Today I met with Dr. Shutkin and Lannie during class to discuss my paper. My paper has actually been easier to relate to than I expected. I had a conference with Dr. Shutkin earlier in the semester after writing the proposal, and I was unsure if my topic was one in which I could relate. I realized that after researching the Japanese culture and education, I agreed with what they were doing in the classroom. I actually tried a discovery lesson in my classroom, and it was difficult for me to stand back as my students struggled with a problem.
While talking with Dr. Shutin and Lannie, I realized that this feeling of needing to help my students with each problem is a cultural feeling. Because U.S. students are given immediate feedback during most of their struggles, they always expect this type of feedback. They do not know how struggle though a problem and try different methods to be able to solve a problem. The U.S. students' problem solving abilities are much weaker than their Japanese counterparts.
Something else that Dr. Shutkin mentioned was about how the Japanese educational system is very similar to a video game. When playing a video game, the player begins with level 1, where he/she learns the building blocks of the game. The player then moves on to level 2, which uses what was learned in level 1, and challenges the player. The challenge keeps the player interested, but is not too difficult that he/she wants to give up. The Japanese education system plays the same game though out a grade level, and beats the whole game. On the other hand, the U.S. begins one game, and progresses to level 2 or 3, then moves to another game during the same year and progresses to level 2 or 3. Then the next year, the students begin again with the first game, but have to re-teach themselves the building blocks before they can 'play' the game. The Japanese students are able to begin fresh with the next topic the next year and the game from the previous year is a part of their long term memory. This comparison is very helpful for the comparison I am trying to make between the Japanese and U.S. educational systems.
Dr. Shutkin also gave told me to contact a professor at JCU who is the president of NCTM. I am very interested to hear what she has to say about making a change in the order of concepts for high school mathematics courses. I plan to e-mail next week her about my findings once I find a few more strong resources for my argument.
Finally, I was unsure of my introduction. Lannie had very helpful advise about beginning with my experience in my AP Stats class and teaching to the test. I feel that the beginning of my Literature Review is very strong, and Lannie agreed, but I still do not like my introduction. She said if I bring in my own experiences, then I will hook the reader sooner in my paper. This was very helpful since I felt that my intro was the weakest part of my draft.
Discussing my paper and ideas with Dr. Shutkin and Lannie tonight has really helped me become more confident about my topic and paper. Dr. Shutkin gave me more strong resources and Lannie helped me with my introduction. I have enjoyed writing this paper because I am very interested in the topic. I can also relate it to my every day life, and I have already began to reflect upon my own teaching because of this paper.
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