1. THE HIDDEN CLASSROOM: A LOOK BEHIND THE FAÇADE OF LEARNING
- Peter Liljedahl

2. THE PHENOMENON Pretending to try to solve a problem.
Doing their French homework in their Mathematics classroom.
Pretending to be using a cell phone as a calculator.
Copying homework from someone else.
Mimicking the teacher’s example.
Sharpening their pencil.
Passive note taking.
Pretending to have done homework.
Pretending to be collaborating.
Pretending to be doing in-class assignments.
Pretending to be studying.
Pretending to be reading.
Forgot something in the locker.
Going to the bathroom.
THE PHENOMENON

3. THE PHENOMENON Common Traits
there is a façade (seems to be directional)
it subverts the teacher’s intentions (not always deliberately)
it isn’t learning!
SO WHAT TO CALL IT?
THE PHENOMENON

4. The concept of studenting or pupiling is far and away the more parallel concept to that of teaching. [..] there is much more to studenting than learning how to learn. In the school setting, studenting includes getting along with one’s teachers, coping with one’s peers, dealing with one’s parents about begin a student, and handling the non-academic aspects of school life.
(Fenstermacher, 1986, p. 39)
STUDENTING

5. STUDENTING (Fenstermacher, 1994, p. 1)
[T]hings that students do such as ‘psyching out’ teachers, figuring out how to get certain grades, ‘beating the system’, dealing with boredom so that it is not obvious to teachers, negotiating the best deals on reading and writing assignments, threading the right line between curricular and extra-curricular activities, and determining what is likely to be on the test and what is not.
(Fenstermacher, 1994, p. 1)
STUDENTING

6. Studenting is what students do while in a learning situation
Studenting is what students do while in a learning situation. conducive to learning conforms with the teacher’s wishes
OR NOT
OR NOT
STUDENTING

7. gaming
conforming
learning
studenting
GAMING

8. METHODOLOGY Observation Phase Taxonomy Building Taxonomy Testing
lots of observation in many classrooms
short interviews (audio), field notes, video
Taxonomy Building
continuous analysis (grounded theory)
looking for contexts and saturation in contexts
Taxonomy Testing
focused observation, field notes, interviews
analytic induction
METHODOLOGY

9. INITIAL CONTEXTS now you try one (PME 2013*) homework (PME-NA 2013*)
grade 10
homework (PME-NA 2013*)
grade 10-12
note taking (TBD)
grade 12 …
* with Darien Allan
INITIAL CONTEXTS

10. N=33
catching up on notes (n=0)
NOW YOU TRY ONE

11. N=33
NOW YOU TRY ONE

12. HOMEWORK Grade N n Marking 10 32 20 random check for completion 30 1131
random selection of questions marked 33
not marked 12 28
HOMEWORK

13. HOMEWORK Marked (n=60) Not Marked (n=40) Didn't Do It 15 16 Got Help
Marked
(n=60)
Not Marked
(n=40)
Didn't Do It 15 16
Got Help 18 12
I forgot 5 3
Felt they would fail quiz 6 1
I was busy 4 2
Felt they would pass quiz
I tried, but I couldn't do it
Felt they would excel 9 8
I took a chance
Did it On Their Own 13 11
It wasn't worth marks
Mimicked from notes
Cheated 14
Did not mimic from notes
Copied 7
Mimicked but completed
Faked
Half homework risk
HOMEWORK

14. HOMEWORK Marked (n=60) Not Marked (n=40) Didn't Do It 15 16 Got Help
Marked
(n=60)
Not Marked
(n=40)
Didn't Do It 15 16
Got Help 18 12
I forgot 5 3
Felt they would fail quiz 6 1
I was busy 4 2
Felt they would pass quiz
I tried, but I couldn't do it
Felt they would excel 9 8
I took a chance
Did it On Their Own 13 11
It wasn't worth marks
Mimicked from notes
Cheated 14
Did not mimic from notes
Copied 7
Mimicked but completed
Faked
Half homework risk
HOMEWORK

15. HOMEWORK

16. NOTE TAKING USE NOTES TO STUDY N=30 don’t keep up n=16 don’t n=3 yes
don’t use notes
n=27
USE NOTES TO STUDY
N=30
NOTE TAKING

17. gaming
63%
gaming
90%
USE NOTES TO STUDY
NOTE TAKING

18. GAMING TAXONOMY OF GAMING NO FAÇADE (unintentional)
WITH FAÇADE
(intentional)
ALTERNATE IDEAS
preferred learning style
teacher is wrong
institutional norms
BEATING THE SYSTEM
avoidance
economy of action
doing being
practical rationality …
NO FAÇADE
(unintentional)
wrong objective
wrong rules
TAXONOMY OF GAMING

19. THEORIZING ABOUT STUDENTS
doing being … a student (Sacks)
practical rationality (Aaron)
law of least effort (Kahnemann)
motivation and avoidance (Hannula)
didactic tension (Mason)
goal regulation (Hannula)
self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan)
THEORIZING ABOUT STUDENTS

20. THEORIZING ABOUT TEACHERS
PROBLEMS PRESENTED IN OTHER RESEARCH:
are seen as social engineering → teaching methods are seen as solutions in need of a problem
are far removed from individual teachers’ classrooms
are seen as abstract or theoretical
represent an ideal
do not easily bridge to the practical
are often seen as systemic
THEORIZING ABOUT TEACHERS

21. THEORIZING ABOUT TEACHERS
THESE RESULTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, …
are recognizably problematic
are a recognizable reality
have verisimilitude
are familiar
provide a reality check
YET …
are seen as important to change
are within the realm of things that can be changed
THEORIZING ABOUT TEACHERS

22. QUESTIONS and ABUSE
Q & A

23. THANK YOU!

25. HOMEWORK Marked (n=60) Not Marked (n=40) Didn't Do It 15 16 Got Help
Marked
(n=60)
Not Marked
(n=40)
Didn't Do It 15 16
Got Help 18 12
I forgot 5 3
Felt they would fail quiz 6 1
I was busy 4 2
Felt they would pass quiz
I tried, but I couldn't do it
Felt they would excel 9 8
I took a chance
Did it On Their Own 13 11
It wasn't worth marks
Mimicked from notes
Cheated 14
Did not mimic from notes
Copied 7
Mimicked but completed
Faked
Half homework risk
HOMEWORK

26. HOMEWORK