Week 3 Individual Session: Comparing Post-Secondary Education Systems
Week 3 Individual Session: Comparing Post-Secondary Education Systems
Session Goals
❖ Learn about American universities and colleges
❖ Discuss the differences between American universities and colleges and Ukrainian universities and colleges
❖ Discuss cheating in college admissions and the Varsity Blues scandal
Pre-Session Instructions for Learner
❖ You are going to teach your conversation buddy about Ukrainian universities and colleges! Create an *oral *response describing both of them and be prepared to present it. You can choose 4-6 questions from this list to focus on.
❖ Watch this trailer for a movie based on a real-life college admissions scandal in the US. ❖ Read this article about American universities and colleges. Take notes on any difficult words or sentences you didn’t understand.
➢ CHALLENGE: Advanced learners can challenge themselves with a more difficult article on the same topic instead of the easier article.
Pre-Session Instructions for Volunteer
❖ Refer to the training video on Ukrainian culture for a brief introduction to the differences between colleges and universities in the United States and Ukraine.
❖ Watch this trailer for a movie based on a real-life college admissions scandal in the US. Review this article if you are not already familiar with the Varsity Blues scandal.
❖ Read this article (easy) or this article (difficult) about American universities and colleges. Be prepared to discuss it with the learner.
During the Session:
❖ [10 min] Have the learner present their oral response.
➢ Give feedback on grammar usage, vocabulary, and pronunciation and remember to tell them the things they could work on as well as the things they did well.
➢ Ask specific clarification questions and follow-up questions. You can also choose questions from this list that they haven’t covered.
❖ [10 min] Discuss the article on American universities and colleges.
➢ Ask the learner if they had any questions or didn’t understand any part of the article and clarify as needed.
➢ Discuss the following questions:
- What are the differences between a school, college, and university in the US?
- How do the terms school, college, and university differ in other countries?
- What are some examples of schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- How does the level of education differ between schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- How do the academic programs differ between schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- What is the admissions process like for schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- What is the typical duration of study for schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- How do the costs of attending schools, colleges, and universities in the US differ?
- What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of attending a school, college, or university in the US?
- How do schools, colleges, and universities in the US contribute to society?
- What are some of the challenges faced by schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
- How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has affected schools, colleges, and universities in the US?
❖ [20 min] Discuss the similarities and differences between post-secondary education in Ukraine and the US (or your country, if you’re not in the US).
- Tell the learner about post-secondary education in your country. If you live in the US, you can provide more details and personal experiences about US colleges and universities. If you live in another country, you can focus on that country.
- *To avoid a monologue, invite the learner to ask you questions. If they have trouble coming up with questions, screenshare the list of questions for the oral response and use them to guide the conversation. *
- What can you do at a college or university in one country but not the other?
- Which education system seems better? Note: This is a great opportunity to practice common vocabulary used to compare and contrast such as: however, although, in contrast, similarly, but, compared to, etc. Example: “Ukrainian universities don’t have as many extracurricular activities *compared to *American universities.”
❖ [20 min]: Discuss College Admissions Scandals
- Screen share and watch the trailer from the pre-work together. Ask your learner what this movie is about. Have them retell the story and clarify any details they missed or have questions about.
- What are the parents in this movie trying to achieve? How are they getting an advantage for their children?
- Have you heard about the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal in 2019? If so, what do you know about it? Fill in the gaps.
- What surprised you the most about this college admissions scandal?
- Why do you think parents might go this far to get their children into college?
- Do you think the parents didn’t believe in their children’s ability to get admitted into college?
- Do you think the parents believed successful parenting depended on how good a university their child could get into?
- What is the problem with these ways of thinking?
➢ What are the consequences of being involved in this admissions scandal? For the parents? For the children?
➢ Are there admissions scandals in Ukraine? How do parents try to influence admissions? Who is involved? Do these people ever get caught? What are the consequences for the people involved?
➢ What can be done to prevent future cheating by parents in the college admissions process?
■ Why will it work?
■ Who is responsible for doing it?
■ Why is it better than other possible solutions?