Understanding Animations and Films Through a Deeper Cultural Understanding
Crystal Kim
Entertainment Department
Sound for Multimedia
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
Students are to choose the following:
1. An animation scene that has the original language used with English subtitles and with a version with English language recorded or dubbed over. Compare and contrast the mood, emotions, and character's thoughts between the languages used.
2. Choose a film where a different language other then English is spoken. Interpret the mood, emotions, and character's thoughts. Research of cultural values of language used will be needed to compare and contrast the cultural mood and emotions and evaluate how much of it is universal
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
I like for budding video and audio engineers to understand the making of animations or filmmaker's intentions further which includes understanding the culture and language that an animator and filmmaker uses. As animations, particularly ones used in Japanese, and foreign films are becoming universally popular, the foundation of how these videos or films are made are important to understand for anyone looking to take on any role in the film industry. This allows the students to be more culturally aware of people outside of customs they are used to, and to see the comparisons and contrasts. For production purposes, a deeper understanding of the foundation can aid with audio production for recording and film directing.
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?
I will be introducing it before they do their midterm projects so they have an understanding of the basic foundation before they produce their midterm projects.
Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?
Doing some research of the culture and the cultural values in a language will be necessary to do the assignment. The students are to find what is idiosyncratic to a culture and common cultural themes used in animations and/or films for a particular culture and language. The activity is somewhat high stakes since I see students resonate with this sort of activity as most students tend to be very observant in analyzing a group with an identity and how it relates to their own.
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 used the knowledge and skills area from the intercultural rubric. Within the knowledge section, the activity is to fulfill the cultural worldview frameworks and under skills, the activity is to fulfill the empathy and verbal & non-verbal communication section. Therefore, I use a value rubric. And my course is not part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative.
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 not able to use the assignment in my classrooms as I was not given any classes to teach for the semester. I think this assignment will go very well for every semester I teach the class. The challenge I see are students not doing enough cultural research before doing the assignment, particularly if one were to choose a foreign film scene since it takes of course so many years to really understand a culture. Unfortunately, I am not able to assess if students have enjoyed the assignment yet as I have not had the opportunity to give the assignment.
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
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
In the midst of the challenges we went through this Spring semester, I decided to address the priorities of general education using some critical and innovating teaching strategies, such as collaborative assignments and projects on OpenLab, ePortfolios, open educational resources to further engage my students in the new academic context.
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
Research has shown that online learning is generally less effective than face-to-face interaction and that students who are already struggling are likely to be harmed the most.
My goal is to compensate the drawbacks of remote instruction: self-discipline, time management, anxiety and depression due to isolation.
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 entire 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?
In terms of high impact educational practices, I will consider collaborative assignments and projects and ePortfolios. While I will continue to request that each homework assignment to be completed and submitted individually, multiple attempts are allowed and the highest grade to be recorded. At the end of the semester, a final project in a form of a computer program will be assigned to 4 groups of students, and each student needs to have his/her collaborative share. This final project will weight 30% of the final grade for each student in the group and needs to be posted on OpenLab.
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?
Inquiry and Analysis is the rubric I chose to assess the students’ needs. For a proper inquiry I need to identify what doesn’t work for them and then analyze these findings by chunking down information into smaller parts, or from abstract to more specific concepts for a better understanding.
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?
To compensate for the lack of physical presence I will continue to provide, and even improve, a supportive learning environment where all students feel comfortable participating.
Attendance was the foremost concern, followed by internet connectivity issues.
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.
I shall continue to use My Programming Lab, a excellent cloud-based tool, for the following reasons:
a. it provides a personalized learning experience that improves results for each student;
b. it contains a set of programming exercises correlated with the textbook that are focused on
a particular topic;
c. the feedback offered to students helps them master the syntax, semantics and basic usage
of Python programming language;
d. autonomous practice, where the feedback provided allows students to easily identify both compiling and logic errors in their code.
Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab
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.
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:
Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab
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
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
Restorative Dentistry Students Externship Program Summer 2020Place-Based-Learning Methodology
Laura Andreescu
Restorative Dentistry Department
RESD 1215 Introduction to Restorative Ceramics
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
For more than 14 years, the Restorative Dentistry Department established and conducted a Summer Externship Program for 2nd semester students, where students were assigned to an external facility for 24 hours as a place-based learning pedagogy.
Due to COVID 19 pandemic, the Externship Program – Spring/Summer 2020 semester needed to be modified in accordance with the distance learning methodologies, and follow the recommendations given by the Commission of Dental Accreditation. Therefore, the students are grouped in teams and assigned to an Externship Site, such as: dental office, dental laboratory, dental manufacturer, etc.; students must conduct online interviews and write individual reports answering the question: How was the Externship site affected by COVID-19 crisis?
The Externship Program, by engaging the Open Digital Pedagogy strategies, will give students the opportunity to have an experience outside of the classroom, even tough is virtual. Also, the students will learn about the hardship that many dental practices are facing in these times and how they are planning to return to providing dental services for their patients and retaining their employees. The scope of the program is to have the students be accustomed with dental practices and their role as future dental technicians in the dental filed. Also, it is important that students develop important abilities, such as empathy and verbal and non-verbal skills, which are vital in any medical/dental practice.
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
Student Learning Outcomes as stated in the syllabus:
Skill: (Laboratory) develop tools needed for communication, inquiry, analysis, and productive work.
Inquiry/Analysis: derive the meaning from experience, as well as gather information from observation; describe and solve problems.
To develop/improve their verbal and non-verbal skills, the students must be concise in their questioning, being aware that the participants are more preoccupied with the daily operation process, thankful and polite that the Externship Sites participated in this program and dressed properly for the virtual interview, showing respect.
Similarly, to develop/improve their empathy skills, the students might ask:
How the patients’ will be treated in compliance with the social distance protocols?
What are the new regulations about the personal protective equipment, which will protect the patients and employees?
What measures can be developed for employees’ retention?
How many dental technicians lost their jobs?
What are the plans for the immediate future?
The Program will implement High-Impact Educational Practices by having students working in teams to prepare and conduct virtual interviews. Students will learn more about each other and hopefully they will develop strong relationships that can beneficial for many years to come, in their careers.
For this project, the intercultural awareness can be evaluated in two ways:
(1) how the students interact with each other to complete the Externship
By collaborating in their teams, the students will better their communication and organizational skills, because they will have to listen and respect their teammates opinions and express their ideas in polite manner.
and
(2) how students interact during the interviews, with the Externship Sites participants
The students must show compassion and understanding for the hardship that many dental practices experience in this time, prepare clear questions for the participants, and show interest in what the other person is conversing.
The students’ reports should reflect their empathy and verbal and non-verbal skills
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 Externship Program Spring/Summer 2020 is in progress and as mentioned before in online only activity.
The estimated completion is before the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, based on the availability of the Externship Sites participants and of the students.
Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?
Please see the above Program description.
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?
RD Externship Program and Intercultural Knowledge And CompetenceValue Rubric
(1) EMPATHY:
– EXCELLENT (10 to 8 points) (1) Student interprets intercultural experience from the perspectives of own and more than one worldview and demonstrates ability to act in a supportive manner that recognizes the feelings of another cultural group
– GOOD (7 to 5 points) (1) Student recognizes intellectual and emotional dimensions of more than one worldview and sometimes uses more than one worldview in interactions
– SATISFACTORY (5 to 3 points) (1) Student identifies components of other cultural perspectives but responds in all situations with own worldview
– UNSATISFACTORY (3 to 1 points) (1) Student views the experience of others but does so through own cultural worldview
(2) VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
– EXCELLENT (10 to 8 points)(2) Student articulates a complex understanding of cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication
– GOOD (7 to 5 points)(2) Student recognizes and participates in cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication and begins to negotiate a shared understanding based on those differences
– SATISFACTORY (5 to 3 points)(2) Student identifies some cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication and is aware that misunderstandings can occur based on those differences but is still unable to negotiate a shared understanding
– UNSATISFACTORY (3 to 1 points)(2) Student has a minimal level of understanding of cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication; is unable to negotiate a shared understanding
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?
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
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
It is for students to become aware of people of diverse cultures who are doing design work that students hope to do themselves. And to invite them to question why the creative work of people of color is not recognized for their contributions to the design world.
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
This will also give students insight into the possibility of a place to start when looking for a career.
Current research shows very few people of color are represented in the design field at all levels. And too often, their work has been obscured or taken credit for or they were asked to remove the attribution.
This assignment addresses cultural self-awareness
And knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks on the rubric.
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 will be an introduction to the class in the first two weeks. A minimum of two weeks will be devoted to this project. Students should be prepared to spend two to three hours of research out of the classroom.
Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?
In order for students to be successful. They must be prepared to spend at least two hours of research time before any production can be they will be able to move forward.
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?
Discover at least five people from an underrepresented cultural group in the design world and be prepared to share their work with the class. Students will be asked to choose one of the five and analyze influences on that person’s design. Students will create a design campaign in the style of that designer celebrating an aspect of their culture. The campaign will include a combination of print, web, and video spots.
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?
n/a
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
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
Activity Description
The overriding mission of the college experience is to help City Tech students succeed in the classroom and beyond, by imparting an enthusiasm for lifelong learning. This enthusiasm can be dampened for City Tech’s multicultural population by the cultural obstacles many students face. The concept for this proposal is to enhance the student experience for a course titled “Structures” in the Architectural Technology Department, by stimulating an enthusiasm for this particular area of their studies. The idea encompasses a visual and intuitive approach within the classroom, combined with place-based learning outside the classroom. Aside from conveying technical knowledge, the intent is to create student awareness of cultural barriers that will help them navigate the complexities of today’s world.
Barriers
In a multicultural setting such as NYC in general and City Tech in particular, cultural divides abound. They can be obvious like nationality and religion, or more subtle like age and personality. They can also occur within the profession between its white collar “architectural” and blue color “construction” sides. Caught up in day-to-day problems, we (both students and instructors) tend to overlook these divides that create tensions and stresses in relationships.
Background
Structures is a branch of architectural study dealing with the engineering side of how buildings stand up. Architectural students, as conceptual thinkers, tend to be intimidated by the technical aspects of engineering and tend to “turn off” to their engineering courses. Added to this inherent aversion are the cultural barriers many City Tech students face such as language, family responsibilities, and deficient social support systems. For many, this also includes having to learn a new system of engineering units used in the US – the imperial system in place of their more familiar metric system. In short, the challenge is to address and overcome these cultural obstacles and create an enthusiasm for a course that holds the potential for dread in many architectural students.
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
Goals
The goal is to engage students and create enthusiasm for a course in Structures that will serve to further their undergraduate technical knowledge and professional lives upon graduation. This will be done through strategies for both classroom and place-based learning.
Classroom Learning
Conventional structural textbooks tend to be wordy and lacking an intuitive approach to the subject matter. These textbooks present a challenge to City Tech’s multicultural architectural students. Course material will be communicated across cultural and linguistic barriers by conveying structural principles in a visual, intuitive manner through discussion, dialog, and physical “props”, rather than formal “lectures”.
A key component of classroom sessions will be a series of short, five-minute student videos highlighting the essentials of structural principles. Students will be teamed to prepare these videos in discussion format, among themselves and their instructor, supported by physical props. The precedence for these videos is an experimental one I had prepared, without rehearsal and just for fun, to which students enthusiastically responded, overwhelmingly endorsing the concept and asking for more like it.
Place-Based Learning
The classroom experience will be complemented by visits to architectural offices and construction sites, where students will not only will see the professions in action, but also observe the general cultural distinctions and personalities of the two sides of the profession. A goal of these visits to create an awareness that technical knowledge does not work in a vacuum, and that an understanding the interrelationships of personalities, influenced by culture, is an essential part of a successful professional experience.
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 strategy is intended to be used throughout the semester. Classroom time will be approximately 10 minutes per session. Two place-based learning field trips will be conducted for a total of approximately 8 hours per 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?
See above.
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 will be conducted by student essays reflecting on questions such as “why do I like this?” and “what is it that helps me learn?”
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?
Lead discussion on ways to learn without cultural coding; record outcomes of discussions.
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 experimental video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4d3eDq_7pw
Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
This is an in-class activity which involves student interaction and critical skills. Students will look and analyze two films a week every other week. Then they will discuss their finding and share with class. Radiologic Technologists take and review a lot of films daily as part of our routine job performance. Acquiring an acceptable radiograph or digital image requires knowledge of the anatomy, positioning criteria, radiographic exposure, and other skills. In addition, the radiographer must know and meet specific diagnostic imaging criteria to provide the radiologists images suitable for interpretation. A knowledgeable RT assesses acquired images as a point of quality control to make sure it meets the diagnostic criteria. Students need to make critical thinking decisions and be able to evaluate images. Combining imaging skills with patient skills is truly an artful use of scientific principles and people skills. Occasionally we must be creative to present anatomy in a way that meets the diagnostic criteria. After each activity students will discuss findings and give feedback. In addition, they will be required to write reflection on their findings and post on Open Lab.
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
• Students will learn effective methods of analyzing images and communicate with other students.
• Students will be able to identify qualities of image as radiologic technologist and be able to critique it
• Students will be able to interact with patients of diverse cultural backgrounds, disabilities, sexual orientations, age groups or illness with the utmost respect and care and provide best possible images.
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 portion of this activity will be in done during semester lectures every other week, where is the place-based learning must be done. Homework will be given and reflected on Open Lab.
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 activity is low stakes .
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 includes General Education Learning Goals:
1. Skills:
• Communication- communicate in diverse settings and groups, using written (both reading and writing), oral (both speaking and written)
• Inquiry/Analysis – Derive meaning from experience, as well as gather information from observation. Use creativity to solve problems.
2. Integration:
• Integrate Learning – Resolve difficult issues creatively by employing multiple systems and tools.
3. Values, Ethics, And Relationships:
• Global/Multicultural Orientation – Discern multiple perspectives. Use awareness of cultural differences to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers. Demonstrate proficiency and capacities in dealing with a diverse society.
This activity also includes High-Impact Educational Practices:
1. Collaborative Assignments and Projects.
2. Diversity/Global Learning
3. Service Learning/Community–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 activity was successful in the Lectures. It will be implemented in my different courses with the addition of place-based learning. As we view images contained in this activity we will also address two important issues: what anatomy should be presented in a specific view, and how should that anatomy be presented. For example, a radiograph that is positioned correctly and demonstrates the proper anatomy must also have optimal exposure technique to yield maximum diagnostic value. My students enjoyed this activity since it is reflecting in their daily activity in Hospitals, but in more formal way.
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
