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Word + Quiz: efficacy

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Word + Quiz: efficacy

: capacity or power to produce a desired effect

_________

The word efficacy has appeared in 141 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 11 in “Using an Asthma Inhaler Correctly” by Perri Klass, M.D.:

Dr. Francine M. Ducharme, a professor of pediatrics and social and preventive medicine at the University of Montreal, has studied the efficacy and safety of asthma management. When a treatment of known efficacy doesn’t work for a child, she said, the four major reasons are inadequate technique, suboptimal adherence to the regimen, other coexisting medical issues, or environmental triggers (for example, maybe the child is profoundly allergic to the cat).

Problems with technique and adherence are the main ones. It’s not enough to observe the child once, she said. “We need to recheck the technique, children are very creative.” Often, they use the correct technique the first time through, then find ways of getting around it. “Whenever a medication doesn’t work or have efficacy, before you think about stepping up medications, you need to review those four criteria.”

_________

How Do You Think American Education Could Be Improved?

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How Do You Think American Education Could Be Improved?

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

In “Teachers and Other Readers Sound Off on International Exam Results,” Derrick Bryson Taylor writes about the recent results of the Program for International Student Assessment:

The test, which is given every three years, measures a 15-year-old student’s reading, mathematics and science literacy, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Results showed that, over all, Americans who took the test scored slightly above students from peer nations in reading.

However, American students scored below the middle of the pack in math, and nearly one-fifth of the students who took the test scored so low it seemed some had not mastered the reading skills of someone far younger. American students’ results in reading and math have also been stagnant since 2000, and the achievement gap in reading between high- and low-performing students is widening.

What is your reaction to these results? Would you have predicted that American students would score lower in math and reading than students in other countries, such as Poland, Ireland and Singapore? Do these scores raise any questions for you? Do you have any thoughts about why students in the United States might have scored this way? Do you have suggestions for how American education could be improved?

The Times asked readers to weigh in on American students’ PISA test scores. Here is a sampling of reader comments, which have been edited and condensed:

Too much technology?

Julie Boesky, a former teacher who now works as a literacy specialist in New York, said that technology had negatively affected children’s vocabulary development, even in privileged socioeconomic circles. Instead of observing or engaging with adults in conversation, toddlers and babies are often staring at moving pictures on a tablet or mobile devices, she said.

The vocabulary deficit widens in school as reading becomes more challenging. It also leads to poor performances on standardized testing, during which students are expected to answer complex questions with an elevated vocabulary. More test preparation isn’t the answer, Ms. Boesky said on Tuesday. “It’s actually understanding the language that so often is a barrier,” she said.

A former teacher, Elizabeth, from Portland, Maine, said she noticed a change in students around the year 2000. Students were impatient to get answers, had a shorter attention span and were resistant to working through problems, she said.

“My conclusion: technology is not always our friend,” she wrote. “The newly arrived laptops in our schools were as much a distraction from learning as a tool for learning.”

Raise teacher pay

Mary, from Baltimore, said that if teachers were better paid, “we would raise and draw more and better qualified people into teaching.” Professional athletes and actors earn more money and respect than teachers and other public servants, she added.

That sentiment was shared by Andy M., from Nashville, who said that teachers’ salaries should be competitive with other high-status professions, and that higher pay would attract a more “qualified applicant pool” from top-tier universities.

Build stronger safety nets

Jules Cooper, a retired teacher who lives in Kings Valley, Ore., said the country should do more to support families’ overall well-being. If parents have access to affordable health care and day care, for example, they would be less stressed and better able to focus on their child’s development.

“Students’ basic needs have to be met before they can achieve in school,” she said.

Sam, from Cleveland, said that not enough attention was focused on students’ home environment. “If the value of education is not stressed in the home, throwing money at the problem will not help,” he said.

At least one other person said the foundation for improving test scores could be found in quality preschools, many years before a student had to take the PISA. “If a child starts first grade from a position of disadvantage, it’s very hard to catch up,” Dot, from Miami, wrote.

Some readers focused on the uneven funding of schools as the root of the issue, while others believe that standardized testing is the problem:

Standardized testing is doing a disservice to students, said Lea Wolf, an entrepreneur who is active in the San Diego school system, where her daughter is a student. Instead of inspiring a love for learning or developing critical thinking skills, multiple-choice tests force students to memorize vast amounts of information, she said.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Do you agree with any of the opinions in the article about why American students’ test scores haven’t been improving? Which ones, and why?

  • Are you ever frustrated about what you are expected to learn in school? What about how you are taught and the expectations your teachers and school have of you? Are there resources that you wish you had in school that you think would allow you to learn more effectively?

  • Which of the proposed solutions in the article do you think would help you to learn better? What do you think about standardized testing, technology in the classroom and parent support? Do you think these things can help students to do well in school? Why or why not? Do you have any other ideas about what would improve education in America?

  • Think of a class, either current or from the past, in which you felt you were supported to do your best. What about that class made learning easy or accessible for you? Were there textbooks, interactive lessons, videos, field trips or even a particular teaching style that helped you to learn?

  • Have you ever struggled in a class or subject? What made that class difficult? Did you have access to any resources that helped you to do better? Are there forms of support that you wish you had?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Lesson of the Day: ‘Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?”

A study of a new curriculum will test a new approach to learning about race: studying it in biology class. In this lesson, you’ll learn about misconceptions related to race and genetics — and why correcting them matters.

How much do you know about the relationship between a person’s biology and his or her race?

Assess your understanding with this short quiz. For each of the following statements, mark whether you think it is true or false:

  • Race is determined solely by biology.

  • Racial groups have defining qualities, like skills, traits and abilities, that are determined by genes.

  • Racial disparities found in society — like the fact that African-Americans are overrepresented as football players or that a disproportionate number of American scientists are white or Asian — are in themselves a sign of corresponding genetic differences.

  • There is more genetic variation between racial groups than within them. For example, there are more genetic differences between groups in, say, Africa and Europe than there are among people within each group.

  • Single genes are responsible for traits like height, IQ, athleticism or musical talent.

You’ll find the answers in the featured article. As you read, highlight or underline the lines that either correct or confirm the statements above.

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. Why isn’t the study of race part of the standard biology curriculum?

2. The article defines race as “a social concept bound up in culture and family.” What does this mean?

3. Why do some educators, including Brian Donovan, a science education researcher who is leading the study described in the article, believe students should learn about race in biology class?

4. Dr. Donovan’s curriculum aims to clear up many misconceptions about genetics and race. What are two of those misconceptions?

5. What are some of the concerns educators have about teaching about race in biology class?

6. Return to the quiz you did in the warm up. What misconceptions did you have about race and biology before you read this article? Based on this, how important do you think it is for students to learn about race in biology class?

Choose one or both of the following activities to do on your own or with your classmates:

Activity 1: Reflect

Read the following statement: “Race isn’t biological, but racism is real.”

Take a moment to discuss with your classmates or journal about that statement. What do you think it means? How do you see it showing up in your daily life or the world around you?

Activity 2: Read, Watch or Listen and Discuss

The following resources explore this idea further. Choose one or more to read, watch or listen to:

Then, respond to the questions below:

  • What do these resources further reveal about the concept of race?

  • What impact do ideas about race have on individuals and society as a whole?

  • How important, in your opinion, is it to correct misconceptions about biology and race? Why?

  • Do you think learning about race in biology class could help reduce racism? Why or why not?

Preference of E-Learning – Structured or not?

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Preference of E-Learning – Structured or not?

Trends are funny.  People readily assume that a trend must be interpreted as a positive or that the person presenting what will become a trend as the gatekeeper to that trend, and thus, either the person who created whatever that trend is, or must have some level of scientific data to support it.

Micro-learning started as a buzz word and noted as such, in this blog and in a variety of other sites too.  No one, ever went into angst mode of the term of micro-learning, even though anyone who has been involved with e-learning since 1998, knew that micro wasn’t new, nor any radical approach to learning, it just was short. So back then, we refererred to short content as short, or bytes of learning or nuggets.

When it was noted as a buzz word, silence.  Mobile Learning? Silence. Social Learning? Silence.  Blended learning? Well, that was an interesting one. People who were running training/L&D always viewed blended to be paper and ILT (pre-WBT).  And for the longest time, folks in the corporate space saw blended as the most effective way to present content, knowledge and information.   No one said anything.  We just went thru the motions.

We did this because it had always been that way. For hundreds of years in education.  Classroom and paper, in the early days, maybe it was stone, who knows, but it was a setting with one person presenting knowledge and others listening.

When WBT appeared, there was an “AHA moment”.  The early adopters recognized that web-based training not only could work, but could do a better job at training and learning, that the current mode of ILT and paper.

There is plenty of data out there that supports the notion that WBT can equal and even surpass ILT for retention, comprehension and synthesis.  And there is plenty of insight showing that anytime, anywhere learning that is non-linear is more effective that following an agenda, point by point, ILT.  

But there were plenty of people who just couldn’t walk away from the ILT structure.  Paper? Not a problem, we can go PDF.  Have to go WBT? Okay, we can use a PowerPoint, whalla, online!

Was their angst?  For the folks who were instructional designers, some cases yes, others no.  For the ILT component, I never heard one ID person go in frantic mode.  It had always been the way, so why say anything to go aganist the apple cart.

I for one, was and still am a true believer that anything in e-learning can be done better and more effectively than anything with instructor-led training.  It the content is built correctly, is very interactive and engaging, it can and will work.  I’ve seen it first hand, at multiple companies and verticals. 

Every time, following a non-linear methodology, that if the learner wanted to go linear they could, but they were not forced to. Any subject.  Required, or not required. Proprietary or non-proprietary.

But I totally understood that there were others who felt the necessity to go more “traditional” with the instructor-led classroom/seminar angle and have touch points with WBT.

WBT by the way was the term used for e-learning, as in Web-Based-Training.  The previous term that was widely used was CBT, Computer-Based-Training, which was taking a course on your computer via a CD-Rom, and later by some with a DVD-ROM.

E-Learning Goes Linear

Right out of the gate, there were many who decided the most effective way to go with e-learning content was to go linear, i.e. A to B to C to D, as though you are following a book.  A Table of Contents was optional in this mode of learning. Navigation was go forward and go back with no points along the way, except the next click. 

The rise of rapid content authoring tools, specifically the explosive growth of Articulate Studio, which in all sense of the word was nothing more than a PPT converter, allowed anyone, to create an “online course”.  ID skills not needed.  E-Learning developer skills not needed.  And knowledge of any ADDIE or another modalities, not needed. 

For the authorware supporters this was akin to blasting the planet with gamma rays.  Still, the level of angst was minimal. 

There were folks of course, who were forced to go into e-learning, as though, it was a requirement and in doing so, decided that since their knowledge was in ILT modality, they would follow suit, with e-learning.  The rise of lockdown began. 

And with that, came static.  Static content still exists today. It is boring. It is dull. It follows the mantra that a couple of videos or a picture in a course or clicking a button here or there, constitutes engaging learning.   I’d argue, that it is a stretch to refer to that as learning.  Let alone engaging.

Collaboration

Mention colloboration and all these amazing ideas pop into your head, yet go into any system, and collaboration is often via a discussion board, forum, chat room – in other words text. Text driven.  I say something, others respond.  Maybe in real time, maybe not.

We share files. We share this or that. We are in a group. Look, it’s online, so congrats, it is e-learning. 

But is it really? 

Coaching

95% of the coaching I see in systems, or in products online follows a similar approach:

  • Learner records themselves via a web cam or device and sends it to the coach OR is recorded in real-time to the coach (ideally a manager or some other expert)
  • The coach then responds in text
  • The learner follows up in text

Is that truly coaching someone? Passive to Passive?  How is that different than the days of distanc learning, where you watched someone on a TV, while you and others sat in a room with a video camera on your face, showing your emotions to them?  Actually, the old school way, at least had both parties on video, so texting was not part of the equation.

Coaching works best thru incorporating real-life scenarios, not by recording yourself sitting down or standing in front of a screen as though you are preparing for a TV broadcast.

Assignments

Nobody likes assignments. Nobody.  No one in their school days, ever said, “The teacher gave us homework, this is going to be awesome! I can’t wait to start.”  Yet, assignments started to appear in systems, because folks in training and L&D who couldn’t pull away from ILT, felt that it was a necessity. After all, how can you truly tell if they are learning, if you rely on them, learning on their own?  We must have the ability to verify and since our content isn’t doing the trick, an assignment is needed.

OR perhaps in their own ILT, they always handed out an assignment for someone to do, on their own time. 

Informal and Formal

If you want to see the early adoption of ILT approaches into e-learning look no further than informal and formal learning that is noted in e-learning. Both terms were established way before  e-learning was even in consideration.  They are terms used for instructor-led training, and I’d argue, and have in the past, not applicable to e-learning.

But as with many other learning approaches, not something so easily removed from the minds of many.

After all, it has been around for many decades, so therefore it must stay.

Macro Content

I’ve heard the approach before, the term of “Structured learning”.  I admit, it has only been of recent, say the last few months, that the term macro -learning started to appear with a variety of folks I know.  Nothing concrete, just mentions of this way to learn, that according to them was more effective for skill acquisition that other modalities.

I didn’t ask them for emperical data proof, because honestly, it was a perspective that folks felt and believed to be true.  And I wasn’t expecting it to be sought at the same level of a study of whether chocolate makes you smarter.   Learning is open to interpretation. No one, ever asked for emperical data to support mastery learning, it works for some, and not others.

Brain-based learning has data to support its findings, but again, not everyone will see positive results, partially I believe, as some neurologists have told me, that no one knows 100% of the brain; and partially, because there are unknown variables, that not even the best brains in the world, no pun here, would be able to say “Everybody who does exactly this, will see this exact result”, I guess if we were robots we could validate this, but we aren’t.

Structured Learning aka as macro content or macro-learning is what I see as a trend. And a buzz word, you can expect to hear in 2020.

I noted this on a post on Linkedin, and shortly read comments that were to be polite anything as a whole, of positive.  Many, rightly noted, that the term already exists, in the sense of the methodoliogy follows blended learning.  Others viewed my term “as the buzz word” as though I was announcing that gamma rays were the next mode of learning.

Some sought emperical data to support this trend.  Some disagreed for a variety of reasons.  And a few, the minority, saw it as something that was not only feasible, but perhaps made sense.

What no one said, not one person, was that the focus shouldn’t be on the modality, rather it should be on the quality of the content.

What is Macro-Content/Macro-Learning?

First off, it is a learning approach for those who support it, that by following the methodology, you will have higher probability to attain skills (i.e. skill acquistion) compared to other methodologies.

It is structured learning, with a beginning, middle and in essence an end.  Telling a story as someone said to me, which I understood what that meant, and respectively disagreed with them.

The term isn’t what people should be getting up in arms about, although that seemed to be the angst issue, rather it is the process.

Structured incorporates

  • Activities
  • Assignments
  • Coaching
  • Collaboration
  • Structured learning approach

The activities ideally should be driven by the learner, where they can select a series of scenarios.  Coaching and collaboration are all part of the journey if you will. 

When I heard it, I immeditely thought I knew what this was, just re-packaged.  Classroom learning.  I say that, because it is all of that. 

ILT revamped for 2020 is another way of putting it. 

Could it be “structured” in another fashion to make it more e-learning, with non-linear, interactive and engaging?  Absolutely.   Ever read one of those adventure books? With multiple options on your journey, where you the reader drives the narrative?

A reader on my Linkedin post, saw it as a digital journey tied to applications (I surmise in the sense of scenarios) and I think that is a very good way to look at it.   And I believe it can be done non-linear, open for exploration, rather than going in lock down mode, following a linear methodology that is best suited for the classroom.

BINGO is a Journey

Lately I have been playing this Bingo game online.  It is a great time waster. I’m not mentioning it here to tell you about the game, rather how it is presented.

As a journey with various “sites”, that while you can follow a path, you are not required to do so. Once a “new site” opens, you can jump to it, or stay on the path.  Some of the sites are what you expect a bingo card to look like, others have different modalities and capabilties that do not adhere or follow the usual bingo mantra.

Even with the new capabilities, you can do even more on top of that. If you do not want to go to those sites, no big deal, you are not forced to. 

You can see who else is playing – how many of those folks, and then when “Bingo” happens see the countdown, and the avatars of who has won.

Now, there isn’t a coach, or collaboration, but if you have ever experienced learning a foreign language in an app, you do have those items as part of it. And every one of the foreign language programs I have ever taken, all offer a non-linear approach, with collaboration options and in some cases a coach or mentor. 

Does it work for everyone? Absolutely not.  But it offers varations to the usual mode, that many of us experienced during our school days, sit in a room, put on a headset, listen to the speaker (audio only) and repeat.

I’m sure somewhere there was someone who had emprical data saying this was the best modality to work.

And no one argued.

No one went into angst mode.

No one felt there was an evil cabal at work.

No one did anything.

And so we followed a method that just didn’t work. 

Bottom Line

Instructor-led training is the same in this regard.

It works for some, and not for others.

There are those of us out there who need a structured learning environment to succeed, and others who do not.  I recall a study I once saw way in the early 2000’s that found that folks who loved e-learning were truly independent learners and those who did not, were not.

Even though according to the study, when people were asked if they were independent learners, they all said yes, it in reality, was really not the case.

It had nothing to do whether the person was tech savvy or not.  Whether they were at a certain age or age bracket or not, or socioeconomic levels or anything else.

It was all about preference of learning.

Perhaps then instead of angst of macro as a buzz term or structured learning as a trend, we instead, recognize what is actually is

A preference for some.

And not for

Others.

Including me.

E-Learning 24/7

 

Insights from the FutureLearn APAC Partners’ Forum

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Insights from the FutureLearn APAC Partners’ Forum

Author: Nigel Smith, MD of Courses and Learning at FutureLearn

During the last week of November, FutureLearn held its annual Asia-Pacific Partners’ Forum at The University of Melbourne in Australia. Melbourne has become an increasingly important city for us. Not only do we partner with four universities there but it’s also home to our co-owners SEEK who joined the UK’s Open University as investors in April this year. 

The Partners’ Forum is an opportunity for us to share our strategy and insights with our partners and crucially for partners to learn from each other. 

This year, we started with Josh Nester, SEEK’s Education Director, talking about the digital disruption of higher education and the workplace and what opportunities that affords. Josh pointed out that in some sectors, like technology, universities were losing out to bootcamps such as General Assembly or online providers such as Udemy that can develop courses that meet specific skills gaps much more rapidly than is common in higher education. But Josh also reminded us that university brands still have enormous cachet and are seen as beacons for trust and quality, and when aligned to leading industry brands, can deliver significant opportunities for career-focussed learners around the world.   

This theme was picked up by our CEO Simon Nelson who announced the imminent launch of FutureLearn’s first microcredentials. These are credit-bearing courses designed to help people build specialised skills relevant to their career. They typically require more than 100 hours of study and  topics on offer are those where we know there’s significant employer demand. 

Throughout the forum, and during our other meetings with partners, we were met with excitement and enthusiasm for the microcredential concept and we’re looking forward to seeing learners join the first ones in 2020. 

Seeing the impact FutureLearn courses can have first-hand is always a highlight of these events and we were lucky to hear directly from four people who’d taken FutureLearn courses. Across the board we heard how they’d not only learnt new skills but also welcomed the flexibility that allowed them to take courses alongside their work and studies. One learner had even relocated from Brazil to study at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia based on their experience of taking one of their FutureLearn courses.       

Partners had the opportunity to learn from each other via a series of talks focussed on their own experiences of working with FutureLearn. The University of Newcastle Australia are the first of our partners to teach a full undergraduate degrees on FutureLearn. One of the great benefits they talked about, in terms of the students on their Bachelor of Arts online degree experiencing, was having the opportunity to interact with learners from around the globe who had very different perspectives on the material being taught. As someone who works for FutureLearn it is always incredibly gratifying to hear first-hand accounts of how the social learning pedagogy that underpins what we do working so effectively.  

We heard similar benefits from the University of Melbourne, whose Nossal Institute for Global Health have collaborated with UNICEF on a course called Health Systems Strengthening. This was specifically aimed for health professionals in Asia and Africa. These learners not only gained insight from experts in the field but also from each other. We even heard that the head of policy in one target country’s ministry of health said “this course changed my life.” 

FutureLearn’s purpose is to transform access to education so it was wonderful to hear numerous examples of enabling our partners to do just that.  

Category Research insights

FutureLearn on the road in China

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FutureLearn on the road in China

Author: Kate Sandars, Head of Partnerships Development at FutureLearn

Travelling in China with my CEO this weekend, the last thing we expected was to find FutureLearn featured in a museum. 

Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) held a series of events to celebrate its 70th anniversary, and Simon Nelson, Chief Executive, was there to deliver a couple of speeches and to take part in the World University President’s Symposium, a gathering of leaders from SISU’s partners. It was also a great opportunity to spend time face-to-face with our partners in China, including the teams who create courses for FutureLearn. 

As part of the event at SISU, the international visitors, including representatives from some of FutureLearn’s other partners (University of Leeds, University of Leicester and University of Waikato) were given a tour of the university’s new museum. The museum focuses on the world of language, covering the span of human history. 

There is also a section on SISU as an institution. SISU was founded in 1949, the same year as the People’s Republic of China. It started out as the Shanghai Russian School, which was aimed at boosting the number of Russian speakers who could help the country communicate with the then Soviet Union. Today, SISU offers courses in 42 foreign languages, covering arts, education, economics, management and law, as well as language and literature.

It has partnered with FutureLearn since 2014, offering courses in Intercultural Communication and courses on learning Chinese. These courses are particularly special in that SISU’s students are involved in the production and design of these courses, and also feature in the course videos alongside the expert academics. 

As Simon and I were walking around the museum we came across a timeline of the university’s key milestones, only to find a photo of Simon on the wall, signing our partnership agreement with SISU back in 2014, along with a photograph of a launch event for SISU’s first course. As a seven-year-old company we were amazed to see this and it brought home the fact that our work in online education is part of history. At FutureLearn, our mission is to transform access to education, and while we know we are starting to make an impact, we also know that we have a long way to go. We have 10 million learners on our platform, but that of course is only scratching the surface of what is possible. Seeing FutureLearn featured in an actual museum was really special and quite humbling. 

As Head of Partnerships Development, my role is to build partnerships around the world and Asia has been a particular interest for me over the last few years. Last week, we also visited our newest partner in China, Nankai University in the city of Tianjin, for an international conference on the development of online courses. 

So needless to say, the FutureLearn team will be spending more time in China in the years ahead, but on a personal note, Simon and I are both hoping for invitations to SISU’s centenary event in 2049!

Category Research insights

World’s Big Sleep Out

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World’s Big Sleep Out

On Dec. 7, thousands of people spent the night sleeping outside in cities across the world.

As explained in a recent Times article:

The gathering on Saturday, called the World’s Big Sleep Out, was organized by Josh Littlejohn, the owner of a chain of Scottish sandwich shops and an advocate for providing jobs, shelter and housing for people who need them. He described homelessness as a crisis that all countries have an obligation to address.

Thousands of people agreed to sleep outside overnight in at least 50 cities, including New York, London and New Delhi, to raise awareness of the problem of homelessness and the need for money to fight it.

Would you be willing to sleep outside in the cold to bring attention to homelessness? What kind of actions or sacrifices would you make, or have you made, for a cause you believe in?

Do you think that demonstrations like this one can lead to change? Or do you see it as a stunt instead of an act of substance?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more about these global gatherings.

Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan. You can find all our Picture Prompts in this column.

Word + Quiz: rhetorical question

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Word + Quiz: rhetorical question

: a statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered

_________

The term rhetorical question has appeared in 16 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 19 in “Mike Trout Didn’t Go on the Market. It Came to Him” by Tyler Kepner:

Trout has always seemed to recognize how good he has it, with little incentive to disrupt that life. He is dominant on the field and respected off it; comfortable with the direction of his franchise; happy in both Southern California and Southern New Jersey; and extremely well paid. Who could ask for more?

“If you were Mike Trout,” his agent, Craig Landis, once asked, “would you really wake up in the morning and say, ‘I’ve got to start changing things’?”

It was a rhetorical question, of course, and Trout has now answered with a resounding no. You cannot blame him, and you cannot be surprised.

_________

Lesson of the Day: ‘Around the World in 5 Kids’ Games’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘Around the World in 5 Kids’ Games’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “Around the World in 5 Kids’ Games”

Hand-clapping games are played in schoolyards everywhere, in every language. In this lesson, we invite you to take a closer look at some of the different games played on New York City’s diverse playgrounds, and analyze what these games might reveal about unique communities and the shared imagination of children.

The featured article begins:

On every schoolyard across the world you will find games invented by children. Hand-clapping routines, rhyming stanzas and intricate rules for tiny competitions; games born of the creativity, insight and idiosyncrasy of children’s minds.

Did you ever play any hand-clapping or rhyming games as a child? For example, perhaps you’re familiar with the ones about Miss Mary Mack or Miss Suzie and her steamboat? How did you learn these games? How do you think they got started? How do you think they are passed on from playground to playground, and from generation to generation?

Watch the video at the top of the featured article about such games played in New York City schoolyards. (Make sure you turn on the sound.) What similarities and differences do you observe as you watch each group perform? Do the sounds and hand movements remind you of anything you learned as a child or saw others perform?

Read the article and look closely at all of the images and captions, then answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think that New York’s Endangered Language Alliance decided to study playground games even though they exist “just outside the attention of most adults”? What might looking closely at the way children use language and carry on these games reveal about the 637 languages and dialects spoken in the city?

2. According to the article, how do playground games promote unity among classmates? What examples from your own life of similar games, songs, cheers or dances support these claims, or challenge them?

3. What claims does the article make about how these games can help children deal with stress and process difficult issues? What do you think about those explanations?

4. The author writes, “Unlike nursery rhymes, lullabies or children’s songs these games are conceived of, built upon and passed along by kids, largely by girls.” Do you agree, based on your own experience, that these clapping and rhyming games are more commonly played by girls? Why do you think that might be? Kyra Gaunt, an ethnomusicologist, suggests how, at least within the black community, gender expectations in society play a role:

Boys are socialized to suppress emotions and suppress processing emotions through verbal means, through anything but aggression. Girls don’t have that as an option. We’re not allowed to be angry. And because we are relegated to a kind of silence, embodied communication and non-verbal communication becomes a primary outlet.

Does this explanation apply in any way to your own community as well? Have you noticed different gender expectations for girls and boys on the playground?

5. The article’s introduction states, “Each game reflects the history and unique identity of the community it comes from, while at the same time highlighting the shared imagination of New York’s schoolchildren.” After reading the article, do you think these games manage to do both — reflect the unique identity of a community while spotlighting the similarities between different communities? Explain.

The article mentions how the Endangered Language Alliance recently mapped 637 languages and dialects to the New York metropolitan area. Click on the link and explore the map of where these languages are spoken.

Then, working with your class, see if you can identify how many languages are spoken in your community — your neighborhood, town or city. One speaker of a language is enough to make the list. To make as complete a list as possible, you can begin by brainstorming as a class; then you can ask the teachers and other adults in your school if they can add to the list; and finally, you can ask your family and friends to complete the list.

Based on your knowledge and what you learned, do you think any of these languages are still spoken by children on local playgrounds? Or are these languages mostly spoken by older adults?

How Much Do You Know About Costa Rica?

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How Much Do You Know About Costa Rica?

Can you find Costa Rica on a map? What else do you know about this Central American nation with about 5 million people?

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