Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Paging Fareed Zakaria

Fareed Zakaria wrote an update to his book The Post-American World in 2011 called The Post-American World 2.0. He published an excerpt of his book on NPR and was interviewed on Fresh Air about it.

For our study of "diminishing state power," I had students write an update to his update. We then went on a social media campaign to try to get him to respond to the students' findings.

The students were motivated by the real-world application of this assignment and did a great job with the material.

Sadly, he has not responded yet, but I am not giving up.

@FareedZakaria High School IR class wrote suggested updates to your book "Post-American World 2.0" Thoughts? ow.ly/d/5bGR

Teaching Game Theory in IR

I find that teaching Game Theory, specifically the Prisoner's Dilemma, to be a bit dull. This year I spiced it up by writing a play. Next year I will spend more time working on the staging or consider "hiring" teacher actors to improve the delivery. Still, I think it was worthwhile and a better way to teach it. This lesson leads up to our study of strategy used during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

What a Dilemma for a Prisoner
By Ms. Marcus





Prisoner B stays silent (cooperates)
Prisoner B betrays (defects
Prisoner A stays silent (cooperates)
Each serves 1 year
(-1, -1)
Prisoner A: 3 years
Prisoner B: goes free
(-3, 0)
Prisoner A betrays (defects)
Prisoner A: goes free
Prisoner B: 3 years
(0, -3)
Each serves 2 years
(-2, -2)









Roles:
Prosecutor
Police Officer A
Prisoner A
Lawyer A
Police Officer B
Prisoner B
Lawyer B

In Room Number 1
Police Officer A:  We have arrested you for stealing a vegan chocolate bar from the cafeteria.
Prisoner A: You have no proof!
Lawyer A: You have no proof!

In Room Number 2
Police Officer B: We have arresting you for stealing a vegan almond bar from the cafeteria!
Prisoner B: You have no proof!
Lawyer B: You have no proof.

In Common Area:
Police Officer A: We have no proof, but we know he/she did it.  
Police Officer B: We have no proof, but we know he/she did it.
Prosecutor: Wait a minute. They both allegedly stole the vegan bars from the cafeteria. They must be part working together.

In Room Number 1
Police Officer A  and Prisoner A: Listen, we know you stole the vegan bar from the cafeteria.
Lawyer A and Prisoner A: You have no proof!
Prosecutor: We believe that there is a larger Prisoner conspiracy to steal vegan bars from the cafeteria. We have another thief in custody on the same charge. If you give him up before he gives you up, you will be set free, and the other Prisoner will get 3 years in prison.
Prisoner A: And if I don’t?????
Prosecutor: Well, if the other Prisoner gives you up, he/she goes free while you serve 3 years in prison.
Lawyer A: And if they both give each other up?
Prosecutor 1: They both get 2 years in prison.
Lawyer A: And if they both stay silent?
Prosecutor: Because I never lose a case, they will each serve 1 year in prison.
Lawyer A: Is he/she getting offered the same deal?
Prosecutor: Yes.
Prisoner A: What a dilemma for a prisoner!
Lawyer A: I want to draw this out for you, so you understand


In Room Number 2
Police Officer B and Prosecutor: Listen, we know you stole the vegan bar from the cafeteria.
Lawyer B and Prisoner B: You have no proof!
Prosecutor: We believe that there is a larger Prisoner conspiracy to steal vegan bars from the cafeteria. We have another thief in custody on the same charge. If you give him up before he gives you up, you will be set free, and the other Prisoner will get 3 years in prison.
Prisoner B: And if I don’t?????
Prosecutor: Well, if the other Prisoner gives you up, he/she goes free while you serve 3 years in prison.
Lawyer B: And if they both give each other up?
Prosecutor: They both get 2 years in prison.
Lawyer B: And if they both stay silent?
Prosecutor: Because I never lose a case, they will each serve 1 year in prison.
Lawyer B: Is he/she getting offered the same deal?
Prosecutor: Yes.
Prisoner B: What a dilemma for a prisoner!
Lawyer B: Let me draw it for you so you understand


In Room Number 1
(Prosecutor, Police Officer A, Prisoner A, Lawyer A)
Prosecutor: So, what will it be?
Lawyer A: Go ahead.
Prisoner A: My friend, Prisoner B, has masterminded a plan to steal vegan bars from the cafeteria. I just stole one on his behalf.
Prosecutor: I’ll be right back with you.

In Room Number 2
(Prosecutor, Police Officer B, Prisoner B, Lawyer B)
Prosecutor: So, what will it be?
Lawyer B: Go ahead.
Prisoner B: My friend, Prisoner A, has masterminded a plan to steal vegan bars from the cafeteria. I just stole one on his behalf.
Prosecutor to Police B: Bring the prisoner outside.

Prosecutor goes to Room Number 2
Prosecutor to Police B: Bring the prisoner outside.

In Common Area with Entire Cast Present

Prosecutor to both prisoners: You have both confessed and implicated the other. You are sentenced to 2 years in jail. And just so you know, you can’t be a vegan in prison.  

Why didn’t they just choose to stay silent? Because, according to the International Relations’ theory of Realism, every actor thinks every other actor is out for his own best interest. So according to the theory, you would assume betrayal.  

Less is More - Middle East History

When teaching Islam in Middle East History, I used to have the students complete a huge comparative religions chart. Inevitably, much of the chart was copied from the internet with the students not making much meaning of the comparisons.

This year I changed the assignment and it was much more successful and the students' understanding more authentic.  (See below)

The lesson still accomplished the goal of the learning target: I can compare Islamic values to other religions' values.

The PDF referenced below was produced by an amazing organization called Interfaith Youth Core.

Using primary sources, find text to show shared (or not shared) values in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Also, plot twist, find text from one secular source. 
Use the format that is included in the attached PDF and save it in your Google Drive. You will be presenting it on Friday. 
You don't need to do a full works cited, but include on the second page of the document where you found the information. 
Another plot twist, if you find the information on a secondary site (Wikipedia, etc), confirm the information in one of the web sites below. 
http://search-the-quran.com/

https://www.biblegateway.com/ (remember, to differentiate between Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Although Christians often quote and believe in the Hebrew Bible, in their theology there is an emphasis on the New Testament)
http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/63255/jewish/The-Bible-with-Rashi.htm
(THESE ARE NOT ACADEMIC SOURCES, PER SAY. THESE ARE PUBLISHED BY RELIGIOUS FIGURES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES). 
Also, you can find good primary sources here: http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/index.asp

Writing Differentation

I'm trying something out. On my 10th Grade Writing Essay Expectations, I am grading students out of the skills that they have and working towards the ones that they don't. They are not aware of the differences in grading, and allows the process to be fair. For example, if I have a student who can only include (and I don't mean correctly, just use) 20 of the writing expectations, then I will grade them out of those 20. If another student can use 25, their percentage will be out of 25. In addition, I am adding specific expectations for the next test for each students. This test I did not grade you on varying your word choice, but next time I will and we will work on that skill before the next class. This allows me to individualize the feedback (and instruction) and retain the integrity and fairness of the assignment.