Today, we had an interesting workshop at the Washington State University with focus on engaging students by means of new technologies. As I mentioned before, I am "technophobe" and so I am very reluctant towards new technologies but in this workshop, we got to know several programs, which could be used in our future classroom. Personally, I had a lot of fun exploring "xtranormal" - an online movie maker and after some theoretical input, we had the chance to create our own movie. The result is the following:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6964671/
The scenario shows an interview with David Letterman and me concerning my experience here in the US in a more or less ironic manner. I enjoyed this experience creating my own movie because it was easy to handle, it concerned my life and I am a visual learner so I benefited from the different components the software offered.
Samstag, 21. August 2010
Freitag, 13. August 2010
What a challenge...
Actually I do not like challenges. I feel most confortable when I can predict what I am doing and everything is going the way I have planned. Since I am in the US, I face a lot of challenges: I cope with different opinions and cultural differences, I eat raw fish (sushi!), I try to overcome fears of expressing myself properly in English. Today, there was a different challenge I had to take: hights. Yes. I am scrared of hights. I tremble when I climb up some stairs of a latter, I get nervous when I am on a bridge and I both enjoy but I am frightend when I go up the Space Needle in Seattle to have a tremendous view of the city. Today, I wanted to overcome this obstacle and the sport challenge was a good opportunity to do so...I climbed up a poll which was about 5-7 m high and i can still feel the shivers running down my spine. It was awesome to overcome my fear and to be stronger than it. What a challenge!
Language class - Evaluation Essay
Sema Culhaci
Language class
Responsive Essay
8/11/10
Language class
Responsive Essay
8/11/10
When Freedom Meets Education
„We should cherish our Children's freedom to think“ proclaims Kie Ho (112) and relates to the most important value of the US educational system: freedom. In his same essay by name he rigidly attempts to defend the US schooling system by highlighting the US students' remarkable skills to “[...] freely speak, write and be creative“ (114). The author emphasizes the aspect of creativity and thinks that education is not about acquiring as much content knowledge as possible. What exactly is his opinion about this topic and which arguments are being put forward to support his view? Indeed, he seems to have a one-sided line of argumentation and this can be seen by evaluating his arguments.
Kie Ho explains that both Americans and Immigrants complain about the US educational system and he gives several concrete sample cases to illustrate this point. He then asks why these people cannot appreciate the US education since it is “[...]the country of innovation“ (113). Referring to an art exihibition run by US High school students, Ho underlines the students' creativity and the potential of the American system since school “[...]provided these children with opportunities and direction to fulfill their creativity“ (113). He then includes his personal experiences by telling that his son used to confuse the Argintinian capital Buenos Aires with Mexican food. Despite this lack of specific content knowledge, he argues that US students are able to express their ideas and thoughts and that it strengthens their self-esteem. Additionally, he talks about the traditional system and opposes it to the current American system. He regrets that he did not have “[...]a chance to choose, to make decision.“ (113). This means that he did not have the freedom that today's students might have with regard to critical thinking, expressing ideas and being creative. Nonetheless, he also criticizes the American system because it does not meet high standards in certain competencies. Despite to these concessions, he concludes that the US education system fosters the students' freedom to think and that the system “[...] is not perfect, but it is a great deal better than any other“ (114).
Indeed, Ho's essay is one-sided since he only tries to convince the reader that „the freedom to think“ (113) is the most beneficial aspect of the US system even though the US students do not succeed in the national standardized tests. Ho supports his idea by providing examples drawn from personal experience – for instance the art exhibition – to illustrate his point about the benefits of the US education system. In fact, he also considers other people's opinion by including counterarguments and concessions1, so he does not ignore other issues. Nonetheless, he fervently tries to see the US system in the light of its positive outcomes like creativity and the freedom to think. All in all, Ho does not have any objective evidence. Rather, he includes examples and so it is more a personal and non-scientific essay based on his personal experience and point of view. The examples he relates to are based on immigrant parents that complain about different aspects of content-based learning and their disappointment towards the schooling system. Are these examples trustworthy? Indeed, there is a lack of credibility because it is a personal essay and there are no statistics or other concrete data he could refer to.
Some arguments he presents are convincing but he could have left out counterarguments intentionally in order to have the balance between his point of view and opposing stances disrupted. For example, he does not present any facts about the failure and success of the US educational system. Therefore, he could conceal the fact that the system needs major improvements and cannot only be cherished because students are “[..] able to experiment freely with ideas.“ (113) Furthermore, Ho only states the negative aspects of the traditional schooling system because the students often had to memorize facts and the main focus was on acquiring content knowledge. Why is he only presenting it in a negative light? This lack of acknowledgement of traditional education strengthens his point of view because there is less caverage.
All in all, Ho has a clear point of view but it is based on personal experience rather than any objective evidence. Thus, it is more a personal statement on the current US educational system. Since he neither includes any expert statements nor facts, it is a populistic and not very convincing essay. Nevertheless, it is appropriate in this context and it appeals to the reader. I believe that Ho intends to see the US education in a positive light but he cannot do this without admitting that eduaction is more than creative thinking. When education meets freedom, free thinkers are fostered but it does not help them to stop believing that Buenes Aires is Mexican food.
Montag, 9. August 2010
Podcasts
Podcast s for Gina
Since you learned German and your native language is English I recommend you the following website for learning German on a basic level:
www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2548,00.html
The podcast "Deutsch - Warum nicht?" is designed for beginners and there is a series and it is about the journalism student Andreas and his adventures.
Each series has got a manual of how to use the podcasts, summary, grammar, translations and 26 audio stories that are easy to follow and contain different situations so that you could enrich your vocabulary.
There are exercises, dialogues and you can learn German with interesting and funny audio material. It contains authentic language but the dialogues are rather simple. Nonetheless, the language is creative and varied.
The good thing is that the instructions are in English so that you can navigate the site easily and it is also progressive. After you worked through the beginner series you could move on to the intermediate level.
I don't know if you like the stories but you learn a lot about German culture, places and there are some good expressions that you might use in real communicative situation.
So try it out!
Since you learned German and your native language is English I recommend you the following website for learning German on a basic level:
www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2548,00.html
The podcast "Deutsch - Warum nicht?" is designed for beginners and there is a series and it is about the journalism student Andreas and his adventures.
Each series has got a manual of how to use the podcasts, summary, grammar, translations and 26 audio stories that are easy to follow and contain different situations so that you could enrich your vocabulary.
There are exercises, dialogues and you can learn German with interesting and funny audio material. It contains authentic language but the dialogues are rather simple. Nonetheless, the language is creative and varied.
The good thing is that the instructions are in English so that you can navigate the site easily and it is also progressive. After you worked through the beginner series you could move on to the intermediate level.
I don't know if you like the stories but you learn a lot about German culture, places and there are some good expressions that you might use in real communicative situation.
So try it out!
Teaching in America - course reflection
Course reflections
The course "Teaching in America" was so different from what I had expected beforehand but I have learned so much in these two weeks by reflecting on education in the light of differences, similarities, problems but also strentghes of different schooling systems in comparision to the USA.
I really liked the format of the course since it was mostly based on discussions and our experiences with issues related to education. Of course we expanded our knowledge about teaching by looking at different aspects of the US educational system. We talked about "No child left behind" and "Race to the Top" and the impact it had on the educational system in the USA. I think this was one of the most valuable parts for me because I learned a lot about this. Furthermore, I enjoyed the exchange with the other international students since I we compared issues and discussed different topics.
I think that this course had contributed to a better understanding of teaching-related matters and I could reflect on our system in Germany . It has definitely broaden my mind and to talk about education and to think about problems in the light of critical pedagogy. We talked about idiology, hegemony and the hidden curriculum and it made me aware of the fact in what broad context teaching and learning is embedded. Education is tightly intertwined with history, politics and it has a lot to do with power realations. Thus, you can never look at it from one perspective.
I am glad i had the chance to participate in this course since I have gained a renewed understanding of important education-related matters.
The course "Teaching in America" was so different from what I had expected beforehand but I have learned so much in these two weeks by reflecting on education in the light of differences, similarities, problems but also strentghes of different schooling systems in comparision to the USA.
I really liked the format of the course since it was mostly based on discussions and our experiences with issues related to education. Of course we expanded our knowledge about teaching by looking at different aspects of the US educational system. We talked about "No child left behind" and "Race to the Top" and the impact it had on the educational system in the USA. I think this was one of the most valuable parts for me because I learned a lot about this. Furthermore, I enjoyed the exchange with the other international students since I we compared issues and discussed different topics.
I think that this course had contributed to a better understanding of teaching-related matters and I could reflect on our system in Germany . It has definitely broaden my mind and to talk about education and to think about problems in the light of critical pedagogy. We talked about idiology, hegemony and the hidden curriculum and it made me aware of the fact in what broad context teaching and learning is embedded. Education is tightly intertwined with history, politics and it has a lot to do with power realations. Thus, you can never look at it from one perspective.
I am glad i had the chance to participate in this course since I have gained a renewed understanding of important education-related matters.
Teaching in America - Developing a teaching philosophy
My teaching philosophy
I wonder if I am aware of my own teaching philosophy. What has an impact on my own beliefs and how did I developed it? Indeed, I have few teaching experience so I cannot claim to have a profound understanding of how teaching works most effectively and what has led to my own philosophy. Nevertheless, I believe that I have internalized a philosophy without being aware of it.
Teaching and learning are tightly interwoven. I think learning is a highly individual, active and complex process. Everybody has different learning styles and you construct meaning in many different ways so that acquisition of knowledge is always based on prior experiences and pre-existing knowledge. Therefore, the outcome is always different and you cannot teach without taking into account these aspects of learning.
As a teacher you are responsible for your students the essence of teaching should be clear. Students should be taught subject-related content knowledge but I also want to foster not only the stundens' academic but also social and emotional skills in order to make them actively participate in society.
As mentioned above, teaching is an active process based on experiences so I favor student-oriented teaching methods that are hightly communicative and meets the students' interests and concerns their everyday life. Since i study foreign languages, I want my students to use creative language in authentic communicative situations and I want them to explore the various facetts of the foreign language. Futhermore, I want to promote their communicative skills so that they learn to act in real life when they face a situation in the country of the target language. I think students learn the best if they have a rich learning environment with authentic material and interesting topics as well a connection to their reality. In the classroom, they should not be afraid of making mistakes in a fearful atmosphere. Peer learning and student- and action - oriented tasks are also good learning strategies and conditions since interaction is of great importance.
All in all, I do have a teaching philosophy and I think it has a lot to do with language acquisition and my affliation for languages. My philosophy connects to that important aspect of my life: languages and the process of acquiring and learning a language.
I wonder if I am aware of my own teaching philosophy. What has an impact on my own beliefs and how did I developed it? Indeed, I have few teaching experience so I cannot claim to have a profound understanding of how teaching works most effectively and what has led to my own philosophy. Nevertheless, I believe that I have internalized a philosophy without being aware of it.
Teaching and learning are tightly interwoven. I think learning is a highly individual, active and complex process. Everybody has different learning styles and you construct meaning in many different ways so that acquisition of knowledge is always based on prior experiences and pre-existing knowledge. Therefore, the outcome is always different and you cannot teach without taking into account these aspects of learning.
As a teacher you are responsible for your students the essence of teaching should be clear. Students should be taught subject-related content knowledge but I also want to foster not only the stundens' academic but also social and emotional skills in order to make them actively participate in society.
As mentioned above, teaching is an active process based on experiences so I favor student-oriented teaching methods that are hightly communicative and meets the students' interests and concerns their everyday life. Since i study foreign languages, I want my students to use creative language in authentic communicative situations and I want them to explore the various facetts of the foreign language. Futhermore, I want to promote their communicative skills so that they learn to act in real life when they face a situation in the country of the target language. I think students learn the best if they have a rich learning environment with authentic material and interesting topics as well a connection to their reality. In the classroom, they should not be afraid of making mistakes in a fearful atmosphere. Peer learning and student- and action - oriented tasks are also good learning strategies and conditions since interaction is of great importance.
All in all, I do have a teaching philosophy and I think it has a lot to do with language acquisition and my affliation for languages. My philosophy connects to that important aspect of my life: languages and the process of acquiring and learning a language.
Donnerstag, 5. August 2010
Language class - Journal III
Sema Culhaci
Language Development
Journal III
8/5/10
Journal III
The text "We should Cherish Our Children's Freedom to Think" by Kie Ho was a somehow creative and innovative view on education and its outcome. He emphasizes the aspect of creativity and opposes to the attempt of just teach content knowledge. A main focus of the text is the fact that students shouls be allowed to "[...] freely speak, write and be creative" (Kie, 114). I agree with this since this is the core element of a democratic organization of schools. Students' voices must be taken seriously and their freedom to express themselves critically must be ensured in an appropriate classroom environment. When achieving this, students' self-esteem raises and they can experiment experiment with ideas and feel free to say whatever they want without fearing any constraints. I like this aspect of being independent but I think it is very sad to see that nowadays lots of students lack general knowledge about important historical and political events. They cannot make connections between this general world knowledge and the concrete facts they are being taught at school. Rather this approach of having the freedom to think often leads to confusion and fuzzy concepts about the world. Thus I believe that a balance between creative ways of thinking and gaining knowledge through mere facts is of great importance.
Language Development
Journal III
8/5/10
Journal III
The text "We should Cherish Our Children's Freedom to Think" by Kie Ho was a somehow creative and innovative view on education and its outcome. He emphasizes the aspect of creativity and opposes to the attempt of just teach content knowledge. A main focus of the text is the fact that students shouls be allowed to "[...] freely speak, write and be creative" (Kie, 114). I agree with this since this is the core element of a democratic organization of schools. Students' voices must be taken seriously and their freedom to express themselves critically must be ensured in an appropriate classroom environment. When achieving this, students' self-esteem raises and they can experiment experiment with ideas and feel free to say whatever they want without fearing any constraints. I like this aspect of being independent but I think it is very sad to see that nowadays lots of students lack general knowledge about important historical and political events. They cannot make connections between this general world knowledge and the concrete facts they are being taught at school. Rather this approach of having the freedom to think often leads to confusion and fuzzy concepts about the world. Thus I believe that a balance between creative ways of thinking and gaining knowledge through mere facts is of great importance.
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