The Children, Families, and Schools Concentration 

of the College of Education proudly presents

The Fortnightly Lunch Series

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 

12pm-1pm, Furcolo Hall, Room 20

Maxine McKinney de Royston

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley

Multidimensional Considerations for Creating Productive Learning 

Ecologies:  Successes & Challenges in Oakland

Learning scientists have begun to recognize that creating optimal learning environments requires attending to the cognitive, and the identity and interpersonal aspects of learning environments and opportunities (e.g. Nasir, 2012, Polman & Miller, 2010). This scholarship examines the psychosocial and sociocultural dimensions of learning in schools, yet less is known about how district and school-level contexts interact with these aspects and are consequential for how learning unfolds and how students from marginalized groups are engaged. Using data from two initiatives in the Oakland Unified School District- African American Male Achievement (AAMA) and the Full Service Community Schools- this presentation offers preliminary qualitative analyses of these initiatives and an emerging framework for understanding the multidimensional nature of teaching and learning. Findings suggest that learning environments and opportunities for African American students in Oakland were influenced by: 1) Discourses of reform and equity across district officials, school administrators, and teachers; 2) Disciplinary practices in schools and classrooms that were non-punitive, non-stereotypical; 3) Community relationships that were multi-layered and viewed as a necessary for student learning; 4) Teacher’s pedagogical attention to students’ racialized and classed realities. Implications for teacher training and for the research and design of learning environments will be discussed.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 

12pm-1pm, Furcolo Hall, Room 20