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Papers by grinell smith

Teacher Education Quarterly, 2019

This case describes one university's journey to embed social, emotional, and cultural learning (S... more This case describes one university's journey to embed social, emotional, and cultural learning (SEC) deeply into a three-semester combined multiple-subject credential and MA program centered on social justice. The authors describe stages of program development and point to key anchor competencies they believe essential for be-Trust Your Team 68 ginning teachers and critical to enabling them to teach social-emotional learning skills in culturally sustaining classrooms. The authors describe course activities, readings and assessments and the development of "throughlines" connecting key concepts and essential practices across courses, concluding with the challenges of integrating the many theories that inform this work.

Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2013

The primary objective of this paper is to suggest a mechanism by which current trends in public e... more The primary objective of this paper is to suggest a mechanism by which current trends in public education, in particular the rise of externally defined numerical metrics of achievement to define school success, operate to shape school policy, curriculum and practice. Here, we argue that the modern school’s focus on the cognitive dimension of learning in combination with the extensive use of standardized tests as primary evidence of a quality education exploit students as a particular kind of commodity: one that is held in common. This opens the door for a pernicious set of predictable outcomes, known collectively as ‘tragedies of the commons’, first described by the ecologist Garrett Hardin in 1968. From our perspective as researchers, we first describe how a tragedy of the commons can arise in schools. Next, we present a description of a tragedy of the commons at a particular school, illustrating how the school deals with external accountability pressures as would be predicted by the logic of the tragedy of the commons, and how these pressures shape school policy, curriculum and practice. Finally, we suggest how these pressures might be attenuated by purposefully building a strong sense of school community that fosters communication and trust.

Science & Education, 2017

The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending si... more The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending significant instructional time on science in their future classrooms despite their self-assessed lack of confidence about teaching science and other impediments (e.g., highstakes testing practices that value other subjects over science). Pre-service teachers in science methods courses explored connections between science and ethics, specifically around issues of ecological sustainability, and grappled with their ethical responsibilities as teachers to provide science instruction. Survey responses, student Bquick-writes,^interview transcripts, and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that helping pre-service teachers see these connections may shape their beliefs and dispositions in ways that may motivate them to embark on the long road toward improving their science pedagogical content knowledge and ultimately to teach science to their students more often and better than they otherwise might. The approach may also offer a way for teachers to attend to the moral work of teaching.

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2013

A critical look at the role of technology as a transformative agent

Schools Studies in Education, 2012

Developing a sustainability plan at a large U.S. college of education

Technology Humanities Education and Narrative, 2011

Science and Children, Jul 1, 2008

Pre-service teachers need to question their taken-for-granted beliefs and biases about their stud... more Pre-service teachers need to question their taken-for-granted beliefs and biases about their students. Hermeneutics is a philosophical perspective that uncovers the subjectivity of our perceptions and can help students understand the necessity of questioning biases. This study explored what happened when pre-service teachers undertook an action research project with their students and analyzed qualitative data with a hermeneutical stance. Data consisted of audio-recorded class dialogues about readings on hermeneutics, interviews, student papers, and pre and post surveys. The data revealed that hermeneutics helped pre-service teachers: become aware of their biases; question their initial interpretations; and assume a self-reflective stance toward teaching.

Teacher Education Quarterly, 2019

This case describes one university's journey to embed social, emotional, and cultural learning (S... more This case describes one university's journey to embed social, emotional, and cultural learning (SEC) deeply into a three-semester combined multiple-subject credential and MA program centered on social justice. The authors describe stages of program development and point to key anchor competencies they believe essential for be-Trust Your Team 68 ginning teachers and critical to enabling them to teach social-emotional learning skills in culturally sustaining classrooms. The authors describe course activities, readings and assessments and the development of "throughlines" connecting key concepts and essential practices across courses, concluding with the challenges of integrating the many theories that inform this work.

Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2013

The primary objective of this paper is to suggest a mechanism by which current trends in public e... more The primary objective of this paper is to suggest a mechanism by which current trends in public education, in particular the rise of externally defined numerical metrics of achievement to define school success, operate to shape school policy, curriculum and practice. Here, we argue that the modern school’s focus on the cognitive dimension of learning in combination with the extensive use of standardized tests as primary evidence of a quality education exploit students as a particular kind of commodity: one that is held in common. This opens the door for a pernicious set of predictable outcomes, known collectively as ‘tragedies of the commons’, first described by the ecologist Garrett Hardin in 1968. From our perspective as researchers, we first describe how a tragedy of the commons can arise in schools. Next, we present a description of a tragedy of the commons at a particular school, illustrating how the school deals with external accountability pressures as would be predicted by the logic of the tragedy of the commons, and how these pressures shape school policy, curriculum and practice. Finally, we suggest how these pressures might be attenuated by purposefully building a strong sense of school community that fosters communication and trust.

Science & Education, 2017

The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending si... more The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending significant instructional time on science in their future classrooms despite their self-assessed lack of confidence about teaching science and other impediments (e.g., highstakes testing practices that value other subjects over science). Pre-service teachers in science methods courses explored connections between science and ethics, specifically around issues of ecological sustainability, and grappled with their ethical responsibilities as teachers to provide science instruction. Survey responses, student Bquick-writes,^interview transcripts, and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that helping pre-service teachers see these connections may shape their beliefs and dispositions in ways that may motivate them to embark on the long road toward improving their science pedagogical content knowledge and ultimately to teach science to their students more often and better than they otherwise might. The approach may also offer a way for teachers to attend to the moral work of teaching.

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2013

A critical look at the role of technology as a transformative agent

Schools Studies in Education, 2012

Developing a sustainability plan at a large U.S. college of education

Technology Humanities Education and Narrative, 2011

Science and Children, Jul 1, 2008

Pre-service teachers need to question their taken-for-granted beliefs and biases about their stud... more Pre-service teachers need to question their taken-for-granted beliefs and biases about their students. Hermeneutics is a philosophical perspective that uncovers the subjectivity of our perceptions and can help students understand the necessity of questioning biases. This study explored what happened when pre-service teachers undertook an action research project with their students and analyzed qualitative data with a hermeneutical stance. Data consisted of audio-recorded class dialogues about readings on hermeneutics, interviews, student papers, and pre and post surveys. The data revealed that hermeneutics helped pre-service teachers: become aware of their biases; question their initial interpretations; and assume a self-reflective stance toward teaching.

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