Shaffer, David W. (2006). How Computer Games Help Children Learn. Reviewed by Curtis Lee, University of Colorado at Denver

Shaffer, David W. (2006). How Computer Games Help Children Learn. Palgrave Macmillan Pp. 242         ISBN 978-0-230-60252-6 Reviewed by Curtis Lee University of Colorado at Denver Center February 6, 2009 There has been a constant buzz in both education and business circles about the urgent need to prepare our students for this century’s coming challenges and the increasingly global nature of our economies and future professions. Despite the repeated calls for “re-inventing” schools to prepare students for these eventualities, the nature of schooling, curriculum, and assessment has remained essentially unchanged over the last decade. Society at large, however, has seen dramatic changes occur over that time, especially in the area of technological innovation and its adoption by the younger generations. It is within this context that David Williams Shaffer wades into the conversation with a well-researched and compelling argument about the powerful learning potential of computer games. Shaffer is both an academic and a game scientist who has spent many years examining the deeper nature of games and the way humans interact with them. A colleague of James Paul Gee, authored of “What video games have to teach us about learning”(Gee, 2003), Shaffer takes the analysis even further by examining how computer games with specific attributes can achieve learning goals that would not be attainable without them. Shaffer opens the book with some background information about himself and some insights about experiential learning that came from his time spent in Vermont as a teacher in a school that was also a working organic farm. The students spent their mornings engaged in the difficult labor of running a farm and then transitioned to schoolwork in the afternoons. The curriculum was organized as much as possible to reflect the nature of the farm experience, e.g., including readings from Thoreau and a focus on environmental concerns. The students learned to solve real problems by working on real problems that mattered to them (p.6). And while this kind of “authentic” schooling may be nostalgic, the larger lessons of the farm contain components that still have real currency for educating kids in digital age. For Shaffer, this type of knowledge building is centered on gaining an epistemological understanding of an area of practical expertise. Absent living on a farm or interning at the UN, this type of deep understanding is very difficult for students to achieve in their youth. With the aid of computer games, however, students can journey through these knowledge domains and do meaningful work that requires active problem-solving with legitimate outcomes that learners care about. The use of these epistemic gaming environments allow students to perform daily tasks, solve authentic problems, and “walk a mile” in the shoes of people from a variety of professional domains. Shaffer uses the term epistemic to refer to the underlying knowledge domains, or epistemologies, that inform the thinking of experts in different communities of practice. More importantly, these are domains that would be impossible, or certainly impractical, to emulate without the use of computers to scaffold the experience. Through each of the following chapters, Shaffer examines how a particular computer game helps to create an authentically modeled learning experience for the game’s participants. The primary goal of these epistemic games is to literally change the thinking processes of the players to resemble more closely those of the actual professionals who work in these domains. What is particularly impressive about Shaffer’s book is his extensive use of learning theory to support his central assertions. Throughout the book, he identifies the work of leading theorists like Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Papert to support the types of cognitive activities that these epistemic games are developing in participants. These theorists emphasized the importance of embedding learning activities within authentic situations and the social milieus of the world outside the confines of the classroom. In many instances, he sees these games as actually extending and expanding the potential of these theories beyond what could have been envisioned by theorists and practitioners before the dawn of computing. In Shaffer’s eyes, the ability of the computer to model and scaffold participation in the authentic activities of various professional environments is a paradigmatic advancement in how we can teach students to be better thinkers and more thoughtful citizens. The key attribute of these games, which differentiates them from typical computer games, is that they must place the student thoroughly within the unique activities, the special language or terms of art (p.59) of that practice, and the mental processes that would occur within these professions in the “real” world. Each of the game vignettes within the book is described within the context of an actual research project that used a number of ethnographic techniques to measure the efficacy of the games according to the pedagogical objectives of traditional content areas and the thinking traits of the professional domains being emulated. For instance, the game Escher’s World is modeled directly from an existing professional design community, Oxford Studio, and takes students through the various stages of becoming a graphic designer. It utilizes existing software in Geometer’s Sketchpad to help students create and manipulate 2D and 3D designs within space, and then extends the process through critique sessions (a desk crit) with other designers to improve their work and a general cultivation and clarification of design goals throughout the whole project (p.76-80). A desk crit is a critical review process utilized within the design community that seeks continuous feedback by peers and mentors on the overall intentions and quality of the work being produced. By the time students are done with this four-week game, their ability to articulate, using design language, the nature of their own work and that of others has been completely transformed. Shaffer references Donald Schön’s work on “reflective practice” to support the types of iterative improvements that define the nature of design work and how those reflective skills transfer to other areas of a student’s intellectual world. Within every chapter of this book, Shaffer takes similar care to frame the game within the context of a supportive learning theory, to demonstrate the learning that has occurred with excerpts from real students, and to provide suggestions for teachers and parents for follow-up. The game analysis chapters are impressive for both their depth and breadth and really challenge the reader to look more closely at how poorly we currently support this type of explorative thinking and problem-solving within schools. Shaffer has some real reservations, however, about the immediate applicability of these types of games within existing school environments. Shaffer borrows the term “third place” from sociologist Ray Oldenburg, to describe places like coffee shops or recreation centers that are neither home nor school, where people can “hang out” and talk and explore ideas freely. It is in these places that Shaffer first envisions epistemic gaming having the freedom to grow. Unfortunately, the nature of schooling today puts such a premium on content coverage and standardized recall that it tends to diffuse or abbreviate the types of immersive activities that can only occur over time in real communities of practice. My current work as an instructional technologist within K-12 systems confirms Shaffer’s hesitancy. The time-sensitive and prescriptive nature of existing K-12 curriculum structures makes it very difficult for teachers to infuse lengthier, loosely-targeted projects whose outcomes are more global and conceptual in nature. The fact that these role-playing vignettes are also video game-based only adds to the “marketing” challenge teachers would face when trying to sell its merits to colleagues and administrators. Shaffer clearly demonstrates the powerful learning potential of epistemic games and their promise for helping to develop deeper thinking skills for a digital age. The motivational appeal of immersive gaming for the younger generation is undeniable and consumer gaming titles of a similar genre continue to be enormously popular. Massive online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft™, and the virtual spaces of Second Life™, provide concrete examples of the power of computer simulations to both engage and inform players about the identities, verbiage, and behaviors of participants that are unique to each environment. The potential of vicariously-rich computer-simulated learning environments should be researched further as the need for broader and more adaptive thinkers increase as globalization and multiple-career lives await today’s students. Perhaps soon, a hybrid-model of traditional schooling will arise, similar to many online learning models, which will allow for the inclusion of epistemic games as part of the preparation of students for the century ahead of them, not the one behind them. Shaffer’s book does an excellent job of framing the potential contributions of video-games within that larger conversation. References Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. NY: Palgrave. About the Reviewer Curtis Lee is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Innovation (EDLI) program at the University of Colorado at Denver. He is the currently employed as the Director of Information and Technology Services for Mapleton Public Schools in Denver.

Amin, N., & Dei, S.G. (Eds). 2007. The Poetics of Anti-Racism. Reviewed by Laurelle Jno Baptiste, University of Toronto

Amin, N., & Dei, S.G. (Eds). 2007. The Poetics of Anti-Racism. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Fenwood Publishing Pp. 174         ISBN 9781552662083 Reviewed by Laurelle Jno Baptiste Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto February 6, 2009 Poetics of Anti-Racism was inspired by a panel discussion conducted at an American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference; this panel discussion was entitled ‘Inclusive Schooling in Canadian Contexts: Challenges and Possibilities’. Encouraged by positive audience responses and follow-up discussions, the authors produced an edited volume based on papers presented at the conference. The end product is an anthology with a focus on linguistic racism and its ability to perpetuate racist thinking and racist educational practice. The book’s title implies a treatise on anti-racism that is somewhat light in nature. However, an examination of the research interests of the contributors as well as the editor’s introductory comments reveals a very informed and experienced perspective on linguistic racism and anti-racism practices within the context of schools and educational routine. Framework for Reading As part of the introduction, Dei sets the stage for the book by first identifying what he terms “the productive functions of power” (p. 14). Specifically, he draws a connection between dominant groups in society and the challenges they pose for anti-racist and social justice work. Dei contends that the book’s poetic approach to anti-racist education “provides linguistic form through which to express anti-racist education” (p. 14). And, by examining schooling and education, the authors do not deny the successes of some minority students nor do they seek to implicate all educators. He pays homage to educators who are “doing their outmost to promote the cause of education for diverse communities” (p. 14). Nevertheless, Dei holds the view that the failure of many minority students in contemporary education systems provides evidence of the need for alternative educational outlets that engage students spiritually and emotionally. Each author’s submission is presented as a separate chapter and Dei provides a synopsis of each chapter in the introduction. He begins the introduction by situating linguistic racism and the centralization of language in the discourse of anti- racism and identifies language as the entry point of discussion for many of the contributors. Dei writes that due to the engagement of some of the authors in linguistic work, “they show, through pedagogical implications, the impact of race and racism in the everyday discussion of language and power” (p. 18). Assessing the Content Chapter 1, ‘Language, Race And Anti-Racism Making Important Connections’ establishes a relationship between language, race and social oppression. Dei states that the main goal in writing this piece is “to situate language-based racism and exclusion in anti-racist education” (p. 24). He identifies language as an “important medium of cultural, ideological, political, colonial and imperial domination in society” (p. 24). This author contends that, along with race, language is used to stereotype immigrants and he asserts throughout the chapter that linguistic racism works to promote assumptions of White racial dominance in society. Dei touches on many important topics throughout the chapter although at times his ideas appear to lack association with his central theme. That said, Dei clearly demonstrates that our school systems use cultural assumptions about language to stereotype and discriminate linguistically. He shows how race and language are interrelated and effectively makes a case for the inclusion of language possibilities in anti-racist education. Chapter 2, ‘Language, Linguistic Discrimination And Polyvocality’ is comprised mainly of a dialogue between George J. Sefa Dei and one of his doctoral students, Meredith Lordan. This chapter is a continuation on the topic of language based racism. In their introduction to the dialogue, the authors capture the essence of the discussion by stating, “The accent – how we are heard to speak, our inflection of place and identity through speech – is used as a “durable marker” in the process of social division and differentiation” (p. 31). During the dialogue, Dei recounts his experiences as a recent immigrant student with an accent and demonstrates language as capital in our communities. Because of its personal nature, this chapter presents a very human perspective on the struggles in Western English speaking societies of immigrants with an accent. In addition, questions posed by Lordan to Dei allow Dei to share some practical examples and life lessons on how educators can accommodate different accents in the classroom. Chapter 3, ‘Rethinking Displacement, Language And Culture Shock’ explores the cultural translation and negotiation process of Black immigrants to North America. The chapter includes parts of a larger ethnographic study that looked at the lives of African immigrant youths attending a French-language high school in Ontario and the formation of their social identity. Based on results from the study, the author observes that though each student has individual identities such as Sudanese and Somali they all adopt certain behaviors in language and culture that are characteristic of ‘Blackness’. The author astutely captures the transition to Blackness and the translation, negotiation and often times confusion that can accompany such a transition. However, he misses an opportunity to connect the literature review to the study’s outcomes because a conclusion is not part of the chapter. Chapter 4, ‘Apprehension And Antagonism’ examines teacher education programs and the preparation provided to teacher candidates for dealing with multicultural and anti-racist education. In this chapter, the authors present some of their findings from a questionnaire administered to teacher candidates. The questionnaire was designed to capture the teacher candidates’ impressions of their multicultural and anti-racism education. The authors conclude that teacher education programs do not prepare teachers to deal with a diverse ethnic student body. This chapter provides the most significant learning opportunities thus far. First of all, the authors present a conceptual framework which allows for an in depth understanding of the concepts being explored. Secondly, they provide a summary of the findings from the questionnaire. Most important is the inclusion of a discussion of the results which brings to light some of the reasons why the teacher candidates were dissatisfied with their multicultural and anti-racist teacher education. Chapter 5, ‘Putting Them In Their Place’, is an examination of language policies for newcomers to Canada. The authors write that both English and French “have gained discursive force and legitimacy of being official languages, not only through a historical dismissal of Aboriginal languages, but also as the result of marginalizing all other minority languages” (p. 73). The authors venture into a discussion on Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and conclude that such policies lead to a “denigration of newcomers” (p. 83) by mandating assistance to cultural groups, including newcomers, in order for them to participate in society. This chapter is significant because it provides a historical perspective of Canada’s language policies and the implications for newcomers. It helps to connect some missing pieces from the last four chapters because this is the first chapter to show how Canada’s language policies fail to provide newcomers with the language skills required for integration into Canadian society. Chapter 6, ‘Being International’ examines the experiences of non-white International students attending Canadian universities. The chapter’s tone is set in the introduction with a summarized depiction of the experiences of Bannerji (1995). Bannerji is portrayed as a non-white International student whose experiences in a Toronto classroom during the 1970 encouraged feelings of alienation, confusion and frustration. The author proposes “the consideration of International student experiences in the design of pedagogy on the post secondary campus” (p. 87). To sustain this viewpoint, he shares the result of a pilot study which explored the campus experiences of International students. The author concludes that though Canada’s demographics have changed, experiences like Bannerji are still quite common today. A very thorough accounting of some of the challenges faced by International students on campus and in the classroom is gained as a consequence of the study. Nevertheless, the author acknowledges that research in this area is scant. Topics for future research are presented at the end of this chapter and this inclusion represents one of this segment’s most valuable contributions to the overall treatise. Chapter 7 is entitled, ‘Assessing The Puzzles Of Specific Learning Disability Disorder and Support Services For African Refugee Students In K-10 Public Schools of British Columbia’. This chapter, as the title implies, examines the learning disability processes and services available to African refugees in British Columbia. The authors contend that a significant number of African children are misdiagnosed as having learning disabilities because educators fail to understand the challenges these children face when integrating into a Canadian classroom. The strength of this chapter lies with the author’s connection of classroom practices of the dominant culture with consequences that lead to misunderstanding, and ultimately, misdiagnosis of refugee children. The points made as part of this segment are very well supported with extensive references imbedded in the discussion. Chapter 8, ‘Encoding Domination’ results from a research study on classroom oppression. The author draws on comparative research between Canada and Germany to “illuminate the mechanism through which attention is deflected from some of the significant contributions to school failures of minority students” (p. 123). She argues that classroom oppression and marginalization of the non-culturally dominant occurs through cultural exclusion, especially in the area of language. This is one of the shortest chapters in the book and for this reason provides only an introduction to a very complex discussion on the structural frame of racism in the classroom. The author poses some compelling questions but most are left unanswered. Chapter 9, ‘Inclusive Education And Anti-Racist Classroom Practice In Teacher Education Programs’ revisits some of the issues raised in Chapter 4. Specifically, this author examines the dynamics of creating an inclusive classroom and analyzes “teachers approaches to inclusive classroom practice and impediments to changing the status quo” (p. 130). She opines that Canadian classrooms are not inclusive. The argument presented makes the case for creating an inclusive classroom by addressing issues of equity and social justice from a historical, religious, legal and socio political perspective in teacher education programs. Since most of the book’s message centers on the challenges posed by different forms of racial discrimination in educational practice, the information shared by this author appears repetitive. A redeeming strength of this chapter occurs at the end where the author suggests strategies to promote inclusive schooling. Chapter 10, ‘Language, Race And The Poetics of Anti-Racism’ begins by making a connection between this author’s submission and Dei’s introduction on language and linguistic racism. She describes her contribution to this treatise as assigning definition and dimension to the term linguistic racism. The chapter is concerned with the global hegemony of English and repercussions for non-white people. Unlike the other submissions, this author takes a more global approach by looking at linguistic racism for non native English speakers in third world countries. She attempts to cover a lot of ground and in so doing looks at language bias in teacher education programs, touches on the language challenges faced by International students in English speaking Western societies, and the difficulties encountered by non-white speakers of English who seek to teach English as a second language. Because she is trying to cover so many topics she only manages to reach an introductory level of treatment. Certain insights are formulated but she fails to clearly meet the objectives of recognizing, defining and describing linguistic racism as concepts established in her introduction. Overall Impressions Many of the authors characterize those affected by racial discrimination using the term minorities. For example, in his introduction, Dei writes that “minority students need to see representation of themselves in their teacher to feel like justice is being done” (p.16). There are many in this field of research, including the racialized, who take issue with the term minority. They hold the view that minority implies minor, and by definition, minor is associated with words and feelings of inferiority and unimportance. With that said, the efforts of the editors are commendable because they were able to take separate papers and combine them into a format that makes for an easy read. Though at times the information shared bears a resemblance from one chapter to the next, the authors are true to the topic and provide insight to a form of racism that is often underestimated and frequently misunderstood. I have very little negative criticism of the book. The contributors were faced with the difficult task of writing about issues that are not often discussed at Canadian educational institutions and within Canadian society. The book serves as a very rich source of information and opens dialogue that hopefully will stir further research and action. About the Reviewer Laurelle Jno Baptiste is a Doctoral candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She also works in corporate education in Canada and speaks extensively on immigrant integration issues in Canada.

Sternberg, Robert J. (2003). Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized. Reviewed by June Schmieder-Ramirez, Pepperdine University

Sternberg, Robert J. (2003). Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized. NY: Cambridge University Press Pp. 188         ISBN 978-0521802383 Reviewed by June Schmieder-Ramirez Pepperdine University February 6, 2009 Robert Sternberg, the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and professor of psychology at Tufts University, has written for over thirty years about the definition of intelligence and the tendency in the past to gauge intelligence by overly simplistic paper and pencil tests. The book would provide a good overview of the literature on intelligence written in the past thirty years—especially for students in an undergraduate psychology class. Sternberg divides the text into four parts: Intelligence, creativity, wisdom and synthesis. The premise of the text represents for the reader a discussion of wisdom, creativity and intelligence and how they are interrelated. It further represents the work that Professor Sternberg has done in the past thirty years. The text would be most useful for a beginning psychology student or anyone who would like an overview of the most important themes of successful intelligence synthesized well. In the introduction, Dr. Sternberg relates several humorous stories about his own experience with I.Q. tests. Having taken one at a young age, he was surprised about his low score and set off on a mission to understand what this score meant. He retells a story about how he administered I.Q. tests to his fellow students at a young age, getting into trouble with school authorities as a result. It is interesting that considering just I.Q., Sternberg comes to the conclusion that the “world’s cruelest despots and greediest business tycoons are successfully intelligent…. It is for this reason that I have now turned my attention to wisdom.” (p. xviii). As a young student I had a similar experience with intelligence tests, as I asked my elementary teachers as an eight year old child why these tests were being used. I was met with stony silence. This illustrated to me the emotional responses that surround intelligence tests and testing in America’s public schools. As the chapters represent a clear overview of the major parts of the book, I have organized the review to follow according to their structure. Intelligence The author begins by illustrating the truism that intelligence observations are very much the product of the observer. Many individuals make assumptions about others’ intelligence level based upon the qualities that they personally value and see as implicit opinion. For example, I thought that when I served as a teacher in elementary school, I could easily tell which students would do well from the first day of class by just watching how “quick” they responded to my questions. I knew that I could not be judgmental and withheld any final evaluation until the end of the term. Past definitions of intelligence have included descriptors such as: facility and imagination, ability to adapt, and the capacity to obtain more capacity. Questions posed by the author are: Is intelligence made up of many things? How do different cultures view intelligence; are some cultures more aware of relational skills than others and value these more highly? How important are numeric, spatial and memorization abilities? What is the difference between talent, skill and intelligence? After comparing Galton, (1869), Binet, (1916), Vygotsky, (1978), and Gardner (1993), Sternberg concludes that there is no correct model that stands above all others and that systems theory might help but not integrate all we know about intelligence. The author completes the discussion about intelligence by going beyond the operationalized definition to address “successful intelligence.” The author cites the work of Bloom and Gardner (1993) as both emphasizing successful intelligence in their work. His concept of encouraging this type of intelligence is to teach to a students’ strength and correct for their weaknesses. In teaching for successful intelligence, Sternberg emphasizes teaching for memory learning, analytical learning, creative and practical learning. This type of teaching contrasts directly with much of the teaching which goes on now in light of No Child Left Behind. As I write this in December of 2008, there is much discontent in local schools here in California about the attention to testing and lack of creative outlets provided for students of all grades. One acquires from this chapter a feeling that teaching for successful intelligence can be utilized within an accountability-driven system and that this would be a promising direction for schools to take. Creativity Creativity is defined as the “ability to produce work that is novel, (that is, original, unexpected), high in quality, and appropriate (that is useful, meets task constraints), Sternberg, (1988b). The fact that creativity is not a top research topic is clear after reading this chapter. In this chapter the author is opinionated regarding the use of simple “creativity” tests to ascertain divergent thinking. He points out authors such as DeBono (1971) among others as popularizing terms such as types of “thinking hats” which he feels is not based upon research. He does review the literature on creativity and illustrates that the thinking on creativity has evolved and that we have no definitive author on the subject. He does note that an individual should have an I.Q. of at least 120 before they can begin to address solutions to problems in a creative way. Sternberg, (p. 110) included several ways to encourage creativity including: Redefining the problem; Question and analysis of assumptions; Creative ideas should be “sold;” Encourage idea creation; Know the field that you want to be creative in; Encourage risk-taking and tolerance of “ambiguity;” Another discussion later in this chapter is the importance that “integration” might play in the concept of creativity. Sternberg uses the example of Rob Silvers’ photomosaic art in which he uses thousands of tiny pictures to create a new picture. The artist was able to revisit the work of George Seurat’s pointillist technique of using many small dots to form a larger work. To conclude this chapter, it is recognized by Sternberg, that history, the notion of creativity and culture are intertwined. The example of Bach is a good one. Here is a musician who was noted in his time for moving music incrementally forward but who now is regarded as a genius in redefining Baroque music. In many ways creativity is in the eye of the beholder and may change over history and over cultural change. Few would deny that Shakespeare was a creative genius either in his time or ours, so some measures are timeless. Wisdom and its Inter-Relationship between Intelligence and Creativity Sternberg concludes the text with some observations about wisdom and how this might differ from intelligence and creativity. He notes that even though there is a rise in IQs, the rate of global conflict has not abated. He notes that wisdom is “ the power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding,” (Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 1997, p. 1533). There are many personal observations about wisdom in this chapter. Again, wisdom is in the eye of the beholder and Sternberg does make several statements based upon his personal opinion. For example, he makes the observation that neither President Clinton nor President Nixon were “wise” individuals. Also noted in this chapter is the correlation between the artist, intelligence and creativity. The text concludes with the importance of all the components—intelligence, creativity and wisdom in being able to select, adapt and shape the environment. It is clear from this summarizing section that Sternberg regards intelligence as the foundation for serving the common good through a balance of extrapersonal, interpersonal and intrapersonal application. Use of this Text This text provides a good overview of the literature on creativity, wisdom, and intelligence. It contains over six-hundred and fifty references. However, it should be noted that over two-hundred of these references are Sternberg references to his work so the reader will acquire a compilation of his work—other authors are not given the same numeric consideration. I would recommend this text for those in beginning psychology classes or for teachers in middle-school through high school. This book would be excellent for a faculty discussion for a charter school that would be focused on creativity. There is little “new” research but an excellent summary of “what is.” References Bloom, B.S. (1976). Human characteristics and school learning. New York: McGraw-Hill. Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins (originally published in 1905). DeBono, E. (1971). Lateral thinking for management. New York: McGraw-Hill Galton F. (1869). Hereditary genius: An inquiry into its laws and Consequences. London: Macmillan. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books. Sternberg, R.J. (Ed.) (1988b). The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Webster, (1997). Webster’s New World dictionary. New York: McGraw Hill. About the Reviewer Dr. June Schmieder-Ramirez is the current academic chair of the Organizational Leadership Doctoral Program at Pepperdine University. She is a full professor and past interim Associate Dean who has worked in the Education Division for eighteen years. She is also the author of several texts with Arthur Townley on school finance, law and personnel. She is also the co-author with Dr. Jack McManus of the text: The Accreditors are Coming!, The Accreditors are Coming! published by Kendall Hunt Publishing, Dubuque, Iowa.

Watson, L. W., Terrell, M. C., Wright, D. J., Bonner, F. A., Cuyjet, M. J., Gold, J. A., et al. (2002). How Minority Students Experience College: Implications for Planning and Policy. Reviewed by Paul Ruiz, Arizona State University

Watson, L. W., Terrell, M. C., Wright, D. J., Bonner, F. A., Cuyjet, M. J., Gold, J. A., et al. (2002). How Minority Students Experience College: Implications for Planning and Policy. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing Pp. 160         ISBN 1579220495 Reviewed by Paul Ruiz Arizona State University March 7, 2009 Racial equality has long been a struggle for American minorities throughout the history of this country. Even as minority groups have overcome adversity and gained equal rights, they continue to be marginalized. The smaller numbers of minority populations along with historical impediments have caused minority populations to be less represented on college campuses across the country. This under-representation contributes to a lack of cultural awareness and the "tokenization" of those students. How Minorities Experience College: Implications for Planning and Policy focuses on identifying the similarities among predominately white institutions that retain a high number of minority students. Aiming to inform presidents, academic affairs professionals, student affair professionals, and other leaders in higher education, the authors attempt to increase awareness through a discussion of the atmosphere on small liberal arts colleges across America. The book is focused on identifying the strengths of multicultural college campuses. The volume begins with a strong introduction discussing the aims of the research. The questions posed by the researcher and definitions provided, of terms specific to the study, offer the reader a clear understanding of the scope of the research. The discussion regarding the motives of the researchers effectively conveys the necessity of identifying the practices of universities, which experience high retention rates of minority students. Employing a qualitative approach, researchers examined the responses of minority students attending seven small liberal arts colleges with a small number of minority students. The authors began their discussion with an assessment of the mission statements and demographic information of the participating institutions. Although the authors do provide a discussion of the universities and the size of the communities in which they are located, the valuable discussion of the atmosphere of those same communities is never introduced. The authors describe the design of the study including selection processes for universities and students, instrumentation, and data management and analysis strategies. The book begins well written as an academic publication, incorporating easy to understand language for any individual interested in understanding and achieving a more diverse student population at a university. Following the introduction and discussion of the research design, the engaged reader anticipates a discussion of the progressive policies and practices implemented at the seven participating universities, followed by an examination of the inadequate practices and policies implemented in other institutions, and perhaps a discussion of how to bridge the two. Unfortunately the authors do not participate in any of these discussions throughout the remainder of the book. Rather the authors devote the majority of the remaining chapters to the responses of the student participants. The student responses do provide insight into the true perceptions of the student participants. However, there is no mention of implications for future planning, the revision or development of new policy, or recommendations for more effective practices. Further the student narratives which consume the remaining chapters run contrary to expectations of the reader. Rather than comments by students reporting on the strengths of the practices in their respective universities and the comfort minority students enjoy as a result of the universities progressive approach, the student responses identify the overestimation of the university’s diverse atmosphere. The authors use the incongruence to discuss the need for improved planning and policies in every institution. The authors employ a conceptually clustered matrix as identified by Miles and Huberman (1994) to organize student responses to the six themes identified by researchers. The themes include an examination of: campus culture, the perception of the campus and its mission, the lack of diversity in professors, student coping and self beliefs, the campuses perception of students, and student involvement. The cluster provided to depict the data from the interviews, offers only one students comment for each of the themes from each college. In the subsequent chapters, the researchers do provide more of the student’s responses, however they offer very little additional relevant information. In an effort to insure anonymity, the authors do not report the ethnicity of the respondents nor do they provide a rationale for how they chose which responses were incorporated into the discussion. The identification of the cultures of the participants would provide the reader a greater understanding of issues specific to one minority group or common to all. The recognition of issues and perceptions among minority students provides colleges valuable information on the atmosphere within these populations. However, the researchers do not identify which issues are relevant specifically to minority students. The current study in an effort to identify perceptions and difficulties among minority students may perhaps include difficulties experienced by the entire student body. Identifying perceptions of the Anglo students on the various campuses would have allowed the researcher to remove difficulties common to all college students and more accurately distinguish issues specific to minorities, providing the reader with valuable information. Throughout the discussion and assessment of the study, the authors include no mention of the background information, previous college experience, if participants were first generation college students, analysis of data on the ethnicity of respondents, or general themes pertaining to participants' attitudes. Including statistical analyses of the data collected throughout the research would have added richness to the study. Identifying and providing the reader with the amount of congruent responses provided by the participants both in support and disagreement of common practices would serve to identify common themes among specific minority groups. Also, identifying the cultural background of the students would serve the reader well in understanding whether specific minority groups held similar views of the school atmosphere. This information would help to determine if colleges were successful at promoting a more comfortable environment among specific minority groups. The authors also made no mention of the analysis of specific policies in place or practices common to the universities promoting a more diverse environment. With a motivation to identify the successful practices of universities retaining a high number of minority students, one would expect a greater discussion of university policies than a brief examination of the mission statements. The authors replace statistical data on student responses to support claims regarding the climate on university campuses with terms such as “a number of students provided...,” “several categories cited…,” and “numerous respondents provided….” By incorporating a mixed method approach, the researchers could have provided the reader with a greater overview of the severity of the cultural diversity issues and subsequent student perceptions common to America’s university campuses. The title of the book leads the reader to believe that the authors have identified specific examples of similar policies and procedures implemented in colleges across America which require revision. Rather the reader is left with an understanding that minority students across the country do not feel comfortable in America’s colleges. With an intended purpose of increasing successful strategies implemented in some universities, the study better serves to identify the severe lack of accommodations, support, and cultural awareness common to college campuses across the country when dealing with minority college students. The authors could have done much to incorporate additional discussion to create a more informative argument and develop a greater picture of the severity of inadvertent discrimination and the need to adjust policy and implement programs to help make students comfortable in these institutions. Reference Miles, M. B., & Humberman, A. M., (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. About the Reviewer Paul Ruiz is a PhD student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University. His interests lie in the patters of enrollment among minority students within higher education and in identifying themes and strategies used by institutions of higher learning to recruit and facilitate the success of these students. He has worked as a professional in the educational field for over six years in a variety of positions ranging from teacher, mentor, and instructional specialist.

Li, Guofang & Wang, Lihshing (Eds.) (2008). Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences. Reviewed by Mitchell J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles

Li, Guofang & Wang, Lihshing (Eds.) (2008). Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Pp. xv + 338         ISBN 978-1-59311-950-8 Reviewed by Mitchell J. Chang University of California, Los Angeles March 7, 2009 According to Guofang Li and Lihshing Wang, the editors of Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences, “mainstream American society’s perceptions of Asian Americans seemed to have swung back and forth on the pendulum, indicating a conflicted ‘love and hate’ relationship.” (p. 5). In their introductory chapter, they maintain that one popular stereotype that has endured for over forty years is the image of Asian Americans as the “model minority,” which characterizes them as hard working, problem free, over achievers. While this image might suggest a more positive than negative mainstream view, Li and Wang argue that this stereotype has ironically “worked against Asian American students because such labeling not only impedes access to educational opportunities but also results in anti-Asian sentiment between the majority and other minority groups” (p. 2). This book proceeds not only to demystify the model minority image, as the title advertises, but also to document the deleterious effects of this racial stereotype on a very diverse group of individuals who as a group curiously appear to have little in common. That is, the book also makes clear that individuals who are most directly affected by the model minority label do not necessarily share a common culture, language, heritage, socio-economic status, political persuasion, immigration experience, religious/philosophical orientation, worldview, and so on. Despite this population’s extraordinary diversity, this book makes a strong and compelling case that the model minority stereotype has had a powerful and lasting grip on Asian Americans. Model Minority Myth Revisitedis the first book of a series on educational research sponsored by the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association (CAERDA). This book shares the goals of that book series and thus features multidisciplinary perspectives, educational issues as part of a larger context where Chinese and Chinese Americans are a part of, and research-based information to achieve educational excellence and equity for all. Those goals are indeed well supported by the collection of chapters including a foreward by Stacey Lee, which are authored by an interdisciplinary group of scholars. Specifically, the book is organized into five sections. The first section, titled Sociocultural Perspective, begins with a chapter written by Ling-chi Wang, a widely regarded scholar of Asian American and ethnic studies. Wang’s historical overview of the model minority myth and thoughtful remarks about its current implications are followed by two chapters that report original findings from their respective qualitative studies. In Chapter 3, Vivian Louie draws from her interview of two “working-class” Chinese American college students to illuminate the role of immigration and the challenges involved with negotiating the complex transition to college. In Chapter 4, Liang Du reports findings from a qualitative study of students and parents associated with a Chinese language school and address how the model minority discourse interact with the lives of a group of “middle-to upper-middle-class” Chinese Americans. Du is especially attentive to how that discourse limits social and cultural possibilities. Curiously, both Louie and Du analyze only a portion of a larger body of data that each had collected for a much larger study. Section two, which consists of four chapters, turns to psychological perspectives to address the model minority myth. In this section’s first chapter, Frederick Leong and James Grand examine the impact of the model minority stereotype on Asian Americans in the workplace. Their chapter is followed by two others that also draw heavily from the existing literature and provide ample academic references. In one, Mei Tang addresses “Asian Americans’ psychosocial status,” and in another Desiree Qin examines some challenges Chinese American students sometimes face at home and in school, which have ramifications on their psychological and social adjustment. The last chapter of this section reports results from a longitudinal study conducted at a large Midwestern university. Matthew Lee and Jacqueline Mac used a web survey to collect data on students’ opinions about the “racial climate” and their level of “psychological distress.” Among the findings of this quantitative study were that Asian Americans were significantly more likely than White students to indicate that their campus was hostile and that “ethnic discrimination” was a stronger predictor of anxiety for Asian American students than discrimination based on other identities. Section three, titled Educational Perspective, includes four chapters that seek to redefine how Asian Americans are considered in the educational context. In Chapter 9, David Dai makes a provocative argument that because schooling tends to be tightly structured in ways that do not necessarily cultivate the types of learning and thinking that contribute to success in the “real world,” there may be a “hidden cost” to doing well in school. Dai’s chapter is followed by three empirical studies. Lusa Lo documents the school related experiences and challenges of six Chinese parents of children with disabilities, whereas Guofang Li documents one middle class Chinese family’s difficulty with schooling. Both of these studies show how the model minority stereotype can potentially obstruct access to educational services and opportunities for those who do not fit that narrow image. In Chapter 12, Julia Dmitrieva, Chuansheng Chen, and Ellen Greenberger statistically compared responses from a psychosocial maturity inventory and found that Asian American college students exhibited greater decline in grades compared to their “European American” counterparts, which they attribute in part to the stronger negative effect of moving away from home for some Asian Americans. The final two sections address methodological issues and policy implications. Section four begins with a chapter by Annette Hemmings who discusses research related dilemmas by drawing from her experiences with a Taiwanese American student who participated in one of her ethnographic studies. In Chapter 14, Wei Pan and Haiyan Bai analyzed a random sample of students drawn from the updated national Education Longitudinal Study to highlight methodological problems among quantitative cross-culture studies. Chapter 15 (by Lihshing Wang and Duc-Le To) and Chapter 16 (by Duc-Le To) identify shortcomings of current research and provide methodological recommendations to strengthen future research that seeks to illuminate issues concerning the model minority myth. In the final chapter of the book, Yon Zhao and Wei Qiu identify four myths concerning Asian American students and also discuss their policy implications. Taken together, this is a much-needed compilation of varied academic knowledge that is appropriate for a wide range of audiences who span the full spectrum of expertise on research concerning Asian American educational experiences. For those who have not had much exposure to this body of research, this book will impress and clarify some of the most critical and longstanding concerns relevant to this growing and diverse population. For those experts on the other end of this spectrum, they will also find something new here, as authors have presented original and fresh empirical findings, insights, and critiques. Also, nearly all of these chapters can standalone and can be individually assigned for course readings. This attribute, however, might be an issue for those who choose to read the book from cover to cover because the description of the model minority myth repeats itself throughout the chapters and becomes quite redundant. Overall, the book delivers what it advertises in its title –– namely it contributes to demystifying the enduring stereotype surrounding Asian Americans by systematically applying sound reason, logic, and evidence. It is hard to ask for more than that from a group of very capable scholars, but will such scholarly efforts be enough to loosen the crippling grip of the model minority myth? Perhaps by focusing on demystifying, the book does not offer much in terms of actually dismantling the myth. After all, the end goal is not just to understand the complexity of the myth and its negative impact on individuals, which to be sure is an important and valuable exercise, but to also eradicate its relevance and effect. What is offered toward the latter goal in this book is a clarion call for more and better research. In fact, some of the chapters in the final two sections list detailed ways to improve research, which can be applied to nearly every educational topic. There is, however, an unrecognized irony to this particular call. That is, by developing a stronger science around a presumed myth, will it have the unintended effect of ensuring the longevity and relevance of this myth? Put in another way, if the myth can be studied with greater scientific rigor, could it become more real than fake? I raise these questions not because I think we should do less research, after all I too make my living conducting research, but to ask whether we might be overlooking the bigger picture. In developing viable strategies to address the model minority myth, we have to recognize fully that a main culprit is stereotyping and at work is a very powerful and flexible racial stereotype that has captured the imagination of American consciousness and may already be tightly woven into our nation’s educational institutions and even grand narrative of itself. Although it is a social construction that can be altered, this stereotype has persisted for over forty years because it continues to serve multiple purposes as documented well throughout the book. One peculiar purpose not addressed in any of the chapters, however, is that this stereotype has provided a common bond that serves to unify a group of diverse individuals grouped under the broad category of “Asian American.” While the inadequacy of this racial label is well noted throughout Model Minority Myth Revisited, none of the chapters fully explore how that stereotype might actually be a common bond that binds individuals who comprise this group. In other words, perhaps as Asian Americans there is little that we collectively share besides a distinct vulnerability to certain stereotypes and their ensuing discriminatory effects. For example, not only are we at risk of being stereotyped as model minorities, we are also vulnerable to being regularly stereotyped as foreigners and subsequently disqualified or held under suspicion. Perhaps had there been substantial social, political, or economic gains to be made when recent events involving Asian Americans unfolded, we would currently also be vulnerable to being stereotyped as spies, mass killers, or terrorists. If vulnerability to certain stereotypes and their ensuing discriminatory actions serve to bond Asian Americans, this would raise some uncomfortable ironies. One would be that by dismantling the model minority stereotype, might we unintentionally dissolve one of our strongest bonds as Asian Americans? If our common bond is weakened, what might be some of the consequences for political action, social movements, or identity? Although this line of questioning can not be elaborated here, the point is that there exists a much bigger set of questions associated with the model minority myth that needs to be seriously considered and that unmistakably gets at the core of what it means to be Asian American. Those questions are certainly beyond the scope of the Model Minority Myth Revisited, yet they should not be overlooked as we continue to work toward dismantling this onerous stereotype. In the interest of eradicating the model minority stereotype or creating more authentic racial images, I find myself agreeing with Ling-chi Wang who states in his chapter that “scholarship is rarely an effective weapon in waging a political fight which is what the [model minority] debate has been all about” (p. 32). After recently seeing a complex and believable range of Asian American characters portrayed in the movie Ping Pong Playa, a comedy starring Jimmy Tsai and directed by Jessica Yu, Wang’s claim rings even more true for me. This movie, as well as the many others such as Better Luck Tomorrow and even Harold and Kumar, which portray Asian Americans in nonstereotypic fashion while simultaneously celebrating their characters’ Asian American identities, suggests that the solution to repudiating the model minority myth and consequently diminishing its impact should not be based strictly on social science. The solution should also rely heavily on other forms of persuasion including the arts through mainstream media, which appear to capture the hearts and minds of the American public much more effectively and efficiently than academic scholarship. So in reading Model Minority Myth Revisited, let’s appreciate and apply the solid scholarship that the book delivers and calls for, but not forget about the importance of other forms of persuasion in this discourse that aim to address the bigger picture. About the Reviewer Mitchell J. Chang is Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change at the University of California, Los Angeles and also holds a joint appointment in the Asian American Studies Department. Chang's research focuses on the educational efficacy of diversity-related initiatives on college campuses and how to apply those best practices toward advancing student learning and democratizing institutions. Regarding Asian American student populations, he co-authored in 2007 the report “Beyond myths: The growth and diversity of Asian American college freshmen, 1971- 2005” with J. Park, M. Lin, O. Poon, and D. Nakanishi, which received the ACPA Asian Pacific American Network Outstanding Contribution to APIDA Research Award.

McKay, Sandra Lee & Bokhorse-Heng, Wendy D. (2008). International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts: Towards a Socially Sensitive EIL Pedagogy. Reviewed by Na Liu, Arizona State University

McKay, Sandra Lee & Bokhorse-Heng, Wendy D. (2008). International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts: Towards a Socially Sensitive EIL Pedagogy. NY: Routledge Pp. x + 209         ISBN 978-0-8058-6338-3 Reviewed by Na Liu Arizona State University March 7, 2009 This book addresses a very timely and important topic: the diverse sociolinguistic contexts of present-day English use and learning, which were created by globalization, migration, and the spread of English. In examining the sociolinguistic contexts of language learning, the authors focus on the manner in which English learning is affected by the larger social, political, and educational setting. A basic assumption throughout this book is that “...because English is an international language, effective pedagogical decisions and practices cannot be made without giving special attention to the many varied social contexts in which English is taught and learned” (p. 197). Altogether there are seven chapters in this book. The authors begin with an overview of the development of English as an International Language (EIL) and the pedagogical contexts of EIL learning. In Chapter One, employing a language ecology perspective, the authors examine how English has developed as a global language and how this development has impacted the status and use of English and other languages. This chapter also considers the dangers that can arise with the spread of English in terms of the loss of other languages, growing monolingualism in Anglophone countries, and an economic divide in access to English. Chapter Two describes various present-day English learning contexts, using Kachru’s model of Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles. Major pedagogical challenges faced by educators in each of these contexts are discussed and illustrated through the use of case studies of specific countries. Chapters Three and Four describe the social and political forces that affect language use. Chapter Three provides an analysis of multilingual societies by discussing countries in which there are both diglossia and widespread English bilingualism, such as India and South Africa, as well as countries in which there is English bilingualism without diglossia, such as Great Britain and the United States. Chapter Four focuses on language planning and policy decisions as they affect EIL learning. For example, one of the primary issues addressed in language planning decisions is which language or languages should be designated as an official language. Chapters Five and Six take a much more micro-level approach, focusing on specific features of the structure and pragmatics of EIL. Chapter Five discusses how social factors influence specific syntactic, interactional and discourse features of English. Special attention is given to the development of World Englishes, their features, and their relationships to identity issues. Chapter Six examines how interactional sociolinguistics can provide insight into the use of English in an era of globalization. Specifically, the authors consider the ways in which interactional sociolinguistics research has been beneficial in providing insight into English as the lingua franca, the code-switching behavior of bilingual users of English, and bilingual users’ attitudes towards code-switching. In the final chapter, the authors argue that in order to have a socially sensitive EIL pedagogy, language planners and educators should consider the following factors when making pedagogical decisions: the extent of multilingualism in the country, the language policies and practices of the nation, the linguistic features of the particular varieties of English spoken in the country, and the manner in which individuals in these contexts make linguistic choices to indicate their affiliation with particular speech communities and ideologies. One of the strengths of this book is that it provides different perspectives about globalization, the spread of English, and the teaching of English. While recognizing all perspectives, the authors argue for their own. For example, the spread of English is always a controversial topic, with Crystal (2003) viewing it positively, and Phillipson (1992) criticizing it vigorously. Brutt-Griffler (2002) emphasizes the agency of individuals in the process of spreading English. The authors argue that while there are indeed instances of colonizers imposing the spread of English through educational policies, the agency of individuals to choose to study English cannot be overlooked in a comprehensive analysis of colonial history. Another strength is engagement with both the theoretical issues and specific cases from all over the globe. The links to language policy, planning, politicking, and interactional sociolinguistics, confer theoretical richness on this effort. The specific cases make the theories more accessible and comprehensible to readers. For example, when introducing the social contexts for EIL learning, the authors use Kachru’s three concentric circles as a heuristic. Britain and the United States are discussed as cases for Inner Circle countries; South Africa and Philippines for Outer Circle countries; China, South Korean, and Japan for Expanding Circle countries. One limitation here is that when the authors discuss the social contexts using Kachru’s model Europe is not covered. The authors do mention that in Europe, English seems to have assumed the role of a lingua franca rather than a foreign language. Therefore, European countries are not going to be dealt with when discussing Expanding Circle countries. However, the social contexts in European countries, as a special case and an important one for EIL teaching, deserve some discussion under this topic. Throughout the book, the authors challenge some well-established views in EIL teaching. For example, in many Expanding Circle countries, there is a native speaker fallacy that assumes that native speakers of that language should provide the model for English training. However, the authors argue that globalization has brought with it a constant interplay between global and local space. The strength of local bilingual teachers is that they can bring to the classroom an understanding of local conditions and how they interact with global concerns. Another example concerns Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). In Nunan’s (2003) study, many Expanding Circle countries subscribe to the implementation of CLT, though in fact in many classrooms, due to a variety of constraints, the method is not actually being implemented. Therefore, the authors argue that the most effective method must be one locally produced by educators who are aware of the global reach of English and also fully informed of the local context. I agree with the authors that EIL pedagogy should encourage awareness of the variation that exists in English today and recognize the validity of different varieties of English; however, I am not quite in accord with the authors when it comes to standards. The authors claim that there should be different standards for different contexts of use and the definition of each Standard English should be endonormative (determined locally). I would argue, however, that when talking about standards, distinctions should be made between Inner Circle countries, Outer Circle countries and Expanding Circle countries. In both Inner Circle countries and Out Circle countries, English is used on a daily basis, while in Expanding Circle countries, sometimes English is only a subject in schools. If varieties in Inner Circle countries and Outer Circle countries can be regarded as standards locally, I am not sure whether varieties in Expanding Circle countries should have the same status. Since the authors believe that the definition of each Standard English should be determined locally, more research on local people’s views on this issue is needed to better inform EIL teachers and policy makers. In addition, the authors quote House’s (2003) work and claim that it is inappropriate to teach the pragmatic norms of an Inner Circle country. Rather the curriculum “should focus on the learners’ need to be flexibly competent in international communication through the medium of the English language in as broad a spectrum of topics, themes, and purposes as possible” (p. 149). English will be used to communicate in a variety of contexts, so it is beneficial to learn all kinds of pragmatic norms, but how? It is easy to make pronouncements, but the difficulty comes in deciding how to implement them. Despite my disagreement with some statements made by the authors, this book provides a valuable resource on the current sociolinguistic contexts in which English is learned as an international language. As stated in the preface, this book is directed to a wide TESOL and applied linguistics professional readership. This text is particularly useful and effective for pre-service and in-service professional development in the TESOL field. Regardless of whether readers are persuaded by the arguments, this book can enrich their understanding of EIL learning and spark educators’ critical thinking beyond their everyday routine. References Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: A study of its development. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. House, J. (2003). Teaching and learning pragmatic fluency in a foreign language: The case of English as a lingua franca. In A. Martinez Flor, E. Uso Juan & A Fernandez Guerra (Eds.), Pragmatic competence and foreign language teaching (pp. 133-159). Castellao de la Plana, Spain: Publicacions de la Universitat Jaume I. Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific region. TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 589-613. Philipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. About the reviewer Na Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, Arizona State University. Her research interests focus on second language teaching and acquisition, heritage language maintenance, and language policy.

Springgay, Stephanie. (2008). Body Knowledge and Curriculum: Pedagogies of Touch in Youth and Visual Culture. Reviewed by Stephanie Baer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Springgay, Stephanie. (2008). Body Knowledge and Curriculum: Pedagogies of Touch in Youth and Visual Culture. NY: Peter Lang Pp. 144         ISBN 978-1433102813 Reviewed by Stephanie Baer University of Nebraska-Lincoln March 7, 2009 Imagine walking slowly along a beach with a cool, foggy breeze softly blowing against you. You weave in-between rocks, noticing their jagged edges and worn colors as the water softly reaches out to them with the tide. You pull a long red thread from your pocket and drag it along the side of a rock until it catches. You continue to weave in, through, and among the forms and your thread grows longer and more tangled with each step. With every movement, your actions become part of the history of the rock and life of the interwoven thread. Stephanie Springgay’s book, Body Knowledge and Curriculum, gives readers access to such “red threads of entanglement”, weaving in, through, and among ideas, embracing the lived engagement of sense making. The ideas of presence, connection, imagery, and knowledge unfold and their tangled relationship with pedagogy emerges in a welcomed entanglement. Springgay is currently at Pennsylvania State University working in Art Education and Women’s Studies. Her interest in body knowledge and its connections to curriculum has found form in her installations and video-based art alongside her work with a/r/tography. The work of a/r/tography involves the interweaving of the roles of artist, researcher, and teacher, inviting their interplay through lived inquiry. Springgay’s work fleshes out this interplay, delving into the textured layers of inquiry, embodying the lived experience of the artist/researcher/teacher. The book documents a particular project involving a high school art class in an alternative secondary school in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Springgay’s words, her pedagogical philosophy embraces “the possibilities of thinking through the body and art as interrogation” (p. 16). Such embracing involves Springgay designing and implementing a “body curriculum” featuring three themes for exploration, a) body surfaces; b) body encounters; and, c) body sites. All three themes reverberate throughout the narratives of experience included within the book. Springgay relays her investment in the life of the art classroom, the students, and the teacher during her year there. This book takes instances from that experience and uses them to reveal a bodied curriculum and study its growing importance in the school setting. Springgay narrates her encounters at the school while using pseudonyms and being careful to portray the students and school honestly and attentively. Springgay is also considerate of the reader throughout the book as she describes participants’ experiences within an unfamiliar language. It is easy for researchers to get caught within their own created language as they navigate through their work, forgetting the reader and a wider audience. Springgay explains her use of words and the reasoning she finds as she makes her way to a clearer, yet deeper understanding of embodied curriculum and learning through touch. Often, Springgay uses a “/” to communicate the depth and complexity encountered. She states, “I use the slash to accentuate the activity of movement and the in-between. Un/folding with the slash allows the term to reverberate, to flicker, and to be in a state of constant movement” (p. 6). In her discussion of a/r/tography, she describes the slash as a “place of negotiation…a place to move…a position from which to create a rupture” (p. 37). She goes on to discuss her encouragement of the students to take on this understanding and use it as they negotiate their own movement of thinking. The book is divided into five main sections entitled, 1) Sleeping with Cake and Other Touchable Encounters: Feminist Theories of Touch and Inter-embodiment; 2) The Fantastical Body and the Vulnerability of Comfort: Alternative Models for Understanding “Body Image”; 3) Corporeal Cartographies: Materializing Space as a Textual Narrative Process; 4) Cookies for Peace and a Pedagogy of Corporeal Generosity; and finally, 5) Teaching and Learning through Touch. Each section invites the reader to negotiate how meaning is constructed and how we view our experiences within that meaning-making process. Each chapter makes use of student artwork and/or student encounters in the art classroom. The artworks, along with excerpts of classroom conversations, provide vivid opportunities to explore bodied curricular experiences. In the first section concerning feminist theories of touch, Springgay draws on the work of many scholars to discuss bodied encounters and space. This included the work of artist Diane Borsato who set out to “touch” 1000 people, investigating how it altered her movement through the city. Springgay describes space not as something that is a measure of distance, but rather, “spacing constitutes the very place where things happen between bodies/things. Thus, touching as a way of knowing implies that I can know the other without fixing her or reducing her to an object” (p. 29). Another piece of Borsato’s was her private performance entitled Sleeping with Cake. The physicality of the project involved Borsato filling up her bed with 10 sweet and flavorful cakes, surrounding her as she slept. The concept drawn from this performance involves a closer study of how the experience was about the intimacy and the relationality involved and how her knowing changes in this experience of “being-with.” Later in the chapter, Springgay includes some of her own artwork as well as student artwork to further describe a sense of being-with and of bodied encounters with materials. These artworks are good examples of the first theme introduced to the art class, body surfaces, focusing on the very concept of surfaces. Diving more deeply into the idea of an ethics of embodiment, Springgay draws on the work of Sara Ahmed (2000). According to Ahmed, ethics is “a question of how one encounters others as other (than being) and, in this specific sense, how one can live with what cannot be measured by the regulative force of morality” (2000, p. 138). Springgay draws on a plethora of theorists to flesh out her understanding of the concept of an ethics of embodiment. She points toward agency and transformation but only through accepting that we operate in “tangles of implication” which lead us to varying discourses and which can be met with resistance, contradiction, and a need for change. She correlates this process of living and knowing with learning and teaching. Springgay insists we must see these processes as dynamic and complex in order to respond within our lived experience. Springgay finishes the chapter with a section on a/r/tography, which she defines as “a research methodology of entanglement and becoming” (p. 37). Here she invites the reader to consider understandings and experiences rather than representations of the visual and textual. She identifies six features of a/r/tography to be living inquiry, contiguity, openings, metaphor/metonymy, reverberations, and excess. The final feature, excess, is a “calling to the unnamed.” It asks us to think beyond the limitations that we are so encumbered by (and may not realize it) and engage in inquiry, confrontation, complexity, and reinterpretation. Springgay believes it is ultimately this consideration of body in excess “as a/r/tographical research that materializes knowing and being” (p. 48). This first section provides a foundation for thinking about space and bodied encounters as we enter into the next chapter that more closely consider student experiences of body image. In the next section dealing with the “Fantastical Body” and the “vulnerability of comfort,” we begin to hear student testimony addressing the idea of body image. Springgay acknowledges the varied research already done in the area of body image, but finds it important to reconsider within the context of a body in excess as well as the “fantastical body” that, “conceptualizes corporeal difference through processes of creation” (p. 55). Drawing on the work of Susan Bordo (1997), we first encounter an explanation of what many societies consider being the “intelligible” or “ideal” body. …The perfect body has tight, monitored boundaries. The ability to control and modify the corporeal schema to maintain equilibrium is a symbol of emotional, moral, intellectual and physical power. “The ideal here is of a body that is absolutely tight, contained, “bolted down,” firm: in other words, a body that is protected against eruption from within, whose internal processes are under control” (Bordo, 1998, p. 294). The soft, loose, excess flesh threatens the borders of the body, the stability of the individual, and the premise that one is “normal” and in control of their life. The ideal body is excess-free, maintaining the borders between inside and outside. (p. 54) This desire for control is what Springgay begins to investigate with students as she asks questions about their perceptions and what it means to be comfortable. Her idea of a “fantastical body” goes against this control and desires a more dynamic relationship of knowing and living. The students contribute thoughts on what comfort implies and respond to the idea of bodily knowing and comfort with installation artwork. Three students work with these ideas in their creation of Un/attainable Comfort, an installation with fuzzy slippers studded with thumbtacks, a fuzzy blanket that is stitched together so it cannot be unfolded, and an oversized pillow that doesn’t seem to belong with the other items. In discussing the idea of comfort, students share their own experiences and Springgay brings together their thoughts in a further discussion with the reader and critical friends. Ideas of community, space, excess, and movement lead the discussion into pedagogical terms asking us to engage in the en/tanglement of what it means to teach and learn within these ideas. The next section involving corporeal cartographies takes the idea of mapping to a new level. Contemporary mapping is described as a way to un/fold and view maps for “what they can do” in finding the potential of the unnamed. Springgay sees this investigation as an alternative way to imagine space, seeing disruption and difference as a guide to knowing. Student-created videos are referenced in this section to further those understandings. The videos referenced involve walking in boxes, and pushing shopping carts. Seemingly strange activities to video, students investigate what it means to encounter anew and allow an experience to un/fold itself. Springgay compares this chapter’s message to the rest of the book in that it asks us to consider more open spaces in which to understand curriculum and look for opportunities that take us away from our routines and assumptions. She calls for an embracing of the inquiring movement leading to an engagement with these processes within lived experiences as they occur. Corporeal generosity is the topic of the next section and highlights the work of several students. All three projects described are examples of students questioning their surroundings with a desire to intervene and encounter the unknown. The first, an email piece, calls for a reconsideration of lived emotions and their origination. The second art piece, using mail as a medium, ponders the ideas of familiarity, gifts and giving. The intervention-based performance entitled Cookies for Peace involves a couple of students participating in a public peace demonstration by handing out “peace cookies” and questioning their receivers on their ideas of peace. Springgay explores the concepts brought forth by the students’ experiences and begins to tie them once again to what it means to enact these ideas within an embodied curriculum. In the following excerpt, Springgay draws on the work of several scholars to bring together some final thoughts. Embodied experience suggests that we do not have experiences – as in experiences are not separate from our bodies selves – rather we are experiences (see Merleau-Ponty, 1968). Similarly, bodies are not “things” that we “give” meaning to, but that bodies are meaning (Grosz, 1994; Nancy, 2000). Understanding the body as meaning, as opposed to a container in which we store or put meaning, resists an understanding of pedagogy as something that is enacted by bodies onto bodies…neither teachers, students, nor the sites of learning preexist pedagogy – they are invented in the process. Thus, we might shift from trying to “know” and then “teach” [generosity] to engaging with it as an event that has not yet ended and to contemporaneously respond to it” (Ellsworth, 2005, p. 19). (pp. 120-121) The final section of the book continues this synthesis of ideas and powerfully brings forth the importance of living inquiry. Through the book, Springgay engages in metaphor, visual and textual understandings of complex concepts and artfully communicates how a bodied curriculum can work. It is within her call for continual reconsideration of self, other, knowledge, and relation that we can encounter lived experiences that fully express who we are (and who we are becoming) as learners and teachers. Returning to the walk on the beach, the path continues to entangle itself among every movement. At times the thread pulls tight, and at other times it hangs down, brushing against your gently swinging legs and arms as they propel your body forward. Every once in a while the wind catches a section of the thread and it loops beautifully overhead, finding a new resting place when it catches. You begin to marvel at the smallest things like how your hand feels against the thread, how the thread seems to dance in tandem with the blowing wind, and how your footprints in the sand create a timeline of your journey. Time has seemed to slow, and you wonder why you hadn’t taken a moment to notice these connections before. Springgay finds that continuing to immerse within embodied experience opens new doors for education and it is our responsibility as educators to help facilitate opportunities for such experiences. She also sees this facilitation, or giving, as a gesture of generosity in which we all become more enfleshed in our learning encounters. I whole heartedly agree. References Ahmed, S. (2000). Strange Encounters: Embodied Others in Post-coloniality. London, UK: Routledge. Bordo, S. (1998). Bringing body to theory. In D. Welton (Ed.) Body and Flesh: A Philosophical Reader (pp. 84-97). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. Ellsworth, E. (2005). Places of Learning: Media, Architecture, Pedagogy. New York: Routledge. Grosz, E. (1994). Volatile Bodies. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1968). The Visible and the Invisible. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. Nancy, J. L. (2000). Of Being Singular Plural. Stanford, CA: Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. About the Reviewer Stephanie Baer is a doctoral student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Teacher Education and the Editorial Assistant for the International Journal of Education and the Arts. She has worked as a classroom teacher in the arts and has taught art methods for pre-service elementary teachers. Her research interests are aesthetics, interdisciplinary education, creativity and motivation, professional development, teacher identity, and of course, the arts in whatever form they may live.