ANTH 4: Language, Culture, and Critical Thinking

Interactive, Reflexive, Learning Community

Reflection on Instructional Change:

I implemented a Think-Pair-Share activity in my class related to the topic of linguistic indexicality. First, I provided warm-up questions to get students to think about the concept without actually introducing it. Second, I provided a short lecture on the concept of linguistic deixis. Then, I placed students in pairs to identify deictic terms in a paragraph I constructed. They were provided instructions to scaffold the activity. Then, they were instructed to interact with one another: comparing, discussing, and negotiating their answers in a small group setting.

An explicit goal of mine in starting my teaching career at a teaching institution like Sac State has been to more efficiently manage large class sizes and to facilitate a learning environment where students are not simply a number. Discussion-based activities have been shown to facilitate critical thinking and communication skills, which is why they are my preferred pedagogical tool in my teaching. In my student evaluations for this course, students frequently cited the discussions as being their favorite part of this course. As one student put it: "I like the group participation and class structure." Through ACUE, I have been able to reflect more on the implementation of such activities and how they might work symbiotically with other strategies from the course such as a Skeletal Outline.

I found the demonstration videos, the "Observe and Analyze" synchronous zoom session, and the implementation resources to be the most helpful activities from the ACUE course. The first two were helpful because they allowed me to watch fictional and actual colleagues in action and to reflect on my own teaching. It also allowed for me to correct, take on new strategies I hadn't considered before, and to make mistakes in a friendly environment among colleagues. I'll be referring back to the implementation resources for years to come.

One pleasant surprise (an "aha moment" if you will) from the "Observe and Analyze Session" was all of the positive feedback from my colleagues. I did not receive a single critical feedback, and this surprised me. I did not, of course, take it as a sign that I don't need to continue to refine my pedagogy, but it was a nice moment to be able to accept the positive feedback on the implementation of a specific strategy as well as to more broadly reflect on all of the growth in my teaching.

**Evidence of Instructional Change**
One positive feedback I got from colleagues during the O&A Session was my use of space and engagement with the slides. Here, I am providing instructions for the Think-Pair-Share Activity.	Students (not pictured) are currently working in pairs to answer four guiding questions I have posed regarding how to identify sounds in the International Phonetic Alphabet chart projected here.	A key takeaway from ACUE was the idea of making lectures more engaging. Here, I am going over the answers from the Think-Pair-Share Activity, but pausing to have students feel their vocal cords with me in order to tell the difference between voiced (vocal cords vibrating) and voiceless sounds (vocal cords remaining relatively still).

Practice and Reflect on Planning Effective Class Discussions (Think-Pair-Share Activity): Implementation_ReflectionGuide (2).docx

Course Syllabus SP25_ANTH4_ Language, Culture, and Critical Thinking_final.docx

Faculty Bio

Faculty Biography
	Joyhanna Jung Yoo (she/they) is a linguistic anthropologist specializing in race, gender, and media in Korean popular culture, with fieldwork based in Seoul, Mexico City, and Los Angeles. Their primary research foci are: the localization of Korean popular culture, Asian American racialization, and linguistic appropriation in mediatized contexts. They are passionate about teaching pedagogy, equity in education, and mentorship.

This work was supported by:
	National Science Foundation Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM Zone DUE 1832335 US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project Degree with a Purpose P031S210061 US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM4Equity P031C210012 *Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the US Department of Education.