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The author reflects on her experience teaching undergraduate children's literature over several semesters and the impact of her action research study on her teaching. Using theoretical concepts of Third Space (Bhabha, 1994; Soja, 1996), the author examines the evolution of her philosophy of education and classroom practice. The author determines that students and teacher can co-construct the curriculum while still adhering to the institutionally approved course objectives. The importance of hybrid dialogues in creating a re-imagined classroom is described, as well as strategies to improve classroom discussions, activities and student assessments.
Ask any teacher or student to describe classroom space and you will likely get a response about the physical environment of the room or building as it is perceived through the senses. While the freedoms and constraints of mappable classroom spaces are always important for instruction and learning, it can be argued that classrooms are also filled with other types of social spaces which should be explored. These spaces, which may not be consciously recognized, can be very influential in the learning that goes on within the walls of the institution.
The work of critical theorists such as Freiré (1970), Giroux (2005), and hooks (2003) illuminates the need to interrogate and transform oppressive social conditions including important educational spaces. The lens of critical pedagogy exposes the traditional roles and familiar scripts which can be a detriment to the co-construction of new knowledge. If students and teachers learn to recognize and challenge these social roles, the result can be a rich collaboration which can inform the curriculum, increase flexible teaching, modify learning roles, and promote unscripted dialogue in which there is equality of participation (Cook, 2005; Gutierrez et al., 1995; Moje et al., 2004). This is especially important in a college classroom where student voices and experiences can be stifled and marginalized by the academic authority of the instructor or institution (Jickling, 2003; Mauk, 2002).
I began my investigation of social spaces in the classroom because I needed to solve a persistent problem which worried me in my undergraduate courses. Students appeared engaged and gave consistently high marks on course evaluations, yet I was not convinced that student learning would transfer beyond my classroom walls to other academic and life spaces. I also...