Saturday 24 May 2008

Wk 11: Issues with flexible learning – Cultural diversity


I have read Alli’s posting on this topic. I think she has done wonderful research. Just want to make an insignificant correction here, in Chinese “giving clock” is pronounced as “Song4 Zhong1” and it means “attend a burial ceremony”. Apart from deciding what to give to your Chinese friend for a gift, the quantity of the gift is also needed to be considered. Number “4” is regarded as the “unlucky number”, because it shares the same pronunciation as “death”, so try not to give a gift of four items.

Brought up in a completely different culture, but have spent the past 8 years studying in NZ, I don’t think I have ever felt offended from any learning material (maybe I wouldn’t say the same thing if I studied the “Political study” or “Environmental study”).

I found a website on The Penn State University named “Working with Diverse Students including Adult Learners”. It clearly defined “Diversity” and lists a few strategies on how to work with “Diverse Students”. In my Certificate in Health course, gender discrimination is obvious, so is the diversity in age. I sometimes have to protect male students from being “targeted” by their fellow the female students. Some of the older female students like to play the “Mother Hen” role in the classroom, their dominance behavior and enthusiasm of learning can be used to set as a positive example, but can be irritating for the rest of the class too.

2 comments:

Leigh Blackall said...

Yes, I agree - Ali's post is excellent. And your's, your reference to the mother hens :) LOL, I'm sitting here with a smirk on my face, and all to knowing of what you are talking about. Good to see you voicing the potential problems facing males studying and working in the health sector. And good to have you back blogging again Michelle. I'm off to read your other posts.

Alli B said...

Cheers Michelle
Learning all the time eh!
Alli