ideal learning environment

Purpose:

•      To formulate a thesis that conveys YOUR ideal learning environment

•      To support the thesis with reasons and examples

•      To provide development and support for your examples

Readings:

      Children Full of Life (film)

      Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write”

      Ines Hernandez-Avila “Para Teresa”

      “Changing Education Paradigms” (video)

      This American Life’s “Harper High School” (podcasts)

      NPR’s “Struggle for Smarts: How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackle Learning” (NPR broadcast)

      Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”

Background:

Oftentimes when a teacher applies for a position, he or she must submit a statement of his or her education philosophy. Essentially, this is a statement about what the person feels education should be. For this assignment, we are going to slightly tweak that idea and have you write about YOUR ideal learning environment.

To help you brainstorm, consider the following questions:

•         What does your ideal learning environment look like? Think about the physical setting, the people, the facilities (ex. computers, supplies, etc.).

•         What do you expect from your teacher (ex. teaching style, types of assignments, personality)?

•         What do you expect from yourself (ex. work habits, attitude, etc.)?

•         How do the texts listed above illustrate these ideas?

•         What personal experiences do you have to support your statement?

Writing Task:

What is your ideal learning environment?

This essay is an expository essay written for a general academic audience, meaning that you will explain to the reader what your ideal education environment looks like by offering supporting statements and examples (both personal and from the readings) to illustrate your opinion.

Formatting:

3 pages; MLA formatting

(see  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/  for help.)