Week 1 Reading and Reflection

This week, I read an interesting article from Ted Aoki, “Teaching as In-dwelling Between Two Curriculum Worlds” and listened to a podcast on how artificial intelligence (A.I)may shape our society in the future.

Aoki’s article reveals a common but underrepresented challenge faced by all teachers, struggling to teach in a zone between two curriculum worlds. In the “curriculum-as-plan” world, teachers are expected to follow guidelines and achieve teaching outcomes which are pre-determined and set by external agency such as the Ministry of Education. Elements such as standardized testing and evaluations are typical characters of the curriculum-as-plan world. In contrast, the “curriculum-as-lived-experiences” is more concerned about the uniqueness and how knowledge is related to the very different living experience of each learner. As Aoki (p. 32) states, “in-dwelling in the zone between curriculum-as plan and curriculum-as lived-experience is not so much a matter of overcoming the tensionality but more a matter of dwelling aright within it.” Educational research is implemental in assisting curriculum planners, teachers, and educators to connect those two worlds, reach the possibilities of the future and answer important questions as what teaching is and what we should teach tomorrow.

I found the podcast on the topic of A.I. very intriguing. When I first heard about the topic, it stoped me for a few seconds. I know A.I stands for artificial intelligence but what does A.I. mean exactly? I asked myself what do I know about A.I. and what has been impacted or changed in our life as a result of this technology advancement and revolution. This podcast answered some of those questions. Dr. Harari introduced a possible emergence  of a new social class in the near future, named “Useless Class” which stands for human beings with no economical values to the society.  It seems logical for A.I. to take over jobs which are physically intense or dangerous; however, what if A.I. will be able to excel in  cognitive skills? Another interesting point raised by Dr. Harari is  what defines our life and meaning. In my perspective, jobs and economical contribution  don’t define who we are.

Dr. Harari argues that there could be many possibilities how A.I. may shape our society. Then, how educational research may help to predict or sort out  this blueprint for humanity? Will A.I. take over the job of “research” from human beings as well?

Comments

  1. Crystal Cheng14 January 2018 at 11:34

    Hi Hui,
    Thank you for your reflection of the reading. Actually people who know less about A.I. always feel frightened about it and they worry about one day their works will be replaced by A.I.. We could not say this won’t gonna happen in the future, but it may takes a long time to decrease the cost of producing it, testing it and make people feel they could accept it as a part of their life. However, A.I. undoubtedly could take up “Useless Class” jobs, most of jobs related to specific skills and communication will not be replaced.
    Crystal

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kieran15 January 2018 at 09:11

    Hi Hui,
    I think your point about the role of educational research in connecting the two worlds Aoki describes is well made. As you say, this will help us answer the larger, overarching questions about the purpose of education and teaching, or at least recognize the validity and importance of the question.
    I thought the AI podcast was interesting too and I agree that jobs and economical contribution don’t define who we are. Work does, however, play a large part in giving us a sense of identity and purpose. With AI taking over roles traditionally occupied by humans, the question of what these “pushed out” people can do with their lives is of great importance.
    Your question “Will A.I. take over the job of “research” from human beings as well?” is interesting. I would say the big data that companies get from our use of technology is the largest research project on people ever conducted. Imagine how much these tech companies know about us from tracking our movements, communication, and preferences. Like Harari said, they might very well know us better than our friends and family! Scary stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Naureen3 February 2018 at 17:39

    Hi Hui,

    Hope all is well! I really appreciate your honest question on what AI means exactly. I feel the same, and I think part of the reason is because the institutions we participate in (examples school and workplace), cannot yet answer these questions. One of Dr. Harari's last points in the podcast speaks to this, as he explains how the average worker and government isn't prepared for changes coming in relation to artificial intelligence. He further believes that the political system is ignoring the problem of the impact that AI will have on our jobs. I wonder why this is. Clearly there are institutions out there (Tech giants) that are well aware of the impact AI could have on jobs, as they are creating the technology. Have they shared this information with government and other corporations and we just don't know it yet? There clearly needs to be more transparency and discussions around this topic.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Merriman, Brian & Guerin, Suzanne (2006). Children's drawings in child-centered research.

This week’s reading opens my mind about using children’s drawings as an effective research tool. In this article, drawings is used as data to support child-centred research. This paper also facilitates a discussion on the strengths and weakness of using drawing as a research tool. To further illustrate the benefits of using drawings, the authors used a case study in exploring career aspiration of 151 Street Children from Kolkata, India. Children were invited to draw a picture reflecting what person they want to become in the future. Using drawings as data allows children to participate in the research in a fun and relaxing environment where in comparison, interviews may seem to be intimidating for children. It also allows children to express their opinions and feelings with no or minimum literacy skills. This is a very important point as children have been underrepresented through traditional research methods including interviews or questionnaires.  Moreover, drawings  proposes new i
Read more

Draft research question

I am studying the transitional experiences of domestic undergraduate students at Simon Fraser University who are admitted  from the international pathway programs because I want to find out what are the unique but unmet needs of those students during their transitioning into a Canadian post-secondary institution, in order to better understand why the existing new student orientation program fails to provide sufficient transitional support and services to this student group so that we will know more how to develop a specific orientation program for them aiming to offer positive learning experiences and improve student persistence from an institutional point of view.  
Read more

Nielsen, Wendy: “Assessing Science Courses in Rural BC: A Cultural Border-Crossing Metaphor”

In Wendy’s article, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research was conducted to closely examine why students in small rural high schools in BC face challenges in accessing science and math courses. The study reveals four factors which are categorized as staffing, qualified specialized teacher, the teacher-student relationship, and the school culture. Furthermore, the study conceptualizes the access issues as cultural differences among teachers, students, schools, curriculum, and the local community. It argues the importance of culturally relevant teaching in supporting students’ journey to navigate the “border crossing”. It is very true that each student is different and the “one-size fit all” teaching method will not work here. As educators, I think it is very important to constantly remind ourselves to reexamine our assumptions to facilitate teaching as lived experience. As Wendy states (p.185), “Teachers need to be better sensitized to the importance of building
Read more