Week 6 Assignment 6-2

My students recently play Diablo quite often. It is an action role-playing hack and slash video game. Players can choose from three types of characters: the Warrior, the Rogue, and the Sorcerer. Each of them has various skills and attributes.

In this video game, the players are fully engaged and motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. For example, players will get rewards and improve their skills and levels, a kind of extrinsic motivators, if they play well in the fight. The role playing function in the video game allows players have explicit choice on their own, which enhance intrinsic motivation. The needs and increasing demands for skills and thinking offer the players a sense of challenge bit by bit which is an intrinsic motivator. In addition, the players can decide what equipment to purchase and where to fight, which give them a sense of control to improve their intrinsic motivators. The collaboration in group work to win the battle also engage players. The consequences of the game can be shared online so that players enjoy more. This game integrates both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators as well as the Six Cs to engage players.

Several of the motivator design in this game may be applied in my classroom. For example, as an extrinsic motivator, I can set rewards for top students who perform well in playing pianos. I can also group students and ask them to compete against each team, which give them a sense of challenge and collaboration to prompt their intrinsic motivators. In addition, I can also invite students to give mini-lesson in the classroom so that they have a sense of control and are more responsible.

Week 5-2

What caused them being bullied?

Although being bullied can be complex, there are some common causes for the occurrence of bully. As human beings, it is natural for students to form organizations and hierarchy (Smokowski & Kopasz, 2005). As such, the leaders in the organizations tend to show power and control over the weaker ones. Some common causes for bullying are listed as follows:

1)     Dysfunctional family background. Children from dysfunctional family background, such as family violence, are more likely to bully others to meet their inner needs.

2)     Need for power. Children who bully others enjoy the sense of control and power over others.

3)     Rewards from bullying. If children’s bullying behaviors are not prohibited or they even get some sweet fruits from the bullying, they and other children will be very likely to imitate the bullying (Dake et al., 2003).

What went wrong in the school system?

In the school system, the concepts that “kids are kids”, “it’s nothing big deal’, are the root for the bullying actions, which are completely wrong. Teachers and administrators tend to ignore or simply do not care for the bullying, thinking that children are just playing. This philosophy is totally wrong in the school system (Nicolaides & Smith, 2003).

What intervention and prevention strategies would you take if you were the teacher (when and how)? Please do your research first, and then discuss from the following perspectives: school environment, school policy, teachers' intervention, parents' involvement.

If I were the teacher, I would take the following intervention and prevention strategies.

•        Encourage children to speak out about their experience of being bullied (school environment & teachers’ intervention). This should be done prior to the bullying occurrence as a primary intervention.
•               Encourage collaboration and teach children how to solve conflicts properly (teachers’ intervention).
•         Ask parents to watch and talk to their children to learn about their experience of being bullied (parents’ involvement). This should be done prior to the severe bullying occurs.
•       Punish children who conduct bullying to others (school policy). This should be done after the bullying happens to show that bullying is a bad behavior. 

References

Dake, J. A., Price, J. H., & Telljohann, S. K. (2003). The nature and extent of bullying at school. Journal of school health, 73(5), 173-180.

Nicolaides, S., Toda, Y., & Smith, P. K. (2002). Knowledge and attitudes about school bullying in trainee teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(1), 105-118.

Smokowski, P. R., & Kopasz, K. H. (2005). Bullying in school: An overview of types, effects, family characteristics, and intervention strategies. Children & Schools, 27(2), 101-110.

Assignment 4-1 Educational Issues in U.S

In the documentary film Waiting for “Superman”, the director Davis Guggenheim criticizes the public education system in the United States using several examples of students who strive to be enrolled in charter schools. In this film, Davis Guggenheim blames the irresponsible teacher unions and the administrative bureaucracy, and teachers as the main reason for failures in educating children. Through this film, I learnt more about the educational issues in U.S.

First of all, the film Waiting for “Superman” blames the two teacher unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), as one reason for the current issues in the public education in U.S. The rules set by the unions result in difficulty and even inability to fire teachers who are poor at teaching but who have become tenured in the educational system. This group of teachers devotes less to the education and does not put children’s needs at their top priority. What makes the situation even worse is that the tenure is easy to achieve in public schools. As such, tenured teachers become lazy and reluctant to contribute. I agree with this point because becoming tenure means that someone will not be fired no matter how good or how bad he or she performs. As a result, they will lose the motivation and drive to work hard and to work for the best of their students as teachers. The unions and the educational system shall do something to set standards for tenure so that teachers are motivated to do well in educating (McPherson & Schapiro, 1999).

Another issue associated with the teacher unions is the lack of consistent regulations and disciplines towards the performance of teachers. Lacking of proper standards for excellent teaching is one aspect. This results in no evaluation methods for panels to judge how good or how bad teachers perform and how they shall be awarded or punished as a consequence. The inconsistent standards between expectations for teaching at levels of the school, state and the federal is another big issue in education in U.S. The conflicts in the standards for teaching expectation put teachers in dilemma (Ingersoll, 2002). I agree that a uniform teaching standards and expectations shall be established to regulate and evaluate teachers’ performance. Although the standards may be very fundamental, they do help in regulating and evaluating teachers.

In addition, the number of enrollment of children into the public education system is another great concern in the education system in U.S. As shown in the film, the chance of enrollment into chart schools is like luck draw. Children are given certain numbers and their administration depends on the drawing of the school. If they lose this round of lucky draw, they have no chance to be admitted again, which is very upset. This originates from the limited quota in the public education system (Manno, Finn & Vanourek, 2000). I totally agree that the limited quota in public school in U.S. becomes a great concern and issue over the entire nation. Efforts shall be made to improve this situation.

Furthermore, the film criticizes that students in U.S. fall behind in many subjects, such as reading proficiency, mathematics, as compared to students in other countries. It is stated that this educational issue eventually will jeopardize the development of the entire country. This view is consistent with the opinions of Peterson et al in their article “Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?”. Less than half of students’ performance reach the NAEP standard. They state that this issue should raise high attention because “if America is to maintain our high standard of living, we must continue to innovate….Math and science are the engines of innovation. With these engines we can lead the world” (Peterson et al., 2011). However, some teachers do not agree with this argument. They believe that emotional wellness of students is more important than academic achievement. I agree that academic achievements are important but emotional wellbeing should be placed on top of the academic achievements.

Apart from the above educational issues that are raised in the film, some other educational issues are also present. First of all, the quality of education is a great concern. As there are more and more private schools in U.S., the running for profit in education becomes a trend. Unlike the situation in Finland where no private schools exist, the private schools in U.S. is blooming. This results in even higher costs of education which are beyond the holding capacity of many families. Many college students have been taking loans to finish their education (Lankford & Wyckoff, 2001). The increasing in private schools will only further the cost issues in education.

What’s more, as what many teachers watching this film criticizes, this film seems to ignore the issue of parents in education but focusing on teachers only. Parents also play important roles in children’s education. They not only offer the initial education when children grow up but also assist them in attending schools. The parents’ role in forming disciplines in children at education stage is very important. Some teachers argue that teachers are supposed to teach knowledge in school instead of teaching disciplines and that the formation of disciplines should be the responsibility of parents (Anderson & Minke, 2007).

Another concern associated with current education in U.S. is the limitation in training the creativity of students. In Finnish schools, there are much less homework for children. Instead, they are often engaged in creative plays in education. However, the standards in U.S. requires that students shall reach certain scores in order to entry the next level of education. As such, more emphasis is placed on academic reading and writing, ignoring the training of creativity (Partanen, 2016).

In a brief summary, although the education in U.S. is much better as compared to that in many developing countries, there are still a lot of educational issues, such as poor teaching performance, low standards for teachers, high costs, limited quota in public schools, that need further attention.

Bibliography

Anderson, K. J., & Minke, K. M. (2007). Parent involvement in education: Toward an understanding of parents' decision making. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(5), 311-323.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2002). The teacher shortage: A case of wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription. NASSP bulletin, 86(631), 16-31.

Lankford, H., & Wyckoff, J. (2001). Who would be left behind by enhanced private school choice?. Journal of Urban Economics, 50(2), 288-312.

Manno, B. V., Finn Jr, C. E., & Vanourek, G. (2000). Charter school accountability: Problems and prospects. Educational Policy, 14(4), 473-493.

McPherson, M. S., & Schapiro, M. O. (1999). Tenure issues in higher education. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13(1), 85-98.

Partanen, A. "Finland's School Success: What Americans Keep Ignoring". The Norton Field Guide: To Writing with Readings. Ed. Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2016. 976-982. Print.

Peterson, E. P., et al. (2011) Are U.S. students read to compete? Education Next, 51-59.

Assignment 3-2

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cbnIc06j0U

Philosophy of Education

Being a teacher is easy but becoming a good teacher is not so easy. Personally, I believe the purpose of education is not only about delivering contents of knowledge in certain subject, such as how to calculate using equations or how to read, but also about helping students building confidence and skills that they will benefit in their entire life. Education is more about experience rather than simple knowledge. I wish to be a teacher for several reasons. First of all, being a good teacher can make a positive influence on the future of children. It can be a challenge but also a great fulfillment to help children become life-long learners. Second, I also learn a lot from students, about the new trends in their generations, which keeps me updated. As a teacher, the first important role is to teach students knowledge. However, this is far from enough. It is also necessary to teach students the skills and techniques to learn so that they can transfer their knowledge and skills in one setting to another. In addition, helping them becoming persons with high moral standards and proper personalities are also the role of a teacher.

Students are the center in the education. My learners are primarily teenagers who show some rebellion at their ages. They have various needs during education. For example, they need to be guided for what is right and what is wrong. They need to be guided for how to think critically. My goals for my students include: 1) training them into life-long learners who are able to think critically and independently; 2) training them to collaborate with others with proper communication skills. I think I will reach the goals using myself as a role model and using teaching activities to train them, such as group discussion, independent research, etc.

My pedagogical practices will have great impact on the development of students. I typically use instructional strategies like projects, group work and discussion to foster their learning. Group projects allow students to work together, to develop their communication and collaboration skills. Discussion helps student to learn from each other and helps them to do independent research. I think technology plays an important role in modern education. The Internet and computers, for example, offer students plenty of resources to search and read. They may also help students to learn interactively. Simulation programs, for example, allow students to experience in-person. Assessment, of course, is another key component in education. I prefer essay and presentations for evaluation. Writing essays show not only students’ abilities for incorporating various pieces of information but also show their skills in independent research. Presentations will help them deliver their thoughts in public.

I have limited experience in teaching and I think I will improve my teaching through peer evaluation, student feedback and life-long learnings. Peer evaluation from other teachers will help me see my shortcomings quickly. Student feedback helps me knowing what I need to improve to guide them better and more effectively. Life-long learning, such as attending educational workshops, will guarantee that I will not fall behind in this era.