Change in the Teaching Curriculum - Report Example

Change In The Teaching Curriculum Name: University Affiliation: Date: MEMO To: All Teachers From: #Name Cc: Mr. #Name, Principal #School Name Date: 3rd May, 2017 Subject: Change In The Teaching Curriculum Recently, Korean schools have experienced an influx of international students who find and have trust that the best of their education and career development is based in Korea. This is because most of them are thirsty of learning science and technology which is highly established in Korea. However, they face a lot of challenges engaging their teachers who are passionately devoting their time to have the students’ dreams realized[Wal11]. Hence therefore as much as they would like to sail so well in their academic journey, they face lots of challenges understanding their tutors, their other students and even the overall school or college life. Therefore it is my intention that we may reconsider this issue and think of the best curriculum that can help these students have a consistently good study period in the colleges. This will therefore not be a short time preparation but rather a long-term plan that is intended to revolutionize the academic performance. Tutors are therefore required that they may be dynamic enough to prepare to adopt the strategies that are going to come up and make use of them as much as possible so that an eventual assessment when done should show the true progress about the curriculum or the weakness (Usiskin & Willmore, 2008). Background of the problem Language barrier The problem started when it was noted that some of the international students who come to study in Korea with very good entry grades end up performing averagely or dismally is the assessments. However, the students’ records indicate that the students continuously attend their respective lectures and attempt their assignments with more difficulty. This translates to their performance in the exams. Some of the students when they transfer to other colleges that are outside Korea like to the United States, they regain their performance and continue excelling very well Hannum, E., Park, H., & Butler, Y. G. (2010). This clearly indicates that the problem is internally based in our institutions and not with the learners. The approaches that the teachers use to handle the students which are dictated in the curriculum provisions are the number one factors that are believed to be causing this. Hence the need to have some recommendations that will tend to change the way education and teaching are approached. Understanding capabilities The way students understand while in class differs from student to student. Some students have a high understanding capability than others. These students tend to learn and move with the teacher every time the teacher introduces a new concept (Usiskin & Willmore, 2008). This is very normal for local students who attend the same classes with the international students. This keeps the teacher on the belief that the rest of the students understand at the same capacity as the local students. What makes the international students not understand the teachers in Korea very well is the difference in the understanding of English. Students who come from outside the United States most of them don’t understand the fluent English as may be used by some teachers. The languages barriers become an issue of concern as the non-English speaking students’ find it, even more, harder to learn English. Socialization Looking at class relationships, the teachers do not maintain a close relationship with their students which make them uneasy to raise any concerns or droughts of what they don’t understand very well. This leaves them with no option but to remain in silence without understanding how best to approach their teachers. Another issue is the relationship the students develop with other students Hannum, E., Park, H., & Butler, Y. G. (2010). As the rest of the students may play an important role in helping their counterparts cope up and understand what the teachers may be teaching through group discussions, it happens that not such relationships are created it happens that there exist no such relationships. Hence the students make the efforts to study alone at handle their class work alone which is rather very difficult. Practical assessment In the event of learning and attempting practical, the international students may not be able to understand the terminologies that are used in the procedures. There is, therefore, the need to help them understand every bit of the procedures to make it manageable for them to work on the practical effectively. Impact of this issue on teachers and teaching The difference in the teaching that is being observed now has a lot of inconveniences to the teachers and the teaching. This has reduced the morale and the determination that these teachers have had before for they do not see it translated to the assessments issued (In Bista & In Foster, 2016). The teachers without much motivation only get into the classes to deliver what their job schedules indicate. The students have remained to score fewer marks, which indicate that they gain less of the points they are taught. They are not very excellent due to the production of on competent graduates. Hence the measure is intended to bring some insanity back to the schools and our international students. The proposal I have recommended the following strategies to be implemented in the new curriculum that will see if there could be some improvement in the quality of education the students are getting out of their courses. The teachers have to work hand in hand with the international students, the local students, the school management, and also the native students need to work with the international students in the following ways. Student-student interactions and teacher-student interactions The international students find it hard to create friends with the local students. This is due to language barrier and other environmental change. Therefore the teachers are to first know the students very well including their countries and the languages that they understand so well (Programme for International Student Assessment & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). This will ease communications between them and then advise on the rest of the students on how to talk with them during interactions. When the students can freely interact, it becomes easy for them to help each other. Some of the areas that will boost interactions will include group discussions, sharing meal tables, sporting together. And always assigning them a student who understands both their languages so that he or she can help in communicating to the rest what each student intends to do. Understand their culture When the students are poorly performing, it sends a signal that the teachers and their practices are no competent in that they may result in a low international rating. The overall quality of education will be poor and the graduate students from this schools and colleges are believed as half-baked or low-quality graduates who may not be in a position to compete internationally. The teachers to will not be able to compete internationally as their track records By teacher understanding their student's culture like observing meals, prayers, and cultural practices and then approving them to observe them by creating a conducive environment where they can practice form makes them feel that they are valued in the new environment (ISAEBD & In Zhou, 2011). Foods that they don’t associate well with should be kept out of their dishes. Course outline and objectives Give the students a course outline and the course objectives prior to the start of the course unit and take the time to explain to them what they entail so that they may not strike also much to understand the course contents. Practical Ensure that for any practical to be issued, the teacher goes through with the students to ensure that they understand what they are required to do before they may tackle the work. Believing that the practical are meant to be worked o independently by the students is wrong since they have just transitioned and changed their education curriculum. Class work Every time the teacher is in class, he should ensure that they use a language that the rest of the international students understand so that they may be able to move with the rest of the students. This will incorporate explaining the meanings of some of the terms used during the lesson including the jokes and humor the teacher may be intending to pass across the classroom. The teacher should personalize the questions he or she asks each and every individual in the class so that he or she may understand what needs to be done and to whom (In Bista & In Foster, 2016). Before the teacher starts a class lesson, he or she should give the students a recap of what the last lesson highlighted. And the before ending the lesson the teacher must give the students an overview of what the next lesson will teach. By so doing, the students will remember what they learned in the previous lesson, connect it with the current lesson and relate them with the next lesson. The teachers need to have class online forums that enable the students to discuss at large the class work and the teacher can remotely monitor the discussions and then comment where necessary. Student representation The teachers to allow each group of international students to choose a leader who will be presenting their views to the general student's body, the teachers, and the administration to highlight the areas they prefer that some adjustments ought to be initiated so that any buildup of problems can be dealt with on time (In Bista & In Foster, 2016). Internationalizing the course content The teachers should ensure that all the course concepts match with the international concepts so that they may not seem to be customized local content that will limit the students’ research to the local level (Yurichenko, 2007). The outcome of this is to ensure that the students do their revisions and research from relevant academic material shoes origin is anywhere in the world and not just local databases. When this happens, they should not find a contradiction in what they were taught and what the source states. Limitations This curriculum, however, has various limitations that affect the implementation of it to the fullest. And hence other measures will have to be crafted with time to ensure that no barriers still close the way for the students to explore the opportunities that they are offered (Yurichenko, 2007). However, as time goes by people mechanisms will have been implemented to take care of a scheduled repeat. Students Corporation As much as the teacher will have to help the students handle their work at the most basic level, if it happens that the nature of the students doesn’t allow the teacher to help, and then it will be the students’ efforts to seek for the teachers help whenever they feel like. The students will have to play the major part in associating with the rest of the colleagues outside the class environment (In Law & In Li, 2013. However, the teacher will only ensure that they initiate the outside classroom interactions and let the students do the rest of the part. In class, the teacher has to be liable to their 100% interactions in terms of class discussions. The teacher will not help the students handle their practical exams at any point. The teacher is only allowed to help the students up to assignment levels. Conclusions In this respect, if the teaching staffs adhere to this without fail, it will cement the student teacher relationship and everybody will be looking forward to getting the best. The teachers will understand more their students and the students will tend to fit in an environment that will give them the best of education. The teachers will be able to design a procedure that is unique and customized to each individual learner based on their cultural background and blend it in a way that brings academic benefits including excellence to the each student. The rest of the local students will have an opportunity to understand the different cultural backgrounds of their colleagues (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005). They prepare them to feel the urge to personally visit the home country of their international colleagues which is an avenue of entering the international market. The understanding of the students will be improved and when this becomes a routine, therefore performance and practical competence will be high. When they perform genuinely well then the overall rank of the school will improve and will reward the school greatly. Therefore the way the current teaching is done only needs a positive and different approach for the sake of the international student's success and value. References Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hannum, E., Park, H., & Butler, Y. G. (2010). Globalization, changing demographics, and educational challenges in East Asia. Bingley, UK: Emerald. In Bista, K., & In Foster, C. (2016). Global perspectives and local challenges surrounding international student mobility. In Law, E. H.-F., & In Li, C. (2013). Curriculum innovations in changing societies: Chinese perspectives from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. ISAEBD 2011, & In Zhou, Q. (2011). Applied Economics, Business and Development: International Symposium, ISAEBD 2011, Dalian, China, August 6-7, 2011, proceedings, part I. Programme for International Student Assessment., & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). PISA 2009 results: Changes in student performance since 2000. Paris: OECD. Usiskin, Z., & Willmore, E. (2008). Mathematics curriculum in Pacific rim countries--China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore: Proceedings of a conference. Charlotte, N.C: Information Age Pub. Wal11: , (Walters, 2011), Read More