Creating an own movie....

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 technology - Reflexive Essay

Sema Culhaci
Language technology workshop
Reflexive Essay
7/31/10


What it means to me to be technophobe

During the language technology workshop I became aware of the fact that I am "technophobe". But what
exactly does it mean to fear technology? Do I just hesitate to use language technology in my classroom or
does it imply that I am scared of being controlled by technology? Indeed, I have to reflect on this in order to better understand what it means for me and the use of technology in my language classes.
Indeed, i fear a lot of things: I am scared of spiders, of heights, of uncontrollable moments, of walking on thin ice on frozen lakes as well as failing an important exam. Whenever I am confronted with these things, I become overwhelmed by my feelings and cannot think raisonably. My feelings control what I do and think and I do not feel comfortable - I just want to escape from that particular situation. I feel helpless and a am exposed to this uncontrollable situation. Unfortunately, I do not need to be directly confronted with those fears because it seems to be mentally stored in my subconscious. Being aware of my reactions regarding my fears, I can gain a better understanding of how this could affect the use of technology in the classroom.
Technology - especailly the means of new media - are really powerful in terms of being uncontrollable in certain moments. Even the best lesson plans and the thoroughly prepared teaching materials are useless when you face technical problems like a power breakdown, a white screen on your laptop where there is supposed to be displayed the teaching material or simply the complex software of a computer program. During my work experience, I faced similiar problems and all the feelings I mentioned above arised. I was uncertain of what to do, I wanted to escape but of course I could not so I was exposed to technology and I was not in power anymore. I think this is what I fear the most - the loss of power. That is a fundemental reason why I would probably avoid using too much technology because I do not want to feel this these moments. I know about the positive effects but my  fear of technology inhibits the use of it. I am technophobe and what does it mean to me? I think I have to overcome my fears and be more relaxed and open towards technology. The language workshop helped me to figure out my attitude towards the use of technology.

Language class - Journal II

Sema Culhaci
Language Development
Journal II
7/31/10


Journal II

Teach Knowledge, Not "Mental Skills" by E.D. Hirsch

The text "Teach Knowledge, Not "Mental Skills" by E.D. Hirsch gave me an interesting insight into a perspective I normally would disagree with.

Hirsch seems to be an opponant of the "[...] "learning-to-learn, "critical thinking skills" and "problem-solving skills" [...]" (Hirsch, 115). Rather, he puts emphasis on the content knowledge in order to foster the academic skills of less capable students who stuggle with those learning targets at school. These approaches mentioned above sum up what i believe should be concretely realized by education. Stundents should go far beyond mere content knowledge in order to learn to think critically, to ask questions and to doubt social conventions. Furthermore, they can learn to cope with everyday problems by learning about certain problem-solving strategies. I am aware of the fact that school is concerned with fill students with content knowledge they are tested on; thus, you could facilitate this problem by training learning strategies. Problem-solving, critical thinking and learning strategies are highly significant and so I am ciritcal towards the core-knowledge schools which are more concrete and merely content-based. What is the outcome of such schools? The student learn by heart and they are tested on knowledge that might be useful to them but in the long run it is simply ineffective to not teach them skills. Mental skills  - if trained intensively and on a regular basis - have a more long lasting effects on the students and they might use them in many contexts whereas mere knowledge can only be applied in certain contexts. Content-based knowledge helps the students to pass exams or to do well in the school system but i doubt that it prepares them for everday life and the problems they face.

All in all, I am against those core-knowledge schools and I would strongly disagree with the author to just teach knowledge and not mental skills.

Teaching in America - Critical Pedagogy

Sema Culhaci                                                                                            EWU Summer school 2010       
Responsive Essay                                                                                            Teaching in America
7/30/10                                                                                                               Sean Agriss


                                                   About the hidden curriculum


In your experience in education, describe a situation where you have seen aspects of critical pedagogy employed.

Dealing with aspects of critical pedagogy made me reflect on the various impacts it might have on teaching and learning within the four walls of a classroom. Personally, I have never thoroughly considered  the so called hidden curriculum - the " [...] unintended outcomes of the schooling process"  (McLaren, 212) - and the way it can manipulate both teachers and students.

Interestingly, the author points out that even stereotypical gender-specific behaviour are closely related to the operations of the hidden curriculum since they make us behave according to those beliefs we hold on to. The author illustrates his point by referring to classroom sexism; for instance, "[...]men speak more often and interrupt women." (cf. ebd.: 213). When teachers internalize such thinking patterns about typical behaviour, they act accordingly and the hidden curriculum becomes obvious.

All this made me think of an incident I had as a 9th grader at a German High school, when my teacher must have had certain beliefs about females in classroom. Indeed, I have always been a very out-going and impulsive student. Whenever i dealt with something I was personally interested in, I passionately discussed about a topic and I was actively involved in classroom interaction.This was espacially the case in my German and English and French as a foreign language classes.  In my maths class, however, it was different since I stuggled with the topics and I could not handle the complex tasks. I believed myself to naturally incapable to do well at maths because I could not think logically and that just boys could excel in maths. My math teacher never encouraged me to questions my doubts about this and he has always asked a student sitting next to me to help me out since he was doing good at maths. My classmate Kathi was an expert on maths and she always participated with as much passion as I did in my language classes. When she wanted to help me with a task, the teacher would tell her that a male classmate should be giving me some advice since the task would be very complex and hard to handle. I remember that I agreed to the teacher even though I was aware of her talent in maths; nevertheless, I prefered the help of the male student. Today I know, that this must have been an effect of the hidden curriculum because both the teacher and me had internalized the belief that girls do not excel in maths.

Another time I felt that classroom sexism was obvious. In my maths classes, I was rather reserved since I was afraid of being asked to come to the whiteboard in order to present my results. Sometimes, I would talk about everything but not maths with my friend and this would disturb all the others. My teacher never saw that it was me who talked incessently but rather he would warn the student sitting next to me to stop talking.

He knew that I was calm but actually it was the guy sitting next to me who did not talk very much. Nonetheless, he was always warned. I think this refers back to the stereotype that boys talk more frequently than girls and my teacher did not expect me to disturb classroom interaction.

This experience shows that i have to think critically about my own beliefs and the aspects of the hidden curriculum for the sake of my future students who might suffer from that.

Writing Journal I

Sema Culhaci
Language Development
Journal I
7/28/10


Writing Journal I

"What true education should do"

The text "What True Education Should Do" by Sydney J. Harris made me reflect on my own concept of
education. Interestingly, the author points out that  pupils might conceive education as "[...] a sort of animate sausage casing." This metaphor implies that you have to fill the case with more or less meaningful content until it is full of knowledge that you might can use in different contexts. But how can you fill this - metaphorically speaking - empty sausage case?
Undoubtedly, you might need the help of a teacher who could function as either a mentor, a guide, an instructor or an instant reference book. Regardless of which role a teacher performs, the prilimary concern should be the students' indentity formation, acquisition of meaningful world knowledge and the development of human skills. Thus, the teacher might help his students to become an active and self-reliant member of society.
Is that what true education is about? I believe that education is more than the mere  passive consumption of