Reflective Journal 5: Reflect on SES. You may want to consider the curriculum, the learning process, the assessment, difficulties you faced, how you overcame them, and how might SES be applicable in time to come.
One of the aims of “Socio-economic studies” in Hwachong was to help students better understand the culture of China and America, the two world’s economy superpower, so that our students can do well when working in these two countries in the near future. Having gone through numerous tutorials, I understood the different ways people react to challenges and do things in the East and the West and also how the culture of the East and the West affected the other countries. This will definitely help me to better communicate and work together with people from these two countries as conflicts with the people from these countries due to cultural differences would be kept to the minimum, thus, giving me an edge over the other people whom may not be able to communicate as efficiently due to a lack of understanding of the culture in the country.
Besides being helpful to my work next time, the immediate effect of this curriculum can possibly be seen when I take part in exchange programmes with foreign countries such as China (during BSC or Xi An immersion trip at the end of the year) as being able to understand their culture would mean that I can better immerse in their environment and interact with the people there. Also, when I study in a university next time, I will definitely meet people from different countries, with different cultures and backgrounds. Therefore, SES enables me to communicate with them better, making exchange of ideas and learning more convenient and effective.
However, though the school meant well when they started this new curriculum, students have to be willing to learn so that they can benefit fully from the curriculum. Otherwise, it would be better to have the electives of literature, history or geography like everyone else, as this will at least ensure that we learn certain skills such as analyzing a poetry (in literature) which may possibly allow us to read between the lines more efficiently and accurately (which may be useful in office politics next time).
In my opinion, the main challenge SES faces would be students not being able to see the benefits of this curriculum, and thus not take it seriously. This will lead to the students having a lack of drive to research and prepare for the tutorials, which will ultimately lead to inefficient learning as the student truly learns when he reads up and researches on the tutorials. If he only waits for the teacher to feed him with information, he may not be able to digest the information (judging that he has no background knowledge of what is happening), possibly leading to the failure of this curriculum as no learning has taken place.
As the saying goes, “No system is perfect.” Therefore, there are definitely pros and cons to every system. I feel that the mode of assessment now may not be very useful in gauging whether the student has really benefited from the curriculum. This is because assessments with high weightage such as research paper and term paper can be easily aced by blindly copying and paraphrasing chunks of details from the internet without understanding them. Also, reflective journals, another assessment which carries a high weightage, may not really reflect the student’s true feelings and learning experiences as a student can just look at the work of another student and edit whatever that student has written, before passing it off as his work.
Instead, I feel that the assessment that can best gauge whether a student has understood what has been taught or whether a student has put in the effort to understand what he has researched on is the class participation component which only holds 20% of the termly grade for SES. This is because only when the student opens his mouth to share his views and ideas about a particular topic, can the teacher understand whether the student has learnt. However, it may also be an unfair gauge of a student’s ability as a student may have prepared sufficiently but do not feel comfortable speaking up in class. Therefore, it is very difficult to have a mode of assessment that is the best and a teacher can only gauge the understanding of a student by prompting him in class.
One difficulty I faced in SES would be coping with the deadlines of the assignments and research work. This is because amidst all the homework, project work, ace assignments and tests, I have to spend time preparing for the tutorials before every lesson and also on reflective journals and the preparation of my term presentation which are all very time-consuming due to the long readings and thinking processes which I must go through in order to do a good work.
I overcame this difficulty by occasionally asking for extension of deadlines when the workload is really too much and also managing my time well. I have to prioritize my tasks well and also achieve a balance between work and play so as to cope with the demanding curriculum of the school and also provide myself with opportunities to relax and regenerate.
Overall, I find this curriculum extremely useful as it allows me to really understand the reason behind certain trends of the East and the West due to their culture and look forward to the next lesson!
(Word count: 888)
Dear Darrel,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that through SES, we can learn the cultures of the East and the Wests and help us when we meet people from other countries and also help us to be sucessful in interacting with people. This is because, in many aspects, it is important for us to have CQ. For example, if you would like to close a business deal with someone from a different cultural background, you have to be sensitive and make he or she feel comfortable when talking to you and so will close the deal. Additionally, if one would like to be a leader, he or she will have to meet other leaders from all around the world and it is important that they have CQ so that they are able to interact well with the other leaders.
However, I disagree with what you have said on the mode of assessment to be not useful. You mentioned that for the term and research paper, students can blindly copy and paraphrase chunks of details from the internet without understanding them. I would like to disagree. I feel that many of us in this school will have the integrity not to plagerise from the internet. Additionally, there is no website in the internet that answers the esaay question, hence, the student definitely have to think how to phrase and also explain his essay.
In conclusion, I agree with you on the main points you have raised and I find your journal quite thoughtful and also insightful.
Regards,
John Loh (10)
3S1
Dear Darrel, I feel that you have fulfilled all the requirements of the reflective journal, as you talk about the curriculum, the learning process, the assessment, difficulties you faced, how you overcame them, and how might SES be applicable in time to come. I disagree with you that many students cannot see the benefits of this system. If so, during SES, there will be no discussion at all. It is clearly seen that the class is enthusiastically participating in the curriculum. I also disagree with you that the research paper is a bad gauge of marks. You mentioned that we can copy and paste information from information as well as paraphrase them. However, if a person do not understand the topic, it is hard for him to know which part to copy and paste, and will not know what words to use to paraphrase. If he does so, I am sure Ms Yeo would be able to spot the inconsistency, and thus mark the person down.
ReplyDeleteI agree thoroughly with the difficulties you face, as everyone in the class also face this problem. I suggest you do collaborative learning with your friends and help to lighten the workload.
In all, an enjoyable post.
Dear Darrel,
ReplyDeleteIn addressing your first point regarding some students lacking the drive and motivation for SES, I would like to point out that this is similar to any other subject. Building on your point, I know some students despise and hate certain subjects just because they do not perform in it. However, should this be the main factor that determines whether or not we have the drive to do something? No, as long as we are passionate in what we do, the results are not that important. Of course, good results are a recognition of our interest and gives us personal satisfaction, but do bad results mean unhappiness in the process of learning?
In addition, in the course of learning, should we or should we not take an active role in claiming an education, a question which has been discussed in English lessons. Should we choose which subjects to study and excel in, while letting go of the other subjects we dislike, or should we try to balance all subjects? In my opinion, I feel that we have to do both. To explain, I feel that it is indeed important to find a subject one is passionate about, and do one’s best in that area. However, at this stage of life at 15 years old, I feel that we have to be more open to various subjects. We should not view all the subjects as burdens, but rather opportunities to discover new interests and open up new paths that lead to even more opportunities in the future. It is only later that we choose an area to specialise in, but we should never despise any subject regardless of how well we perform in it, or whether or not we dislike it.
Next, I would like to comment on your point of how research papers, term papers, and reflective journals are not effective gauges of what one has understood and researched on, as one can “blindly copy and paraphrase chunks of details from the internet without understanding them”, or “look at the work of another student and edit whatever that student has written, before passing it off as his work.” Even though this is morally incorrect, we have to admit that this is a problem. To overcome this problem, I feel that the term paper and research paper should focus more on the explanation provided by the students, as opposed to the facts laid out. In the course of the explanation provided by the student, we can easily spot whether or not he really understands the topic. As for the reflective journal, to see whether or not it is taken from other students, the way to solve it is to look for a personal touch in them. This, I feel, has been sufficiently tackled by the requirements of the reflective journals, which requires our personal opinion, and not just what was discussed in class. Each and every student has a different perspective and opinion of certain issues, and this is where comments come into place, where one’s personal view is even more obvious than the reflective journal itself. Your suggestion of raising the percentage of class participation from 20% might work, but it has to be balanced with the other components to ensure that the student is tested for different skills at the same time, not just oral participation.
Lastly, you mentioned that SES will help you to communicate better with people from different cultures, “thus, giving [you] an edge over the other people whom may not be able to communicate as efficiently due to a lack of understanding of the culture in the country.” I would like to ask, if you were given a choice, which language and culture would you choose to study and why? The learning of foreign languages and cultures is indeed important to the development of one’s Cultural Quotient, of which importance we have mentioned in the first tutorial, and this is thus an important question to consider.
Regards,
Ivan
Dear Darrel, I enjoy reading your reflective journal, but do take note of some points. In your 4th paragraph, you mentioned that research and term papers can be easily aced by copying information without understanding them. I do not agree with your point, mainly because the questions that need to be addressed can never be found on any other website other than the SES Google website. As such, there would never be a one-size fit answer to the question and blindly copying would not answer the question. This propels the students into a situation where they have do much explaining, linking in order to make the information found relevant to the question. With that comes skill that cannot be copied anywhere. Also, the term presentation in SES ensures that students understand what they are researching on as the class scrutinizes every mistake such that students have to face disagreements and clarifications. In order to resolve them, students need to have in depth understanding of their own content.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you mentioned that the it is difficult to attain a fair grading system for oral participation as those who are shy to speak up are at a disadvantage. However I feel that this is precisely why the system is beneficial. Only when these students are placed in a disadvantage can they be forced to speak up and not stay in their comfort zones. Ultimately, it is a choice they have to make as to whether to overcome the shyness within them. An unnatural process would become a natural one if this process is repeated for a long period of time, be it forced out or not. Thus, I feel that the assessment system is not shortchanged in any sense.
It is great to hear that you understand the importance of relaxing and regenerating in order to be refreshed and overcome the heavy workload, as stated in your last second paragraph. As insignificant as it may seem, I honestly feel that this brings our efficiency to another level, a much higher one. One thing you must understand to is that when we find joy in what we are doing, we can achieve the very best out of it as well. I hope you find joy in SES.
Cheers,
Jack Tan 3S109