Korean Job Discussion Forums

[julian_w]

Kia ora, and ah, yeah gidday.

So, I was starting to think about next semester, and what I'd do if I were asked to take that discussion course for higher-level students again.
I remembered a wee thread that I saw somewhere here once upon a time, and was inspired to think of this challenge:

Are there ten or so topics that could be considered almost universally interesting, important, and topical, but that are also not cliched, hackneyed and done to death in these classes already?
I'm talking about stuff that is not typically in mainstream media, in our countries of origin, let alone here.


eg., for me:

1.) terminator seed technology

2.) 9/11, the London bombings, and black flag operations

3.) KFEM,, and
NukSaek

4.) Defining 'local daily news' (especially good for students from outside Seoul).

5.) National versus international media views of North Korea.

6.) Sex. (sorry, just kidding)

* * * * *

Seriously, what else is there? Any ideas out there?

[RobinH]

Make it the students' responsibility to bring things to class. Have them prepare as a group. On their day they must have 4 activities/discussions prepared. They act as "teacher" if the other students have questions. Circulate among the groups and assist as needed. As each group finished an activity, they grade it based on a rubric you design.

You should bring 4 activities/discussions for the first few times and discuss how they should be graded before the students have to take over and do it themselves. They get to see what you expect and it gives them some ideas.

I have done this numerous times over the years at universities. The students appreciate having input into their grades and like the competition.

[HydePark]

I'd agree that modelling examples first, then eliciting from the students further topics with a rubric is a way to peak interest. This tailors topics to class interest --and, it's less boring for the teacher since topics will be varied.
Get the ball rolling, and the students will perpetuate the motion...

[Hotpants]

I'd also like to hear of discussion topics that worked well. Most of those taken from textbooks seem to fizzle out quickly, especially if the class is not very talkative. Student-lead topics also don't often work in my case because the students don't receive credits for the course - they are typically absent if any class preparation is required. Sigh.

For me and uni students:
The topic that simply DIDN'T work: The Holocaust. (Students said history was "boring" and subject "too macabre" to talk about. Yet, they are often happy to talk about Japanese imperialism and Dokdo.)
The topic that DID work: ideas on how to find a date and whether students would consider inter-racial dating. (For me, this topic was mindless, but students were very into it.)

I only ever once had a uni student who read widely and was well up-to-date on issues home and abroad. She taught me a lot! I wish I had more students like that. Frustratingly, many of my students will tell me that they are not interested in studying things that they don't know about, which in my view beats the whole concept of studying!