June 23, 2012 Revised Presentation

SEMINAR PRESENTATION
Through the Looking Glass: 4 Alices in Imaginative Education This seminar highlights the journey of four women or rather, Alices as they travel through the Masters of Education in IE. They meet colorful figures, stretch their understandings and finally, emerge at different realizations of themselves and their practice. Alice is changed, more conscious, engaged, and fulfilled. She has reconciled her philosophy of education with her actual practice. No, Alice is not the same. And this is a good thing. Proposal emailed to Gillian today, 26, May 2012

Things to keep in mind for the comp and the seminar: Wear red shoes a) Think about what products you have created or what topics you have investigated in the program so far. What idea/topic/theme connects your work? What, if anything, do you see as missing or needing filled out in your investigation? Identify a memorable pedagogical moment you have had during your program-your "moment" might be an idea reflected in a particular idea/project you have completed, or it might be an experience you have had as a student or a teacher "doing" IE. What did this "moment" (an ah ha moment?) teach you about IE? Each of us is to bring individual tea sets, little tea time nibblies See wiki link on Alices adventures in Wonderland Brief lay out: Each of us take a chapter that applies to your own IE journey. 2 presenters first. All 4 reconvene at the mad hatters tea party all speaking a different language . Then 2 presenters next. The finale is Chapter 12 at the trial where all 4 Alices will sit at the witness stand awaiting questioning by Mark Fettes et al The jury? Ourselves. And we are guilty of the actions that resulted in the change. Images to be photoshopped with our photos from http://www.alice-inwonderland.biz/allprints.htm

What would this look like

The introduction:

This seminar highlights the journey of 4 Alices, as they travel through the Masters of Education, IE program. Chapter 1 of Alice in Wonderland is entitled, Down the Rabbit Hole, which has been quite a fitting metaphor for our experience in this program. In the actual story, it opens with Alice, bored, when she notices a talking, clothed White Rabbit with a pocket watch run past. Im sure at this point youve gathered that Dr. Egan is the famed rabbit we are chasing after in our various fields of education. Weve all enrolled in this program because there was something in Dr. Egans work that seemed to resonate with us. Whether it was specific teaching strategies to help in our daily lessons, increasing engagement in the classroom, or deepening our students understanding of the curricular concepts, the IE program was going to be our answer. So like Alice, we follow the White Rabbit down the hole. We fall both literally and metaphorically into this program and land ourselves into a long curious hall with many locked doors of all sizes. We find metaphorical keys, given to us by our various instructors, Gillian Judson, Kym Stewart, Kieran Egan, Natalia Gajdamaschko, and Mark Fettes, which help unlock those doors. Like Alice who eats and drinks what she is offered, our instructors have invited us to do the same but only with the ideas of great educational theorists from which IE was based. We grow in our individual understandings and this is where our presentation takes us. Each of us has taken on a different chapter in the story from Alice and wonderland and has used it as a metaphor for our experience in the IE program. We hope to convey what a rich experience it has been.

At the end of all presentations: We hope that we all conveyed what a gratifying and illuminating experience the program has been. It has helped us reconcile our individual philosophies of education with our practice. No, these Alices are not the same and we cannot guarantee that this is the last of our adventures in Wonder-land.

Things we were Wondering-landing about: Specific strategies could help my teaching If IE could help move curriculum along better Something that would deepen their understanding about curriculum How to be more creative about what I was doing How IE applies across the various fields of Education Through the looking glass Sandra: Pool of Tears
Chapter 2 The Pool of Tears: Alice is unhappy and cries as her tears flood the hallway. After shrinking down again due to a fan she had picked up, Alice swims through her own tears and meets a Mouse, who is swimming as well. She tries to make small talk with him in elementary 2

French (thinking he may be a French mouse) but her opening gambit "Ou est ma chatte?" offends the mouse.

Sandras Ending: Next year she is teaching Socials 8. Can I apply IE to make students more engaged in the subject? Break for Questions Susan: The Caucus Race and a Long Tale
Chapter 3 The Caucus Race and a Long Tale: The sea of tears becomes crowded with other animals and birds that have been swept away by the rising waters. Alice and the other animals convene on the bank and the question among them is how to get dry again. The mouse gives them a very dry lecture on William the Conqueror. A Dodo decides that the best thing to dry them off would be a Caucus-Race, which consists of everyone running in a circle with no clear winner. Alice eventually frightens all the animals away, unwittingly, by talking about her (moderately ferocious) cat.

Susan Ending: Break for Questions Nina: Advice from a Caterpillar

Chapter 5: Alice comes upon a mushroom and sitting on it is a blue Caterpillar smoking a hookah. The Caterpillar questions Alice and she admits to her current identity crisis, compounded by her inability to remember a poem. Before crawling away, the caterpillar tells Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her taller and the other side will make her shorter. She breaks off two pieces from the mushroom. One side makes her shrink smaller than ever, while another causes her neck to grow high into the trees, where a pigeon mistakes her for a serpent. With some effort, Alice brings herself back to her usual height. She stumbles upon a small estate and uses the mushroom to reach a more appropriate height.

Nina: Going to approach the subject from a value-lens rather than a curricular, outcomes based lens Linda:
Chapter 12 Alice's Evidence: Alice is then called up as a witness. She accidentally knocks over the jury box with the animals inside them and the King orders the animals be placed back into their seats before the trial continues. The King and Queen order Alice to be gone, citing Rule 42 ("All persons more than a mile high to leave the court"), but Alice disputes their judgement and 3

refuses to leave. She argues with the King and Queen of Hearts over the ridiculous proceedings, eventually refusing to hold her tongue. The Queen shouts her familiar "Off with her head!" but Alice is unafraid, calling them out as just a pack of cards; just as they start to swarm over her. Alice's sister wakes her up for tea, brushing what turns out to be some leaves and not a shower of playing cards from Alice's face. Alice leaves her sister on the bank to imagine all the curious happenings for herself.

Lindas: Can this be translated into an on-line learning program? Conclusion: All 4 Alices sit in the witness box ready to be cross examined by Gillian, Mark, and Kieran. One of us informs the audience that this is the conclusion or Ch 12 where Alice is cross examined.
Sandra: Chapter 12 Alice's Evidence: Alice is then called up as a witness. She accidentally knocks over the jury box with the animals inside them and the King orders the animals be placed back into their seats before the trial continues. The King and Queen order Alice to be gone, citing Rule 42 ("All persons more than a mile high to leave the court"), but Alice disputes their judgment and refuses to leave. She argues with the King and Queen of Hearts over the ridiculous proceedings, eventually refusing to hold her tongue. The Queen shouts her familiar "Off with her head!" but Alice is unafraid, calling them out as just a pack of cards; just as they start to swarm over her. Alice's sister wakes her up for tea, brushing what turns out to be some leaves and not a shower of playing cards from Alice's face. Alice leaves her sister on the bank to imagine all the curious happenings for herself.

Our homework: 1. Work on individual sections 2. Susan says make sure we have or are using cognitive tools 3. Heroic quality? 4. Something visual 5. Consider authors who have contributed to us