After term 2, SES lessons will be taught by a different teacher and focuses more on economics. As the content and method of teaching is going to be different, it is an apt time for us to reflect on not only what we have learnt, but also why.
In the very first SES lesson, the purpose of the module was outlined as improving our Cultural Intelligence through case studies. This would ensure that students gain the flexibility to adapt in the future to a culture they are unfamiliar with, even if it was not covered as a case study. However, I feel that the module had too much focus on the specific case studies, with not enough emphasis given to the 'drive' aspect of CQ. Some students have the misconception that the purpose of SES is to analyse the case studies. However, simply gaining knowledge about the case studies, mainly focused on America and China, is not enough as information is constantly becoming outdated and irrelevant. What happens if India, which is not in the curriculum, rises to become the next global superpower? While students who followed the lesson should have gained the skill needed to research and analyse articles to improve their knowledge and awareness of other cultures, they are only doing it because it is an assignment. It is hard to say how many will apply these skills in the future. It should be noted that to cultivate an interest or ensure that students are self-motivated is an extremely difficult goal which is highly dependent on the students themselves. While I personally feel that more emphasis could have been put on this and that the module has not succeeded in achieving this aim, it is an innate flaw in the system which cannot be easily resolved. On the other hand, for those who have picked up these skills from the module and have the awareness to apply them in their real life or future will find many opportunities to do so. An understanding of corporate culture can help with business relations, while being sensitive and knowledgeable about other cultures is definitely beneficial to social relationships. While I find it difficult to examine myself without bias and decide whether I can apply - or even remember - these skills in the future, I believe that I have benefited from this module.
Aside from the content, I also found that there were a few flaws to the mode of assessment. In my very first journal entry, I commented that the use of class discussions as a mode of assessment assumes that the individual student researches and prepares adequately before the lesson. After experiencing more lessons conducted in this format, I think I have a clearer picture of what some problems are. Firstly, there are some who do not participate in the class discussion despite being prepared. This is caused by two issues. Some people prefer not to speak up as they are shy. However, this is also due to the discussion being dominated by several people. Those who need to pause to think find that they have no time to respond to questions before their points are said by other people. This makes class discussions an inaccurate in gauging a student's understanding of the issue. A second problem as mentioned above is the lack of preparation. While efforts have been made to ease the burden by reducing the number of articles and assigning questions, this also means that students have a narrower perspective of the issue. The last issue I found was a lack of time for class discussion. While class discussions are more effective in engaging the students and ensures that they have prepared beforehand, it also takes more time than if a teacher simply gives a lecture. It is difficult to obtain an in-depth understanding of the issue through a discussion without adequate time.
However, I found that the reflective journals were quite effective in shoring up the flaws in class discussion, except for the issue of a lack of preparation. The reflective journals ensures that each and every student has to post his opinion and ideas about the issue on his blog, and shows whether he has really been thinking about the issue. Moreover, it was specifically stated not to simply describe what happened, which has no personal input. The expectations and format are very different from the reflections we normally write, where most students - myself included - just try to write what the teacher wants to read rather than our own opinion. Personally, I feel that either less weightage should be given to journal entries or more journal entries should be written. I did not participate in class discussion much in term 1 but still managed to achieve a score which was above average because of my reflective journal. While I am happy that I managed to get a good grade, I think it does reflect that there is not enough weightage placed on class discussions despite the fact that it needs the same amount of preparation and thinking. Also, it is important to ensure that the entries are of consistent quality.
Overall, I think that the SES module is successful as a module which was recently introduced and is a very good concept, though its implementation can be improved on.
Dear Samuel,
ReplyDeleteI feel that your post is very unique and thought-provoking. Though we have very different perspectives, I find your insights very interesting. However, I am ambivalent about the ideas you brought up.
You mentioned that the module did not give enough emphasis on the drive aspect of CQ. Do you really think that the drive or motivation of any subject is something tangible that can be taught? There is absolutely no way an education system can ensure drive and motivation for the subject. Ultimately, it is the student’s attitude and interest towards the subject that determines his drive and this is definitely out of reach from the classroom environment. However, what SES can do, and I felt did rather well, is to uncover the CQ knowledge of the issue, to expose students to cultural knowledge, and provide those who are interested the opportunity to develop and pursue this interest, which is what makes up the CQ drive. I feel that drive or motivation is intrinsic, thus it is as you said, “an innate problem of the system itself”, which is dependent on individual student’s attitude towards the subject and not the lesson or teacher itself. Therefore, I would say that SES is but a platform of CQ knowledge that serves as a stepping stone for interested ones to bring themselves to a higher level and use the knowledge to their advantage and hone it to CQ drive as well as apply it as CQ strategy and action.
You also stated that:
However, simply gaining knowledge about the case studies, mainly focused on America and China, is not enough as information is constantly becoming outdated and irrelevant. What happens if India, which is not in the curriculum, rises to become the next global superpower? While students who followed the lesson should have gained the skill needed to research and analyse articles to improve their knowledge and awareness of other cultures, they are only doing it because it is an assignment
Regarding your view, I would like to offer a different perspective. While it is important to develop skills needed for research and analysis, knowing the contents of the subject is equally important. I feel that SES encapsulates part of history; hence it is a subject with the responsibility of ensuring we know certain landmarks in history that occurred and why they happened. After all, this is part of our general knowledge that we ought to know in order to communicate with different cultures effectively. You also mentioned about the possibility of a change in power, making what the contents of what we learnt impractical. But, let’s be practical. It is a fact that China and America are global superpowers now. While it is more than better if we can analysis “case studies” of other countries like Russia, Japan and India in depth as well, however due to the limited curriculum time, it is only logical that we first learn what is most important. While I understand that contents are limited to current world context, it does not mean that if the context changes, the contents would be useless. Furthermore, what else can the lesson focus on other than the most pressing and important “case studies”? I agree with you that there is indeed a flaw, but it is one that cannot be helped, hence the lesson can only be structured to best suit current day context. Don’t you think so?
[sorry i will be posting the last part in another post as it exceeds the character limit]
Lastly, you also mentioned that class discussions are inaccurate in gauging a student’s understanding of an issue because of various reasons such as one being shy to speak or discussions being dominated by others. While I agree with you, I feel that the ability to express your ideas and show your understanding is also a very important skill. While you can say that some people understand the issue thoroughly but are not as vocal, I can also say that some people understand the issue thoroughly but are unable to express their ideas well in reflective journals as they have poor writing skills. This example goes to show that understanding is not everything. The ability to convey one’s thoughts are as important, not only in SES, but also in every subject, even including math and sciences. Therefore, I feel that though your point is true, the ability to communicate effectively is a very important skill that one has to muster as well, hence I feel that it is only reasonable that this affects one’s grades.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Jing Ling
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete(repost)
DeleteHi Samuel,
I find your journal very insightful, and you brought up some flaws about the learning process which I agreed with. Perhaps you could also include the pros of SES or certain aspects which you found interesting. SES has a very different approach to teaching and I am sure at least some aspects are effective in improving the learning process!
Firstly, on your point about CQ, I do agree that SES focuses more on the knowledge aspect. In my opinion, however, drive is not something you can teach (if it could, I would really want to be taught drive). It is something which is innate and is developed over time, and I think if it isn't there in the first place, it is quite difficult for it to materialise from nowhere. SES focuses on the various case studies to illustrate the bigger picture and we have to draw links between the cases, and see a trend in the societies and also understand why there are some problems in society or how some policies and systems work or do not work there. I also agree that some students just do it for the marks, and not because they are interested, and thus I believe that SES's role is to set the context and to impart the knowledge and ideas, and it is up to the student on whether he wants to be driven.
Also, for your point on the tutorials being limited to America and China, I do agree that the scope is limited in that sense. It is true that there are many other countries which should be studied for various reasons, but I think the benefit of focusing on the two countries is to see the direct comparisons between the societies and it is also more manageable on our part. I have always seen the East and the West as opposites and I think it is logical to analyse these two countries as they are the major powers, and also another factor to consider is time constraints. Again I think it is up to the student to have the drive to analyse the societies in countries such as India, Japan or even North Korea out of curriculum time, but I doubt many will have this interest.
Regarding the class discussion, I also agree more emphasis should be placed on them. In my opinion the teacher can recognise effort and ability and award marks accordingly if the student is both well prepared and also confident enough to express his views. As for the shy students, seeing it from a rather pragmatic point of view, if he wants the marks he has to muster the courage to speak up, and frankly he learns less if he comes to class prepared and absorbs the points raised, as compared to when he actively participates in the discussions. It is also a check that consistent work is done, and it is quite evident who are the people who have not done their work as they do not speak up. The reflective journals also offer a very relaxed platform where students can offer their honest opinions and add in personal input and reflect on the topic.
Perhaps you might want to consider the questions: What difficulties have you faced? How did you overcome them? Do you think the course was worth the time spent on it and did you benefit from it?
Thanks.
-Jiefeng
HI
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more about how the SES module is not effective at improving one's CQ. I find that the learning of another culture apart from your own is best done through experience, and the best way to do this is through immersion programs or exchange programs to other countries and experiencing their culture first hand. I think that what this module does is that it teaches us the content. This leads to a problem whereby the content covered in this module is insufficient in depth, and this would limit how much we know about each topic and how much we can apply our limited knowledge. I was actually thinking that we are better off learning things like body language to help us communicate better with people from other cultures.
I would also like to comment on your opinion on the applicability of the knowledge gained from SES. I do not think that what we learned in this module, limited to China and America, would not be applicable since the future is so full of change and what we predict might not be what would happen. My point is, whether or not China would become the world’s largest economy or even remain as second, whether or not America is going to be able to maintain their economic dominance, the impacts of China and America on our future lives would still be very significant. A few decades ago, Japan was predicted to overcome America as the next economic superpower. Many Singaporean students began to pick up the Japanese language and learn their culture in hopes that these skills would benefit them in their future. As we all know, Japan is now the third largest economy, but then people who have picked up these knowledge like speaking their language and understanding their culture would still benefit them because Japan, although now behind America and China is still a huge economic driving force in the world.