Cultural Bias: Day 3

 


WOW! Day 3 was so filled with engagement! I think the students had the best time with the different activities and working together on their T-shirt designs. Day three for me has been the best day so far and now I realize that we only have one more full day left. I enjoyed engaging the students in different conversations about what is happening nationally and connecting it to all of the issues we have talked about thus far. I can tell the students are enjoying themselves and care about the topic.

What went well:
-giving them a chance to compete against one another during the "Change the Narrative" game was really fun! Once they got a handle on the idea of the activity, they got really into it. Above are some of the quotes from real news articles that they were asked to change above.

-The T-shirt designs are really coming together and the students are thinking deeply about how to represent themselves and their cultures in positive ways.


What to improve:
-Keeping everyone on tract with the timing of different activities was difficult today. They were super invested in their shirts and were often working on them during other parts of the class day. A solution to this for tomorrow would be to complete everything we want to discuss first before handing out anything for them to work on at their desk.

Connecting the Dots Day 3 Reflection

Another great day is over! Today it was amazing to see the kids so energized. They were participatory and engaged. They definitely enjoy the ice-breakers that we do. Especially the dream house seemed to have left some good impact on them. That is good, isn't it since that is what we want to achieve?

The Kahoot activity was fun. They listened to the important facts that was shared with them on global health and wellness. Some of them got disconnected at some point so keeping the lesson not too long was definitely a good idea.

Kids have progressed in the spoken word but we need to work faster on the backdrop.

Cultural Bias in Media: Day Two Reflection

 
Day 2 was so informative! My favorite international issue was about the Rohingya people of Myanmar. This is an issue that I was not informed about before this experience and I am loving how much I am learning along side the students!


What went well:

-The engagement and conversations about each of the videos and what cultural biases they showed and how the narrative could be changed went very well! I think that a lot of the students have a lot to say and all of the comments are very intellectual and relevant to the topic.

- The students were super engaged with beginning their T-shirt ideas! You can tell that they are truly thinking hard about their designs to create their own identity and break down any cultural biases they have seen in their communities.


What needs work:
- the students seemed very tired and a lot of the day required a lot of sitting and talking. More activities will be included to engage the students and get them up and moving!

Group 4 - Connecting the Dots Day 2 Reflection

Wow today was fun! Students were definitely more engaged and participatory compared to their first day. Yesterday students were trying to figure out what was happening but today they were more on top of things. They were actively listening, participating in the larger group discussion, sharing their opinions and taking notes. 

Things that I think we can improve are incresing the wider group discussion as some people still remain silent. Having candies has helped with that but we need better incentives. Also, the ice-breaker took much longer than expected. We had to cut on the activity time because of that. 

Having the larger group discussion on global citizenship briefly and then asking them what they remembered as wordwide issues that we all face with was a good start to the lesson. Then asking them what they thought on quality education, why we need it, why they thought it was a sustainable development goal, etc. kept their interest up. I enjoyed seeing them taking notes as I was presenting on the Turkish education system and then they made some structured comments about it. They said they found the presentation informative. That was part of it - to increase their knowledge on different countries and their issues as global citizens then later to connect those issues with their local communities. 

These students are good! I am also learning a lot from them! I think this is what makes this project great! 

Connecting the Dots: Day 2 Reflection

Day 2 Reflection

Today, was better than yesterday. I focused on engaging with students that don't speak up as much or seem to become easily disinterested in the information. Keeping the energy in the room is so important and I want to keep that energy for the rest of the week. I'm seeing that getting them moving is key to keeping their interest. 

Below are my pros, cons, and solutions for today:

Pros

• Everyone stayed awake and alert
• Started off with music and set the tone for the day
• Rewards help incentivize participation (Candy)

Cons

• Hesitancy to embrace wrong answers
• Keeping time and the pace
• Not having a solid wrap-up at the end of class because we are in a rush

Solutions

• Give the students the encouragement to be loud and wrong instead of second guessing themselves and whispering
• Keep a timer to make sure that the lesson doesn't overtake their activity time. 
• Speak with other instructors 

Overall, today was another win!!! 

Cultural Bias Day one!!!

Wow! I have to say I was very organized but very nervous going into day 1, typical right? I was pleasantly surprised with how the class went today. The students were super engaged and seemed interested in the content and art projects Daniel and I will be engaging in this week! Our our projects will be to create a PSA video as well as a t-shirt that showcases all that we have learned from the week. Located below, as promised, is my PSA video that I made about Colorism.


What went well:
- After providing examples of the negative effects media can have on cultural and implicit bias, our students engaged in conversations that respected opposite view points and mentioned some of the key issues of each video. I think as the week goes on we will have no issue getting them to engage in conversation about our topic.
- Our silent icebreaker also gave the students a chance to loosen up and get to know each other even though it was slightly different than a typical icebreaker. I think this activity also gave them a visual representation of what implicit bias looks like.

What to consider for tomorrow:
- I thought the students did well answering questions when you asked them something very specific rather than a more broad question. This is a good observation for me because I know how to tailor my questions to help them engage in conversation/.
- We had a few key talkers in class today so taking the idea of making it a rule that someone different from each table has to talk may be a great idea going into the next few days of class.

Great job today everyone! I'm looking forward to the rest of the week :))

Connecting the Dots: Day 1 Reflection

Day 1 Reflection

Today, was a great start to the week. I feel as though my group set a great pace filled with information and action that we can keep up throughout the week. I enjoyed hearing the responses from the scholars and giving them the encouraging nudge to show them that regardless of their response they should say them with confidence. I have a lot of experience with expounding upon others ideas and helping them see the bigger picture. The scholars have really great insights on the importance of being a global citizen and I want them to continue down the path to see why that's important. 

Below are my pros, cons, and solutions for today:

Pros

• Being over prepared with material
• Having high levels of energy
• Engaging and motivating all students to participate
• Adapting to the situation

Cons

• After lunch lag and sleepiness
• Being more clear with our messages

Solutions

• Give the students more opportunities to stand and move around
• Be precise with what we want to say and not include too much narration unless it directly pertains to the message and is relatable to the students
• Speak slower and confirm understanding of material

Overall, today was a success for me. Fingers crossed that we will receive the rest of the supplies tomorrow. Hopefully, they are just in another room waiting for meeeeeee.