Dr. Leon James
Dr. Diane Nahl
(c)1979
Please study the structure or format of this matrix, until (i) you can reproduce it or correct one that has errors in it, and (ii) you understand it enough to be able to extend it or teach it to someone else. For example, can you devise different ways of setting up this matrix that are equivalent yet show its structure in different light? Solutions appear on the covers of this book and of the Readings.
"Phase I" refers to the first four weeks of the semester, and is defined by the Phase I Glossary Chart on p.22. During this time of study you will be doing a number of exercises (see p.126), and you'll have the opportunity of taking several formative quizzes on it (see p.6). At the end of the four-week study period, an exam will determine whether the class-as-a-whole has attained collective mastery,i.e., knowing this chart. If yes, the Phase II period begins (see p.43).
"Phase II" lasts for 8 weeks at the end of which time an exam is given to determine collective mastery attainment. Phase II is defined by Glossary Chart Segments Number 1.1 through 5.3 (see pp.23-37). Each numbered chart segment--15 in all--is an expansion of Phase I Chart, which will have been acquired. Thus, Phase I Chart entry [1.1] in the above table, is expanded, blown up into Phase II Chart No. [1.1] on p.2 3. The Phase II matrix looks like this:
| 1.1.a.1 | 1.1.b.1 | 1.1.c.1 |
| 1.1.a.2 | 1.1.b.2 | 1.1.c.2 |
| 1.1.a.3 | 1.1.b.3 | 1.1.c.3 |
| 1.1.a.4 | 1.1.b.4 | 1.1.c.4 |
Please study this chart carefully. Note that a Phase I entry is expanded into 4 Phase II entries. There are 45 lettered numbers in Phase I (e.g., l.l.a, 1.1.b, 1.1.c, 2.1.a, etc.), and each of these is expanded into 4 Phase II entries. Therefore, there are 45 x 4, or 180 entries in Phase II. These 180 entries are arranged UNDER the titles learned in Phase I.
Thus far, only the structural features of the topical matrix have been discussed. Now, concerning the content of each boxed entry, it is apparent that they are titles. Read over a list of titles of movies, books, plays, albums, songs; one gets a definite impression of a vast whole; one feels that much lies behind those titles, that they are "pregnant with content."
Thus it is with the Glossary Charts we've carefully prepared for your benefit. Each boxed entry is a title "pregnant" with much social psychological content. We've chosen this way to teach you social psychological content. FIRST, you learn a pure numerical matrix. This makes sense to you structurally, concretely. SECOND, you memorize titles for each hierarchical box. THIRD, you construct glossary annotations for each title by familiarizing yourself with the specified readings. FOURTH, you engage in peer activity and discussions for the purpose of building your understanding of the glossary charts, its structure and annotations. This brings you to the end of Phase II.
Towards the end of Phase II, if successful, the student will make the happy discovery that each boxed entry of the glossary chart may be used as a window. You look through the window to see what is inside; you see the backstage of social settings.
Each social psychological window is defined by four corners. There are 45 such windows (see Phase II Charts). To look through a window, look at the four corners and relate them to the title of the chart. For example, window [5.1.b] (p.3 5) is defined by the four corners [5.1.b.1], [5.1.b.2], [5.1.b.3], and [5.1.b.4]. One might verbalize this as follows:
"The four corners of the social psychological window I'm looking through are: Gossip, Island Graciousness, Peacemaking, and Ethnic Character. This window is titled, Neighborhood and Workplace, and appears under Ethnicity, along with Biography and Humankind as examples of psychospiritual forces of social evolution."
This much represents merely reading the glossary chart. You may now expand parts of this annotation on the basis of (a) your own understanding and (b) on the basis of the readings specified (see p. 188).
Consider the following as an example of an expansion on your own:
"1. Neighborhood and Workplace is the title for an essay you might write on 'What I know about the Social Settings designated as Neighborhood and Workplace.' "
"2. In this essay, I'm going to emphasize that side of 'Neighborhood and Workplace' which concerns 'Ethnicity,' i.e., how people in a 'neighborhood or workplace' 'label events.' " ["Ethnicity = labeling events," Reading Source B, p. 273]
"3. How people 'label events' in a 'neighborhood or workplace' has 'psychospiritual' consequences for 'community-building.' "
"Phase III" is the period covering the last two weeks and continues on after the semester, for your benefit and use. Phase III is the culmination of this approach, the "proof of the pudding." Now, if it's been successful, the student discovers that having learned the glossary chart, he or she can "topicalize scientifically," i.e., can produce paragraphs and brief arguments on the social psychology of everyday social settings. This result is possible in so far as the glossary chart (i) is structurally accurate, (ii) is titled judiciously, and (iii) is annotated in accordance with the specified Readings. The first two [(i) and (ii)] is an instructional factor, while the third [(iii)] depends on you. Let us hope both sides unite to win for all!
Two special notes should be kept in mind. One is that by studying the glossary chart, you are learning a new register; this new way of talking allows a new way of thinking and conceptualizing behavior in social settings. This conceptualization is formative and fits into the contemporary scientific register. Knowing this conceptualization will facilitate your comprehension of further and more advanced scientific training. We hope you'll help us prove or disprove this statement by letting us know your observations over the future semesters. DRA FORM ALUMNI-1 may be used for this purpose (available at the DRA Center, Gartley 213).
The second special note is that your glossary chart annotations will form the beginning study for the Spring 1980 Generation. Your friends and peers from your high school and throughout the Islands will be "standing on your shoulders of knowledge." They will start where you leave off. Your work enhances their learning. It is expected that Phase I could be cut to 2 weeks; Phase II to 4 weeks, leaving much more time for Phase III. In the same way, they will leave behind their work so that the next generation may go still further . . . This is the process of a living community! It offers an enriched learning environment for the direct study of the social forces of living community.
Collective mastery criteria will be used for Phases I, II, and III for earning collective points. The following learning objectives are pre-specified: 80 percent of the teams(composed of random groups of six students) must demonstrate the ability to do the following on a routine basis:
--for Phase I:
(a) being able to draw the topical matrix upon demand, and insert numbering system;
(b) being able to identify titles of the 65 boxes when given their numerical
values.
(c) being able to annotate the 65 titles in Phase I;
--for Phase II:
(a) being able to draw the topical matrix and insert numbering system;
(b) being able to identify the 180 titles when given their numerical values;
(c) being able to annotate the 180 titles in Phase II.
--for Phase III: being able to topicalize scientifically on community-building theory through "reading" of the glossary charts.
Collective points are deposited into the collective pool, as follows:
X points, when Phase I criterion is attained.
2(X ) points, when Phase II criterion is attained.
4(X) points, when Phase III criterion is attained.
SCHEDULE OF STUDY FOR GLOSSARY CHARTS
"Team activities" (see p. 126) are carried out in class at designated "segments of the lecture" (see p.6). Students pick a "team number" blind, by reaching into a box provided at the entrance, and team up with the other 5 who picked the same team number. Teams of six are thus made up at random each lecture. This procedure yields an unpredictable team composition, giving the class maximal opportunity to evolve behaviors dependent on collective activity.
A staggered schedule is used for studying "glossary charts" (see pp.22-37 ) so as to promote functional diversity or heterogeneity in group composition. This principle may be explained as follows. One may attempt to control the structural diversity or heterogeneity of student teams by making up teams on the basis of demographic variables namely, sex, age, ethnic background, high school attended, current major, grade point average, etc. On the other hand, one may attempt to control the functional diversity or heterogeneity of student-teams by making up teams on the basis of educational variables, namely, knowledge of course topics, or intention in carrying out a particular activity. (3.3.b.2)
The following staggered schedule is planned for study and acquisition of the glossary charts. Students receive a Class I.D. Number which they keep for the semester, and is used for facilitating staggered groups.
PHASE I: 4 weeks, approximately
STUDENT I.D. NUMBERS |
Week I (9/4) |
Week 2 (9/11) |
Week 3 (9/18) |
Week 4 (9/25) |
STUDY THE FOLLOWING GLOSSARY CHARTS
1-50 |
1.0 and 2.0 |
3.0 and 4.0 |
5.0 and 4.0 |
1.0 and 3.0 |
51-100 |
3.0 and 4.0 |
1.0 and 5.0 |
3.0 and 2.0 |
5.0 and 2.0 |
101-150 |
1.0 and 5.0 |
2.0 and 3.0 |
4.0 and 5.0 |
3.0 and 4.0 |
151-200 |
2.0 and 4.0 |
1.0 and 5.0 |
2.0 and 3.0 |
1.0 and 5.0 |
201-250 |
1.0 and 5.0 |
2.0 and 4.0 |
1.0 and 3.0 |
2.0 and 3.0 |
PHASE II: 8 weeks, approximately
STUDENT I.D. NUMBERS |
Week 5 (10/2) |
Week 6 (10/9) |
Week 7 (10/16) |
Week 8 (10/23) |
Week 9 (10/30) |
Week 10 (11/6) |
Week 11 (11/13) |
Week 12 (11/20) |
STUDY THE FOLLOWING GLOSSARY CHARTS
1-50 |
1.1 & 1.2 |
1.3 & 2.1 |
2.2 & 2.3 |
3.1 & 3.2 |
3.3 &4.1 |
4.2 & 4.3 |
5.1 & 5.2 |
ALL |
51-100 |
5.3 & 5.2 |
5.1 & 4.3 |
4.2 &4.1 |
3.3 & 3.2 |
3.1 & 2.3 |
2.2 & 2.1 |
1.3 & 1.2 |
ALL |
101-150 |
4.1 & 3.3 |
2.3 & 1.1 |
3.1 & 1.2 |
1.3 & 5.1 |
5.2 & 2.2 |
3.2 & 5.3 |
2.1 & 4.2 |
ALL |
151-200 |
2.2 & 3.1 |
3.2 & 5.2 |
5.3 & 3.3 |
2.1 & 2.3 |
1.1 & 1.2 |
1.3 & 4.1 |
4.3 & 5.1 |
ALL |
201-250 |
2.3 & 5.1 |
1.2 & 5.3 |
1.1 & 1.3 |
2.2. & 4.1 |
2.1 & 4.3 |
4.2 & 3.3 |
3.1 & 3.2 |
ALL |
COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL MASTERY CRITERION
You are already familiar with the unit mastery system of Psych 100. That is an instance of individual mastery system. This course is a community-classroom and has a collective mastery system as well as an individual mastery system.
Collective mastery criterion is defined at 80 percent attainment. Thus, in the case of any collective activity (see P.126), collective points are earned by the class when 80 percent of the registered students demonstrate attainment of the skill related to the purpose of the activity. In the case of any team activity (see p. 126), team points are earned by the members of a team when 80 percent of the teams attain the specified skill-level. In the case of any dyadic activity (see p. 126), dyadic points are earned by the two individuals of each dyad when 80 percent of the registered students who participated in such dyads and attained the requisite skill. Individual points are earned whenever a student attains a score of 80 percent on any individual activity (see p.126).
The individual mastery system of Psych 100 requires individual activities only, so that you may obtain an "A" for doing all the work on your own. In contrast, the collective mastery system in this community classroom of Psych 222 (2), requires collective activities in order to obtain an "A." Whereas in an individual mastery system you can earn an "A" solely on your own effort, in a collective mastery system, you can earn an "A" only with collective effort.
GLOSSARY CHARTS:
Phase I (p.22)
Phase II (p. 23-37)
Phase III (p. 43)
The learning opportunities created by community-classroom allow all of us to experiment with new ways of enhancing a person's learnings in the course. Topical focus refers to the ideas, readings, discussions, and exercises with which the students are collectively involved throughout the semester (and beyond). The Syllabus defines in advance the topical focus for the course. "Phase I Glossary Chart" (p.2 2) presents the frame terminology of a social psychology that concentrates on the understanding of community-building forces.
Thus, the student's first task regarding topical focus is to master this frame terminology. When the collective mastery criterion is attained Phase I is declared ended, and collective points are earned. Phase II then begins.
Phase II refers to the collective mastery of conceptual integration of community-building forces. This means that students acquire the skill to topicalize scientifically their understanding of the frame concepts.
In order to facilitate the acquisition of this topicalizing skill, students work with Phase II Glossary Charts that are provided, annotating the entries in the chart with explanations by familiarizing themselves with the readings specified in each chart.
Phase II Glossary Charts (pp. 2 3-31) are instructional programs developed throughout the work of Jakobovits and Gordon in "psycholinguistics" and in "ethnosemantics" (see: Reading Source "I," Series IV, Vol. l; and "C," Index). Essentially, these types of charts are notational representations of scientific arguments. Thus, by studying the Chart, students aquire scientific arguments implicitly. This is because the terminology in the Chart are arranged hierarchically to replicate their conceptual structure.
Phase II Glossary Charts" are studied only after "Phase I Chart" (p.2 2) is understood and known by the class. When Phase I is completed, students will be able to read Phase II Glossary Charts. This is because Phase II Charts are all made of terminology that fits within Phase I!! Students learn topical focus through these structured charts that work instructional programs and give students the ability to topicalize scientifically once they learn how to read these conceptual charts.
Students acquire the ability to read these conceptual integration charts through various activities: lectures, readings, team exercises, projects. When the collective mastery criterion is attained for Phase II (p.43), collective points are doubled, and Phase III begins.
COLLECTIVE LEARNING APPROACH FOR TOPICS IN COURSE
The usual procedure in the preparation of a sequence of lectures would be to assign in advance certain sections of a textbook, and then to "lecture" to the class on each of these topics. Hopefully, the sequence is well-chosen so that the "units" follow each other cumulatively. Of course, this is an ideal which is reached to an unknown extent, and we see it visibly accomplished only in programmed learning. It is a fact of educational life today, that it is almost entirely made up of a haphazard and subjectively determined content. For example, textbooks in social psychology are often written by several writers who need not be social psychologists, or researchers, or teachers. Often they are science writers and publishers. Now the amazing fact is that if we compare these journalistic textbooks with the textbooks written by famous social psychologists, we find to our greatest surprise that they are practically indistinguishable.
The important conclusion that we draw from this, is that true and valid cumulative learning units in a field, have not yet been reliably discovered.
The student should ponder this conclusion and think of it when reading a textbook chapter or when listening to a sequence of lectures. If the student experiences clarity, the indication is that the cumulative learning units are presented in a valid and learnable sequence. If the student experiences confusion, the indication is that the cumulative learning units presented in the textbook or in the lecture, are not valid--they are not learnable.
Consider what happens in the usual audience-lecture class. The lecturer talks and presents ideas in a sequence. The students listen and are either clear or confused. One would expect a distributional effect--maybe a bell-shaped curve. So, as the semester goes on, students "fall into categories: 10 percent are fairly clear, 40 percent are fairly confused, 15 percent are very confused, etc. This is then reflected in the grade distribution at the end.
Now consider an alternative to the above. This is what's being attempted in this course. The alternative may be called collective learning. In this kind of class organization, the students agree to a different procedure, and the instructor goes along with the students. The new procedure the students declare is this: "Henceforth in this course, for us and for all those who come after us in this course, grades shall represent the collective learnings we've achieved as-a-whole. It is the class as-a-whole that is going to be graded."
Now the pedagogic question becomes: What is a valid, cumulative learning unit for the class as-a-whole? That is: What shall be the sequence of topics in this social psychology course? What shall be the sequence of ideas that each lecture is to present?
This is now a crucial moment. It is tempting to draw up a list of topics, and to assign them to the syllabus, with dates and readings and assignments. But clearly, this would be a subjective decision; even if one consulted other sources such as journals, textbooks, and scholarly books. The fact remains that any pre-selection of topics, their sequence, and their level of detail, will be subjective.
How could this decision be made objectively?
One answer students may propose might be the following: 'Let us examine the sequence of ideas and topics which has been subjectively chosen, and which is based on the instructor's scholarly and professional experience. Let us relate to this topical sequence in such a way that we ourselves are going to determine the collective pace, and the collective sequence. This will insure that the sequence of ideas that the class ends up studying, is an objectively determined sequence. The determining choice of ideas, units, and their sequence is to be put into the hands of us, the students. Then from our hands, into our minds, on a collective basis. This will insure a proper developmental sequence of the conceptual units (or "DESOCS"). No new idea can be presented until the old one is collectively assimilated by the class as-a-whole. All new ideas will be laid aside unless they fit naturally and logically, along with the ideas already presented.'
This is an objective solution to the problem of selecting topics in social psychology, and it can be applied in a community-classroom where collective learning is instructionally provided for. The solution fits well into an educational philosophy of self-reliance within an intentional learning collectivity.
Students of the Fall 1979 Generation (namely, you!) will be the first such learning collectivity at the University of Hawaii, and since this is a local development, undoubtedly you'll also be the first in the world! This is worth mentioning officially as both honors and challenges are involved.
The following is then the sequence of ideas and topics which, in the experience of your instructor and his staff, is the most basic in social psychology. By this is meant the opinion of the teaching staff that the introductory study of social psychology is best when two criteria are satisfied:
(a) the topical content must present basic concepts; that is, ideas which are presumed or presupposed in the work of social psychologists, so that when you come to know basic concepts, you'll then be in a good position to understand the routine work of scientists in social psychology, and in psychology as-a-whole;