Period 8 - Marissa Yeh

[CALIS]

Thank you for participating in TIRP service-learning outreach!

Your reports are the basis for academic credit.  Whether or not you are seeking a credit option, reports are required as a university record of service-learning efforts and impact in local schools.

Required Format:
Session 1 materials: [The first line of your report is the session number and full title of the database item(s).]
Focus Q: [On a new line, list your focus question from your TAP form. If you changed the question then add the new version after the TAP version.]
*** For the minimum of 3 student specifics, do not refer to students by name; instead call them Student A, B or C.
*** For the minimum of 500 words, guiding questions are here: https://www.forums.usc-calis.net/showthread.php?tid=297

Use clear paragraph structure. If you include too much focus on the step-by-step process of the lesson rather than substance, you may be asked to revise your report.
*** The webboard is public. If you include names, commentary or observations, you will need to revise your post.

To Post:
1. For each report, select Post Reply.  (Do not select New Topic)
2. Copy/paste from your Word file and save a copy until after the semester is over.
3. Before pasting, confirm that you have met the minimum of at least 500 words.
4. Each report must be submitted by midnight within 3 calendar days after each session.

A CALIS staff member will review your report each week and post a message below of the scoring for your performance evaluation.
We welcome any questions or concerns you have about scoring.
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Session #1 report
On time: 3/3
Substantive: 6/6
Student specifics: 6/6
Total: 15/15
Comments: Great report, very substantive with of your usage of the Nigerian poet case packed with very student specific examples. -- OL 11/17

Session #2 report
On time: 3/3
Substantive: 6/6
Student specifics: 6/6
Total: 15/15
Comments: Thank you for your report. Very substantive and student specific, love the question you ask at the end of the class! -- OL 11/17

Session #3 report
On time: 3/3
Substantive: 6/6
Student specifics: 6/6
Total: 15/15
Comments: Great report! Substantive with the tools you use and packed with student specific examples! Great effort with the slideshow!-- OL 11/17

[Marissa Yeh]

Session 1: _____, This Is Your Life, NPR: Out of a Nigerian Slum, a Poet Is Born, Nation Building
What are key elements of a capitalist economy? 
New: What are some examples of government failures? How do these contribute to conflicts?
Starting off with the ____, This Is Your Life, we read it aloud and asked students to think-pair-share about what country it could be talking about and discuss any possible reasons for conflict. When going around the room, I talked with multiple groups and asked them to elaborate on what country they thought it was and why. When we reconvened, the majority of the class agreed that it was talking about the U.S., which allowed us to transition it to the case study of Nigeria. Along with answering the questions on the handout, we had them think about what role the U.S. plays in contributing to the conditions of Nigerian citizens. Student A shared with the class the role oil plays in the economy and Student B pointed out that lack of infrastructure affected people by limiting the resources they have access to. Before moving on to question 6, we projected the first page of Nation Building, which outlines the three functions of government. After explaining them to the class, we asked if Nigeria had each one. After agreeing or disagreeing with the statement, we asked whether the U.S. showed any of these traits. Student D brought up the lack of human rights and rule of law, as seen through police brutality going unpunished. I tied this into the idea that, while the legislature aims to prevent such events from happening, there are government failures in practice which leads to instability. After that, we split them up into the 4 Worlds and had them rank the factors of their section based on how the U.S. and Nigerian governments valued their importance, asking them to discuss possible differences as well. Student A actively led the group discussion by asking for other students’ opinions and defending their choices. There were some questions on how to use the 4-Worlds handout, so we went around to each group giving examples of each factor to connect it back to the country as a whole. Student B, who had shared their ideas with the class before, hesitated to speak in the group, so I prompted them by asking them which factor they considered to be one of the most important. Putting less stress on the definitive rankings allowed the student to begin moving the factors around and discussing their ideas with the group. After we checked in with the groups, we had a member from each world form groups, asking them to look at all the factors to decide which ones are most likely to cause conflict or war. If we were to change anything, there could have been a smoother transition to the middle 4-World list so that the students understood exactly how to frame the factors with conflict. While I was walking around, I heard Student D share how they thought the military was a source of conflict, which was promptly rejected by the rest of the group. I stopped them and asked Student D to defend their point, to which I provided more contemporary examples like North Korea, and making reference to the U.S.’ history in the arms race with Russia. After this, we had all the groups write their top three causes of war on the board and have a representative from each group defend their number one choice. After hearing what they had to say, we wrapped up the class by emphasizing that all the factors on the list play an important role in both preventing and creating conflict, stressing that there was no “right” answer. Despite this, we pointed out trends among the lists and asked them to think about how such factors are present in the U.S. and where they stem from in the U.S.' history.

[Marissa Yeh]

Session 2: NPR: U.S. economy is slowing as fewer immigrant workers come to fill jobs
How do the interests of the market and government support/oppose each other?
New: How do different actors within a country derive their power and express their priorities?
We started off the session by jumping right into the NPR article. We played the audio and asked the students to highlight any facts that stood out to them. After the audio was done, we read questions 1-4 aloud and asked them to work with the person next to them to answer. While they worked on the questions, we walked around to make sure the students were on task. There was a pair of students A and B who were talking about something unrelated to class. When I saw this, I asked them how far they had gotten in the worksheet and talked through the first question. Student A was receptive, asking if they just needed to cite the text or if they should add their own analysis. I told them to think critically about it, but base their answers on what they read. Student B was a bit quieter, and I prompted them to answer a question by pointing out the specific paragraph that had the needed information in it. After discussing the first questions with them, I told them to focus on the more analytical question of immigration regulations on the economy that we wanted to focus on for our class discussion. Once the students were mostly done with the questions, we called them back and asked for volunteers to give their answers. Student C talked about how immigrants fill open jobs to boost the economy, reflecting on some personal experiences. Student D responded, mentioning how the article expressed another viewpoint as well, with some economists saying that less immigration could lead to more native-born workers getting a job. We were quick to acknowledge that this is a complicated issue to prevent the conversation from getting charged. I told them there are many factors and groups that come into play when making policy decisions, with conflicting interests between identities being a leading cause of war in history. Moving from there, we again divided the group into 4 Worlds, having them categorize the actors, priorities, and power they each have. This question was a little difficult for the students, and we ended up clarifying it by walking through the actors in each world. Once they got the hang of it, we began walking around. Student A asked the group what the priorities meant and the rest of their world seemed confused, so I clarified that their priorities are the elements or goals that the actors find most important. Since they were political world, I had them consider what the US government wants based on the NPR piece, asking them whether they wanted an economy that was going up or one that was going down. After the pieces were filled out, we had the students find people from other worlds and do a role-play activity where they took on the role of the actors they identified and defended the policy they would take on the issue of labor mobility outlined in the article. Walking around, Student D was very vocal and showed passion about defending why their policy was the best one. Overall, the students seemed to be having fun with the activity and had a playful debate while addressing the issue. To wrap up the class, we asked them to consider how these conflicting interests between the worlds could escalate into war and how policies more heavily influenced by one world favor certain groups.

[Marissa Yeh]

Session 3: NPR: An island crusader takes on the big brands behind plastic waste
How does a capitalistic market affect the environment?
New: How do individual, national, and global attitudes influence policies?
For this lesson, we made a short slideshow that had the definition of political culture which we projected on the screen. After introducing it, we jumped into the NPR article. We had difficulty finding the audio online, so we decided to have the students do some popcorn reading. We had each student read a paragraph or two before calling on another student to take over. Once we were done with the reading, we brought their attention back to political culture, the values that shape how people view their government and which influence policy. I then asked the students if they had any examples of political culture in the US. Student A responded with the First Amendment and how it reflects American citizens' values of freedom. We proceeded to explain that political culture works both ways and then asked them to start answering the questions. As they worked together, we walked around and made sure they were on task. After a few minutes, we came back and began discussing. We put a lot of focus on the question of it rewards or punishments were more effective in policy enforcement. Student B chimed in saying that incentives would be more effective, relating it to their own family and how they are encouraged to recycle. They referred to this "money mentality" as a driving force for getting people to comply with such rules. We then moved on to the levels of analysis, asking them to identity which factors were present in the case. We walked through the individual level together, mentioning the presence of moral obligations and fear as factors influencing policy-making decisions. I referenced current climate campaigns like "There is no Planet B" to give an example of how a sense of moral obligation to protect the planet influences people's actions. We then began to circle and talk with the students. Student C asked me to explain the levels of analysis activity as they were confused how to apply the different factors to the case. I talked through the media one with the example of advertising influencing the way people see brands and can use their buying power to either support/boycott it. Student C then responded that media was also present in news coverage like the NPR article itself. I continued to walk around and answer questions that came up, clarifying that they should come up with specific examples for each point. When it got close to the end of class, we called everyone back and went down the list, asking the class to raise their hand if they saw the factor we mentioned as influential within the article. For each point we had students justify where they saw it and how it could be applied to broader conflicts. This conversation brought up many valid points we overlooked, such as environmental advocates acting as domestic pressure groups and lack of diplomatic options through the lack of choice in participating in the recycling program. Since this was our last session, we spent some time after answering questions the students had about USC and college in general. The class we got was so responsive and insightful, it was an amazing experience!