Global Diversity & Reading, Writing, & Research

Global Diversity & Reading, Writing, & Research

Nadine Weinstein-Lavi

English Dept/NYCCT

Professional Development Program – Jan. 2023

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

1. Post a link to a song whose lyrics make you think/describe the emotions in one of the pieces my grandfather played (I played for you in class). Explain the connection and why you chose that song.

Students were asked to participate in an interactive blog/gallery type of activity by posting three items: a song, and two images, which reflected their responses to an historical artifact that was used as a text in class: Alfred Schenker's Secret War Diary, 1941-43 (written by my grandfather while in hiding during the Holocaust), and by writing a paragraph about each item that connected it to the diary.

The instructions were: 1. Post a song or a link to it whose lyrics match the emotions in one of the pieces that Alfred Schenker played on the CD you listened to in class. Show the connection in a paragraph about the song you've chosen and his piece. 2. Post an image that shows how you think he felt writing the diary and write a paragraph showing the connection between the two, 3. Post an image that shows how you felt reading the diary/how it makes you feel and write a paragraph showing the connection between the two.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The idea was to have students read an historical artifact – an actual WWII Holocaust document – and to make a connection to it in modern terms in a creative way (Some students posted cartoon images to correspond to the emotions they felt upon reading the diary), and to explain that in a paragraph. Creativity and analysis, and consideration of the context of the text (diary) and its relevance to themselves was a big factor in designing this assignment. Awareness of an historical event and gaining of perspectives – the ethics or lack, the context, and the connection to modern times, was key.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This activity was a mid-stakes assignment that followed the reading of the diary in the middle of the semester. We devoted about two weeks to the reading of, and the discussion of the diary, and a related assignment: a PowerPoint about it, and this interactive blog/gallery, which allowed all students to see what the others had posted and to discuss it.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

This was a mid-stakes activity, but it was fun. The idea was to be as creative as possible in terms of finding corresponding songs and images. They did very well. The instructions were as follows:
1. Post a link to a song whose lyrics make you think/describe the emotions in one of the pieces my grandfather played (I played for you in class). Explain the connection and why you chose that song. c

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

This assignment was assessed based on it's creativity. The students got points for thinking outside the box for this. They were very creative. No rubric was used as it was a mid-stakes assignment worth 15 points. However, everyone did so well, that they got more than the allotted points. This course is English 1121 and is a required course.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

I think that this activity worked very well as it enabled students to make connections between the text and themselves and their responses to the text in a new way, via music and images. It was also open for everyone to see, so there was less pressure for each student and they could discuss what they were going to do beforehand.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

This was the set of instructions for the assignments:
1. Post a link to a song whose lyrics make you think/describe the emotions in one of the pieces my grandfather played (I played for you in class). Explain the connection and why you chose that song. 1. Post a link to a song whose lyrics make you think/describe the emotions in one of the pieces my grandfather played (I played for you in class). Explain the connection and why you chose that song.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

PowerPoint Presentation: Global Learning – Comparison of Alfred Schenker’s Secret War Diary, 1941-43 to a Current Event in Terms of Human Impact

PowerPoint Presentation: Global Learning – Comparison of Alfred Schenker’s Secret War Diary, 1941-43 to a Current Event in Terms of Human Impact

Prof. Nadine Weinstein-Lavi

English/NYCCT

English 1121

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Students were asked to read my grandfather, Alfred Schenker's Secret War Diary, 1941-43, written while he was hiding in a cellar with nine other Jews in Lvov, then Poland, and to do namep-based and place-based research using the diary. Then, students were asked to compare an idea, quotes, names, and places in the diary to a comparable event, e.g. the current Russian invasion of Lvyv, now Ukraine (same city), or slavery, etc., and to conclude with how their ideas about those events changed as a result of their research, and how that has impacted them personally.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The Learning Goals for students are to acquire a global perspective in terms of learning about a specific historical event using an actual historical document (my grandfather's Secret War Diary) and to make a comparison to a comparable and/or modern event in terms of social, human, ethical, and cultural impact, so that they, in turn, might expand upon their perceptions of history vis a vis modern events and how they might effect change in actuality – whether via more open and embracing stances or more – in the world.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The reading of the diary and the subsequent PowerPoint presentation assignment was done in the middle of the semester to mark it as a unique "break" and transition assignment from the previous text (a Netflix series) to the next one, and to have students engage with current events, e.g. the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Preparation involved a guided reading and discussion of the diary in class, homework to finish reading it on their own, answering 5 Discussion questions posted on Blackboard about the diary with 1 paragraph responses to prepare them to think about it more deeply, and suggestions as to possible topics for comparison for the PowerPoint. A slideshow demonstrating how to create a PowerPoint using the diary was shown, and specific guidance was given to each student regarding his/her topic. This was a high stakes activity given the nature of the thinking and analysis that the students were asked to do in class and on their own worth 25 points. They did very well on this particular assignment.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The rubric was as follows (given in bullet points on the board):
*Aim for 10-12 slides
*Present SLOs and what you will determine
*Use images that you have researched about the diary and additional images you find about the places and names in it
*Use images of the comparable event
*Analyze the similarities and differences
*Answer 4 questions: 1. What were your assumptions about both event prior researching them? 2. How have your assumptions changed post-research? 3. How this has affected you personally and in terms of your worldview? 4. How will you effect change in the world as a result of this new perspective?

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

This activity worked very well in the classroom. Students were immediately engaged in reading an actual historical document being presented by a relative (me) of the author (my grandfather) whose eye witness account of the events in Lvov, then Poland, now Ukraine, during the Holocaust made them more real and uncontestable than other information they had seen about the Holocaust, such as movies, posts, articles. Students also found trying to do place-based and name-based research about the diary interesting and like being a detective. Analyzing how it compared to a comparable event asked them to think about it more deeply from an additional perspective, and summing up the impact it all had upon them personally was a good culmination.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

NYCCTEng1121ProfLaviSpring2022JoshuaIronsPowerPoint.pptx
Alfred'sWarDiary.pdf
C:\Users\nlavi\Downloads\NYCCTEng1121ProfLaviSpring2022ArielCabreraPowerPoint.pdf

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Increasing Students’ Intercultural Knowledge and Competency

Increasing Students’ Intercultural Knowledge and Competency

Elizabeth Parks

Architectural Technology

Design IV

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

As part of their design of a new museum building located on the CityTech campus, students are asked to select a theme for their collection that is drawn from their own culture. This gives them an opportunity to perform research to select exhibits and then to share what they have learned with their classmates.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The goal is to increase their own understanding of their cultural heritage and to develop an attitude toward what they have learned. The process of developing an attitude introduces an external framework to their knowledge and they can use that framework to drive the strategies they employ in their design process. The studio setting of the classroom allows the process and the results to be shared with all the members of the class.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The design of the museum is completed in approximately 11 weeks during a regular semester.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

When the project is introduced the students are told that they will chose the theme and content of the museum exhibits. They are asked to reflect on their cultural backgrounds and come up with a theme drawn from their experience or understanding. They are asked explicitly "What do you want to teach visitors to your museum?" For some students the choice is high-stakes, but the selection of a theme is not graded. The theme will influence the design strategy that they use in the creation of the building, and it is hoped that the passion they feel for their theme will further engage them in the design process. However, even students who have a more neutral stance toward their theme are able to successfully complete the project.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The students are asked to reflect on their projects, the process and the outcome. And they are asked to respond to the reflections of their peers. The revised assignment, using cultural -based themes for the design, is being taught in the Summer 2020 session and will be integrated into the Fall 2020 semester as well. For the summer session the reflections will be graded as part of the class participation, with a low stakes impact on their grade. The results will be reviewed for Fall 2020.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

I was inspired by several students from earlier semesters, who chose to use very personal themes instead of the History of New York , which was part of the original project brief. Those students were engaged very productively in the design process which resulted in very interesting projects. Summer 2020 is the first semester that the cultural theme has officially been part of the project description. I was initially leery about asking students to be ambassadors for their cultures but the response has been very positive so far. About half the students have chosen emotionally charged themes involving topics of colonization, immigration, segregation, and stereotypes. Others have a more neutral position toward the material, but recognize that proposing a museum dedicated to Nubian culture is a statement in its own right.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

The following is a link to my portfolio on open lab which contains the presentation of the revised assignment created as part of a Gen Ed Living Lab workshop during the Spring 2020 semester.
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/eparks-portfolio/teaching-portfolio/syllabi-assignments/

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/eparks-portfolio/teaching-portfolio/syllabi-assignments/

A Mock Cultural interaction between a Hmong immigrant family and American Doctor

A Mock Cultural interaction between a Hmong immigrant family and American Doctor

Lisa Pope Fischer

Social Science

ANTH 2000: Medical Anthropology

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This is a teaching exercise, or module, that will lead up to a mock interaction between a Hmong patient and American doctor. Essential to Anthropology is the ability to be sensitive to cultural differences. In terms of understandings of illness, one culture may have a different interpretation of, and different treatment for particular illnesses. I designed this exercise by drawing on issues and concerns presented in Ann Fadiman’s work with Hmong immigrants (1997, 2000). The objective of this module is to teach students skills of perception and interpretation. The module begins with reviewing some basic anthropological concepts and key terms. The duration of the exercise requires preliminary preparation such as assigning the readings to the students. The in class activity should allow time to discuss and review the material. This exercise would be suitable for smaller class sizes no larger than 40 but perhaps could be modified for a lecture demonstration or online learning if students handed in written descriptions.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The General Education Outcomes that the assignment aims to achieve are: Intercultural knowledge and Competence.
This lesson addresses: Cultural self-awareness, knowledge of cultural worldviews, empathy, shared forms of communication, curiosity, and openness .The objective of this module is to briefly outline the anthropological concepts of “cultural relativism,” “worldview” and “emic/etic” as tools for understanding that different cultures may interpret illness differently. This is important in terms of making diagnoses as well as treating patients in a culturally sensitive manner. Cultural relativism is an approach in anthropology that tries to maintain a neutral non-judgmental stance, showing both “empathy” for cultural differences, as well as “openness” to see cultures that are different from our own without bias. This exercise looks at beliefs regarding health and illness from Hmong culture teaching “openness” to other perceptions of health. A young girl is misdiagnosed due to cultural misinterpretation causing dire consequences, so the aim is that students can imagine their perspective, to learn “empathy.” “Worldview” is a concept central to anthropology, looking at how individuals perceive their world and their place in it, which can be different in different cultures. Emic and Etic are common concepts in anthropology that try to show differences in perception, “cultural self-awareness,” the emic being the perspective of the people we study, and etic being the outsider’s perspective, the perspective of the anthropologist who analyzes the culture. This assignment in particular looks at an example where communication between cultures lead to a horrible outcome for one little girl, and the aim is to try to understand and create “shared forms of communication” to avoid such a tragedy again. As a mock patient and doctor interaction, the students learn “curiosity” and “critical thinking” as, they articulate responses based on two different cultural worldviews related to health and healing showing ability to see things from multiple cultural perspectives. In terms of High Impact Educational Practices (HIEP), this exercise uses collaborative learning. Diversity and global learning, and community based learning. It will become part of my Open Lab site for ANTH 2000: Medical Anthropology, and Blackboard.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The in class activity should allow time to present the concepts and themes, and have students perform the mock patient and healthcare practitioner scenario, followed by discussion of the issues raised in the reading and presentation. One standard hour –fifteen-minute class period would suffice but allowing a class period to view the film might expand the topic. This exercise would be suitable for smaller class sizes no larger than 40 but perhaps could be modified for a lecture demonstration if students handed in written responses to the discussion questions.

Film Suggestion:
“Split Horn: Journey of a Hmong Shaman” (2001, 56 minutes)

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

The module begins with reviewing some basic anthropological concepts and key terms. The Fadiman book The Spirit Catches You, wonderfully exemplifies issues of cultural difference and perceptions of illness, but she also has a short article that focuses on epilepsy that can also be used to illustrate cultural difference. A full-length film documents the story of a Hmong shaman, (Split Horn), but you can also use short video clips to illustrate the point of cultural difference. The duration of the exercise requires preliminary preparation such as assigning the readings to the students and handouts for the mock patient/healthcare practitioner interaction.

Fadiman, Ann. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1997.

Fadiman, Ann. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down": Epilepsy and the Hmong. Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B [Epilepsy Behav] 2000 Feb; Vol. 1 (1), pp. S3-S8.

Activity: Cultural Perceptions
I.Review the Anthropological concepts either using PowerPoint or in handouts. This exercise gets students to think about how we might be quick to judge other cultures (ethnocentrism), yet also understand how others might perceive us.

KEY TERMS/ CONCEPTS:
Cultural Relativism: Anthropologists attempt to be neutral non-judgmental observers that take into account the culture’s practices relative to their own cultural understandings.

Ethnocentrism: People might judge a culture’s practices in a negative manner simply because they might be different from their own. Anthropologists try not to be “ethnocentric” or “Western centric” as it is important to understand why a culture might perceive or do something rather than judge it in a prejudice manner.

Emic/Etic: Anthropologists use the concept “emic” to explain the perspective of the people one studies. How do the people perceive their culture? How do they interpret the world in which they live? In contrast, the anthropologist must also retain the “etic” perspective, the view of the scientific observer. The etic perspective allows the anthropologist to step back and analyze the culture using the various theories in which to interpret a culture’s practices (i.e. Cultural Marxism/social conflict theory, Functionalism, Practice theory, Reflexive Anthropology/writing culture, etc.)

Worldview: Refers to how a person views their world and their place within it. Whereas some people may define themselves and behave according to a religious worldview, an atheist can also have a worldview. Different cultures may have different types of worldviews that affect perceptions of time and space, feelings about moral behavior, how they think about and how they seem themselves within their society.

Culture Bound illnesses: These are illness that might be found within particular societies.

Mind/Body dualism: Western medicine tends to separate understandings of how illness in the body might be separated from the mind whereas many cultures see the two as closely related.

II. Give illustrative examples to spur discussion about ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Encourage students to look at cultures in a culturally relative way by reminding them that people outside our own culture may view American practices as unusual as well.

1. Female brutality or beauty? Female circumcision is a practice in which elders cut off a young woman’s clitoris to prepare her for womanhood. Some refer to this as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This practice evokes much debate about brutality and mutilation of women, yet studies indicate that women from these societies may perceive this practice as a means to obtain purity and femininity (Gruenbaum 2006). Ask students in what ways do American women brutalize their bodies in the pursuit of femininity or beauty? To shock them you might show an image of the Cat lady who has had too many plastic surgeries, or a hyper thin anorexic looking fashion model. (See suggested short video clips from youtube below – following the bibliography)

2.Food delicacy or garbage? Students often cringe when they hear that in some cultures grub worms or monkey brains might be considered a delicacy, however, there are foods that Americans eat that other cultures might find repulsive. How, for example are grub worms similar to shrimp? For people outside the United States, peanut butter might look like mud or feces. People might perceive fine cheese as smelly rotten dairy. In the south, or even at the Coney Island Nathans, one can buy fried frog legs. Americans often perceive French food as elite fine food, yet they make “escargot” from common snails, and they perceive horsemeat as a healthy specialty.

III. Discuss how the above examples illustrate an understanding of “ethnocentrism,” but also connect to the idea of “emic” and “etic” as a matter of different cultural perceptions. Expand their understanding of emic /etic by connecting to an example of interpretations of cultural illness.

In Freed’s (1999) work, “Taraka’s Ghost”, a young bride in a strange new village experiences spirit possession, but is this a form of anxiety attack or depression? Would anti-depressants work if she truly believed she needed a shaman to remove the spirit? Several anthropologists have looked at the culture bound illness “Susto” prevalent among Mexican and other Hispanic communities in which they believe a person who has a sudden fright or trauma may develop loss of energy, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and depression. Whereas from a Western medical perspective “susto” might be explained as a psychosocial illness in which the person becomes antisocial and uses the excuse of illness to withdraw, “susto” also has underlying physical symptoms that may be covering up serious illnesses such as diabetes (Poss & Jezewszi 2002) or tuberculosis (Rubel and Moore 2001), or hypoglycemia (Bolton 1981).

IV. Instigate discussion of the suggested Fadimon reading with a mock patient and doctor interaction exercise. You can have student volunteers improvise a discussion between an ill person and a healthcare practitioner or have the students all do the exercise in pairs. The exercise creates a scenario between a Hmong immigrant family with a sick daughter and a Western medical practitioner. Discussion should follow the exercise.

HANDOUT FOR STUDENTS:
Each student will improvise or act out a “scene” that depicts a Hmong patient with a healthcare practitioner. We will discuss the reading in light of themes that result from this mock patient/doctor exercise.

PERSON ONE: You are a Hmong immigrant whose baby daughter is sick. Based on what you read in Fadiman’s article or book, how might a Hmong patient describe and present their illness.

Consider the following:
The immigrants understanding of the illness or self-diagnosis: The spirit catches you and you fall down. Her older sister slammed the door so loudly that her spirit was scared out of her and she fell down. Illness may have many causes but can be due to a loss of the soul to a malevolent spirit. It might be a sign that she will grow up to be a high status Shaman who can go into a trance and see the spirits and in this regard this illness (epilepsy) is highly distinguished and should not be cured as it may lead to prestige later in life.

Cultural perception of illness and health:
• Will not take pills if the colors are inauspicious.
• Will refuse surgery, anesthesia, autopsies, blood tests, and spinal taps.
•May wear a white “spirit string” on wrist that can’t be cut off while they are ill as their soul might endlessly wander.
• Hmong traditional medicine may include herbs, amulets, and animal sacrifices.

PERSON TWO: you are a health care professional and you are trying to understand or interpret what the person is saying to develop a diagnosis. Based on what you read in Fadiman’s article or book, how might a Western Doctor describe and interpret the illness.

Consider the following:
Western Medicines cultural understanding of illness:
• Customs and traditions – desensitized empathy.
• Cultural taboos- perception that only Western medicine can cure and to look at “alternative” practices would be inappropriate. There may be legal rules or “taboos” in treating patients, especially children.
• Hierarchies—tend to be “rational” and controlling.
•Have their own language that an ordinary patient might not understand.

What type of questions does a typical healthcare practitioner ask?
• What is your name, your date of birth
• What brought you in today? What is your illness?
• What kind of symptoms are you experiencing?
• What is your medical history? Do you have prior ailments, surgeries, and/or allergies?
• What medications do you take?
• Is there a family history of illness? Does heart disease or diabetes run in your family?
• Can your occupation play a role in your illness?
•Review of systems: do you have headaches, vision troubles, trouble swallowing, nausea, etc.

How might a Western doctor interpret the Hmong explanation about a malevolent spirit causing the illness?
Symptoms /diagnosis from Doctor’s perspective: At first the doctors did not understand the parents and thought Lia had bronchitis or pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. After the third time taking Lia to the hospital they saw she was suffering from a sudden attack of seizures or convulsions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AFTER MOCK PATIENT/DOCTOR INTERACTION:

1. How might differences in language affect diagnosis and treatment? Why is it important to have access to skilled interpreters? What might be the challenges of having an interpreter?

2. How might cultural differences affect diagnosis and treatment? How might it be helpful to practice both allopathic and folk medicine? What are the challenges?

3. How did the patient interpret the doctor? What did they think about the doctor and his/her treatment of them?

4. How did the doctor interpret the patient? What did the doctor think about the patient? (I.e. “noncompliance” – patient’s refusal to disregard instructions)

5. What is the “culture of medicine”? How do Western doctors perceive health, illness, diagnosis and treatment?

6. How is Western medicine linked to legal practices (i.e. Child protective services/child endangerment, Brain dead = death) and how might this conflict with the patient’s perspective?

7. Why is the patient’s view of their illness important even if it is culturally different from the Western Medical perspective?

8. How might there be inequality between doctor and patient? How might a patient’s perception of doctor’s as authority figures impact their interaction with the doctor?

9. Why is it important, as Fadiman suggests, for health care practitioners to “develop certain habits of listening, empathy, and flexibility” (2000: 6).

10. Why does Fadiman suggest doctors to ask : What do you think caused this illness? What do you call this illness? What are you most afraid of?

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Assessment for Intercultural Knowledge and Competence:
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO): Cultural Self Awareness, Cultural Worldview, Empathy, Verbal and Non-verbal communication, Curiosity/critical thinking, Openness.

(SLO) Knowledge: Cultural Self Awareness.
Intercultural Experience.
“The experience of an interaction with an individual or groups of people whose culture is different from your own. Intercultural/cultural differences: The differences in rules, behaviors, communication and biases, based on cultural values that are different from one's own culture(AAC&U).”

Assessment of Cultural Self Awareness:
Emic and Etic are common concepts in anthropology that try to show differences in perception, “cultural self-awareness,” the emic being the perspective of the people we study, and etic being the outsider’s perspective, the perspective of the anthropologist who analyzes the culture. The exercise tries to get students to understand Hmong cultural beliefs from their perspective (emic) but also be able to analyze and interpret them from an etic perspective (The anthropologist or doctor)

(SLO) Knowledge: Knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks.
“Worldview is the cognitive and affective lens through which people construe their experiences and make sense of the world around them(AAC&U).”

Assessment of cultural worldview frameworks.
“Worldview” is a concept central to anthropology, looking at how individuals perceive their world and their place in it, which can be different in different cultures. This exercise looks at the worldview from American culture in contrast to Hmong culture.

(SLO) Skills: Empathy.
"Empathy is the imaginary participation in another person’s experience, including emotional and intellectual dimensions, by imagining his or her perspective (not by assuming the person’s position). (Bennett 1998)"

Assessment of Empathy.
Cultural relativism is an approach in anthropology that tries to maintain a neutral non-judgmental stance, showing “empathy” for cultural differences. This exercises looks at beliefs regarding health and illness from Hmong culture. A young girl is misdiagnosed due to cultural misinterpretation causing dire consequences, so the aim is that students can imagine their perspective.

(SLO) Skills: Verbal and nonverbal communication.
Articulates cultural understanding of verbal & nonverbal forms of communication and show ability to create shared understandings.

Assessment of Verbal and nonverbal communication.
This assignment in particular looks at an example where communication between cultures lead to a horrible outcome for one little girl, and the aim is to try to understand and create “shared forms of communication” to avoid such a tragedy again.

(SLO) Attitudes: Curiosity/critical thinking.
Able to question and articulate responses showing ability to see things from multiple cultural perspectives.

Assessment of Curiosity/critical thinking
As a mock patient and doctor interaction, the students learn “curiosity” and “critical thinking” as, they articulate responses based on two different cultural worldviews related to health and healing showing ability to see things from multiple cultural perspectives.

(SLO) Attitudes: Openness.
Suspends Judgment in valuing their interaction with culturally different others.
“Postpones assessment or evaluation (positive or negative) of interactions with people culturally different from one self. Disconnecting from the process of automatic judgment and taking time to reflect on possibly multiple meanings” (AAC&U).”.

Assessment of Openness.
Cultural relativism is an approach in anthropology that tries to maintain a neutral non-judgmental stance, showing “openness” to see cultures that are different from our own without bias. This exercises looks at beliefs regarding health and illness from Hmong culture.

Association of American Colleges and Universities. "Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric." 2009. https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/intercultural-knowledge.

Bennett, J. 1998. Transition shock: Putting culture shock in perspective. In Basic concepts of intercultural communication, ed. M. Bennett, 215-224. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

I have not been able to run the ANTH 2000 “Medical Anthropology” class yet for lack of enrollment, but I hope to try to offer it in the Spring 2021. I am not sure how I could adapt this lesson for online learning if that should continue, but perhaps have students write response papers.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Materials needed
1) Anthropology key terms
2) Readings:
Book: Fadiman, Ann. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1997.
OR
Article: Fadiman, Ann. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down": Epilepsy and the Hmong. Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B [Epilepsy Behav] 2000 Feb; Vol. 1 (1), pp. S3-S8.
(Available thru City Tech library article database EBSCO)
3) Xerox of mock patient/healthcare practitioner scenario (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/popefischeranth2000medicalanthro/files/2020/06/Intercultural-Knowledge-and-Competence-for-ANTH-2000-Medical-Anthro-.pdf)
4) Optional: Video “Split Horn: Journey of a Hmong Shaman”. Or you might show a short video clip from youtube that shows a Hmong Shaman doing a ritual cure (See suggestions below after bibliography of references and suggested reading).

Other Resources
Possible links:
•Pdf course notes
•Powerpoint slides
•List of online resources
• Google images are a good way to find pictures AND Youtube.com has a number of short video clips.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READING:
Arntfield, Shannon L., Kristen Slesar, Jennifer Dickson, Rita Charon “Narrative medicine as a means of training medical students toward residency competencies” Patient Education and Counseling. Volume 91, Issue 3, June 2013, Pages 280–286

Bolton, Ralph (1981) “Susto, Hostility, and Hypoglycemia” Ethnology , Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1981), pp. 261-276.

Fadiman, Ann. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1997.

Fadiman, Ann. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down": Epilepsy and the Hmong. Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B [Epilepsy Behav] 2000 Feb; Vol. 1 (1), pp. S3-S8.

Freed, Stanley A. and Ruth Freed (1999) “Taraka’s Ghost,” Natural History, October 1999, pp. 84-91.

Gruenbaum, Ellen. “Sexuality Issues In the Movement to Abolish Female Genital Cutting in Sudan.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Vol. 20, Number 1, (2006) pp. 121-138

Hahn, Robert A. and Marcia Inhorn (eds.) (2010) Anthropology and Public Health, Second Edition: Bridging Differences in Culture and Society.Oxford University Press.

Kleinman A, Eisenberg L, Good B. Culture, illness, and care: clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Ann Intern Med 1978;88:251–8

Oubre, Alondra. Shamanic trance and the placebo effect: The case for a study in psychobiological anthropology. PSI Research, Vol 5(1-2), Mar-Jun, 1986. pp. 116-144.

Poss, Jane and Mary Ann Jezewski (2002) “The Role and Meaning of Susto in Mexican Americans' Explanatory Model of Type 2 Diabetes” Medical Anthropology Quarterly , New Series, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Sep., 2002), pp. 360-377

Rubel, Arthur J. and Carmella C. Moore (2001)”The Contribution of Medical Anthropology to a Comparative Study of Culture: Susto and Tuberculosis” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 15, No. 4, Special Issue: The Contributions of Medical Anthropology to Anthropology and Beyond (Dec., 2001), pp. 440-454

Thompson, Jennifer Jo Ritenbaugh, Cheryl Nichter, Mark. Reconsidering the placebo response from a broad anthropological perspective. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, Vol 33(1), Mar, 2009. pp. 112-152.

Suggested photograph images or videolinks:
Film Suggestion:
Split Horn: Journey of a Hmong Shaman

The spiritual healing of Hmong Shamanism (7:28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymJnUHxqRpE

ASA Documentary: Second Generation Hmong Shaman (33:39)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrSZBsGn-4M

Anorexic Models: The curse of fashion modeling (2:47)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK-Lhy-HqCs

Extreme Plastic Surgery (8:42)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R149OXxsGg

The link on Open lab includes the handout I would give students:

Click to access Intercultural-Knowledge-and-Competence-for-ANTH-2000-Medical-Anthro-.pdf

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Click to access Intercultural-Knowledge-and-Competence-for-ANTH-2000-Medical-Anthro-.pdf

French for food etiquette assignment

French for food etiquette assignment

Khalid Lachheb

Humanities Department

French for food and culture

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Eating and drinking is a crucial part of French culture and social life. There are rules and codes to be aware of.

Students will work in groups and will participate in role play exercises. They will write read and order from menu to order food and drinks, bread, cheese and wine by using the appropriate French vocabulary.

In order to fulfill cultural interaction learning outcomes students will be exposed to a wide range of authentic material. They will watch and analyze two/three videos shown in class or as assigned homework.

This activity will try to benefit from the Placed-Based Learning approach as applied to many other disciplines.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

After studying the culture dimension of French food, students will be aware regarding the fundamental relationship between language and culture.
Students learn:
a. to "construct" their knowledge from experience they bring to the
learning situation inside the classroom.

b. to derive meaning from experience, as well as gather information
from observation.
c. to use awareness of cultural differences to bridge cultural and linguistic
barriers.

Students will use the appropriate French terminology in this context.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This assignment is an introduction to the course program. Students should know general French food etiquette before engaging in serious learning contexts.
This work will be assigned during the 3-4 first weeks of the program.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

This is a low stake activity.
Will coordinate with hospitality department to identify the appropriate French restaurant as place-based learning for this activity.
Will plan to achieve the “field trip” during the class time.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

I will be using AACU’s rubric called “Intercultural Knowledge and Competence”.

This activity will help students:
To communicate across cultural and linguistic barriers, and to
demonstrate expanded cultural and global awareness and sensitivity.

And will includes High-Impact Educational Practices:
1. Collaborative Assignments and Projects.
2. Diversity/Global Learning
3. place–Based Learning

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

This is new activity will be assigned during the Spring 2021.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Impact of Culture, Geographic Location, and Oral Health Literacy on Dental Hygiene Practices

Impact of Culture, Geographic Location, and Oral Health Literacy on Dental Hygiene Practices

Isis Marsh

Dental Hygiene

Dental Hygiene Seminar III or IV

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Dental hygiene students have applied previous learning from DH seminar and clinical instruction to integrate Medical/Dental histories and clinical findings to assess and determine the appropriate course of patient management and communication. This activity will require students to advance their patient management and communication skills by having them consider the impact of their patient’s culture, geography, and oral health literacy into their total assessments. As dental professionals, students must be prepared to communicate effectively in real-world scenarios and care for patients with differing levels of health knowledge and diverse backgrounds. Students will participate in a combined independent/collaborative project by gathering and researching patient information, and then working with peers to evaluate and discuss case reports.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

This activity aims to encourage critical thinking that produces effective written and verbal communication with patients of various cultural/demographic backgrounds that have different levels of dental knowledge. The learning goals of each student is to correlate global and multicultural impacts into patient assessment, care, and communication, and to work collaboratively with others from diverse backgrounds. This project will progress students’ conceptual knowledge, reasoning and problem solving, cultural self-awareness, understanding of cultural worldview, and how to relate such experience into clinical application.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This student activity lesson is best suited for senior dental hygiene students. Thirty minutes of classroom time will be devoted to oral health literacy tools and interpreting findings. Students will then use thirty minutes of clinic time to conduct an interview. Two to four hours of out-of-class time is expected for this project; 1-2 hours of research/writing and 1-2 hours of collaboration with the group.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Students will read an assigned article and view a video on oral health literacy and cultural sensitivity for supplemental learning before a 30-minute in-class lecture. Students will also be provided with an interview questionnaire and assignment instructions to follow accordingly. The activity will be a low-stakes assignment. To begin, students will work independently by interviewing one patient (with consent) on cultural background, demographic location, and oral health literacy. Individually students will explore patients’ cultures (beliefs, attitudes, customs, and diet), demographic location (access to transportation, care, and fluoridated drinking water), and oral health literacy findings (better or poorer than expected). Students will then write a research/case report (2 pages) with a reflection portion discussing if any of the information they acquired changed their perspective of the patient, and how communication and patient management may have been modified due to the additional information. The collaborative portion of the assignment will require students to present their case report on Open Lab and collaborate with peers (groups of four) to discuss and answer questions on similarities and differences between their patients and themselves.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

This activity was developed using the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric as a guide. Students will be evaluated using a rubric to assess writing quality, analysis & application, problem-solving & decision making, connection to course material, contribution to learning, and timeliness.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

The activity has not yet been implemented.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab