My last unit in my STEAM course in System and Models is called Organization. During this unit I learned how to identify the synergy between individuals, groups, and organizations. This unit required big picture research about I-O Psych covering its history, fundamental psychological relevance, systems dynamics, and an organization's ability to attract and serve its employees symbiotically. The purpose for the last Action Project was to come up with an idea that can be improved in my school. We each had to pick a topic, I picked my third period class which is Spanish. For this project we also had to interview two students and two staff members in the school. The purpose for is to point out the flaws in the class and see what can be improved. What I struggled with was time, how I overcame that problem was sitting down and worked on what needed to be done. I enjoyed taking this course it was interesting and I can’t wait to take my last STEAM course.
In September I was excited to start my first ever Spanish class at GCE. GCE is known for having outrageous classes. The Spanish class was suppose to incorporated food, Spanish culture, and connection to Spanish-language parts of Chicago. The class was introduced and everyone was pretty pumped up about it; but the teacher wasn’t the perfect fit. I interviewed two of my classmates that took the class with me and two staff members. I wanted to get some feedback from my two classmates about what they thought from taking the class. I also wanted to know what worked for them and what didn’t. A student DNR said “The first Spanish class lacked guidance and instruction with lessons, students were wild and disrespectful. Just belligerent, I think the teacher should have been more prepared mentally and physically.” A student MF said “The big thing for me that didn't work was the fact that we were told the class was going to be a culture class and we were given a class where we just had to write sentence after sentence everyday with new verbs. I just felt like it was a waste of my time. I asked my Dean some questions about what happened behind the scenes during this time. She said, “I provided ongoing and specific feedback to the instructor who was struggling. He decided that it wasn't a fit and chose to leave rather than put into place specific suggestions we had for his teaching.” It was clear that this class was a failed mission.
Since the teacher wasn’t fully prepared students would be disrespectful and wouldn’t want to learn. Some would be on their phones and computers listening to music. It was a very depressing class for me and other students. Student MF also said “The teacher in the beginning was very difficult to deal with. He wasn't used to teaching anyone but college students which I think caused the disconnect. He would always tell us that he was shocked we weren't acting like "college students" which I think caused a lot of anger.” The first Spanish teacher quit on a day he was suppose to teach his class. The weakness in the first Spanish class was the teacher, student connection, and student behavior.
I-O psychology is characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the workplace. That specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work. We needed to apply I-O psychology to the Spanish class, and by doing that we ended up getting a new teacher and some things got better. The second Spanish class made some progress student DNR response to the new Spanish class and teacher was; “I think the teacher should have controlled his class a little more, lessons were short, and in the second Spanish class, students were a little too free, but slightly less disrespectful.” My opinion on the second Spanish class was the teacher saw how the students weren’t motivated and didn’t learn anything from the first Spanish class, so he just let us do whatever we wanted. He would sit down and read. From time to time he would teach a small lesson but that was it. The strengths we had in his class was learning Spanish a little bit more, and the opportunities we had was being able to learn Spanish online. Some students would use Duo-lingo and they enjoyed it.
I-O psychology fundamental assumption is that the people in organizations and the goals of organizations are best served when there is a good it between the two. Neither the students nor the teacher were benefiting from that situation, there needed to be a change again. GCE does follow Maslow’s hierarchy which is: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. But there was a treat that was happening, some students decided not to take a language class at GCE, and went off to find a different way to learn the language. Some students take online classes or do dual-enrollment at community colleges. The second Spanish teacher left us and we ended up getting a new one. But this time it was different. The Spanish class was actually working. We got a teacher who cared about us, and a teacher who controlled the class. It was satisfying. The behavior in students changed and we started learning Spanish. I asked my Spanish teacher some questions about the steps she takes to run the class/lessons she said, “I try to bring in the basics of the language I want everyone to walk away knowing and work around those basic concepts to create projects and learning that is flexible and challenging for each student.”
But there is still a problem. We all share the same space in the class. Every Monday and Tuesday the class is told to read a book in Spanish. Some students are more advanced in Spanish than others. Students should be able to have Autonomy, which is one of the pillars at GCE. In order to learn a new language you have to start with the basics, but some students in that class are already bilingual. Instead of pushing the student to thrive more into that language it’s pushing them back. My suggestion to fix this problem is having multiple language level classes to benefit each student. I asked my Spanish teacher and my classmate if they could create a language class how would it work? DNR said “My language class would be a rewarding class. That's the easiest way to learn, right? Through competition and reward! I would also try to relate my language to their language because familiarity helps with remembering things.” My Spanish teacher said, “I think that second language acquisition is an important part of any education, especially at a school that prides itself on fostering the growth of global citizens. I would like to see more integration of language acquisition into core classes as well as language acquisition becoming a core subject of its own. Personally would like to have fully immersive classes that are separated by ability level so that each student can get the most challenging and rewarding learning experience.” I hope one day GCE can have language classes that benefit every student level.
Citations: “America’s 20 Fastest Growing Jobs.” Farnham, Alan.
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