Picture Yourself as a Stereotypical Male

For Friday's class, please read carefully the article I distributed, "Picture Yourself as a Stereotypical Male," and make purposeful annotations to it. You can also find the article on-line (with explorable links to the research discussed).

Bring your written answers to the following questions:

1. What are some hypotheses as to why men outperform women in a cluster of tests related to spatial ability?
2. What did the gender-priming experiment show?
3. What is "stereotype threat"?
4. Describe four of the experiments cited in the article that demonstrated the affects of stereotype threat.
5. What does the brain do in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex?
6. What social-psychological interventions can ameliorate the achievement gap? (N.B. look up words you aren't familiar with.)

If you look for the answers to these questions as you read and annotate, the task will be easier.

Welcome to Plato's Academy and the Chinese Imperial Examination System

Last week we looked at education in Greece (Athens and Sparta) and Rome. It is funny to think of the Romans as the first to drop PE and music from the schools. On Wednesday, we will visit China to explore the history of the Imperial Examination System. Please read the article found at http://www.sacu.org/examinations.html before class.

Our class research project under way. It looks like we have narrowed down our topic to the effects of technology on our brains and on learning. This topic could also include exploring best practices for students and educators. We'll talk about how to proceed from here in class on Wednesday and Friday.

Sister Dorothy Stang, Martyr of the Amazon

We watched part of the documentary, "Witness to Justice -- Dorothy Stang," in class today. If you missed it or want to see some more of it, the link will take you to the youtube video.

One of the required texts for all sections of First Year Seminar is Rosanne Murphy's Martyr of the Amazon. The idea behind assigning the book and the series of reflections questions about Dorothy Stang to all first year students is to give our NDNU community a common reference point for our shared values and identity. 

For Monday's class, do one of the following: (1) read the book (on reserve in the library); (2) watch the whole movie; or (3) do on-line research on Dorothy Stang to get enough background to be able to answer the reflection questions. Then write at least a half page response for each of the three questions below (due in class). Your responses will form the basis of informed discussions in class. (Please use 12 point Times New Roman font, single spaced.)

Reflection Questions:  

• #1 According to Hallmark Two of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community, “We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person.” How do Sr. Dorothy’s words and actions suggest she lived by this simple principle? Provide and analyze two examples that stand out.

• #2 Some may argue that in her ministering to the people of the Amazon Sr. Dorothy strayed too far from the spiritual needs of the people and got too involved in the earthly politics of the region. Do you agree? Why or why not? Please explain your answer. Should a clergy person be involved in social transformation to such a degree that it involves taking sides in legal and political issues? Why or why not? Please explain your answer. 

• #3 Students often tell us that their goal in life is to be happy. What do you think is necessary to live a happy life? Did Dorothy live a happy life? What is your evidence?

Welcome to the Eduba (Sumerian School)

Today we visited Mesopotamia and explore the education system of the people who invented writing, the Sumerians. Please read up on 9 Things You May Not Know About the Ancient Sumerians before Wednesday's class.

Here is a link to a very short video from Oxford about cuneiform writing and cutting edge technology. If you are curious to know more about the Sumerian flood story, check out this video.

DUE FRIDAY:

For our research project, please find a strong on-line article related to technology and learning, make meaningful annotations to it, and submit it with a short summary in class on Friday.

Research Topic and Community Engagement

Your article topics were all interesting and remarkable diverse. One way I see to coordinate many of your interests is to look at the use and effects of technology on learning and education now and for the future. This broad topic can include

• how and why tech is used in classrooms today (best/worst practices),
• on-line courses
• accessibility (check out "How Can Virtual Reality Bring Equity to Education")
• electronic note-taking
• e-books
• usefulness for those with learning differences
• neurological changes caused by use of tech
• future power/limitations of tech
• tech addiction
• AND SO MUCH MORE

I'm sure we can massage it into something coherent and interesting and make it relate in a meaningful way to working with the Armstrong School as our community partner.

I will contact the Armstrong School about working with them and visiting the school on Call to Action Day (Tuesday, 10/8). Lunch will be provided. If you have dietary preferences, please let me know by Monday.

Finding and Sharing Good Information

As a seminar, we are working both independently and collectively. We are exploring new topics and ideas, and we are teaching and learning from each other. The next assignment does all of this explicitly.

Creating a Collaborative Bibliography
The assignment due in class on Friday has four parts:

• Find an on-line scholarly article on a topic related to learning. It can be a primary or well supported secondary article as long as it includes strong supporting evidence and good references. Opinion pieces and overly simplistic popular articles won't work. (Make sure you are not posting an article that someone else has already posted.)
• Post the link to your article in the comments on this blog post. I will review the posts as they go up and let you know if your article doesn't meet the above criteria.
• Download and do a close reading of your article with purposeful annotation. (Harvard's "Thinking Intensive Reading)
• Write a short précis (summary) and be ready to discuss it in class. On Friday, everyone will introduce his/her article to the class for discussion.
• Your annotated article and summary are to be turned in to me at the end of class on Friday.