Get To Know a Student

1. Get to Know a Student (200 points) 1.   Select a student who is between 8 and 12 years old. You may choose a student through a school contact, your work location, or through a personal connection. If possible, choose a student whose life experiences are very different from those you had during the same age. Try not to choose a student who is related to you, such as your cousin, niece or nephew, or sibling. 2.   Have an informal conversation or several informal conversations with the student. Please do not record the conversation; we have not completed the Human Subjects Review protocol to be able to conduct a formal interview of a minor. You may take notes during the conversation to help you remember the student’s responses. 3.   Create a list of about five or six questions that you would like to ask the student. I expect questions will include: • Demographic information such as age, gender, cultural and family background. • Questions that would help you develop a portrait of the student such as the student’s interests, learning preferences, likes and dislikes. • Questions related to schooling, the child’s opinion of the qualities of a good teacher, hopes and dreams for their future, ambitions, thoughts on media and technology, the world at large, etc. (Be expansive, try not to confine yourself to thinking about the immediate or the local only!) 4.   After completing your conversation(s), write and submit a short report of 400-500 words (between 1 and 2 pages, 12 point double spaced). Along with the report, on a different page, list and submit the main and follow-up questions you asked the student. Your report should include a rich description of the student and draw appropriate conclusions about how the information you learned will be useful for you as a teacher. Tell a story and paint a portrait, don’t just share your observations and opinion. 5.   I will be looking for the following in your report: • Your questions are thoughtful and relevant to course material. They are phrased appropriately and capable of eliciting a descriptive response (i.e. not just “yes” or “no”), with good follow-up questions for expansion of responses. • The report presents a rich and full picture of the student’s life and experiences with specific and relevant details from the interview. The report analyzes the responses using both your personal experiences and the ideas you are learning in the course (until this point) with specific and relevant details. No formal references are needed, but do state where in the course (in a book, or in our class