Triple A Learning IB Blogs
March 5, 2011
November 20, 2010
THE NUDE
In some cultures it is difficult – if not impossible – to run life drawing workshops for DP art students if the model (male or female) is nude. For some of the members of the school administration, parents, and possibly other teachers and students in those cultures, its a step too far.
However, when it is possible, it can be a real learning experience. A day devoted to an intensive period of observational study inevitable improves students’ observational and analytical skills, and it can also enable student to generate a number of artworks, some of which might even find their way into the final exhibition.
November 16, 2010
Integrating concepts – second nature vs. rote
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on integrating theory into introductory social and cultural anthropology courses. Many teachers also had questions about how to integrate more basic, yet important, concepts into their courses. Some of these concepts are linked to theoretical schools and perspectives, others are a little more basic. For those teaching the IB course, the syllabus begins with a list of core terms and ideas – agency, community, comparative, cultural relativism, culture, ethnographic, meaning, process, qualitative, social reproduction and society. Because the subject guide has coupled these terms with explanations that seem to look a lot like definitions or encyclopedia entries, the temptation is for students to attempt to memorize set definitions for each of the core ideas. However, this would be the wrong path to take.
October 21, 2010
guest blog: listening and patient dialogue
by guest blogger Todd Pavel (left). My Middle Eastern Studies class has discussed the imminent niqab ban in France. A handful of North American kids very much understood the French government’s arguments for the ban, and many of my students from the Gulf criticized the ban’s insensitivity to Islam and disrespect for religious freedom. One thing I noticed during the discussions was that little effort was being made to understand fully the opposing side’s arguments. Feelings were strong on both sides, so not enough time was spent reading, listening, and reflecting. Each side casually dismissed the other’s basic rationale based on personal opinions or beliefs already formed.
I asked critics of the ban to see if they could – for just a minute – stop to reflect, to understand any part of the French government’s argument. I also asked supporters of the ban to see if they could understand, if only just a bit, the argument put forward by the ban’s critics. Both sides conceded after some reflection that there might have been some worth in at least a part of the other side’s argument. My next step will be to ask each kid to write a letter to a fictional supporter of the other side of the argument, acknowledging at least one merit of that argument before carefully outlining her/his own points.
October 17, 2010
guest blog: “cultural self-confidence”
by Amit Khanna (left). We need to help students to develop “cultural self-confidence” (a great phrase I saw in a slide show prepared by a fellow workshop participant!). This is especially challenging in international schools where students who find themselves in a minority start shedding their own culture as a way to integrate with the larger group. And who would blame a teenager for doing this?
In the past week I have seen an Indian student deprecate Bollywood movies and Korean student belittle their own education system. While it is good that they show such critical thinking, I suspect they had not first been given the opportunity to see the immense creative element that goes into a escapist Bollywood dance number (see the video below and tell me it does not make you smile at east once…) or the positive results any education system can have (while the Korean education may have flaws like any other system, they also rank very well in the PISA country profiles or Math Olympiad results). In other words, find the positive and seek to understand before criticism, even when this is directed inwards.
September 19, 2010
Spanish diaries 2: just a menu?
¨Here´s a photo you´ll want,¨ laughed my husband, knowing me oh so well. Wandering through the beautiful old city of Segovia in Spain, I turned my eyes from the cathedral and passing people to the menus he was indicating posted outside a café. It took a moment for me to spot what he meant – and then it was unmistakeable. I burst out laughing.
Do you find this photograph brings a smile? If so, maybe you´re responding, like me, to the incongruity of the two cultural icons yoked together in a single frame: I find the placement of paella and coke side by side startling, and funny. But perhaps you don´t react this way at all. You may find instead that their juxtaposition generates ideas of what they have in common. Then again, you may not see coke or paella as icons at all, but simply items on a menu, and may wonder what I´m talking about.
September 4, 2010
People are complicated
Chris Hadfield recently spoke about his upcoming role as commander of the International Space Station. His comments about the social dynamics of his job link the relevance of Social and Cultural Anthropology to extreme, remote and isolated living conditions. Here are some highlights…
July 9, 2010
Google revived .. as it ‘saves face’
The Chinese government announced today that it has renewed Google’s licence to operate in the world’s largest internet market, appearing to accept a compromise offered by the US search engine over internet censorship. Beijing had threatened to close Google’s access to the country and withold a licence from operating in the country after the US group said it would no longer be willing to censor its search results.
Google revealed the development on its official blog and said: “We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China. This new approach is consistent with our commitment not to self censor and, we believe, with local law.”
June 20, 2010
Getting out: learning through museums
A field trip to a local museum or cultural centre can be a great way to expand students’ thinking about social and cultural anthropology. It can also contribute to a collaborative learning environment.
June 4, 2010
Language and culture
Center for Applied Linguistics
Here is a site that I find very useful for ideas and reference. I find it a good balance of practical ideas and research support. You can visit it by clicking the link under the image. Here below is a two part article from the site that talks about the importance of Culture in a second language classroom.
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