Post 4 In Treatment

A few years before I started the Counselling Psychology program there was an HBO program that I really enjoyed called In Treatment which followed a fictional therapist and his clients week by week. Looking back now I can see how my intense interest in the sessions with clients and seeing the evolution of their thoughts and emotions during the therapy process helped to spur my pursuit of studying counselling. Another interesting dynamic of the series was that at the end of the week the tables would turn and the viewer would get to sit in on one of the therapist’s sessions with his own therapist, which allowed for some light to be shed on what it was like for him during his client’s sessions. I found these episodes to be really unique and to hold a similar dynamic of how supervision sessions go between a counsellor and a supervising practitioner, putting the fictional therapist’s personal issues aside of course. I really enjoyed the program before I received any kind of formal training in psychotherapy, but I’m a little torn about going back and revisiting it now with more of an expert opinion because I might see through the drama and lose my initial enjoyment. I am expecting some aspects would be overly dramatized for television, but it would be interesting to evaluate the fictional therapist’s ability to see how accurate the portrayal was.

Blog # 10 Gamification

 I have some experience in my previous study of engaging games in learning, like by dancing with attached names for the gamers to memorize English words. This way make the memory work so interesting without feeling dull or boring.

Latter on, after I became an English teacher, I seemed to forget this interesting way of teaching. AS most of my teaching time, I am busy with catching up with the curriculum set by the school board. This results in two problems, one is that the study who are under the teacher centered way of teaching feel low level of participation, contributing to low interest in study. The second is for the teachers, I, as one of those, do not feel the beauty of teaching.

The use of gamification in education, not matter what the subjects are, as long as the teachers are keen to adopt this way, they may find proper way of conducting it. There are may be some shifted focus from the knowledge the students are supposed to learn, but the well designed way of games is quite huge motivation for both the teachers and the students. 

Blog # 9 mobile learning

About my experience as a student, I did use it in my learning life. I used some apps like the iTunes U. I downloaded a lot of university lecture and classes in it, which were quite stunning. I was at that time in China, but by using the mobile devices like the mobile phone, the pad, I can get access to the educational system in other countries. It gave me quite surprise not only for the resources I can gain access to, but also for the ways of learning. I also used the Adobe connect for online learning when I was in China, registering the online course in University of Ottawa, which was amazing.

Later on, in my teaching career, I used mobile devices a lot as most of the students are accessible to the devices. I usually checked the assignments by Wechat (one popular chat app in my countries) and also communicate with the students about the difficulties they encounter in their study. This brings huge convenience and liberate the teacher and students to a large extend. The students can also hand in the assignments by mobile phones.

Some learning Apps like the he learning anatomy was amazing, as I am not a major in such area, I can learn by myself for which part of the muscles and bone without turning to others for help. As sometime, to explain some part of the body with jargons or term in professional way is a bit difficult. But by using the visual picture, people may easily figure out what they are and how to interpenetrate it.

Post 3 Reflecting on Synthesis and Counselling Psychology

One of the pleasant surprises of my course work for my degree here was the amount of personal reflecting required in my assignments. I suppose I expected some introspection as part of the course work, but in almost all of the courses I have taken for my MEd there was an assignment or component that required me to step aside from an objective approach into a more subjective one where I had to describe how what we were discussing impacted me or contributed to a growth in my understanding. I think this is a great way to learn and I respond well to it because the introspection is something I often do on my own, but putting it into a fully fleshed out, written context has helped to crystallize this introspection.

I understand its value for my ability to be an effective counsellor as well because a certain degree of self knowledge is necessary when digging into issues with clients who may be struggling with weighty existential questions themselves. Having a strong sense of my own values and constantly reevaluating and expanding on them is beneficial for working with clients and making sure I am doing right by them. I think I will keep with the theme of my other courses and use these blog posts for more reflection, in particular reflecting on counselling and how my understanding of it has evolved.

Post 2 Analyzing vs Reflecting

I'm still not really sure what I'm supposed to do with these blog posts. My first instinct was to make them analytical responses, but I don't find those kind of posts to be very enjoyable and I also feel that I am getting sick of doing close analyses all the time. I think this is something I recognized as I was going through the process of writing my final paper for synthesis. I started out with the intention of sticking strictly to a literature review because it was something that was familiar and I knew the guidelines more or less. However, it seems I wanted to be able to incorporate more reflection and personal response as I went along. I think part of this is exiting my comfort zone and exploring a bit more. The fact that this course is evaluated on a pass or fail basis I feel takes away some of the pressure of making sure each post meets some imposed criteria and allows for a little bit more creative risk, which I think I should start to take advantage of.

Blog Post #10 - Choices

High school students are asked from the age of 17-18 about what they want to do in life.

Choose whether you want to attend college, university (or perhaps neither).
Choose which university or college. Choose the program you want to study.

From an early age, I've wanted to become a teacher. Then I wanted to become an engineer, an astronaut, a programmer, go into multimedia, a writer, and even envisioned a career in the video game industry. And then I wanted to become a teacher again. Why did I choose to become a teacher?

Truth is, I still don't know whether I fully want to become a teacher. I've been "teaching" from the age of 12, assisting instructors in Jiu-Jitsu, swimming, and later becoming a teacher/instructor of my own.  I want to make a difference in childrens' lives. But just as Joel Westheimer mentioned in our Schooling in Society class last year, new teachers enter in Act III. The story is set and all I can do is go with the flow.

We tell students they can become whatever they want. The world is their oyster! They can choose to become whoever, and whatever they want. Frankly, I feel like I only had one: teaching. I never got the grades to pursue sciences in high school (that shut the door for engineer/astronaut). The multimedia and the video game industry are so competitive nowadays, and you need a really good idea/creativity to become a writer.

At the same time, I am not becoming any younger. I need a piece of paper to pursue my life and make money to live. I think teaching gives me a certain amount of freedom and flexibility. The area of Education is quite large. I can teach whatever subject, go into counselling or administration. Additionally, summers and other time not dedicated to course preparation, evaluation or professional development can be invested in my hobbies and interests.

I suppose my fear is not pursuing something I truly love. Don't get the wrong idea. I have been teaching for quite some time and really enjoy it. But I also really enjoy technology (I think this is the sole reason I've pursued writing about technology throughout my Master's). I really enjoy content creation, whether it be playing with Adobe After Effects / Photoshop or YouTube content. I've been an avid gamer for a large portion of my life, which leaves me wondering why I didn't choose to pursue something in those areas?

Was it because I was told it's a hobby and I wouldn't amount to anything in life by sitting around playing video games (which proves to be untrue, some people make a living by doing exactly that)? Was it because I feared of losing that special "something" from my hobby? Was it because I thought I wasn't "good enough" to become an engineer, astronaut, or a graphic designer?

I am excited to see what my future holds in Education. But I also hope I won't get sick of it in 5-10 years, and end up regretting not going into something I might hold more to heart.

Blog post #9 - Playing the Devil's Advocate

I've always been a better listener than speaker. I like to keep to myself and believe that my opinions are my own. I opt to simply agree with my classmates/co-workers/peers about whichever topic is being discussed. I have yet to figure it out whether it's because I'm a natural introvert, or because of my personal experiences, when what I say doesn't matter.

My stay at the University of Ottawa changed that over time. I am still an introvert, but I tend to speak up more often. Once I hit my third year in the Second Language Teaching program, a professor told me something I needed to hear. I don't quite remember the discussion topic, but I remember the context. It was a Wednesday 8:30am class. Everyone was tired. Nobody was participating or answering the questions the professor asked. I decided to raise my hand. This was quite new to me, as I usually refrained from speaking altogether. Whatever I said must have sparked something in my classmates. One after the other, students raised their hands to pitch into the conversation. The usually dull class became interesting.

At the end of class, the professor came up to me and said: "Gabriel, you should contribute more often. You make intelligent and logical points, and make discussion happen." Patting-on-the-back aside, I think I needed to hear those words. I progressively contributed to discussions. I started enjoying my classes a lot more. However, I didn't always say "I agree with you/the author." More often than not, I played the Devil's advocate. I disagreed with the articles and my classmates. I said out loud what everyone was thinking deep down. I explained the reality instead of ranting about ideologies.

Fast forward to the M.Ed. Those of you who have taken other courses with me may know by now I participate by giving my own opinions about the discussion topic. I often disagree with the readings, which often repeat the same thing over and over. They talk the talk, but don't do the talk.

Playing the Devil's advocate doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what I'm saying, although  it happens. Instead, I want to bring the discussion back to a realistic level, especially when we're talking about ideologies. I realise that this method doesn't appeal to everyone. In fact, I know a few people who can't look at me straight in the eye or will refuse to speak to me. Becoming the Devil's advocate made me realise I've made quite a few enemies in the past four years.

But I don't regret it.

I am not making excuses for my behaviour, nor do I intend to stop. Frankly, I don't care (to an extent) what people think about me. I can take criticism, and know my strengths and weaknesses. I want to make people react (In a sense, the same way a teacher wants their students to think for themselves). By no means do I consider myself above anyone else, although I do think my unconventional opinions make discussion happen, and therefore make class more interesting. (I hope)

I made this post to express some of my thoughts about some of my observations throughout the M.Ed. I noticed that some people refrain from speaking because they're afraid of offending someone. Others are afraid of being shut down and disciplined for having radical thoughts. Why? The M.Ed is about having a voice. Making your opinion be heard.

Someone got offended about something you said? Who cares!? Well, they did...but that's asides from the point. It is by being uncomfortable in a certain situation that real criticism can happen. It is by being uncomfortable that we can view and deconstruct a system. Nothing revolutionary ever happened from staying safe.

Our fear should be to be silenced, but as it stands, we're afraid about having a voice. So why are we staying silent?

Understanding ‘meaningful technology integration’ by Sadik.

Blog 10

Sadik(2008)  defined meaningful integration of technology “as curricula utilizing authentic tasks that intentionally and actively help learners to construct their own”  knowledge. The thing that resonated with me was “Integration is defined not by the amount or type of technology used, but by how and why it is used” (p.488) as in my experience while working with technology I have constantly found this statement to be true. Sadik (2008) says that  “many teachers worldwide are not able to adopt technology for teaching and learning tasks, and the gap between technology presence in schools and its effective use is too wide”(p. 488). And this strongly affects the belief of the teacher when working with technology. In my previous school teachers without computers background took technology as time consuming for teaching.  

From my previous experiences as a teacher I have found that there is an urgent need for teacher training in integration of  technology in a classroom. And I agree with Sadik(2008) when he says “professional development of teachers should provide continuous opportunities for teachers to align technology with the curriculum and collaborate and learn from peers who integrate technology into the teaching of other subjects. (p. 503)

The problem with integration is not the solution in hand but the strategy of integrating the solution. And I believe that, while working for how technology will affect the education, we should also look for, how it will affect the key person who delivers the education that is, the teacher. And if the key person is not trained then I don’t think that technology is going to change anything at all in a classroom. But beyond the classroom, technology is working fine.

Reference

Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling: A meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56(4), 487-506. doi:10.1007/s11423-008-9091-8

Indigenous perspectives in education. The complex idea of 'Place' and its relation to the truth and reconciliation.

Blog 9
In my opinion indigenous perspectives in education is a complex topic for curriculum scholars. This is what I concluded at the end of reading Johnston’s (2014) Not “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances”: The Struggle to be Visible in Canadian Curriculum Studies. To tell the truth and reconcile with indigenous people we need to make the indigenous perspectives visible in the curriculum. So that, we can start with ‘listening’ Chambers(2012) to understand and reconcile with indigenous people. But from Haig-Brown (2008) I take that, just listening can result in dormant knowledge and it is useful only if we take a thoughtful action. Haig-Brown (2008) also tells about what is the correct form of listening by stating that we need to take the knowledge into our own context and consider its meaning for us. Perhaps then the curriculum scholars can speak for indigenous voices.

As an international student the topic of Indigenous people of Canada has always interested me.   The history of European colonization of Canada reminds me of British colonization of India. Therefore, it gets easier for me to understand how indigenous people feel after being marginalized. Being from a minority class in India, I also become aware of the marginalization of minorities in India. How history of minorities in India has been taken out of the curriculum to emphasize the role of majority in the freedom of India. And now we hear a distorted truth about the minorities in India with is influenced by majority class of India.

Cynthia Chambers (2012) as always takes the idea of ‘place’ Chambers (2003) to signify “how we all are treaty people”. This idea of place also connects with Haig-Brown’s (2008) view of Indigenous thought as a deep understanding that we all live in relation to land.

As attractive as the idea of place by Chambers (2012) and Haig-Brown (2008) may sound, its definition gets more complicated to be defined for the curriculum scholars. This is explained in Chambers (2003) where she says, that Canada is a global village and has one of the highest multitudes of pluralism. For Haig-Brown (2008) Canada is an overlay of multiple existing nations. What I am trying to say is that, if the curriculum scholars succeed in defining place or land in a curriculum then they may be able to define what truth is. We as curriculum scholars can only reconcile if we have the correct knowledge of truth to tell in the curriculum.

The effect of incorrect knowledge in the name of truth can be seen in Tupper(2012) where few students in spite of expressing the important of treaty were not able to see themselves as treaty people and maybe that’s why were not able to comprehend the FNUC crisis correctly.

This complication of defining place can also be seen in India with Kashmiri crisis and their ongoing struggle for freedom and rights. What is the history of Kashmir? What is the treaty of India with the people of Kashmir? Do people of Kashmir in India see themselves as treaty people and vice-versa? I don’t recall any of the knowledge I have received regarding this matter in my school. Even when asked about it from one of my kashmiri friend I came to know that my friend has no knowledge about the history but my friend confirmed that Kashmiris are being ill-treated by Indian government. So is it because of the distorted truth that my friend has which makes my friend so negative about India. These readings have made me curious to search for the matters of my own country. But I wonder will I be able to find the correct knowledge. Or will I suffer from what Haig- Brown (2008) states a little learning which a dangerous thing is.

These reading have made me curious to know how the truth should be defined. Because as a listener I must say that we hear a lot in the name of truth regarding indigenous perspectives. I believe that only the truth can help to reconcile with indigenous people.

References:

Haig-Brown, C. (2009).  Taking Indigenous thought seriously: A rant on globalization with some cautionary notes. Journal of Canadian Curriculum Studies.  6(2), pp. 8-24

Chambers, C. (2012). “We are all treaty people”: The contemporary countenance of Canadian curriculum studies.  In N. Ng-A-Fook & J. Rottmann (Eds). Reconsidering Canadian curriculum studies: Provoking historical, present, and future perspectives. Pp. 23-38

Tupper, J. (2012). Treaty education for ethically engaged citizenship: Settler identities, historical consciousness and the need for reconciliation.  Citizenship Teaching & Learning. 7(2), pp. 143-156

Johnson, I. (2014. Fall). Not “As Canadian As Possible Under the Circumstances”: The Struggle

 to Be Visible in Canadian Curriculum Studies. Journal of the Canadian Association for

Curriculum Studies, 12 (1), 6975.

BLOG 10

The key words “lived experience” or “a living pedagogy” is what I find most appealing to me. In China, the nine-year education period, from elementary school to junior school, is compulsory by law. After that, the motivation of most students keep learning in senior school is to pass the university entrance exam. By getting access to elite colleges or universities, students have more opportunities to find better jobs therefore they are likely to have upward mobility. And the university entrance exam is a standardized test with fixed answers, which to a large degree, affects the school curriculum about how teachers teach and how students learn. Most of the time, students are passive learners: they take notes in class, recite all the key points, take all kinds of exams, rather than participate in class discussions, ask questions, or engage in school activities. On the other hand, teachers don’t offer such opportunities for students to be parts of the class. Teachers tend to use the most of class time to be the most efficient in presenting every key points. To some of them, students’ engagement and participation in class is s a waste of time. The only thing students need to do is accepting what teachers offer to them without questions. I feel China’s education reform has a long way to go. To give back the class to students, to let students be the owner of their learning, to make learning more engaging, authorities, educators and teachers in China should draw upon students’ lived experience and learn from “living pedagogy”.

BLOG 9

Actually, I feel the same, that most of the time, I don’t quite get the meanings of academic writing. It’s understandable that scholars use jargon even when more accessible language is available. They need advanced language to show their professions in certain field. Also purpose of the article and its intended readers both play important roles for scholars in deciding what and how to write. Even for native speakers, if they are don’t work or study in certain field, they are not familiar with the jargons either. Not to mention the difficulties for second language learners. When it comes to slangs or jargons, it adds more challenges for language learners, which would probably upset their learning and shake their motivation. My suggestion is that learners don’t take these slangs and jargons too seriously. They only constitute a small proportion of daily English vocabularies. For jargons, you don’t need to learn them until you are interested in that certain field or until you have to use them on a regular basis. For slangs, by using them correctly, it would make you sound more like a native speaker. But it’s informal and usually used in speaking contexts. It’s better to stick to the formal ways of using the correct second language first, after that, when you become an advanced learners, you can start to learn some slangs. 

BLOG 8

One of the newspaper article caught my eye was “Rising number of Canberra families turn to home education, self-directed learning”. In the article the author said that receiving education is compulsory but not attending school, and receiving education does not have to involved sitting at a desk in a classroom. I totally agree. Who says that school is the only place for educating people? And by “education”, who decides what to be taught and what not. Or why we evaluate the education result only based on standardized tests? Is life all about right answers?I am impressed by how aboriginal people think about education. They focus on the relationship between people, the nature and the land. They offer hands-on experience to younger generation to let them learn by doing. During this process, younger people learn how to work with others, and more importantly, how to live with nature and surroundings. A lot of students who receive home education are with learning disabilities or have difficulties in learning. But still, a part of others leave school because their learning needs and passions are not met in school curriculum. And self-directed learning is more tailored to different individual needs. One of the parents said “School's only been around for a short time in history. The idea that kids need to be in a group of kids their own age for six hours a day is only a construct. It's not absolutely necessary.” Questions arises that who created school?, who decides school is the best and formal way to receive education? There are problems with home education too, but you can’t deny that during self-directed learning, “you can work in with the natural ebb and flow of energy and time”.

blog 10 by keying:)

From my perspective, the article “ADHD Not a Real Disease, Says Leading Neuroscientist” conveys two important ideas. Firstly, it argues that we should understand ADHD as a demonstration of a broad scope of symptoms which can be presented by each of us to some extent. There is also no necessity of taking medicine to deal with ADHD. The second point of the article is that before discussing whether or not ADHD is a disease, we should focus more on what factors contribute to the symptoms of ADHD and what adults can do to protect children’s mental and physical health. As I am not a professional in the area of special education I cannot give any opinion on whether or not ADHD is a disease, but I do agree with the article that taking medicine is not the best choice for coping with ADHD. It is like when people catch a cold, they can get better by only having a good rest or drinking more hot water instead of taking any pills. I also believe that no matter how we are going to define ADHD, we should lay more emphasis on children’s mental health through their day-to-day lives. There are multiple reasons that can adversely influence children’s mental health, such as study pressure, domestic violence, and school bullying. It is inappropriate that adults start to be concerned after discovering any symptoms of mental illness that a child displays. Instead, adults should provide their children with a safe and comfortable environment to grow up and take all reasonable precautions to prevent children from mental illness.

 

blog 9 by keying:)

While reading the article “Decoding the New Language of Racial Hierarchy”, its criticism of the idea of genetic inferiority and racial hierarchy made me think how people make judgments on each other in day-to-day lives. There are unfair judgments on people based on not only their race, culture, or social status but also their appearance, their clothes, or even their height. People sometimes make judgments based on their first glance at their classmates, teachers, colleagues, or strangers. Each person holds different preconceptions while judging others. Also, it is hard for people to eliminate these preconceptions, because they usually result from parental education, school experiences, and the media.

Learning form Canada.

Blog 8

I feel like being in Canada is like what Talburt says, “immersing in the process of looking outward in order to look inward (2009).It seems to me that I coming to know of my own Country and about my identity in my country by studying about the issues in Canada. I have come to know the value of curriculum and how it can play with our minds. Curriculum can show a totally different picture in contrast to what an actual picture of a  country looks like in terms of history related to identities and memory.

In trying to understand the issues related to the indigenous people in Canada I tried to relate the issues to the issues existing in India and I was surprised by my finding. Just like the curriculum in Canada fails to address its issues, Indian curriculum also fails to address its issues. I never read anything about Northeast Indians, Kashmir and other parts of India in my school. I can’t comment on the current curriculum status of Indian schools.  

In Indigenous Education and Cultural Resistance, Njoki Nathani Wane suggests  critically deconstructing cultures and education systems in order to understand the underlying curriculum issues. From what I as a teacher have experienced universalization of curriculum as said by Wane’s professor has failed before it gets implemented. While implementing an international curriculum, I and my colleagues  had the same view. The students  were losing more than what they were learning. And according to Chambers(1999) , Chambers(2003) and Wane(2008) students lose their history, the whole idea of “Place”. To add more, Anderson-Levitt ‘s statement, “children in different countries do not learn the same things at the same rate” (p. 362) resonates with my experience as a teacher. Indian students study more science and math curriculum without calculator till grade 12 than Canadian students. And students of our schools were left behind in science and math. Wane(2008)’s experience reminds me of my times as a student in Catholic school. The educational structure of Indian school  is completely influenced by Britain. You can see also the influence in the books of  science, Math, and  social studies.

I agree with Wane when he neglects the idea of taking curriculum  from global perspective without situating it within a context. Wane(2008) supports the idea of Luke to include “new voices and historical memories, literary texts and narratives, and world views and sciences that hitherto had been repressed in mainstream curriculum formations” (p. 145- as cited in Wane, 2008). This will provide  the knowledge of ‘place’ and what lies beyond that place to the learners. Just like what Wane says "There is a need to find ways to have the local and the foreign taught simultaneously. Our students should be provided with a glance of what is out there in relation to what is in their backyard," (2009, p. 176).

 All these reading  has forced me to reflect upon on my own schooling and self.

References:

Wane, N. N. (2009). Indigenous Education and Cultural Resistance: A Decolonizing

            Project.  Curriculum Inquiry, 39 (1), pp. 159-178.

Chambers, C. (2006). “Where do I belong?” Canadian curriculum as passport home.

            Journal.

Chambers, C. (2003).“As Canadian as possible under the circumstances”: A view of

            contemporary curriculum discourses in Canada. In William F. Pinar (Ed.),

            International Handbook of Curriculum Research (221252). Mahwah, NJ:

            Lawrence Erlbaum.

Chambers. (1999). A Topography for Canadian curriculum theory. Canadian Journal

            of  Education, 24 (2), pp. 137150.

Talburt, S. (2009). International Travel and Implication. Journal of Curriculum

            Theorizing,

Internationalization of Curriculum

Blog 7
I would really like to share what I learnt about international of curriculum studies in my previous course. Internationalization of curriculum studies as found in William Pinar (cited in Carson, T., 2009) describes as, a global collective in order to understand curriculum as an interdisciplinary text that enables an interpretation of our personal and collective lives. Also, other reading I find very interesting as it gives a clear view when Gough (2004) states “internationalizing curriculum inquiry might best be understood as a process of creating transnational ‘spaces’ in which scholars from different localities collaborate in reframing and decentering their own knowledge traditions and negotiate trust in each other’s contributions to their collective work..”. It totally changed my view about internationalization of curriculum, as, I used to think it is just the techniques of teaching the conventional subjects. But, knowing that it is a way to know and understand different cultures and addressing the contributing of scholars from different parts  of the world is completely new to me. Although it is something so obvious, but, I think I failed to notice it or never looked at it that way.

When I first saw Canadian curriculum in India I was so excited to know the way it should be taught. I even participated in few of the ‘Canadian teacher training’ workshops in an International school in India. To me it was a chance to bring the Canadian education system in India. I was studying the curriculum for the first time and it was a big folder. This made me ask, “How does the curriculum of India look like?” Unfortunately, I still don’t know the answer.

But, what is the need of internationalizing curriculum? To me before reading the articles I would say, because we don’t find any curriculum from India that addresses the conventional subjects according to the international standards in order to adapt and become fit for the global market. But now I find, it addresses other critical issues like political, ethical and, etc. It is not just about the conventional subjects but also the prevalent issues globally for example in Gough (2004 ) the study of Dean Ashenden et al’s (1984) describes ’ Manifesto for a democratic curriculum’. I find how curriculum study was affected after 9/11 and raised the questions about the presence of nationalism and patriotism in the curriculum (Carson, T., 2009). Also, in  (Tröhler, D. (2014),  the comparative study of Germany and United States to understand curriculum, exposed me to  the differences related to the curriculum research between two countries. Therefore, “the complexity of education in the context of economic and cultural globalization” as Allan Luke (cited in Carson, T., 2009) states, is the result to economic globalization and reactionary nationalism (p. 147).

 The need for internationalization of curriculum is also, as Gough (2004)  states, ” the formation of new publics – democratic, multicultural, and transnational citizenries ” and “ ..building transnational coalitions for public education … to prepare  future labour for global economy”. Moreover, we find in (Carson, T., 2009) that by internationalization of curriculum we can also make paths to reconciliation and reparation by for example by studying  history(p. 150). Tröhler, D. (2014) best describes the main reason for need of internationalization of curriculum by giving example of United states in 1900 when it was trying to handle the immigrant problems in 1900 and was  inclined to think about the interrelation between education and democracy.

We have seen how, through curriculum critical issues are answered and how it can help in reconciliation, we see there is a need to study internationalization of curriculum with increased pressure of globalization. And also the scenario of United States in 1900 can be seen all around the world which is raising the questions of handling equity, social justice and, democracy under diversity. And to me Canada is one of the best examples of Immigrant issues. Further (Carson, T., 2009) states,” in the face of globalizing pressures of a world culture in education, the search for one best curriculum does matter, because of its influence on education officials who have the power to affect teachers’ lives”.

What do you think about internationalization of curriculum ? 

References:

Tröhler, D. (2014). “International curriculum research: Why and how?” In W.F. Pinar(Ed.) International Handbook of Curriculum Research. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge

Carson, T. (2009). Internationalizing curriculum: Globalization and the worldliness of curriculum studies. Curriculum Inquiry, 39(1), 145-158

Gough, N. (2004). A vision for transnational curriculum inquiry. Transnational Curriculum Inquiry, 1 (1), pp. 1-11.

Blog #10 Communicative language teaching (CLT)

CLT is a widely used approach that contains many detailed and targeted subordinations. And it has been regarded as a harbinger of new era in language teaching, and is in the purpose of providing language competence that is not simply for linguistic competence (Ahmad & Rao, 2012).

In the video of Five Communicated Language Teaching Methods, it demonstrates how CLT can assists EFL learners in diverse contexts of language learning. Each method of CLT has it target that relates to communicative competence. Giving learners a environment that they are so engaged to learn a certain language to communicate, to convey the message, to show themselves and to discuss with peers. Moreover, CLT brings a lot of innovate teaching and learning methods into EFL classroom. Skype, for example, is a very attractive way of learning for learners around the world, providing them a chance to learn a language regardless of the time, space and distance. When I learned English in China, we did not use very creative approaches to adopt this language, because we are more exam-oriented. Communication is not the purpose for learning English in Chinese classrooms. But in the way of CLT, learners autonomy and attitudes come to be more passive when they are able to be self-instructed and self-assessed rather than sitting in the classroom and memorizing vocabularies.

However, there are still some concerns for the practice of CLT. Ahmad and Rao(2012), in their article, argue that “The primary concern from the very beginning of CLT has remained to elaborate and implement methodologies which can promote the use of functional language through participation communicative episodes” (p.28). Admittedly, the efficiency of language learning in communication is obvious for students to improve language skills. But, how can students adopt standard grammar system and proficient vocabulary is a big concern to some degree. While using CLT to adopt language skills, personal skills and preferences are privilege rather than systematical language structure. Some basic of language will missing, thus the foundation of language skills is in concern. Learners may learn useful and common knowledge as well as language skills gradually by following CLT instructions, but once put them into diverse context such as academic, they may not be able to perform their language proficiency as expected.

References:

Ahmad, S., & Rao, C. (2012). Does it work? Implementing Communicative Language Teaching approach in EFL context. Journal of Education and Practice, 3(12), 28-35.

Five Communicative Teaching Methods, Produced by SUPSI as part of the POOLS-M project in 2011.

Blog #9

As Mahboob and Paltridge(2013) put in his article, “Critical applied linguistics studies ways in which education, regulation, and the study and use of language relate to the realization, maintenance, and reproduction of the distribution of power in society”(p.1). Critical applied linguistics are admitted and understood in various ways (Pennycook, 2010). In the final part of Pennycook’s article, the form demonstrates vital domains of critical linguistic teaching and learning, which helps me, get a better understanding to applied linguistic and its diverse emphasis.

I’m an international student from China. This is my first time studying abroad and I found it so different from the education system in China. During this course, I read few articles according to different themes and could summarize various views from it to increase my awareness of second language teaching especially in literacies. Whatever I found was recognize by classmates and teacher and we could deepen our thoughts and found other important and interesting topics through discussions which could not happen in the class in China where students only focus on what teachers say. Here, self-learning and critical learning with interactions play more significant roles in learning process. Discussions, as a very common and normal learning style in Canadian context impressed me the most for its beneficiary for creative thinking and fostering the ability to search for your own ideas while learning. As for different themes in this course, I think it concrete the knowledge system and point out the various aspect in literacies and language teaching in L2, giving guidance to us to know what should be paid great attention to and what problems may occur when we get involved in L2 teaching. Throughout the whole course, I have a brief and basic acknowledgement towards literacy and language learning in L2 while my professional skills and academic knowledge is far away sufficient to be a good ESL teacher. So I need more grounded learning in this field and seek any opportunity to gain some practical experience.

References:

Mahboob, A. & Paltridge, B. (2013) Critical Discourse Analysis andCritical Applied Linguistics. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. DOI: 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0273

Pennycook, A. (2010). Critical and alternative directions in applied linguistics. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 33(2), pp. 16.1-16.16.

Blog #8 Gender equity

Gender equality has been a long lasting as well as a hot issue in education field. There are so many people, especially women, wondering, “why we have to recognize ourselves as women or men and to do what we are expected to do”. We are taught to be a “girl” when we were in early age. Parents bought us Barbie dolls and pink dresses but if we don’t like them we would be judged as “ boyish”. This happens more commonly when we grow up. Take choosing a major in the university for an example, girls are advised to consider about art or social science instead of science and engineering. Even in Iran, women are not allowed to major in some distinct specialties.

Chinese social has more difficulties in achieving gender equality because our culture in ancient time passed on generations and generations that women should not be educated and should stay at home to take care of the family. This shapes the idea in many Chinese’ minds blindly and invisibly that women would better finish their education earlier and get an easy job to support their husbands. This is firmly connected to the education and the self-recognition of gender when people are young. Once you recognize you are female, you are suppose to be what female is like in that social.