A Scoping Review of Colorism in Schools: Academic, Social, and Emotional Experiences of Students of Color

Students of color experience academic, social, and emotional challenges due to colorism in schools. The purpose of this scoping review is to compare the experiences with colorism of students from varying racial backgrounds (African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, and Latin) in U.S. public schools. It is predicted that the understudied group of Latinx and indigenous students of color will uniquely experience colorism in academic settings when compared to African American and Asian students. A 30 article literature review utilizing search dates from 1990 to 2020 was conducted employing a scoping review framework. Themes emerged that include: the privileging of lighter skin and more Eurocentric features in academic outcomes, the complicated social status created for students of color experiencing colorism in schools, and the increased potential for emotional challenges as a result of colorism. This review highlights possible school reform efforts to affirm all skin tones, reduce colorist biases, and offer mediation to mitigate colorist experiences in the school environment.

Fostering Active Learning via Critical Pedagogies

This chapter aims to provide a guideline for pre-service and in-service teachers to apply reflective research in language classrooms to gain a multidimensional overview of language teaching strategies in increasing active learning via critical pedagogies. A previously conducted reflective research will be used throughout the chapter to reach the stated aim. Analyzing language teaching techniques and strategies in an English for Academic Purposes classroom where all the students are originally from East Asia, the sample reflective research illustrates the needs and expectations of East Asian students in language learning through the research students, and also it aims to provide clues for TESOL educators to implement a similar study in classrooms employing critical pedagogies to develop language instruction.

Gamification, Learning, and the Acquisition of 21st Century Skills Amongst Malaysian Law Students

The diversification of pedagogic tools remains essential for a fruitful learning experience among the Gen Z students by embedding technology such as gamification in learning. Recent literature has discussed the acquisition of 21st century skills and the educational challenges generally faced by Asian students due to their cultural traits. Against this background, the findings of this study open reflections relating to the benefit of gamification in acquiring 21st century skills. The objective of this chapter is to identify whether gamification is a suitable pedagogic tool among Malaysian law students in order to support the acquisition of 21st century skills. The respondents are from Year 1 and Year 2 of a three-year Bachelor of Laws degree with the majority being Malaysian students. The data collected showed that gamification helps in the acquisition of 21st century skills. Evidently, it showed that gamification can be a suitable alternative pedagogic tool to support the students to learn skills such as critical thinking, creativity, innovation, leadership, or communication.

Connections, Identity and Resilience Amongst International Students at Victoria University

<p>This study used a re-storying methodology to develop narratives of 13 Asian students who came from overseas to study in New Zealand at Victoria University. These narratives considered connections the students made both on and off campus and their reflections on how these connections shaped cultural identity. The research also explored students’ experiences of resilience and agency. Their stories revealed strong connections made with other international students but less well formed relationships with domestic students, where ties are superficial despite programmes designed to facilitate these connections. The exception was the stronger connections students developed with domestic minority learners, such as Pasifika and Maori students. Volunteering, rather than paid work or homestays, were contexts that offered community connections. Student narratives suggest that the experience of studying at VUW refreshed home country identity but also encouraged a flexible identity with a growing awareness of cultural diversity, which for some students, constituted a global citizen perspective. While all students reported struggles, they maintained resilience in the face of challenges, using their networks to sustain them, rather than formal support services. They demonstrated agency in making moves to improve their situation and that of prospective students. Micro-aggressions encountered did cause social suffering but students confronted racism, in their own way, trying to enlarge cultural space at university. Leadership opportunities taken, along with the difficult social encounters they navigated, lead to personal change and growth. Implications of these findings, for policy makers and providers of support services, are discussed.</p>

Connections, Identity and Resilience Amongst International Students at Victoria University

<p>This study used a re-storying methodology to develop narratives of 13 Asian students who came from overseas to study in New Zealand at Victoria University. These narratives considered connections the students made both on and off campus and their reflections on how these connections shaped cultural identity. The research also explored students’ experiences of resilience and agency. Their stories revealed strong connections made with other international students but less well formed relationships with domestic students, where ties are superficial despite programmes designed to facilitate these connections. The exception was the stronger connections students developed with domestic minority learners, such as Pasifika and Maori students. Volunteering, rather than paid work or homestays, were contexts that offered community connections. Student narratives suggest that the experience of studying at VUW refreshed home country identity but also encouraged a flexible identity with a growing awareness of cultural diversity, which for some students, constituted a global citizen perspective. While all students reported struggles, they maintained resilience in the face of challenges, using their networks to sustain them, rather than formal support services. They demonstrated agency in making moves to improve their situation and that of prospective students. Micro-aggressions encountered did cause social suffering but students confronted racism, in their own way, trying to enlarge cultural space at university. Leadership opportunities taken, along with the difficult social encounters they navigated, lead to personal change and growth. Implications of these findings, for policy makers and providers of support services, are discussed.</p>

The Implementation of Gamification System in Asian Higher Education Teaching

Low level of in-class participation can be a problem for lecturers when they teach Asian students. One of the reason is the characteristics of the Asian students, which are quiet and passive. Active learning is needed to solve this problem. Gamification is one of the things that can improve active learning. This study aims to understand how to design gamification system for higher education teaching, the factors contributed to the gamification system in higher education, and the impacts of the gamification system for students with the case study of Bina Nusantara University in Indonesia. The finding shows that there are several things to consider in designing gamification system. Factors in the system, the lecturers, the course, and the students also take important parts in the implementation. When it is done correctly, there will be a lot of positive impacts for the students and the teaching.

Study about Chinese Speech Synthesis Algorithm and Acoustic Model Based on Wireless Communication Network

Chinese speech synthesis refers to the technology that machines transform human speech signals into corresponding texts or commands through recognition and understanding. This paper combines the classic VAD and GSM VAD1 algorithm simulations, improves on the above two algorithms to recognize and collect speech, and analyzes their Chinese proficiency by amplifying the signal through a filter, in order to study the adulthood of Zhengzhou University in Southeast Asian students (mother tongues are Indonesian and Thai) as the research objects, to explore the relationship between the Chinese phonetic proficiency and the acquisition motivation of Southeast Asian students. This article combines algorithm and language disciplines. According to the results of Praat and SPSS: 55-80 points account for 70%, 55 points below 20% and 80 points above 10%, we find that intrinsic motivation plays a role in CSL acquisition, a vital role. Intrinsic motivation can help mature learners from Southeast Asia to acquire Chinese better and better. The earlier you learn Chinese, the higher your motivation, and the easier it is to set your Chinese learning goals. The greater the enthusiasm for learning Chinese, the better the Chinese scores (such as HSK test scores and Chinese phonetic test scores). Therefore, the Chinese proficiency of international students has a great relationship with their interest in Chinese language, that is, the greater the interest in Chinese, the stronger their motivation to learn, and the Chinese proficiency will be very good.

Evaluating Experiential Learning Approaches for Asian Students at North American Universities

In recent years, experiential learning modality has become an integral part of business education in international programs. Although extensive research has been conducted in the experimental learning arena, the research regarding international students, especially the rapidly growing number of Asian students, with a significant percentage from China, is still limited. This study utilized a mixed-methods design using Kolb Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) to investigate the preferred experiential learning (EL) pedagogical practices for Asian students while studying at North American universities. This study revealed that students with a positive attitude toward EL could fundamentally strengthen their learning outcomes. In contrast, well-balanced learning styles should be emphasized instead of ranking the priority of learning preferences or taking only one learning approach. The limitations of the study and the future direction of related research are also presented.