Art vs Craft

ART
The product of human creativity.


The way I have approached the art assignment is to go over things that I have done that have proven very effective.

What I got from last year's CI&A: Art course is that there is the right way to integrate art into the curriculum, and there is the wrong way. To introduce my art entries I want to cite from this website the difference between doing art the right way, and when art becomes a craft instead.

A craft is usually a cookie-cutter or close-ended activity. The craft activity is based on a formula or recipe and all participants follow the same directions and end up with roughly the same result every time. Yes, it involves creating something, but the end product is most always the same and there's not a lot of room for variation.

An art activity is more open-ended. So for example, in a drawing project all participants may start with the same materials of paper and pencils and maybe they are asked to create drawings that represent their family. The results of this project will create many different drawings and therefore many different solutions to the same problem. While the end result may not always be considered art, the possibility of creating an original drawing that transcends it's parameters and materials is always possible.

Skills in art doesn't just mean one is good at drawing or making things -- its creativity and imagination that is most important.

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"Art is free. Craft is static. Process, not product."

- MaryAnn F. Kohl

Sketching

SKETCH
A quick drawing, often spontaneously produced.

Learning to think. Learning to learn. These are the essential skills for student success. Research in both educational theory and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the very best methods for teaching students of all ages how to think and how to learn.

What is visual learning?

Visual learning techniques—graphical ways of working with ideas and presenting information—teach students to clarify their thinking, and to process, organise and prioritise new information. Visual diagrams reveal patterns, interrelationships and interdependencies. They also stimulate creative thinking.

With the language barriers in the classroom, us teachers end up having to find other means of communicating ideas -- I'll use the science unit on heredity for example -- to students, whom many don't even know how to spell the word "the".

For me, apart from being more animated, I use my students as examples and create stories. Which means, more often that not, I end up drawing them on the board. With the risk of sounding vain notwithstanding, I like to draw, and I think I've mastered the fine art of quick whiteboard sketching -- and I wouldn't give up that talent for the world.

My kids are a great audience, and when it's time for me to explain something to them, I whip out my red, black, blue, and green markers and go at it. The result: I have their attention, they're laughing and having a great time, I get my ideas across, and I've made my lesson memorable.

So, back to my science unit on heredity. How does one explain the concept of traits, inheritance, recessive genes, or dominant genes to 7-year-old EAL students?

Try what I did -- draw what the offspring would be like if one of your students had a kid with, say, an alien with four arms, green skin, three eyes, and tentacles for feet. Then you explain why the child looks that way: the child has inherited certain physical characteristics known as traits from its mother and father. These characteristics either show up as one or the other, or together combined because of the genes your body is made of. Explain and draw what another child might look like with the same parents -- thus clarifying why siblings look different and twins the same -- and throw in a couple of classroom references of kids and their siblings, too. Draw a couple of arrows pointing to the traits, highlight and circle some words, and voila!

That is your lesson on heredity, using visual diagrams and visual cues to get the messages across. This in itself is an art.

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"Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition."

- Author unknown

Dioramas

DIORAMA
A scenic representation in which sculpted figures and lifelike details are displayed.


The main project that my kids did for all of August was creating dioramas of habitats.

Dioramas are a good science and art projects, because they provide students with hands-on learning and facilitates a design process. In this case, they apply what they know about the different habitats we as a class had discussed in science -- oceans, forests, deserts, ponds, grasslands, and polar habitats -- to create accurate scenes that depicted what these habitats look like.

After gathering all the necessary materials (a challenge in its own) and introducing the project, one of the first things I did was create criteria. With as much involvement as I could get from my students, we agreed upon the following:

1. The diorama must have a background and a foreground that is accurate and interactive.
2. The diorama must include at least two animals.

I gave the students a week to complete the project in class, but because of the slow progress I decided it would be beneficial to have them bring it home for the weekend -- big mistake. When Monday came, I had a handful of dioramas that were clearly done by the parents. I had to rethink the way of assessing their learning, and I opted for an interview style using this rubric I created:


The rubric I had created puts as much emphasis on their knowledge of their habitats as on the creation of their dioramas. I thought to link the elements of their diorama with the knowledge they have acquired in class. I also thought it would be important to discuss the components of a habitat -- food, shelter, air, and water.

Here are some of the habitat dioramas that were submitted.





Dioramas are great for assessing students' learning using art as the medium. It also fosters creativity, problem solving skills, and fine motor skills.

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"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."

- Alan Alda

Scramble

SCIENCE
The collective discipline of study or learning acquired through the scientific method.


For Science Olympics, I got the kids to match the usually difficult science terms with their definitions. In teams, their goal is to answer the questions given to them on a worksheet, using words that have been cut out and taped to the wall. Only one person per group is allowed at a time, and they are only allowed to grab one word each turn.

I used the hallway for this activity, though in retrospect, that might not have been a good idea due to its echoey acoustics. On one side is a “word bank” of sixty science words, enough words for each team plus extra. The students are on the opposite side and are given one worksheet per group, which contains blanks large enough for the science words. They scramble to find the answers and the first to finish correctly wins.

Another idea, which I haven’t done yet, is a multiple choice activity in which students have to run to opposite sides of the room to areas marked A, B, C, and D. The trick is to have each area become smaller and smaller (newspapers work best for this) and the requirement is that both feet have to be inside this area in order to stay qualified in the game. The last person who remains is the winner. Questions will be about the current topics discussed in science class.


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"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

- Albert Einstein

WebQuest

WEBQUEST
A bank of inquiry based lessons posted on the World Wide Web in which all or part of the information comes from the Internet.


One of the proudest accomplishments I have ever done was a webquest for social studies, which I implemented during last year's practicum (last March, actually). Though it may have been a while back, I feel it deserves a piece in my art portfolio because it did take a long time to plan and produce it using a webpage design program I needed to re-learn, and at the same time it is a great example of how to: 1) effectively use the visual medium (the internet) to implement meaningful lessons; and 2) get students to do an art project that is research-based.

I am extremely proud of it, and if only we had the chance to be able to do webquests for our practicums this year, I would. Unfortunately, computers are not readily available and students only have one period a week for it. Not all students have computers with internet connections in their homes, either.

The webquest is self-explanatory. The job for the students is to "research the many symbols that have come to represent [Canada]." This particular project is very visual, indeed. It takes a look at pictures and images as important historical symbols.

In the course of Canada's history, the country has moved from the British Union Jack to the Maple Leaf. A lot of history and events influenced this transition, and students, in their groups, have to research this as well.

Finally, their final task, after gathering as much knowledge as they can, is to use the design process to create a new design for the Canadian flag.

The WebQuest is available by clicking on this link:
http://www.geocities.com/ramon_toralba/WebQuest/index.htm

The students I taught last practicum enjoyed this webquest tremendously. It took two weeks for the project to be completed, and, while I had to make revisions to the requirements of the assignment (a lot of the useful websites were unfortunately blocked by the Winnipeg School Division webfilter), the resulting art projects -- the flags -- were very unique and showed that the students did learn something from the lesson.

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"Mr. Speaker, it is for this generation, for this Parliament, to give them and to give us all a common flag; a flag which, while bringing together but rising above the landmarks and milestones of the past, will say proudly to the world and to the future: 'I stand for Canada.'"

- Lester B. Pearson

Music

MUSIC
An art form consisting of sound and silence. Elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, structure, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.


I want to diverge a bit from the course outline to do something a little different for Music.

One, I have done an analysis of the two most important songs for the Thai people – the national anthem and the royal anthem.

Two, I also did analyses of music that has influenced my worldviews using CoolEdit, a music recording and editing program that I once used commonly, but rarely do I ever anymore. What better way to create entries for my music journal than to do them aurally?

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"Music is what feelings sound like."

- Author unknown

The Anthems

NATIONAL PRIDE
The loyalty and devotion to a nation or ethnic group that places emphasis on promoting the interests, cultural and social values, or religion of one group.


What better way to find out about what the Thais find important to their culture and nation than to decipher the lyrics of their national anthems?

According to a bit of research, the national anthem of Thailand was composed by Peter Feit (Thai name Phra Jenduriyang), 1883-1968, the son of a German immigrant and royal advisor for music, and the words are by contest winner Luang Saranuprapan. The song was officially adopted on 10 December 1939.

Click on the icon to play the music file.

PHLENG CHAT
(THAI NATIONAL ANTHEM)

THAI

ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย
เป็นประชารัฐ ไผทของไทยทุกส่วน
อยู่ดำรงคงไว้ได้ทั้งมวล
ด้วยไทยล้วนหมาย รักสามัคค
ไทยนี้รักสงบ แต่ถึงรบไม่ขลาด
เอกราชจะไม่ให้ใครข่มข
สละเลือดทุกหยาดเป็นชาติพล
เถลิงประเทศชาติไทยทวี มีชัย ชโย

THAI TRANSLITERATION

Prathet Thai Ruam Lueat Nuea Chat Chuea Thai,
Pen Pracha Rat, Phathai Khong Thai Thuk Suan,
Yu Damrong Khong Wai Dai Thang Muan,
Duai Thai Luan Mai, Rak Samakkhi,
Thai Ni Rak Sa-ngop, Tae Thueng Rop Mai Khlat,
Ekkarat Cha Mai Hai Khrai Khom Khi,
Sala Lueat Thuk Yat Pen Chat Phali,
Thaloeng Prathet Chat Thai Thawi Mi Chai Cha-yo.

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

(1)
Thailand unites flesh and blood of Thais.
Nation of the people; belonging to the Thais in every respect.
Long maintained [has been] the independence
Because the Thais seek, and love, unity.
Thais are peace-loving;
But at war we're no cowards.
Sovereignty will not be threatened
Sacrificing every drop of blood for the nation
Hail the nation of Thailand, long last the victory, Hurrah

(2)
Thailand unites its people with flesh and blood.
land of Thailand belongs to the Thais.
long maintained its sovereignty,
Because the Thais have always been united.
Thais are peace-loving,
no cowards at distress.
They shall allow no one to rob them of freedom,
Nor shall they suffer tyranny.
ready to die for freedom, safety and prosperity.

There is a second anthem, one that was in place before the previous one was adopted in 1932. This one, especially the version played at the cinema at Central Rama II with the orchestra and the choir, sounds very majestic -- I really like it. According to Wikipedia:

The royal anthem is [still] performed during state occasions, as well as when a high-ranking member of the royal family is present for a function. In addition, the royal anthem is still played before the beginning of each film in movie theatres, as well as before the commencement of the first act in plays, musicals, concerts, and most other live performances of music or theatre in Thailand.

Click on the icon to play the music file.

PHLENG SANSOEN PHRA BARAMI
(ROYAL ANTHEM)

THAI

ข้าวรพุทธเจ้า
เอามโนและศิรกราน
นบพระภูมิบาล บุญญะดิเรก
เอกบรมจักริน
พระสยามินทร์
พระยศยิ่งยง
เย็นศิระเพราะพระบริบาล
ผลพระคุณ ธ รักษา
ปวงประชาเป็นศุขสานต
ขอบันดาล
ธ ประสงค์ใด
จงสฤษด
ดังหวังวรหฤทัย
ดุจจะถวายชัย ชโย!

THAI TRANSLITERATION

Kha wora Phutthachao
Ao mano lae sira kran
Nop phra phummiban bunyadirek
Ek borommachakkrin
Phra sayamin
Phra yotsa ying yong
Yen sira phro phra boriban
Phon phra khun tha raksa
Puang phracha pen sukkhasan
Kho bandan
Tha prasong dai
Chong sarit
Dang wang wara haruethai
Dut cha thawai chai chayo!

THAI TRANSLATION

I, servant of His Majesty,
Extend my heart and body to his feet,
To pay respect and give praise
To the protector of the country,
To the great Chakri Dynasty,
To the leader of the Siamese people in might and splendor,
The people, in peace and contentment
From his tireless labor and guidance,
Pray, that whatever he wills,
Will come to pass for his glory!

In essence, the anthems talk about patriotism, freedom, veneration towards royalty, and pride in the fact that Thailand has never been colonized. Being on the anthems, it is safe to assume that the things mentioned in the lyrics are ideally what Thais consider of utmost importance. And just in the way the school playground and morning routines are set up, it is definitely true. Coming in to the school, there is large shrine in place for the Royal family:


The Thai people, in general, really love their King. He's a scholar, a philanthropist, and an all around good man. He's given the country a lot. There are things that people cannot do because it's disrespectful to him. Stepping on coins bearing his image or crumpling banknotes are two that we really need to watch out for.

On a side note, what strikes me as very interesting is that the anthems sound more -- for lack of a better term -- imposed, than, say the Canadian anthem. Where as we say "we stand on guard for thee", a rather assertive statement, the Thai anthem states being "ready to die for freedom, safety, and prosperity."

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Thai Royal Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k30lmgHbOX4

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"The important thing for the survival of the Thai society is that the majority of those who work, both in the government and the private sector, still strive to work in the same direction; this is why the Thai nation still stands."

- Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej, current King of Thailand

Making Words

MAKING WORDS
An innovative word study activity introduced by Patricia Cunningham (1991), students are guided through the process of manipulating a set of letters in sequence to construct words.


Perhaps the most creative events that I did were for English. One activity was for spelling, reviewing all the spelling words we had done up to that point; and the other activity was one that I had gotten from a resource book, “Making Words”. Like Active Mathematics, these English activities required a lot of space, hence they all took place in the hard court.

The first activity required different colored Post-It notes, markers, and chart paper. Each team got a pad of Post-Its and a marker while I, the teacher, required a microphone and chart paper taped to a pillar. The teams all stood opposite of me, and their goal is to write the spelling word I have identified on a Post-It note, then race to the chart paper beside me to post it. The first team to post their note with the correct spelling of the word got four points, the next team got three, the next two points, and so forth.

This activity was a lot of fun. My students enjoyed it as much as I did, and they were very enthusiastic about it. My P3/1s, exceptional spellers to begin with (they’re able to spell ten-letter words very easily) enjoyed this game so much that they have requested it more, and I have done so a handful of times to review their spelling words. I have also used it for their science words. My P3/2s had a tougher time on the other hand, because half of the class were “novice” spellers that had different spelling words than the other, “advanced”, half. For them I had to choose words that both groups were familiar with. Nevertheless, they also enjoyed the activity.

The second activity, just as fun yet more preparation on my part, is very similar to the one above, where students race from one side of the field to the other as team members, but this time, instead of spelling the spelling words, a letter of the alphabet was taped to their backs.

Prior to the activity I had divided each one of my classes into three teams and printed and cut out the letters T, E, A, M, W, O, R, and K for my twenty-four P3/2s and an extra G and O for my thirty P3/1s. On one side of the field the students stood, while on the opposite side were chairs for them to sit on. When I say a clue, the goal for each team is to figure out the answer and how to spell it, and, using the appropriate letters, spell the answer on the opposite side where the chairs are. For example, when I say, “This is what you drink when you are thirsty.” Kids with the letters W, A, T, E, and R run to the opposite side and spell it by sitting together in the right order of letters. The fastest team got the point.

This game was fun and challenging, though I admit that I might have been too challenging for my P3/2s. It was good enough for me to use a modified version for morning hard court assembly, however.

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"Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, teachers."

- Richard Bach

Active Mathematics

INTEGRATION
The process of combining incoming information.


The unit I did at the time for Mathematics was Addition and Subtraction, and the idea that I had stems from an Active Academics activity we had learned from the professor of our fourth year CI&A: Early Years Physical Education course. The activity required a larger area, thus I organized each of my two classes for a trip to the hard court, complete with a radio for some ambient music and a microphone to project my voice. Materials for this activity were nothing uncommon. It included chart paper, markers, and large, novelty dice – a set of each (two dice, actually) for each team.

Prior to going to the hard court, I had already set up my class into teams of five. I found this worked best if I did this part in the classroom rather than outside. On pillars I had taped on the chart paper, and on the opposite sides of the pillars I had each team line up.

For the addition activity, the goal was to reach one hundred as fast as possible by adding up the results of dice rolls. A member from each team must roll the dice, then run to the chart paper to jot the result down. Then the next team member in line does the same, adding the result of his or her dice roll to the number already on the chart paper. All students do this, taking turns, until the first team reaches 200.

For the subtraction activity (done at a different day because Bangkok days can get pretty boiling hot) the goal is simply reversed – each team has 200 and must subtract the results of their dice rolls until the first team reaches zero.

The reception for this activity was positive from both of my classes. Almost expectedly, my P3/1s performed the events at a faster pace than my P3/2s because their grasp for the English language was better and were able to understand the concept right away, but in terms of their math skills, both performed evenly.

There are things that I learned, however, that I have kept in mind for the future. First, I have already mentioned that it is best to split the class into their groups prior to going outside. This avoids confusion because the students are still seated and are not moving around. Second, it was best for me to explain the game outside instead of inside, using one of the teams as an example. Lastly, it is good to have extra chart paper for when the students make mistakes (and they will, believe me), or when they – due to the size of their printing – run out of space.


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"while students have different learning styles... effective teachers combine various teaching strategies to meet the various learning needs of all their students... including kinesthetic learning activities"

- Adam Wexler

Schoolympics!

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
An element of an educational curriculum concerned with bodily development, strength, physical co-ordination, and agility.


Physical Education is generally thought of as taking place in the gymnasium, with balls, bats, hoops, and other types of sports equipment. Indeed these are aspects of PhysEd, however these only encompass a very small bit of it. Physical Education is all about health and activity – keeping fit, having fun, and getting educated about how to stay healthy.

Traditionally, students are given a separate period for Physical Education, which does, unfortunately, give the impression that it doesn’t take place in the classroom. There are many ways to overcome this, and as student teachers in Thailand, it is necessary for us to do so, given our unique positions as foreign-language classroom teachers.

As part of Lertlah’s foreign department, we do not have our own classrooms but rather we share them with other staff members. This limits our freedoms somewhat, but on the other hand, it also allows us to become creative on how to integrate our lessons effectively and within the constraints of our situations. Lertlah’s students only get one hour of PhysEd a week, and in my five months of teaching, I have observed that rarely do Thai lessons take place outside the classrooms or in similar settings where being physically active is necessary. This personally helps to make me feel obligated to do so for my lessons.

To criticize the school system here is uncalled for, because comparing Thailand’s ways with Winnipeg’s school system is like comparing apples to oranges – there are different factors that have to be accounted for. Obviously, Thailand’s (and Lertlah’s, for that matter) priorities are different, because culture, language, climate, and so forth, are different.

I teach two grade three classes. One is a “higher level” class, which from this point on I will call P3/1, while the other is an “average level” class, my P3/2s*. Both classes provide challenges that are mutual as well as individually unique. Of all these, perhaps the language barrier is the worst culprit that causes most of the issues that occur in my classrooms.

Going back to the topic of integration, I want to use the example that I have already done with my classes back in August: school Olympics, or Schoolympics for short. In lieu of the actual Olympics in Bejing, I have decided that it would be a great idea to integrate that world event into my classroom, creating events that tie in to lessons I was doing at the time.


FOOTNOTE:
(* I use the terms “higher level” and “average level” loosely, because in all fairness there really aren’t any other ways to describe the way that the school has divided up the grades into sections. The students with the highest academic averages are all placed into one section, while the rest are randomly placed into other sections.)

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"I was a physical education major with a child psychology minor at Temple, which means if you ask me a question about a child's behavior, I will advise you to tell the child to take a lap."

- Bill Cosby

Introductions

PORTFOLIO
A collection of work that may be used to demonstrate competency in an academic area.


Welcome to my online portfolio.

This project is intended to fulfill the class projects for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Middle Years courses in Health and Physical Education, Art, Drama, and Music, done in October/November 2008 here in Bangkok, Thailand.

With the success of my Social Studies and Science portfolio -- which I also created using Blogger -- it's a no-brainer that I should use this site again. The advantages to this are a lot. Most important, is its interactivity.

With an online portfolio, I can add images, upload files, create web links (such as this one, for example), and add music, video, or other types of media files. Without missing a beat I can direct the reader towards other sources via links to further prove my point or to delve deeper into the discussion topic. With images, music, or video, I can tap into the other senses for better understanding. And with attachments, I am able to send readers files from my computer, by simply having them click and download.

It is a big project, and I definitely have exhausted myself and tested my technological capabilities to the limit, many times to the brink of frustration and exhaustion. However I am very happy with the result.

My portfolio is quite simple to navigate through. To the left, in blue, are all four entries. These are links that can be clicked on.

Each entry is formatted as follows:

1. A dictionary term
2. An encompassing image
3. Interactive text with images and media files
4. Quote

You will notice that for all the entries, I have included a dictionary term and a quote that is relevant to the topic or issue discussed.

There are pitfalls to electronic portfolios, however. First is the fact that my expectation for my readers is that they are capable of navigating through the portfolio without getting lost. I also expect that they have all the necessary programs to open the media files and/or attachments. Lastly, to maximize the benefit of being online, readers must have a decent internet connection speed.

This portfolio is a work in progress. It will never be finished, and I have every intention to continue adding to it even after the due date for the assignment.

There is a lot to do and say. On with the show!


Ramon Toralba
October, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

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"The difference between try and triumph is a little 'umph.'"

- Author unknown

Houses on Stilts

STRUCTURE
A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts; The underlying shape of a solid.


Our practicum group was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go on a 7-hour taxivan field trip to a province (and town) called Buriram, and went to a neighbouring village where the wife of one of our supervisors comes from.

Like the probinsya of the Philippines, the place we went to was a mix of modern and traditional, and young and old. Amidst the rice paddies, water buffaloes, and green pastures, there was a prestigious university, complete with a Faculty of Education. At the dorm rooms was where we stayed for two nights.

The term "traditional" really hit me upon arrival to our supervisor's home, currently being built -- its design was based on traditional Thai huts on stilts. The upstairs of the place is the sleeping area, and the open area beneath it will be the common room for cooking and lounging.

This traditional architectural style is effective here in Thailand, but obviously not suited for Canada. In grade seven, students can research this in great detail in Cluster 3: Forces and Structures.

Topics like the following can be discussed:

• How is the load supported?
• What are the forces acting on this structure?
• How does this structure remain stable?
• Where is the centre of gravity on this structure?

This is a great way of applying social studies in with science, as one can also delve into Thai culture and history.

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"Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response."

- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Deep Fried, Salted, and MSG'd

NUTRITION
The study of foods and nutrients and their effect on health, growth and development of the individual.


I don't claim to be an expert on Thai diet, however, with the fast-food, eat-on-the-street culture that is abound here, there are definitely things I've eaten that are more junk food than nutritious food.

The easy thing about eating in Canada is that the Food Guide is there for the health conscious to easily pick up and apply. Here in Thailand, that is a lot more challenging.

There is an abundance of fast food here. Walk down the soi (street) and one will find an endless amount of eateries that serve rice and pad thai and barbecued meat balls. How does one measure the serving size and calories for these foods? What is the Thais' standard guide to eating?


In grade five, Cluster 1: Maintaining A Healthy Body, one of the STSE learning outcomes states:

5-1-04 Evaluate a daily menu plan and suggest changes to make it align more to closely to Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

Obviously, there are different food, so this learning outcome has to be modified. Thailand has rice where Canada has bread and potatoes. There is more seafood, and there is more spice involved. And there are foods that don't exactly belong in any food group (coagulated pork blood, anyone?). But how do we modify the learning outcome, if the standard guide to eating appears not to be present?

This can be a very interesting topic to delve into, and students can learn alot about the differences in Thai and Canadian diets, how food guides are formed, how they are used, and how to make correct food choices, along with evaluating diets. It can easily be tied cross-curricularly with social studies, as well.


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"The belly rules the mind."

- Spanish proverb

The Gurney's Pitta

ENDANGERED
Any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.


In grade three we are introducing the concept of ecosystems and habitats. However, grade seven in the curriculum, in Cluster 1: Interactions Within Ecosystems, there is an STSE learning outcome that states:

7-1-05 Identify and describe positive and negative examples of human interventions that have an impact on the ecological succession or the make-up of ecosystems.

This can easily be adapted for grade threes. One can have a discussion of how humans have positive impacts on ecosystems (protection and management, for example) and negative ones (overhunting, introduction of new species).

Along with the Asian elephant and the rhinoceros, the Gurney's Pitta, a bird native to Thailand (pictured above), is one of the most endangered animals on Earth, according to the grade three science textbook. This fact can be tied in to the discussion mentioned above, then lead on to this STSE learning outcome:

7-1-07 Propose a course of action to protect the habitat of a particular organism within an ecosystem.

The discussion can lead into ways of protecting endangered animals, and here in Thailand, also discuss about the roles of national parks such as Khao Kitchakut or exotic places like the Tiger's Temple in Kanchanaburi or Monkey Mountain in Hua Hin (see photos below) to see if their treatment of animals there are humane or substandard.



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"We no longer eat each other's brains to aquire wisdom; are we still primitive enough to wear animal's skins to achieve beauty?"

- Joanna Lumley

Media Influence

STEREOTYPE
A fixed or conventional notion of a person or group, allowing for no individuality.


One of the ways we are informed about Thai people in general is how they are portrayed in the media.

This can be a dangerous thing. The Media Awareness Network, an organization whose goal is to inform and educate people to read the messages that "inform, entertain and sell," states that "members of ethnic and visible minorities are inadequately represented in entertainment and news media, and that portrayals of minorities are often stereotypical and demeaning."

Stereotypical and demeaning. Does that apply here in Thailand as well?

The website adds:

Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

But stereotypes can be problematic. They can:

• reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations
• transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities"
• be used to justify the position of those in power
• perpetuate social prejudice and inequality

More often than not, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented.

I walked over to a newspaper stand to look at some of the magazines and newspapers to look for English headlines that involved children. The newspapers didn't reveal much, but the magazines were alarming. It didn't have much about Thai children from what I can comprehend, but the covers alone were consistently glamourized:




From what I see -- context notwithstanding -- there is a push towards appearing more Westernized, from the clothes and make-up to skin tone and attitude. Flawless, light skin, coloured hair, revealing, non-traditional outfits -- they mirror the very magazines that can be picked up at Canadian newsstands. Disturbingly, the middle one, Kira Magazine, is geared towards the teenage crowd, while the other two towards the twenty-something generation. And with headlines such as "Sexy body," "Emergency boyfriend," or "I am polyamorous," I cannot help but think that younger Thai children, much like in the west, are also feeling pressured to look and be a certain way. Especially the women.

It's a rather entertaining thought that Caucasians strive to look darker by tanning, meanwhile Asians strive to look lighter by applying products with skin whitening on themselves and walking with an umbrella under the hot sun.

For Caucasians, the idea is that looking tan equals you've been somewhere exotic. And it makes you look less sickly, I'm told -- the healthy glow as it is called. For Asians, looking lighter means you don't work in the fields, and it also give a hint of European ancestry (read: upper class elite).

A walk through the cosmetics aisle in Tesco Lotus reveals a lot of this:


Skin whitening and skin lightening products. In lotions, facial cleansers, bug spray, and soap.

Media affects societal perception in two ways. First, they portray an ideal body image, and second, they add to the creation of stereotypes. This can be examined in grade five, because Cluster 1: Maintaining a Healthy Body has an STSE learning outcome that states:

5-1-14 Evaluate information related to body image and health from media sources for science content and bias.

Lertlah being a school for the slightly more affluent, I see some of the young parents dressed up like they had just stepped out of the dressing room in the mall. I wonder if any of their children are feeling the pressure.

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"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."

- Malcolm X

The Structure of Lertlah School

ROHNG RIAN
Thai term for "school".


There are obvious differences between Lertlah School and the previous schools I have taught at back in Winnipeg, and some of these are factors that affect the way I teach science topics.

First, however, I want to acknowledge the fact that the English Program curriculum developed for all three Lertlah Schools -- private schools -- is based on the Manitoba curriculum. Much of the learning outcomes and units are derived from the documents that are taught in Winnipeg schools. The difference is that these were further customized, so clusters and units have been swapped for others, and often overlap in certain grades. This means that the topics for each grade will differ in Thailand than Manitoba, and each topic may be taught at different grades.

As an example, the grade three clusters in Manitoba are: growth and changes in plants, materials and structures, forces that attract and repel, and soils. In Lertlah campus two, however, the grade three units are: life and the environment, resources and materials, forces and motion, electricity, and water and air.

It is also important to note that comparing Lertlah with the schools I taught at in Winnipeg may be like comparing apples to oranges -- all of my practicum schools were inner city public schools, while Lertlah is an affluent privatized school.

Instruction for Lertlah students is 50 per cent Thai and 50 per cent English. Math and science are also taught in the Thai language, so on average, the students are getting two doses of each.
There is indeed a push for more English instruction, and that's what the University of Winnipeg's Thailand Practicum program has provided:

The government has long realised the importance of the English language as a major core subject in schools, and it has been a compulsory subject at varying levels for several decades. Since 2005 schools are being encouraged to establish bilingual departments where the core subjects are taught in English, and to offer intensive English language programmes (Wikipedia).

The teaching style of Thais are very different, and takes some getting used to. As visitors to the country, we are obliged to abide by these teaching styles.

A Thai classroom is more teacher-oriented than in Canada. The format is lecture-style, where the teacher remains at the front of the classroom for most of the period. One of the things that Lertlah does is rank the students academically. The highest functioning group becomes Section 1 (hence the "1" in P3/1), while the rest of the students get mixed up (i.e. ranking no longer matters) into the remaining sections. It used to be that all the sections were arranged academically -- Section 1 having the highest functioning students, and Section 4 having the lowest -- but policies changed just this year and no one really knows why. So in my case, I teach the highest functioning section of all grade threes, Section 1, and one lower functioning section, Section 2.

From what it appears, the education system of Thailand is a model that Canada's school system has steered away from . Thais appear to follow the Formal Authority style, an "instructor-centered approach where the instructor feels responsible for providing and controlling the flow of content which the student is to receive and assimilate" (click here for source), whereas Canada follows the Facilitator/Delegator style, a more student-centered approach where a teacher is more of a guide as students take on more responsibility and ownership of their learning.

There is much to discuss about this topic, and hopefully with time, I will be able to assimilate the style I believe in into the fray.

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"What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation. "

- Cicero

Fun and Games

GAME
A structured or semi-structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes also used as an educational tool.


A fun way to teach students (and assess them for learning also) is to play games with the new vocabulary, terms, and concepts they had learned.

One way I had done this was to go outside for my adaptation unit with a bullhorn, some pencil crayons, post-it notes, future board, and masking tape.

I split my class into groups of six and I instructed them to line up while I stood at the other end of the field. Their goal was to answer my adaptation-related question using the post-it notes and pencil crayons. Once the groups had jotted down their answer, the "runner" (which rotated every turn) had to run towards me and stick their post-it note on the future board beside me. The first group to do so with the correct answer got five points, the next got four points, and so on. A wrong answer yielded zero points.

Another game I frequently play is Categories.

After splitting the whiteboard into sections for each group, I ask one member from each group to go to the board with a marker, ready to write. Their job is to make a list of words based on the category I provide for them. They are given a time limit which is usually two minutes. An example would be: "Make a list of as many things that are seen in a desert habitat." Then when I say go, the students jot down as many answers as they could, while the rest of the members yell out answers.

This one is particularly noisy, so I don't use it often.


Games are a fun way of reinforcing science concepts. Though the two examples I have provided involve rote memorization for the most part, at least the vocabulary stays with the students as I continue to elaborate on those words.

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"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."

- Mark Van Doren

Aliens!

APPLICATION
The use of previously learned information in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best answers.


Using the knowledge the students have learned regarding genes and heredity, I introduced the "alien activity" to give them a chance to draw what the child of an alien mom and dad might look like.

To give the sense of randomness, I explained to them that they must use a coin to determine the acquired traits of the alien child. Seeing as how 50 per cent of genes com from the mom and 50 per cent from the dad, I instructed them that if the coin toss resulted with heads, the mother's traits will be acquired, while tails was for the dad.

On the board, I jotted down some traits: eye colour and shape, hair colour, nose and mouth shape, body type, etc. that they can focus on.

The results were varied, as expected. We then compared the drawings with each other and discussed why they were similar and different.

As homework, I asked the students to do a similar exercise, designing an "alien" mom and an "alien" dad, and drawing what a baby of the two might look like, using a coin to determine the traits.


As pictured above, there were many outstanding works of art. The children had understood the concept. This exercise proved to be a good assessment for, and of, learning.

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"A teacher's purpose is not to create students in his own image, but to develop students who can create their own image."

- Author unknown

Textbook Work

TEXTBOOK
An edition of a book specifically intended for the use of students who are enrolled in a course of study.


Two interesting things about the science textbook used at Lertlah School is, 1) that it is divided in two -- a "student book" (which is the actual textbook) and a workbook; and 2) that the content is aimed for Thai students.

It is mandatory that we use the textbooks, because the students' parents paid a hefty amount for them. The student book does a good job in covering the main science topics -- heredity, extinction, endangered animals, and habitats and ecosystems, for this semester -- by examining the basics and expanding on details when necessary.

As an example, the unit on heredity discusses traits and genes as the basic concepts. It points out family resemblances and inheritances of traits from parents. It then gives examples of traits that are passed on in human beings. It then discusses genes as part of cells that contain information about the traits, and that half come from the mother and half from the father. It goes on to detail why identical twins look alike, and why siblings look different.

Though the content is aimed for Thais content-wise (exemplified by the discussion on the endangerement of elephants and the Gurney's Pitta, a type of bird, in Thailand), the written words are definitely challenging. Both for the students to comprehend, and for me, as teacher, to relay.

I suppose it will always be challenging explaining to young, non-English speaking kids concepts like genes or heredity, but that challenge is further magnified by the communication issues as well.

The workbook is an effective tool, because the questions link closely to the student book. Like a good worksheet, it allows students to grasp what was just previously learned.


I use the textbook extensively in my classroom, however, to give students a more complete idea of the science concepts, I have done more than just teach out of it by introducing activities from other sources.

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"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task."

- Haim G. Ginott

Midterms and Finals

EXAMINATION
A test designed to measure progress against the objectives of a lesson, course or field of study.


It seems to be an absurd thought that children the age of seven and eight are writing exams, but here in Thailand, it is indeed the reality.

I had never created an exam, let alone a test, before. So it definitely was quite a challenge for me to create this type of assessment tool. Added to the fact that I taught a higher and a lower class, it was going to take some of my time and careful thinking.

The trick is to have an equal number of elements that are easy, medium, and difficult.

For both my science midterm and semester finals, I designed my test accordingly to Bloom's Taxonomy, which is "is a classification of the different objectives and skills that educators [have] set for students." The six levels of the taxonomy include:

Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

In my exam, I created questions low in Bloom's taxonomy, such as:


As well, I also included questions that were a little higher up, like this:


It is important to note that it is very difficult to create exams that accurately evaluate knowledge gained without the hindrance of language. It is a challenge to create questions that are higher in Bloom's Taxonomy without getting too wordy or overcomplicated. I find that to remedy this, I have come to rely on students drawing their answers as opposed to writing them, which is also a hindrance in itself.

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"To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States."

- Author unknown