Mixing Oil and Water

1. Mixing Oil andWater Chinese and Saudi students in the Classroom Jacquie Osborn/jlosborn@svsu.edu Diane Deacon/dkdeacon@svsu.edu Saginaw Valley State University

2. Classroom Management Issues Group Activities: Time Management (On task): Appropriate Classroom Behavior:

3. A Bit of History Saudi Arabia • Privileged few until 1932 • Ministry of Education, 1953 • Currently an agenda for continued reform China • 1986: Compulsory Education • Literacy rate went from 68% to 92% today • Largest school system in the world

4. What do they study? Saudi Arabia • Main focus: Islam • Primary: Arabic, art, geography, history, home economics (girls), PE (boys), math, science • Intermediate level: Arabic, art, English, geography, math, history, home ec (girls), PE (boys), science • Secondary (HS): Similar to intermediate but add: scientific, vocational/technical or literary track. China • Primary curriculum: Chinese, math, PE, music, drawing, nature, history, geography and work experience. • 3rdgrade, they add politics, moral training, ethics, and English. • Middle School: Prepare for a national exam they will take after 8th grade that determines their course of study. • HS: Choice of schools. Some are more prestigious than others.

5. The School Day Saudi Arabia • 7/7:30 am-1:30/2:00, 5 days/wk. • Segregated by gender. • Student/teacher relationship formal. • More weight is given to tests/exams and less on homework and student participation. • Extracurriculars, such as sports and clubs, are becoming more prevalent. China • 7:30-4:00, 5 ½ days/wk. • 9 ½ months a year. • Some evenings • Student/teacher relationship formal • Emphasis on tests • Extracurriculars not encouraged unless there is a clear goal and outcome.

6. Attitudes: Strengths and Criticisms Saudi Arabia • Students don’t challenge the teacher • Memorization • Emphasis on Islam Strength: • Islam supports education, so the Kingdom has responded with many reforms. China • School doesn’t prepare thinkers • Memorization • Students may be “tracked” too early Strength: • Students outperform many countries on standardized tests

7. Implications to consider: • In both China and KSA, many students do not select their own course of study. • Determined by parents, or exam scores. • Despite extensive pre-college preparation, many students are unprepared for the demands of a university education.

8. Implications ……. • In both China and KSA, students have focused on a particular area of study and may lack skills and confidence in other areas. • Professors have differing roles in the U.S.A. • The silent student. • A more interactive classroom.

9. Some Recommendations Make your expectations explicit regarding: • Time allocation • Grading • Ground rules for discussions • Faculty/student roles • Classroom etiquette • Cheating and Plagiarism

10. Sources • United States. CIA. The World Factbook. April 7, 2013. Literacy. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. 2013. Education. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. • Hendrickson, Peggy Bell. “Update on the Higher Education System of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” Advancing Global Higher Education. n.p. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. • Mack, Lauren. “Schools in China: Introduction to School and Education in China.” About.com. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. • China Education Center Ltd. “China Education.” China Education Center. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. • Carnegie Mellon University. “Recognizing and Addressing Cultural Variations in the Classroom.” Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

11. QUESTION AND MONITOR SLIPSHelp the speaker learn to listen; the listener learn to speak Basic idea: Speaker student is given a number of tokens and instructed to listen to Listener student. Each time Listener student asks a question, Speaker gives him/her a token. Listener student is instructed to ask questions relevant to the class at any time during the class period. The goal is to collect as many tokens as possible. At the end of class the tokens are counted and entered in the grade book.

12. QUESTION AND MONITOR SLIPS • Suggestions and Variations: • Level dependent: May require direct instruction in meaning and formation first • Build up to competition over the course of the semester (Ex. First in a group discussion, then whole class) • When whole class only select 2 • May need to start with “aggressive” students so that target students have a model

13. FROM NOTES TO SUMMARIESHelp your students become confident in using their own words. • A semester long process • Demonstrate step by step • Step 1: Whole class introduce strategies over 2 or 3 articles (oral or written) • May start with relevant information identification—underlining • Main idea/details, Beginning-Middle-End, Wh questions to lists or charts • Language Experience style group writing or retelling • Step 2: Individual, Pairs, homework • Transfer note taking to post-it notes----NO COMPLETE SENTENCES • May start with prewritten question words then move to blanks

14. FROM NOTES TO SUMMARIESHelp your students become confident in using their own words. • Step 3: Whole class • Group the post-it notes together on the wall or board by category. • This step is key to build confidence. It allows students to see that they are “getting it” because everyone will have the same answers but they may be written in different ways. It helps them to understand that often times there is more than one answer, one way to think, or one way to do something. • Step 4: Summary or Retelling • Write the summary or retell the story from the post-it notes, no books, no copying, complete sentences. (First together, then alone) • Helps to focus on organization; getting the beginning, middle and end and NO PLAGIARISM.

15. Q and A Thank you!