La Clase Mágica by Vasquez Olga A.;

Author:Vasquez, Olga A.; [Olga A. Vásquez]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1474646
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

the growing expertise of the novice (Vygotsky, 1978). As the students gained more expertise. I retreated to the role of collaborator.

The course activities provided ample opportunities for the students to engage in decision making, problem solving and self-reflection, as well as opportunities to "try out" the roles of Amigo(a) and Amiguito(a). As Amiguitos, or novices, they prepared presentations of the required readings and posted a summary of the course discussion on the listserve for the class and the Mellon Consortium (in lieu of reflecting upon their experience in a letter to El Maga).8 As Amigos(as)—more expert peers—the rest of the students supported their classmates' presentations to help them achieve a greater understanding and consequently a better presentation of the readings. They read the material in advance, focusing on specific strategies that would help the presenters give a lucid and well-informed presentation. Throughout the presentation, some helped the Amiguitos (presenters) define the main idea and key concepts of the readings Others offered new information and personal experiences when appropriate. Others still brought visual aids and specially selected examples from the site to exemplify the theoretical concepts in the readings. At the end of the session, a couple of students were assigned to assess their Amiguitos' performance by filling out a Record Progress Form—analogous to the children's Journey Log— where they commented on the presenters' level of performance; noted useful strategies employed by the presenteers; and suggested ways to improve the presentation(s). These assessments were handed to the presenters to use in a fieldnote on the session—simulating the reflection exercise in the Task Cards. The format allowed students to sample first hand the multiple identities the project offers: Amiga, Amiguito, beginner, expert, collaborator, researcher, implementer, and authority figure—one student volunteered each week to write a comment to the class as Maga.

Although many of the students nevertheless experienced culture shock in the first session, overall, the course was a great success. Class discussions were dynamic, informed, and instructive. The following exceipt from a student's Self-Reflection, a final requirement asking students to track their own development across the course, is representative of the overall assessment of the student's reaction to this approach:

What I enjoyed most about the course and visits to site was the ability to incorporate what I learned from the course readings with my experience at site. The interaction between theory presented in the readings and the practical application at site was very significant in my own learning and developmental process. I thought the readings were especially interesting and applicable to the to the environment at La Clase Mágica. The structure of the class in terms of the presentations and discussions was also a welcome change to the traditional lecture style courses at UCSD. I learned through the continual exchange of knowledge between the participants of the class. The structure of the course allowed for a more complete understanding of the concepts introduced by the readings.

[TN/Winter 1996: Self Reflection]

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