Rationale


 * How did we get here? **

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 Our group connected most with the student based approach to teaching. When reflecting on our time in the KSU MAT program and our experiences in student teaching, we have come to view the ultimate purpose of school is as a place to help students grow into thriving adults. In his conceptual memo, Michael discusses that the transfer of knowledge from person to person is one of the core components of school, but that the ultimate goal of this knowledge transfer is to prepare students for life as successful members of society (Holmquist). Therefore, what counts as learning centers around what the student experiences and how that develops and changes over time. Jenna put it this way in her conceptual memo, "If we are graduating students who will become future voters, CEOs, thinkers, inventors, lawyers, judges, presidents, parents, etc., then schools //need// to be preparing students for the multitude of responsibilities that are essential to real world situations and mature citizenry--whether it be for our students to achieve higher education in college, hold a job, support themselves and/or a family, or to become the next Steve Jobs or president of the United States (Gerlach ). =====

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If the core function of school is the transfer of knowledge, and goal of the this transfer is the growth of students from adolescents to adults, then the ELA classroom and the study of literature in general becomes a unique and invaluable vehicle for the accomplishment of these goals. As Kim mentions in her conceptual memo, "Literature gives students a medium in which to explore their beliefs and to explore themselves. It is a world they can explore safely from their seats or couches, giving them the opportunity to see how other cultures or individuals function in a different setting/environment/ belief system (whether religious, political, personal, etc). Furthermore, literature helps students find their own voice" ([|Moulton]). =====

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The ideas expressed in each of our conceptual memos and it was only natural that we formed a group that would focus on a student-centered approach to teaching. As we studied the list of optional texts for this project we were most intrigued by Judith Langer’s //Envisioning Literature// that discusses a process of student interaction with literature. =====

**Envisioning Literature and Langer's "Stances"**

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We think that literature can be a vehicle that allows teachers to take students through a process where they engage with texts and continually develop their understanding of the world. We found the process of Envisionment, as developed by educator Langer, provides teachers with a means in which students can experience texts and develop their understanding of themselves and the world. Langer writes, =====

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"I use the word Envisionment to refer to the world of understanding a particular person has at a given point in time…we can think of Envisionment building as an activity in sense-making, where meanings change and shift and grow as a mind creates its understandings of a work. There is a constant interaction (or transaction, as Louise Rosenblatt [1978] calls it) between the person and the piece, and the particular meaning that is create represents a unique meeting of the two" (Langer 10, 15). =====

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Envisionment happens through a process of moving through different stances as one encounters a text and begins to try to understand that text. There are four stances in Envisionment and each one can happen at any given time and in a circuitous manner. In other words, although Langer writes about them in a linear fashion, she is quick to point out that a student reading //Huckleberry Finn// may not necessarily follow one set path on the his or her journey to understanding the novel and self. =====

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 That being said, the first stance starts with the reader being outside the Envisionment and then stepping in as they begin to read. This is where the reader builds what Langer calls a “text world” that the reader with moving "into, out of, and through" (Langer 17). In the first stance, the reader can only use what little information is readily available to them upon first encountering a text: the title, the basic words on the page--any clues available to try and make some sense of the "text world" we are experiencing. In the case of "The Most Dangerous Game," the text we have selected for our inquiry study, students might first formulate opinions based on their understanding of the word "game" and what could potentially be dangerous about playing a game. Upon reading the first parts of the text, students will begin to formulate opinions on the characters, setting, plot, etc in order to situate themselves in the world they are encountering. =====

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 Stance 2 is when the reader moves though an Envisionment that starts with surface understanding or personal knowledge and then begins to become more in-depth as the reader becomes immersed in the text. Langer says, "This is the time when meaning begets meaning; we are caught up in the narrative of a story…in this stance we call upon our knowledge- of the text, ourselves, others, life and the world-to elaborate on and make connections among our thoughts, move understandings along, and modify our shifting sense of what the piece is about" (Langer 18). This stance is marked by guessing meaning and then testing that meaning. In this stance, the students go beyond the surface understandings and begin "asking questions about motives, feelings, causes, interrelationships, and implications" of and within the text world (Langer 18). This is a place where the students explore what the text "might" mean (Langer 19). In the case of "The Most Dangerous Game," students experiencing this stance might be making inferences about the character motivations behind General Zaroff's decision to live alone on a deserted island, the implications of Rainsford's decision to investigate the gunshots, or the causes of Zaroff's propensity to seek larger and more cunning game to hunt. =====

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Stance 3 has the reader move out of the text world and reorganizing what he or she knows and understands. This is where the text world begins to influence the real world of the reader. In this stance the reader takes the understanding that starts to develop while inside the text world and then shifts outside to their personal world--focusing on what "those ideas [from the text] mean for our own lives, ideas, and knowledge" (Langer 19). In this stance, students reading "The Most Dangerous Game" would consider what they would do if they were put in Rainsford's situation. They might consider the ethical implications Zaroff's "human hunting" has, or would have in modern society. This would be the stance where the student could make connections to modern day situations and events that might have similarities or echoes of the themes and concepts Connell's story. Langer writes, “The Envisionment illuminates (and influences) life, and life illuminates (and influences) the Envisionment” (Langer 19). This is where Langer connects with our principles of teaching ELA because this is exactly what we want to see happen in our students, for the literature that they read in our English classrooms to influence and illuminate their lives and hopefully grow them in their understanding of themselves and the world. =====

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The fourth stance is again stepping out, but it takes the understanding away from the person and puts it back on the text. This is where the reader reflects or analyzes the text and if possible makes connections to other texts (Langer 20). Ideally, this stance is where the student formulates their own "stance" on the concept and makes a decision of how they feel about the concepts or themes, on a personal level, and might notice a chance in that feeling or understanding as a result of reading the text. Students in this stance would make connections to other texts they have read, or experienced, and might add allusions to the text in order to deepen the understanding. In terms of "The Most Dangerous Game," students in this stance might relate the themes or events of the text to a movie that they have seen (possibly "Surviving the Game" (1994), "The Tournament" (2009), etc) or another text that they have read (potentially Suzanne Collins' //The Hunger Games//). This stance also allows students to judge or critique the text in terms of its structure, perspective, and significance, allowing the students to determine how effective the text is at presenting its concepts and ideas in context of these intertextual connections the student has made. Again, it should be noted that these stances do not happen in neat, sequential order with a certain time allotted for each stance. The process is messy and stances can be switched in and out of in a matter of moments as the Envisionment grows and changes. =====

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Finally, a reader leaves the Envisionment and transfers the understanding from one particular text to another, unrelated situation. Langer notes that this stance happens the least often as a person’s understanding is continually growing and evolving. This might be when a student later watches a cop show on television and notes the prevalence of the "man hunt" narrative or when a student listens to a song or a news report and is reminded in some manner of a motif, theme, or image from the text. =====

**Why Envisionment?**

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The ultimate purpose of Envisionment plays out in the classroom best through discussion and reflective writing. Langer shares examples of teachers who implement Envisionment in their classrooms from elementary to high school and how this process can apply across the age spectrum. This process is social and it takes the discussion and understanding of others for a reader to fully develop an Envisionment of a text. This is why the process works so well in classrooms. Langer reflects on a particular class where Envisionment was taking place: =====

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"After getting to know one another better, the openness, willingness to assume others’ perspectives, an willingness to disagree and confront one another increased greatly, but always with sensitivity and support. These are the types of discussions that students should learn to engage in, where they have room to explore topics that ouch their lives, to use the text, related literature, and the author’s life, as well as one another’s and their own. What a preparation for life, if students can learn to interact in a community where their ideas can stimulate new awareness’s and possibilities, and where the reading of literature can assume a profound role in their social as well as cognitive development" (Langer 54). =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This is the ultimate purpose of Envisionment and it aligns perfectly with our group’s idea of the ultimate purpose for ELA and school in general. The Envisionment process not only teaches students how to take a text and set about understanding what it says, but it also allows them the practice they need in communication and formulation of ideas before being launched into society as adults. As can be seen in the lesson plan break down and essential questions we have developed for the implementation of Envisionment in a future classroom, the discussion of a particular theme such as survival is the vehicle to be used so that students can begin to examine their understanding of themselves, their lives, and their ability to give voice to their ideas and engage with the opinions of others. =====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Proposed Texts, Learning Strategies, and Activities for Envisionment**

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> We propose the study of the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell as one possible text through which students can engage in the Envisionment process. We chose this text because of its exciting story line and theme of survival. We have planned first for the students to be introduced to the idea of survival and to begin to explore their previous knowledge of the concept through a scenario based activity. This would occur on the first day of the unit and prepare students not only for the theme of survival but also the process of thinking, reflecting, and discussing. Before ever reading the first line of the story, the students can skip into the second stance of envisionment, interacting with the themes and ideas that they will experience in the story itself. Students begin creating their own idea of survival, which they can take into "The Most Dangerous Game" as they begin reading. =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">As students read the story, they will begin to express their understanding through reflective journal entries, and eventually, through their preparation for and participation in a Socratic seminar. The reflective journal entries will help students track their experiences in each of the different stances, as each prompt is designed to coincide with a different stance. At the end of the unit, students can read back through their journals and witness how their thinking and understanding has grown and developed. Through the Socratic seminar, we plan to engage students in the discussion and thereby build the community of shared Envisionment that Langer described. Depending on the different questions students bring to the seminar, the discussion could cover any and all of the stances. Students will likely connect the text to the real world and their lives, privileging Stance 3, and may make connections to other texts, a segment of Stance 4. =====

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Additionally, the students will encounter two informational texts--a BBC News article and an article from the DailyMail (UK) in which the notions of "virtual reality" and "human hunting" are explored and questioned. Students will tackle these two texts in small groups with the help of guiding questions that will encourage them to respond to and interact with more modern, current examples of the issues our unit is considering. Along with the journal entries, informational texts, and Socratic seminar we have planned for students to progressively write a piece of fiction of their own that will be shared with the class on the fifth and final day of the unit in what we call the Feather Circle. This method of writing instruction where students journal and then form pieces of short fiction for public sharing was taught to us by Dr. Aaron Levy in ENGL 7735. This would allow students to demonstrate their understanding they have internally developed while reading “The Most Dangerous Game.” We have offered students two different prompts that share similar themes, allowing students to pick the format that appeals the most to them. This gives students the power to control their self discovery, as they can select either approach. If we were to dictate that every student write an "I Remember," we would risk limiting some students from reaching the highest level of self discovery. =====

====<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This multilayer process of self reflection and community discussion is exactly the type of methodology that Langer lays out in her book on Envisionment. And it is exactly the type of classroom activities that we believe foster the type of learning where students grow in their understanding of themselves and the world. The final products for this unit would be participation in the Socratic seminar, the piece of short fiction for the Feather circle, an ongoing reflective journal and a 30 minute timed write for students to detail any changes in their thought process that have occurred in their thinking throughout the week. Each of these products should give the students a chance to voice the understandings they are developing as they form their Envisionment and weave through the different stances of the process. ====

====<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The ultimate outcome for this unit, and indeed for a class that implements Envisionment, is for students to engage with a text that allows them to grow their understanding of themselves and the world. We hope that this will be a characteristic of our future classrooms as well as the unit plan we have developed around our study of Langer’s book. In the end we found that Langer’s process put names to what we feel like we already try to accomplish in our student teaching placements. After having read Langer, we now feel that we can better describe what we hope our students will accomplish in our classrooms. Our ultimate outcome for our students is one that is not be measurable on a standardized test nor indeed would fully be realized in a year or semester long classroom. What we want to be is one piece in a chain of understanding our students move along as they progress in school, and only after years of development and time out in society as adults will we fully know if our goals for our classrooms were realized. But, we feel that the Envisionment process and activities that allow students to engage with meaningful literature will allow us a good chance of fostering this process of growth in our classrooms. ====

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> For more information on our process, products, and outcomes please visit all the pages on our wiki site. Also, for more a concise and comprehensive look at the Envisionment process visit ** []. ** ====