[Identity & learning : a zine project]
Capstone Project (B.A.) Liberal Studies Department
Abstract
Current educational practices and policies erode and ignore student's racial, cultural, socioeconomic, and gender identities forcing students to leave their unique characteristics at the classroom door in order to become socially acceptable. This erosion has many negative implications for students, including lack of motivation and interest in learning, failing, and dropping out. In the project, students created Zines, self-published self-distributed texts that include a variety of formats, mediums, and topics, with the goal of exploring and expressing their identity while meeting content standards. The objectives were to use what students bring into the classroom to motivate them to learn, to build an awareness and understanding of the identities of their peers, and most importantly to provide the students with the opportunity to become better rooted in their identity. The project outcomes include a Zine Teacher Guide that contains the projects goals, lesson plans, and students' achievements.