2014 ED870 Capstone Portfolio

My Capstone Portfolio page

It's been so privileged to meet other students and share various ideas.
It's very new and different to look around what I've done throughout the MAED program at MSU.
Thank you so much for giving me a chance to explore new ideas and become more passionate about learning.

Love to Learn, Learn to Love.
Thank you.

Concluding Post: An Open Letter to My Students

Dear my students,

How are you doing all? I hope all is well with you. I’m writing this letter after reflecting on my teaching I have been doing so far. Although I don’t remember all the things I’ve said or done, I do remember what I was thinking while I was with you. I really want to meet all of you in person and hear what you felt during the time we shared together. Did you know that I was concerned about what if I taught you something wrong? Even if I tried my best to fulfill what I thought I had to, there must have been mistakes and errors on what I said to you. Discovering mistakes and discussing together was also the part of our class. Sometimes we had to face our differences and tried to understand why they existed. It was natural that we thought differently because we were of different ages and had different backgrounds even though we shared the same time and space. Sometimes I struggled to adjust myself from time to time to see through your eyes. Let’s say, we all are riding in a different boat with a variety of sizes, colors and materials. Besides the tide and current where we are situated has its own level and velocity. That’s what I have in mind whenever I meet you. In fact, that’s one of my perspectives of life by which I understand people. Some of you may be riding in a fragile boat, while others are riding in a bit tough one. I try to grasp what kind of boat you are in as specifically as possible, because I would need to adjust myself between you and me, ultimately understanding better about you. Many of you often graciously invited me to your boat and we were headed toward the same direction. I remember saying good-bye when the time came and we both knew how hard it was to do that after sharing our time of life. Thank you for welcoming me to your life. I hope I could be of great help and guide in your journey of life.

I’ve always thought that a teacher is not just a job, but a calling. You know that how many great people had their own great teachers who had inspired and helped them to reveal their true beauty. Teaching comes with responsibility, commitment and blessing. By the way, I’d like to tell you how I became a teacher. I started teaching English when I was a college student. Since then I never stopped doing it, so it has been more than 15 years. I’ve experienced joy, frustration, excitement, disappointment, hesitation, pride, shame, confidence, regret, hope and so on. But most of the time, I feel deep gratitude for the time I’ve had. I think it wonderful meeting so many different people with different lives and learning from each and everyone. I didn’t think this way from the first place. I’ve been shaped and honed to have this perspective influenced by my life time mentor, Maureen Cameron who was a principal of a small independent school in West Vancouver, Canada. It was a huge blessing to me to meet such an inspirational person. I loved her so very much, so much. Her philosophy of education was “Love to Learn, Learn to Love”. She was the philosophy itself. I was deeply moved and inspired by her life. Her philosophy became a legacy to me and it still lives in me way after she passed away. I’ve wanted to live by that philosophy and I will. I want you to know that you are the ones who have given me strength and comfort to move forward with willingness whether you knew it or not. Your sincere words truly touch me and make something I took it for granted sparkle. I think that’s true for everyone. When they are true and sincere in their minds, then the truth and love will definitely inspire anyone who passes through.

Do you remember what I shared with you in class from time to time? I introduced all kinds of English-related materials: New York Times, Harvard Business Review, movie scripts, videos, great quotes by renowned scholars and the list goes on. We met people on the opposite side of the world through TED talks and discussed the meaning of life. Sometimes we enjoyed AFV(America’s funniest home videos) laughing hard and blowing away our stress. I feel really blessed to be an English teacher because our subject matter was not necessarily limited to linguistic aspect alone. Science, history, culture, arts, economics, politics, psychology, philosophy and the like were our playground. Our cross-topic discussion was the gem of our time. Even when we learned English grammar, it was another precious opportunity to learn the way of thought and logic in different culture in which the rules are embedded. I tried to tell you what’s important about learning. Another philosophy of education. “Learn to Think, Think to Learn.” For very long time, we have been “educated” through constant meaningless repetition, inculcation, and conformity to forced “truth”. We are independent and autonomous people only when we can think for ourselves and decide on our own. Well, to be honest, I cannot say that I have always been that self-fulfilling person. I’m trying to become closer to that, like I told you, paddling my boat.

   For me, learning is life. We are born imperfect and grow and mature to be more complete. What you need to remember is that we can learn something from anyone, anything in the world during our journey of life. That can be applied to you as well. You have something valuable inside of you. I thought my job is to make you feel and realize that. Let me tell you about a short anecdote when I was a high school student. There was a teacher of Chinese character who told me the difference between “teaching” and “learning” by using two Chinese characters symbolizing them. He emphasized the importance of “learning” saying this: “Look at these two letters.” He then wrote these two characters 敎(teach), 學(learn) on the board. To make the long story short, here’s his explanation.

It may sound like a similar situation but there’s a fundamental difference. Learning takes place in a more self-directed way. He stressed the point that we should be able to teach ourselves, not just awaiting something to be taught. This simple idea surely makes sense. Where there is “teaching”, “learning” does not necessarily take place. That is, learning will never happen until students try to discover and exert their efforts to know by themselves.

There have been countless moments that I feel blessed as a teacher. Among them, the most grateful moment would be that when you told me I am your role-model. How wonderful! But that made me think if I deserve to be called that way. It’s overwhelmingly amazing. I came to realize that when I strive to be a good student, then you I could be regarded as a good teacher. We are living in a world where education has become inseparable from our lives. For some it might mean a tool, others would think of it as a purpose. Whatever meaning people have for education, it definitely means part of a life. I’d like you to cherish your life as a learning opportunity to be a happy, self-fulfilling person. You have taught me that through your life. Thank you again, and love you million times. Take care my dear students and hope you find your dream!

All the best

Jihyeon Kim

Cycle 5: What Does a Good School Look Like?

   All the prompts of this course have truly made me go deep down through the fundamental questions: the nature of human as a social being and relationship between individuality and sociality. Today a school appears to be undeniably a center of human development in our society. Preschool and elementary school enrollment rate is almost 100% in Korea. College enrollment rate is over 80% of high school graduates. That’s a huge percentage. With the simple fact that a lot of students are being taught in schools, we could easily see the importance of a good school. Thinking about What Does a Good School Look Like, I focused on the Eisner’s article. There I found meaningful messages that struck me and got me in thinking about schools today and tomorrow. It is about what a student can do and what a student will do. He suggests that a school should prepare students to apply what they have learned at school to the outside world. If the life in and out of a school is separate and distinct, it may mean students are wasting their time meaninglessly. I remember AlvinToffler once said about the students in Korea when he visited for a conference in 2008. (Toffler says Korean Education System Needs Reform.) That was a striking message that no teacher would deny. “Korean students are wasting their time in schools and private institutes for 15 hours a day to obtain knowledge that will be unnecessary in the future and for jobs that will not exist in the future.” And he also pointed out “uniform standards” hampering diversification in education.

 “We need to determine whether students can use what they have learned. But even being able to use what has been learned is no indication that it will be used. There is a difference between what a student can do and what a student will do.” (Eisner, p.331)

There are a lot of questions raised in the articles of Eisner and Noddings regarding good schooling and aims of education. Here is a brief summary of them.

n  About school activities: whether they are inviting students to think and engage in the activities, whether they are related to the problems and issues outside of the classroom

n  Cooperative learning opportunities, and possibility of creating and designing learning environment for cooperation

n  Interactive assessment to improve students and in turn schools

n  Feasibility of widening and diversifying what parents and others think matters

n  Whether every lesson should have a specific learning objective and what form it should take

   Every question seems to lead us to think about what a good school looks like. Schools should not be isolated from our real life while they provide academic knowledge and ideas. I think relevance to our life doesn’t necessarily mean something practical or hands-on activities. It is about certain way of thinking and finding significance through learning process. Even when we teach a subject that is not directly related to the real life or future job, we could get student to learn critical thinking skills and cooperation through which learning takes place. I think that is relevance of learning helping students to stand on their own feet.

“The function of schooling is not to enable students to do better in school. The function of schooling is to enable students to do better in life. What students learn in school ought to exceed in relevance the limits of the school’s program.” (Eisner, p.329)

   Students are spending substantial amount of time in school (especially in Korea). Considering their critical period of development, schools should be the place where they can have every possible opportunity to experience through trial and error, learn how to learn, and finally find and choose what they think happy life. Noddings pointed out that we too often lose sight of aim. I think that’s when schooling becomes separate from students’ life when we lose track of purpose and aim of education. A good school should be able to provide with a way to raise questions (to actively engage in what students are doing in class and later in life), prepare students for a better and happy life, and finally keep these ideas continuously. It may be fair enough to say that a school is good where students can learn how to think and realize their personal value and the meaning in a society. These may sound so abstract and broad, but that should be the very beginning and ending of the concept of a good school.

Reference sites:
South Korea's school enrollment rate
Elliot W. Eisner

Nel Noddings
Articles about School Reform from Huffington Post

Cycle 4 - How Should Curriculum Be Created?

This cycle’s discussion topic puzzles me most because it provokes such a wide variety of topics related to it. Considering the question on how curriculum should be created, since curriculum should be made by people, a question on credibility or reliability of participants in creating curriculum comes to my mind first; who are worthy of being called curriculum experts? Who should be included in creating curriculum? How can participants reach an agreement on determining common school curriculum? The concept of curriculum is already broad in itself and far more complex in creating it. I think curriculum cannot be separated from the historical and social context, as shown in the U.S history of curriculum revision. I’ve come to think that there should be two aspects to consider when creating curriculum; universal aspect and contemporary aspect. When curriculum is designed and developed, there will be some part everyone would agree to include in the curriculum while other parts can be divided according to different interests and agendas of the representative groups at the time.

As I reviewed the brief footsteps of curriculum development of American history, I found out that curriculum in Korean education has just followed what has been done in the U.S. – emphasis on public education, science education, nation-wide common curriculum and allowance on independence of regional diversity. It is quite natural because Korea was under influence of the U.S since the Korean War, thereafter schools based on Christianity were founded. I didn’t know about the underlying friction of America’s philosophical foundation until I read Russell Shorto’s article How Christian Were the Founders. I just thought that America largely has strong inclination toward Christianity, for I’ve seen a lot of things in politics and social issues intertwined with it.

In this sense, Ralph Tyler’s Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction can give fundamental ideas and outlines on how curriculum should be treated and planned. It also makes us focus on optimizing curriculum in the center of “learning experience” what Tyler indicates that is the very process and outcome of planned curriculum. While it sounds so ideal and clear, it doesn’t seem so easy to follow because of the people concerned whose belief and interest is different. Then how can we draw balanced ideas apart from each person’s belief or view in creating curriculum which will dramatically affect all learners subject to changes? And how can we be sure of the designed curriculum generating the desirable or intended outcomes? That’s why constant revision and feedback is necessary to improve curriculum and make it up to date. The problem is that those who are the closest to learners have often been excluded from the procedure of creating curriculum. Although there may have been a way that educators in the field voice their opinions and concerns, it could not be fully satisfactory or sufficient enough to mirror the effectiveness of curriculum without their feedback.

To make the curriculum consistent and well-planned, it is necessary that experienced experts, scholars and teachers should be included in the creation of curriculum to discuss the matter fundamentally and realistically. Curriculum is not just textbooks or disciplines, but it provides way of thinking and boundaries of ideas reflecting its contemporary circumstances. Considering that curriculum planning and creating cannot be separated from social context, we need to be aware of that it should not be swayed too hard. However, sadly enough in Korea, curriculum is affected too easily even from the changes of college entrance exam, not to mention by the shift of government administration. (History Loses Place in School Curriculum - The Korea Times) To avoid that happening, people who engage in the process of making curriculum should be drafted from the various field, as in Schubert’s article introduced, perspectives of “four different curriculum traditions”. Of course, there will be clashes and conflicts between them, even if they are under one purpose of planning “Curriculum that benefits all learners and society”, yet the efforts surrounding it would truly be worth it. At least we could realize how far and wide the gap is between different perspectives. I think we need all different views on curriculum, from extreme to moderate, from conservative to progressive, to find the fitted curriculum for all individuals possible.

Reference sites:
Ralph Tyler, one of century's foremost educators, dies at 91 (Stanford University News Release)

Reflection on Cycle 3: Should the Curriculum Address Controversial Issues?

   HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, religion and so on… All of these inevitably involve controversial issues when we try to address anything related to them. First of all, before going on to the topic of cycle 3, I think I need to explain some background and atmosphere of education in Korea. I never ever heard any teachers talking about any issues mentioned above in class especially sexuality when I was in elementary, middle and high school. Korean society has been under the influence of philosophy of Confucius for very long time (about more than 1,000 years according to Korean history) which greatly emphasizes morality and common code of ethics, and that’s too strong to be broken, even stronger in educational arena. I remember that my students were so surprised (they were 11^th graders) to hear the definition of “celibacy” a few years ago. They showed a little jaw-dropping expression on their faces just hearing the word “sex”. In Korean society, it is believed that schools should be preserved as a sacred place to convey ideals and dreams to students which makes teachers hard to deal with open reality. I agree with that, but shouldn’t schools teach students reality of society where they’re going to live? 

   Teachers seem to be afraid of talking about controversial issues in class because they know that other related things should be touched. For example, as Jonathan Silin says in his article, HIV/AIDS is not just disease when we try to let students know what that is. “Diseases are constituted through dynamic interactions of biomedical, economic, psychological, and political factors.” (Silin, p.245) In other words, if that issue is to be addressed in class, its related problems should be come out en suite and they could be even more controversial to say. But now this is 21^st century and we’re living in a globalized world where diversity and pluralism is prevalent. Even if we cannot accept differences, we need to know there exist differences and that’s someone’s life. 

   I believe that teachers need to discuss with students controversial issues because that’s part of our world that needs our understanding. We need to know that misconception and misunderstanding cause unnecessary prejudice against what people think “different” people, and that leads even to violence as in Matthew Shepard case. So when I listened to the story of John Byrne’s coming out and his acceptance and understanding by his students, I was touched so much. How much should we include dealing with the issue in class? What purpose should we have in mind when addressing the issue? One thing teachers should keep in mind is that we’re not exploring the sensational aspect of the issue but knowing why there is difference in people’s life and what to know about it to understand further. In fact, for me it feels pretty far way to go in Korea where even mentioning taboo words may be regarded as taboo. However, through various media and films, a lot of teenagers and adolescents appear to know much more than adults imagine. 

   There are already controversial issues open in our society. Then what should schools do with that? That’s where schools come in when it comes to addressing the issue in a right way: introduce students how to see and deal with it. Of course there’s a tricky problem when teaching kids about HIV/AIDS, sexual orientation and so on because of its multifaceted property. It could be like teaching students about drug and part of a negative way of life style. Even though “heteronormativity” is common and constitutes a major curriculum, we should not ignore the voice of minority because they have the same rights to be educated and treated as equal. In Korean society, we’ve heard and seen gay and transgender on TV (but never lesbian so far), but it took so many years to accept the fact that there are a lot of people who choose to live differently. I’ve never seen or heard that any of students have gay or lesbian parents so far. Honestly, I can’t imagine what would happen if that’s open to the public. While thinking about addressing controversial issues in schools, I kept thinking about why we feel so uncomfortable about those issues and cling to “traditional” eyes. We can’t deny that religion might be the core of the issues and that spreads into political agenda. That’s another long story though. I think schools should stand in a neutral stance in relation to controversial issues, which might mean a lot of jobs go to teachers. Now I feel like I need to find more controversial issues that I should know to understand people better. 

Reference sites:
Parents pushing for book ban for Danbury local schools
Controversy in our classrooms: Problems, Perspectives and Possibilities --Fida Sanjakdar (PDF)
Stopbullying.gov

Reflection on Cycle 2

“What should schools teach?” It sounds so simple. But this is the question I have been asking myself every time I enter the classrooms to meet my students, some of whom may be anticipating something inspiring or just wanting to pass another boring time. Since I’m working with high school students who are spending a myriad of time sitting at desks to prepare for the college entrance exam (for example, senior students are supposed to be at school at 7:30 in the morning and go home at 10 p.m), Geoff Mulgan’s 2011 TED talk was an eye-opener to me. Can the idea of “Studio School” be combined with current educating system in my school? The answer would be a no to me. This is not to say that Studio School is not an appropriate idea here. It will contrast too sharply with the current traditional “boring” education practices. Students will get confused and lost between the two I suppose. I think it cannot stand in one place because of the extremes of two different concepts, but in separate settings it would be perfect for students who want to pursue their interests and needs. Interesting thing is that the idea of Studio School doesn’t seem to be new or progressive, but it comes from “apprenticeship”, the idea of Renaissance and Dewey’s “learn by doing” idea. The students of that school do look happy and engaging. (How envious! Mulgan’s ideal, “What kind of school would have the teenagers fighting to get in, not fighting to stay out?”, appears to come true.) It gave me the idea that schools should be the place where students want to stay and learn something desirable. What should schools teach? What students want to learn.

While I was reading about “Quest to Learn”, I thought it can be a hot issue among those who suggest the detrimental effect of video games especially for children. But there are some opinions about the benefit of the video game such as Scott Steinberg and Mark Griffiths. Of course the Quest to Learn explains that children aren’t playing the games just for fun but designing and building games through discussion. In the article, the children seem to be so engaging and enthusiastic about making their own games. They do have interactions, active participation and problem-solving process but it seems like they don’t have full verbal interactions but only simple reactions – it’s not fair enough to judge only by the small portion of article though. This school may give another answer to the question of Cycle 3 – What should schools teach? 21^st-century skills through contemporary media and technology. I was a bit surprised to know that how clear I have my opinion about education and curriculum. I thought I’m quite open to every possibility and diversity of education when it comes to curriculum and method. But I felt slight resistance to the process and the idea of Video Game School. I may think that kind of school has a limited possibility of educating well-rounded individuals.

How about E.D. Hirsch? What would he think about this? I imagine that he would emphasize the balance between “facts” and “skills”. As Hirsch pointed out, “facts and skills are inseparable” (p.133). He claims that “facts” do not deaden the minds of young children, but incoherence does. “Nobody remembers information unless it is embedded in interesting material.” (p.130) In that perspective, the ideas of Studio Schools and Quest to Learn are not heresy that traditional value and humanities are neglected, because students should be learning “facts” by practicing “skills”. The facts are just implicit and hidden in the process of explicit curriculum. I noted that Hirsch persistently claims the importance of integrating the contents of the subject. “English compositions should not be conceived as a skill in isolation from subject matter.” (p.117) “The greatest human individuality is developed in response to a tradition, not in response to disorderly, uncertain, and fragmented education.” (p. 126) According to Hirsch, What should schools teach? The common knowledge shared with people throughout the history. In Hirsch’s words, “a curriculum that is traditional in content but diverse in its emphases, that is pluralistic in its materials and modes of teaching but nonetheless provides our children with a common core of cultural information”. (pp.126-127)

We’ve heard so often that the world has never been more diverse and fast-paced (I absolutely agree with that.) and pluralistic than now. But still I don’t think that the world in the past was simple, slow-changing (maybe so) and unitary. I believe that the world has shared common traits that human beings have throughout the history, and that the world has only changed its clothes named as system and cultural code. It may sound so vast, but I think it could give significant implications on curriculum and accountability of schools. It would be impossible to think of perfect way and best curriculum for individuals. That’s why so many educators and policy makers have been trying to figure out the best of “what” and “how”. Greenwalt suggests that “we might now be entering a time where the pendulum of American education starts to swing back away from mass standardization”. Reflecting on the history of education policy, and that sounds so right; swinging back and forth between formalism and realism, traditional value and contemporary one, and so on. I think schools teach that and provide with both views so that students can have balanced learning and choose what they want. There comes the important role of accountability system, because it will make it possible to give consistency and stability on implementing curriculum. That might be the trickiest part to stay balanced continuously. It was interesting to know that teachers of untested subjects such as music or fine arts are not considered as “real” teachers same as in Korea. (We usually call them teachers of “outside curriculum”. It is unofficial and unfair of course.) What should schools teach? I conclude that what we want and need and what the world we belong to needs. 

Reference sites:
The Young Foundation by Geoff Mulgan
Quest to Learn - Institute of Play
A Brief History of Education in America (PDF)

Reflection on Cycle 1

“Curriculum” surely stirs up many ideas about education from simple to really complicated ones. It inevitably involves value-laden issues, therefore it should be tough to decide what is worth teaching and learning. It is assumed that the idea of curriculum is based on the formal education setting: a school. I’d like to mention how curriculum is decided for schools in Korea. Most of them in Korea are governed by the Ministry of Education, and Office of Education of the local government in each province, which means that curriculum is designed and determined by the central office and all schools follow the rule. No wonder a lot of teachers regard curriculum as textbooks they are assigned to teach, since they don’t have full independence or flexibility to modify their school’s curriculum without authorized permission – teachers don’t have to worry about the curriculum. But it should not take away the opportunity to think about the true nature of curriculum and its purpose. When thinking about curriculum, the first thing comes to my mind is what John Locke said “Tabula Rasa” (a blank slate) that the mind of the individual was born “blank”. It implies that the mind of human being is open to educational potentiality. In this perspective, curriculum should stand on pretty serious position, because it would affect what we think and live in the long run, given that we all receive regular education.

Readings and questions of Cycle 1 made me rethink about what I’ve had as the taken-for-granted-ideas about learning. The story of Donovan and Perspectives on four Curriculum Traditions made me think about what curriculum would mean to both Donovan and the instructor and how I should view whole concept of curriculum. As William H. Schubert pointed out that the four traditions do have contradictory positions on certain claims, but it is possible to see each position as complementary to one another. (1996, p.176) So I’d like to consolidate what curriculum and its purpose is like this.

Table. 1 Curriculum and its purpose

It may sound quite broad-meaning, but I believe that it can cover almost everything as to what and why children need to learn. While I was thinking that way, I tried to figure out what curriculum mean to Dewey. He emphasizes the children’s experience and the process of providing them with meaningful way of interpretation about what they experience. In The Child and the Curriculum, he notes that “Development is a definite process, having its own law which can be fulfilled only when adequate and normal conditions are provided.” (1902, p.113) It may be fair enough to say that curriculum has been established in a reliable manner. Dewey didn’t deny the reliability of the subject matter, but he questioned about the way it was organized and delivered to children; torn-apart knowledge delivered to children with integral mind. There lies an important implication. It could be more important to know how our students will perceive and receive curriculum, so we can facilitate their learning and help them reconstruct their knowledge and experience in a meaningful way as Dewey suggested. In the case of Donovan, can we know how he might perceive and receive curriculum? Without proper response or progress, can we decide whether he should stop receiving special curriculum? In the article of Sharon Otterman, Donovan’s mother, his aide, and the school principal expressed all different opinions about Donovan but one thing in common; Donovan should have the chance to be exposed to various possible environment, even if he will show little progress. I believe that that may be what he exactly needs; being cared, loved and connected.

I am an ESL teacher, dealing with literacy related curriculum every day. Reflecting on my daily instruction, I can dare say that I’m practicing interdisciplinary curriculum in my classroom (what Dewey thought desirable curriculum!). ESL reading texts cover a wide variety of subjects: literature, science, history, economics, politics, arts and so on. I can say that almost all kinds of branch of knowledge – very basic one – have been covered in my class. Moreover, I always try to find further about those subjects and provide my students with intriguing and necessary background knowledge. For instance, when we encounter a short account of the fall of the Roman Empire, I would find the information about the major theories of the fall of the Roman Empire and brief timeline of rise and fall of it. I have a firm belief that every branch of knowledge is interconnected to make us think more creatively and organically, ultimately getting us to engage in the process of finding significance of today and tomorrow of our lives. Well, it could be “hidden” curriculum in this case; my belief and care about students. In fact, the primary goal of the class should be mastering the academic English vocabulary, acquiring the ability to read and understand the meaning of given texts, and eventually becoming a good English language speaker. However, I am very skeptical about the last one because of the curriculum that lacks emphasis on speaking and writing skills ironically. As a matter of fact, this asymmetric curriculum is my biggest concern and dilemma at the same time. Therefore, I try to use multiple texts to stay balanced among these formal (vocabulary and reading skills), null (speaking and writing skills) and hidden curriculum (thinking about why we should know what). That is an ongoing process for me.

Reference site :
Curriculum and practice
The Null Curriculum and its Theoretical Basis and Practical Implications
Eric list of William H. Schubert