussion centered on how to frame questions in a way that incorporates both a hunch/hypothesis and enough openness to what one might discover.
Finally, Raymond presented his research plans for investigating the ongoing "commodification of work in Eastern Europe," particularly the Czech Republic. His work will focus on the experience of computer scientists with the introduction of a market economy and market practices.
We look forward to hearing more about all of these projects as they evolve next semester!
7th meeting November 20, 1997 NCRVE Conference room
Final meeting of the semester. No notes available from this meeting. Course evaluations were completed. See you all on January 28, 4-6 pm, in the NCRVE conference room.
1st meeting Spring semester January 28, 1998 NCRVE Conference room
The first class of the semester began with a brief introduction from Professor David Stern, the faculty representative, who explained that CREW was created with the intention of creating a forum to bring students and faculty together from different disciplines in the school of ed. who shared interest on issues pertaining to the relation between education and work. In fact this collaborative effort has already begun to extend beyond the school of ed into other schools, such as business where, for instance, Professor David Levine came to speak at a Brown Bag lecture last semester.
Next, Koko Yutaka provided handouts with student interest and research. This information, once completed, will also become a part of the website
Next, Niels Warring, a visiting researcher from the Adult Education Research Group in Denmark briefly described the kind of research his center conducts. Most importantly, he discussed the distinctions between Danish and U.S. higher ed., or as it is referred to in Denmark, 'adult education', in which there is a dual program that involves both academic, as well as apprenticeship, types of training. His research explores the relationship and traditional notions held between academics and work. For instance, how are qualifications for work determined and what role does education play in creating these qualifications.
Next, Professor David Stern handed out a list of basic questions, including significant references, possibly to be explored during the semester. The first question, "Are skill demands increasing?", raised some discussion. A visiting Senior Behavioral Scientist from Rand, Dr. Cathleen Stasz, suggested that before asking this question we should first ask oursaelves how we define skills. Visiting Professor Tom Baley from Columbia Teachers College also participated in the discussion. References to the first question included (Bailey, Barley, Murname and Levy, Shaiken, Zuboff, etc. In addition to this question, David also asked, 2. What is the relation between learning in school and at work? (references: Berryman, Hull, Resnick, Scribner, Stasz...) 3. If all learning is situated, how does it transfer? (references: Hall, Lave, Lesgold, Saxe...) 4. What is the relation between capacity and performance? (references: Hunt...) 5. Are labor markets efficient in providing opprortunities and incentices for learning at work? (references: Bishop, Koike, Lynch, Stern...)
Finally, Tony Mirabelli, a graduate student form the department of Language Literacy and Cultural Studies, presented his work which explores higher level learning skills in the 'in-person' service sector. This work, in particular, considers what kinds of literate skills are required for waitresses and waiters from the worker's perspective. The discussion focused on the significance of the 'Special Order' as a key work event which requires critical thinking skills, and use of address forms and greetings.
2nd meeting Spring semester February 11, 1998 NCRVE Conference room
The second class began with a brief presentation from Shannon Nuttal on her proposal to study the minoriuty women of the Maquiladoros. Since most of these workers come from agricultural backgrounds and are now employed by manufacturers Shannon is particularly interested in examining the self-perception of the worker.
Next, a group of researchers from Norway, The "Forum for a Learning Society" led a discussion in which they first explained that they were in California visiting a variety of sites to learn more about how U.S. institutions address issues of learning and work. Essentially their research takes an holistic approach addressing such questions as, what is a learning community, how do we understand work, particularly that which is non-paying, and what is a learning organization and how does this relate to society in general?
Most of the discussion revolved around the responsibility that nations such as Norway have toward other, particularly third world, nations. A significant amount of the work that exists in Norway is of a technological nature with most manufacturing and production taking place in other countries particularly in the third world. While Norway has begun to construct models around the "new work order" in which workers have a greater degree of shared responsibility and decision making, most of this change has taken place only within the country of Norway itself. Since most of their manufacturing and production facilities are abroad there has been little change in traditional hierarchic corporate structures in these facilities, thus leading to the debate over a nation's global responsibility in the work place...