Who Are You?–Jenn Nester

Who are you?

I am a problem solver. I am a teacher. I am a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. Most of all, I am a student. I love to read and watch movies. I like to talk to people about the books I’ve read and the movies I’ve seen. I like understanding how things work–together and apart. I like seeing the big picture and I like seeing how all of the little parts work together. I like proving to myself that I can do things that are difficult but I love helping others do things they didn’t think they were capable of doing even more. I like to knit and crochet because it was something that I taught myself and I’m really good at it. I like to paint and make jewelry. I love spending time with my boys during quarantine. I like to cook and I spent the summer teaching myself how to use a charcoal grill and smoker. I like to talk and learn about my family and where I come from, but politics is never a good topic of conversation when it comes to my family. I am impatient but I’ve learned how to stop and smell the roses. I am who I wanted to be when I grow up.

 

How will I change the world?

I will change the world by helping people understand themselves, each other and the world around them. By using my skills as an educator, I believe that I will be able to teach others how to help difficult minds to learn. Everyone has a story, something that makes their life difficult, wonderful, challenging and spectacular. I hope to change the world by making people curious about the reality of others instead of scared. People tend to fear the unknown and fear causes people to withdraw into themselves and cut out all others. With education, it is my hope that I will be able to use technology to make the world a much smaller place. People can’t have empathy for others until they have empathy for themselves. 

 

What do you want your epitaph to read?

The older I get, the more difficult this question gets. When I’m gone, when people think of me, I want them to think of the punchline of the funniest joke they’ve ever heard because they heard it from me. When they hear someone mention Manifest Destiny or The Secret, I want them to think of me. When they talk about the Power of Positive thinking or being in your Element, I want them to smile and think of me. When my children are reading a story to their children (hopefully I’ll still be here) I want them to think about me and smile. I don’t know about my epitaph, but I want my legacy to be generations of “weird”, “special”, “gifted” individuals who were able to live their dream because their teachers knew how to reach them using the Nester Protocol–identifying a student’s passion/interest (art, music, sports, computer games) and using that to teach a multidisciplinary curriculum. Understanding a student’s story because that is what will drive their learning. Encouraging.

Jenn Nester–Living an Impact-Focused Life

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

disrupt the status quo. As a young child, I felt like I was pushed to improve in areas where I was lacking but never encouraged to excel in areas of strength. As a young in-class support aide I was torn between not helping the students I was supporting enough (according to the special education teacher) and doing their work for them (according to the regular education teacher). I’ve always felt on the fringe and I’ve found myself drawn to the same. I love teaching the “tough” kids. I love seeing the spark as they finally get it. When I started, I taught by force, you can lead a horse to water, but you can make him drink. If you hold his head under long enough, he’ll take a sip or drown. When it worked, it worked quickly. I’m a lot more patient now, although there are times I’d like to hold someone’s head under to get them to see the error of their ways sooner rather than later. It’s hard to be patient when you see a young person with so much potential, in a bad situation, making really, really bad decisions. Tender but tough. Forcefully understanding. I believe I was put on this earth to make the square pegs feel like they fit in and to help children find their passion.

My purpose is to:

Teach everyone I meet something new. Leave them with memories of me that make them smile. It’s taken me two decades (has it really been that long) to learn that I was right all along. I am fine the way I am and so is everyone else. My purpose is to show children that everyone is different and it is our differences that make us the same. I want people to be better for having known me.

I believe (my core values):

That everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. We all strive to be seen as an individual and we all want to be part of a group. It’s rewarding to be recognized for individual achievement but it’s comforting to know that others “know how you feel”. Encouragement raises people up and criticism holds them down and it is very important to see things in context and not make rash decisions based on first impressions. You can’t “judge a book by its cover”, but you can get a general idea. The trick is not to stop at the cover and read the whole book–or at least the first few chapters.

The one thing I must do before I die is…

The older I get, the shorter my list gets. There are places I want to see. I would love to travel around the world showing people how to use The Nester Protocol to reach every child. All it takes to make education succeed is passion. Kids who want to learn are easy to teach, the hard part is convincing them they want to learn.

My advocates and supporters all believe I:

Do what I say I will do and expect the same of others

 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

Ignorance. I believe that ignorance is the root of all of the misunderstandings that are the basis for most arguments. Ignorance and intolerance.

 

I want to work in order to:

Help people learn and become contributing, critical-thinking members of our world community. 

 

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

 

I always:

Do what I say I will do to the best of my ability. I hate doing things wrong. I would rather ask a thousand questions before I do something and do it right the first time than apologize for doing it wrong and fixing a mistake. 

 

I never:

Like to give up on something or someone.

 

My work style is:

Driven by authenticity. I like for people I work with to feel appreciated and supported.

 

I try to treat people:

How I would want to be treated (the golden rule of course)

I approach problems by:

Looking at the big picture first and working backwards to find a solution. I like to consult others to try to get different perspectives of the same problem.

Victories are time to:

Celebrate and reflect.

If another attacks my point of view I:

Do my best to listen and try to understand how their point of view is different from my own. Although this wasn’t always so. I used to get angry when someone would attack my point of view. Now, I think I understand my point of view is just my point of view and can’t really get hurt if someone attacks it. I’ve also learned quite a lot by listening to those who would attack.

 

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will:

Probably not keep my mouth shut and speak up for what I think is right. I would also do my best to understand why the person or organization is behaving so fundamentally differently than I would in the same situation. Again, perspective and information often lead to agreement and understanding.

Your Credibility – Your Whats

You have just spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global Social Impact Fellowship, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How.  You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

What Have I Done List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned
Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships BS. Exercise science—Ithaca College

English/Teaching certificate—Moravian College

Supervisors certificate—Kean College

Master’s Sp.Ed/teaching certificate—Lehigh University

Graduate student in Instructional technology–Lehigh University

Lehigh Valley Social Impact Fellow

Research Experiences

 

 

 

 

Community Choices—services for adults with disabilities

Parents Plus–data collection/classroom observations

 

 

 

Inventions and Innovations

 

 

 

The Nester Protocol–a method of using a child’s interest to teach a multidisciplinary curriculum (in development)

 

(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures

 

 

 

JoSam Designs–one-of-a-kind designs created and sold to benefit children on the autism spectrum.

 

 

 

 

Publications

(Formal and Informal)

 

An Immersive Virtual Reality Game Designed to Assess Environmental Learning

 

 

 

 

Formal Presentations

(at Lehigh and Beyond)

 

 

 

2019  iLRN Spring conference
Awards and

External Recognition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articulating and learning from GSIF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

Teamwork Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 

 

During one particularly creative Zoom, Beige was summarizing what Junior and I were explaining so precisely that I had to stop and tell her what a great job she was doing. It was amazing to see my ideas on paper so succinctly. I felt smarter because of how well she summarized what I was saying. I learned a very important lesson that day and I now let her do more of the talking in our group. A group can be merely the sum of its parts, or, when the group functions well, it can be so much more. Being the oldest member of a group is a new experience for me. I’m used to being the teacher at the front of the room. Being a member of a team requires different skills and uses different “muscles”.

 

Conflict Resolution Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 I don’t know that we had any conflicts. We were all on the same page most of the time. We had differences of opinions in a few areas, but we presented all options to our partners and let them decide. I learned to keep my mouth shut and listen to the expertise of others. I didn’t speak often, but when I did, I wanted to make it count.
Leadership Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 

 

 

 

I learned how to let others take the lead. It was hard for me to get out of the way sometimes, when I felt like we were supposed to be going in one direction and my teammates were going in a different direction. I had to step back and not know everything already and let others discover for themselves. As I watched others learn, I found myself seeing from their perspective and learning more than I thought possible. The woman who knows not that she knows not, knows nothing. But the woman who knows that she knows not, knows all.
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned) Meditation helped a lot.
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)

 

I do not like doing things wrong or not living up to expectations and it was very difficult to adjust to the all remote learning. It gave me a really good perspective from a student’s point of view and I believe it has made me a better teacher. I feel like I am more understanding when students miss class or don’t turn in assignments. Working remotely is different–more difficult for some than others. A little empathy goes a long way with high school freshman.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)

 

Even though LVSIF wasn’t an international program, working with Junior (a native Brazilian) and Beigie (a college sophomore) was certainly a cross-cultural experience for me. The age difference between the three of us was substantial, but I felt as though our project progressed better because of the vastly different perspectives each of us was able to give. Beige is an example of the “digital native” for whom we are designing our program, so it was great to experience the development from her point of view. 
An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.

 

This summer I remember sitting on my back deck when a spotted lantern fly nymph walked across my keyboard. I knew it was a spotted lantern fly nymph because of the work I have been doing for a project related to LVSIF, so I promptly smacked it–and several of its siblings–with my swatter. I then went on to show my neighbors how to spot and kill them on their property and now we have a neighborhood SLF watch team.

 

A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you can speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.

 

Covid 19 and the move to remote/hybrid learning in public school across the nation completely validated the two years I have spent learning about instructional technology. I knew it was a better use of time to teach students how to use their devices for good than trying to limit their screen time. Having teachers now come to ask me how to integrate this new technology into their classrooms has been incredibly exciting. Instead of spending time trying to convince my colleagues that technology will only enhance education, I am now spending my time showing them how to integrate the technology into their lessons every day.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.

 

I am so excited by the evolution of education in this new, lockdown environment. They say necessity is the mother of invention, but I think in this case, necessity caused the implementation of the inventions that have been years–decades–in the making. I have been developing a Digital Outcomes Based Educational protocol since I completed my first Master’s degree at Lehigh. I can’t see education sliding back into the same old, same old once Covid restrictions have been lifted. I hope teachers continue to see the opportunities available with hybrid classes and the sheer number of students they will be able to reach in this new age of Digital Education.

 

 

LVSIF Week 10

 

  • What is our conceptual framework? How are we changing the system?

 

Grand challenge we are trying to address in elegant lay terms:

  1. Quality and accessible education through immersive digital technologies.
  2. Empower learners to go places otherwise inaccessible due to time, space, financial, health constraints.
  3. Teach environmental systems-thinking through gameful, engaging, and enjoyable ways.
  4. Introduce people of all ages to the magic and transformational power of education.
  5. Inform, raise awareness, galvanize locals into a more responsible relationship with the environment.
  6. Action and reaction law of the universe! Small actions may incur huge damage to the environment.   

 

Grand vision: To provide relevant, integrated educational material using immersive technologies

 

  • Right now the extant system is focused on assessment and sticking to traditional methods and not on learning
    • There is no space for diversity and no empathy for disengaged learners
    • The system is usually unidirectional and top-down driven, that is, the ones in power or favored by the system have the last word on what should be broadly utilized in the education system. (e.g., DARE programs, Environmental Education, Health class).
    • Doesn’t connect learners with immediate effects of their behavior in their environment. Do not allow them to experience the issues, instruction is mostly lecture or textbook based.
    • Traditional education materials and approaches had its purpose and place in the last century! It is worthy reminding everyone that we are in 2020 and not in 1950/60/70/80’s 
      • The current and previous generations of students have been born in the 90’s, 2000’s, 2010’s — insisting in framing these students in traditional ways of doing education is similar to asking a dentist to not use current technology and follow the old ways of treating toothaches (what I want to say is… it makes no sense imposing old technologies and systems on current generations. )
    • Learning is about knowledge accumulation (and not necessarily meaningful applications in learners’ lives.) Teaching is framed in the bigger system (i.e. standardized tests), thus basic education focuses on preparing students to do well in tests (not in life). 
      • As a consequence, critical thinking is not fostered. 
      • Socio-economic variables also directly impact schools and how education is done. It is not a fair system, it further enhances disparities and inequalities. 

 

  • Our vr experiences would change the way the system supports learners 
    • It aims at providing relevant/authentic learning experience;
    • Democratize access to quality education given the pervasive presence of technology in everyone’s lives. 
      • We use high quality XR devices with the lowest price range (~ $299)
      • We also offer desktop/mobile access to our games with prices ranging from  free ~ $4.99. 

 

The extant system consists of educators continuing to utilize outdated methods while isolating technology as a distraction. Not only is this a futile battle, but it also detracts from the effectiveness of teaching a population whose lives already heavily relies on technology. 

 

Systemic challenge: the education system is not connecting with learners efficiently, it needs to change the system so that it will reach most learners observing their diverse preferences and needs.

 

PEOPLE

  • Educators are not digitally literate and technologically resourceful enough to keep up with the current generation of learners’ needs. 
  • Learners keep growing disengaged and unable to attain high standardized scores, because they see no meaning in what is / how it is imparted to them.
  • Our partners, being informal learning places (e.g., STEM centers, museums, libraries, etc.), mostly rely on learners visiting their locations, so that they can provide ‘hands-on’ and ‘authentic’ learning experiences.

 

PROCESSES

  • Instruction 
    • Lecture-based education. Non-interactive textbooks and worksheets.
    • Insistence on sticking to traditional methods and forbidding use of phones, computers, etc in the classroom.
  • Professional development
    • Educators lack the 21st century skills they are requested to teach 
    • Educators don’t have consistent technological training
  • Assessment  
    • Focused on standardized scores instead of overall growth.
  • Knowledge creation (i.e., learning)
    • Content knowledge (i.e., information) is not presented in meaningful/ engaging ways

 

INFORMATION

  • Not contextualized, irrelevant (for most learners), meant to be memorized and accumulated.
  • Biased. Groups of power influence what is disseminated.
  • Elitist. Information is worthy/acknowledged as long as it comes from higher ranks of educated individuals. Thus, learners’ genuine contributions are not fostered, being disregarded based on their educational status
  • Bureaucratic. Only published materials have status. Readily available information on the internet is stigmatized. (which is another example of how technology / digital literacies have no space in the extant system) 

 

SYSTEM

  • Focus on physical in-person activities doesn’t lend itself well to situations where that is not an option (i.e., COVID-19)
  • Lack of opportunities for professional development with technology means that when technology has a chance to be introduced to the system, it is usually faced with opposition

 

The system will be reconfigured by our venture when:

  1. Virtual Outcomes Based Education becomes common practice
  2. VR experiences are included as options in all educational curricula
  3. Learning environments allow students to learn in context and experientially demonstrate their learning in authentic, but virtual, real-life situations.
  4. Teachers, educators, and similar professionals are digitally resourceful and confident to take advantage of immersive technologies to promote contextualized and meaningful learning.

 

→ Stakeholders:

  • Educators can develop professional skills and reach learners more effectively
  • Students learn in a manner that is more suited to their needs and connect with relevant material
  • Our venture will profit and build a role in the educational space
  • The partners will be able to reach greater audience and increase public interest in their area

 

  • Instead of sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecturing about the environmental damage done by the coal and railroad industry along the Lehigh River in the 19th century, students will get to go on a virtual trek down the river during the 19th century and see the damage being done. ‘ 

 

 

 

LVSIF Week 9 Team Blog

  1. If you are the Chief of Police for Afghanistan, what solution would you develop to pay the cops that are actually working, reduce corruption, and boost their morale.

Solution: 

  1. a) Focus on administrative control and internal self monitoring:
  • Pay commanders or supervising officers based on the accuracy of their payroll lists so they would be incentivized to keep track of ghost policemen, also set up a policy of disciplinary action for both higher ups and regular policemen if they reach a certain portion of inaccurate payroll rosters so there are consequences for corruption.
  • Use a biometric (fingerprint scan) check-in/check-out system. This would help the individual working schedules without having to involve extra personnel. At the end of the month (or paying cycle) policemen and their superiors would receive their paychecks according to the number of days worked (successfully registered by the biometric system). Should a worker exceed a certain amount of absent days, their paychecks would be frozen until they provided documentation for justifying their absences. 
  • Reward workers with percentage pay raise to incentivize policemen who provide (a) daily reports of performed activities, (b) flagging people who do not follow the regulations, (c) flawless biometric record of attendance. 
  • An external supervising team that does not belong to the department so they tend to be unbiased and won’t cover the corruption.
  1. b) Create transparency measures:
  • The mass media has the power to (a) expose corruption by releasing the names of the people who are caught faking as policemen and who are helping the ghost policemen to the public periodically with the internal department checks to improve the public trust and morale through a more transparent policy from the government, (b) discourage people from corrupt actions by propaganda and education about the punishment of violation (public judgement, court), (c) support the police stations for anti-corruption policy, (d) praise and highlight the policemen who are doing well and carrying out their duties appropriately, (e) increase citizen involvement on supervising police misconduct. 
  • Once the population can see who the “good cops” are, not only they will start trusting more the policemen in charge, but they can also help hold the good cops accountable if they ever start straying off into corruption again.
  1. c) Create a system to build literacy:
  • Offer moral & civics education for the policemen as part of their training. For example, they could take classes in a school before being on duty.
  • Perform (bi)monthly assessments of ethics and public administration law, so that their scores can serve as data to either promote or demote officers. No permanent benefits or positions.
  • More emphasis on corruption control at the selection and training process, with integrity tests and polygraph tests

These changes reflect systems thinking principles of interdependence, multifinality, equifinality, regulation, and leverage points because we are trying to approach the problem from multiple avenues of the individual parts in the whole system by going through various levels of the hierarchy.

The proposed solution also introduces changes that would build an environment of self-regulation and peer-monitoring with consequences that would promote anti-corruption and cross-level accountability. That would make it more worthwhile for the commanders and non-supervisory employees to follow the proper procedures instead of being corrupt, we are taking advantage of leverage points at both the administrative level and the employee level by providing better benefits for “proper” behavior because taking a hard cut, punitive approach may create more resistance from all levels than trying to offer an alternative where every stakeholder is satisfied with the benefits they gain from following the rules of the system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. If you are the entrepreneur, what multi-final solution will you develop so that you succeed, your venture succeeds (takes water hyacinth off the lake), and the people living along the lakeshore also walk away happy.
    Please be specific on how your solution might function and precisely whom you would work with. For example, refrain from including vague stakeholders like entire communities.

Multifinality:  Designing a system in which the individual actors and inputs, the subsystems, and their interactions all meet their own goals while the system as a whole also meets its own (multiple) goals.

 

Solution:

 

The root of the problem is the dissatisfaction the locals have towards her for taking this thing that “belongs” to everyone and making money out of it. While the communities on the shores of the lake have a problem with her making money on the hyacinth, they do not have a problem with the harvesting itself. Thus, our solution involves some type of profit splitting with locals, using the fishermen as leverage points, and not shifting the issue elsewhere or involving other parties.

 

She should solicit help from the fishermen, who benefit from her harvesting the hyacinth, to involve individuals who live in the communities on the shores in her business. She should hire locals (willing to do the job) to collect the hyacinth as well as pay them for the rights to harvest their hyacinth. 

 

She could also involve members of the communities who live on the shores to help expand her production of the compost and briquettes. She could teach them how to harvest safely and efficiently, and how to control the hyacinth’s growth to a proper amount. She could package her process and sell it to members of the local community for a discounted price.

 

Once she has the production running smoothly, she could look to expand her market for the compost and briquettes. 

 

  • We are trying to change the system in order to reduce resistance from other stakeholders because they are also a part of the overall system.
  • taking different approaches with the different groups of people as her partners recognizes that while they are separate individual parts, they all have an effect on the overall success of her venture so she should work with all of them for an equifinal and multi-final solution.
  • this solution also recognizes the interdependence of the various stakeholders and how they are holistically involved from the water hyacinth being a type of checks and balances for the fishermen, for the owner of the venture, and the locals, it can aid in preventing overfishing and the compost and briquettes that it makes benefits the locals in return as an alternative to coal while being the source of profit for the venture.

 

LVSIF Week 7 Team Blog–Partnerships

→ MAJOR PARTNERS: STEM EDUCATIONAL CENTERS & STAFF

 

  • Lehigh Gap Nature Center (LGNC),  [organization]

 

  1. Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.

ii.

 

  • In 2018, LGNC was the first local partner for our proof of concept learning game. This was a result of long-term partnership that Dr. Bodzin has developed with LGNC. 
  • Dan Kunkle & Chad Schwartz  [individual]
  • Shared longitudinal research about the revegetation process that took place in the Lehigh Gap.
  • Provides historic photos, and overall information regarding the institution and their audience.
  • Participates in our group meetings at least once a month.
  • Provide support to any students that conduct their individual research projects within our group. 

 

iii. LGNC / Lehigh Watershed Immersive Learning is a symbiotic relationship.

 

  • By having their institution as the central location of an entire game narrative, we market their work to more (younger) people via the multimodal ways afforded by the immersive VR game. 
  • Their institution is the focus of our next game iVR2. 
  • We help increase the amount of visitors to the centers, who may consume their products, and even become donors.  

 

  1. An increase in the number of visitors/income for LGNC would strengthen the partnership between us because they would perceive it as something reliable and that produces results not only for our venture (with the games), but also for their institution in terms of outreach, public recognition/relations, and indirect gains.

 

 

  • Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L),

 

      1. Martha Fox [individual]

 

  • Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.
  • She is an author, speaker, and advocate who shares historical expertise and provided media material for the project such as many historical photos. In turn, we increase her visibility and showcase her work as a historian and author by utilizing her materials in game. 
  • Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because both parties are getting what they need from it. We need the materials and expertise she provides while she gets free publicity and credit as part of our research.
  • We could make this partnership more equitable by providing her name to specific photos and or placing it as part of development in our game credits documentation. If we give specific references to her numerous times, more people will be aware of who she is. 

 

 

      1. Daphne Mayer [individual]

 

  • Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.
  • She gave us off-hours access to the Hugh Moore Canal Museum, provided numerous D&L digital trail information signs to be used in the game, and also shares insights on game design at weekly meetings. We help by providing insight into the design process for learning modules such as this game as well as creating a venue for greater public engagement for them with marketing their institution in the game. 
  • Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because we are getting access to the things and locations we need with her authority and providing her with access to the development of the game experience for her organization so she can make requests and changes throughout the entire process. 
  • We could make this partnership more equitable by aiding her in promoting the gamified experience when it is complete in order to see concrete numbers of impact. The partnership will be truly beneficial for her only if we are able to make some sort of user survey that proves that our intervention truly helped to increase foot traffic or website traffic for her organization. 

 

 







 

  • Nurture Nature Center (NNC)

 

    1. Kate Semmens [individual]

 

  • Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.
  • She participated in numerous virtual meetings, assisted in development of game features, and provided relevant environmental and historical expertise. We help by providing insight into the design process for learning modules such as this game because we explain our workflow during team meetings and give her demonstrations of how we might change each module to fit her specific organization.
  • Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because we are both learning from each other and receiving valuable information from differing perspectives of potential users and developers. The discussions we have allow for better design for usability and accessibility across a wide range of users. 
  • This will be more equitable when we begin working together on the module for NNC because then Kate will be able to utilize the knowledge she is getting now about this type of technology and user interface design to create a customized experience for her organization. She will be able to provide input regarding the specific fields of environmental and local historical knowledge for the game too.

 

 

Jenn’s Week 6 Blog

Question 1

  1. The need to go virtual as a result of Covid19 has been the most significant change in our teaming approach. We have scheduled 2 weekly Zoom meetings: one to work on our blog and one to work on our project. 
  2. Weekly meetings have led us to be more organized and specific with the tasks we wish to complete in the time we have allotted.
  3. As our organization improved, we were better able to identify issues with our project or our individual weakness. I had a lot to learn about programming in Unity.
  4. The more we worked together the more we were able to use our strengths to overcome our weaknesses. Junior and Beigie are much better at programming in Unity than I am, but Junior is a very patient teacher. He developed YouTube tutorials from our work sessions so I could replay them as many times as I needed to in order to complete my weekly tasks.
  5.  Beige is fantastic at summarizing our meetings. I have been watching her as she takes notes on our shared document and it has helped me condense my thoughts before I share them. 
  6. I used to write directly into my blog but after I lost two consecutive posts because I didn’t save it, I started writing my blogs in a Google doc and then copy and paste it when I am ready to post my blog. 
  7. When we meet with our Faculty advisors and other shareholders, I feel like we really work together as a team to make sure everyone feels heard and satisfied with our work.
  8. We have taken very large strides, as a group, to view our venture more globally. When we started in the Spring, it was difficult to see how project could have an impact farther than the Lehigh Valley
  9. Our group is so diverse, Beige is a second year undergrad, Junior just passed his oral exams, and I am in my 25th year of teaching high school with one Master’s degree under my belt. We all have a different skill set but it feels like we are always on the same page in terms of our project.
  10. We each feel comfortable enough with each other that criticisms are always constructive and made with the goal of the venture in mind. We may disagree occasionally, but I don’t think we’ve ever argued. I have never worked with such a cohesive group. 

Question 2

  • The Big Goal of this project is to complete development of the virtual reality headset game and distribute it to non-formal education centers to inform people of the significance of their local  watershed in the Lehigh Valley. 
  • Junior is most likely to be the Implementer and Specialist because he has the most experience with the project and is the one actively doing development work via Unity as well as mentoring new members on how to use the program.
  •  Jennifer is the group’s Shaper and Resource Investigator because she leverages her experience in teaching and formal education to bring a new perspective to the project. She also reaches out to collaborative partners for resources such as media/historical photos for our game. She is also a Completer/Finisher because she looks over the text resources and catches corrections and edits. 
  • Beigie also satisfies the role of Implementer because she is now contributing to creative and technological development with the game now that she has learned how to use Unity and has adapted to the workflow of the team. She will also be assisting Junior if there are new members to the team so she can also be considered a Specialist. She also does the Recording in the team with minutes.
  • The working process of our team is still generally the same. Team procedures for decision making usually switch between coming to a consensus after discussion or deference to experts in the relevant field. Decision making is done at team meetings where we attempt to give everyone a say because this project is not one which might require more authoritative leadership, and it is important that we allow everyone who is a part of this project to voice their opinions. The process of our meetings is generally going over status updates quickly and then reviewing things that require either editing or decision making; everyone has access to the minutes, but it is usually one person making direct edits while others leave comments. 

Communication methods involve Gmail/Hangouts, GSuite, and Zoom, since some platforms are more convenient for different purposes. Whole team meetings occur every one or two weeks for about 1 and a half hours. We meet amongst ourselves two times a week for updates and working sessions together. Responsiveness is very high and not a problem for our team because everyone is very on point with checking their emails; at most, it will take a day for a response due to time zone and location differences.

  • Our interpersonal relationships are getting better and better with frequent communication; we’ve come a long way since the start of last semester. We Zoom frequently and also share details of our personal lives with each other so we are very comfortable with working and providing feedback to each other. We recognize each other’s strengths and are leveraging those in a way to make our work flow even better. 

 

Question 3—potential funding source

 

→ General Outline

  • Educational technology and STEM curriculum development, designed to also address the learning needs of multiple groups such as children/adults, English language learners, and informal educators. 
  • We are creating virtual reality (VR) games that are cross-compatible (i.e., computers and mobile devices, including VR headsets). These learning games have their foundation on active, game-based, and situated learning experiences to immerse learners in aspects of local history, geography, and environmental science of the watershed they live in, in fun and engaging manners.
  • Our PI, Dr. Al Bodzin has an extensive history of many years of research in this area 
  • We have previously developed a prototype that was tested among 60 students at a local urban high-school.

Product description

  • Design and Development of  five iVR gaming learning experiences;
  • They will focus on promoting users’ spatial knowledge of the Lehigh Valley watershed using environmental case studies which impact the watershed and water quality within it;
  • Each will be designed to take 15-25 minutes to complete.

→ Results of Prior NSF and Other Support

Socio-Environmental Science Investigations (SESI) Using the Geospatial Curriculum Approach with Web GIS. (NSF #1614216, August, 2016-July 2020, with one-year no cost extension, $1,199,794). Primary Investigators: Alec M. Bodzin, David Anastasio, Thomas Hammond, Kate Popejoy, and Breena Holland. Resulting publications are noted with an * in the References.
Broader impacts: The developed SESI investigations have great societal relevance since environmental problems have a disproportionate impact on underrepresented groups, and also promote the development of STEM-related skills.

 

→ Expected Outcomes

 

  • Educational

 

  1. Promote learning regarding the concept of watersheds.
    1. Increase awareness about importance of one’s watershed
  2. Systems-thinking and feedback loops;
    1. How a small action (e.g., littering) can have a huge impact on the environment.
  3. Changes in affect, behavior towards games to learn.

 

  • Research  
    1. Advancing our iVR learning model
    2. Understanding how the iVR learning model impacts interest in the games, engagement, and learning with a full spectrum of users from age 13 to adults.

  • Social
    Increase in number of visitors to local nature centers, especially from target groups such as adolescents, adults, and English language learners.

 

→ Measure of Learning:  

Environmental issues and impacts in local watershed: Open-ended questionnaire prompt about knowledge of environmental issues and impacts in a player’s watershed. (pretest and posttest)

 

→ Timeline

    • Initial funding during the research and dissemination phases will be the University and grants from different organizations whose programs are in line with our venture’s vision. After that, we will be working on building scale with our product from local to regional in order for our venture to be self-sustaining. Ideally, we would be reaching a steady state by two years after launching our product. 

 

Work Plan

Table 2. iVR game design, development and implementation timeline

Y1 (Aug 20 – July 21) Y2 (Aug 21 – July 22) Y3 (Aug 22 – July 23) Y4 (Aug 23 – July 24) Y5 (Aug 24 – July 25)
Design and Development  iVR1
Prototype Testing iVR1
(LGNC)
Pilot Testing

(building capacity)

iVR1 (LGNC)

(professional development with staff)

Field Testing iVR1 (LGNC) 
Libraries and all sites  iVR1

1 informal STEM centers

1 public libraries

iVR1, iVR2, iVR3 iVR1, iVR2, iVR3, iVR4, iVR5

Note: Site locations are in parentheses

 

Jenn’s Week 5 Blog

Week 5 Blog–Immersive VR

  • Top 20 Basic Questions & Responses

 

  • Why did we choose the Lehigh Valley watershed as our subject content/ matter?

 

      • We chose the Lehigh Valley watershed as our content matter for this venture because the impact, while local, can be generalized to include any watershed around the globe and now the impact is global. → easily scalable
      • Place-based instruction, authentic/relatable material, watersheds function as “circulatory system” of the environment. 
      • Science, especially environmental topics such as watersheds don’t generally attract much interest through traditional teaching methods so it is a good topic to gamify and garner interest in

 

  • Why are we focusing on the water?

 

    • We have chosen to focus on the water because it is an important natural resource. It is critical that individuals understand how small habits (e.g., throwing your water bottle out of your raft) can have large impacts on those natural resources. 
  • Water is everywhere, water is one of the most important and easiest topics for developing STEM integrated curricula.

 

 

  • What is the focus of our venture, the watershed or the educational technology?

 

      • The focus of our venture is educational technology. We use VR technology to re-engage the disengaged learner. Digital learners are the future. People are increasingly dependent on technology, instead of fighting to disconnect them, it’s more efficient to engage them with a platform to which they are already inclined.

 

  • What are the Environmental outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

      • Ideally, students come away from our venture with a better understanding of their impact on their environment and more consideration for their future actions.
      • This is not an outcome which will be measured because it is not the primary focus for our venture, merely a bonus.

 

  • What are the Social outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

      • In the virtual space, skills are taught and practiced in a simulated environment.  Not only does it provide a near realistic experience, but the environment is safe.  Additionally, most VR platforms allow learners to continually practice skills and it offers managers and/or leaders the ability to coach to specific skills.
      • As we are currently partnering with local nature centers, the social impact we want our venture to have is to bring more visitors to these sites. 
      • We hope to have a positive impact on the way people view their relationship with their environment, similar to how DARE curricula aims at creating healthy social behavior among teens with drug education

 

  • What are the Educational outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

      • The students are more aware of the environment in Lehigh Valley. Their interest in water and environmental science may be piqued and become more environmentally responsible.
      • “With the popularity of virtual reality and mixed reality, immersive learning has emerged as one of the “hot” educational technologies that are transforming not only the educational system; but also helping companies plan better training programs for their employees.”

 

  • How are we measuring success? 

 

      • We will not be directly measuring the environmental outcome of this venture
      • We will measure the social outcomes of our venture by measuring the traffic at partner nature centers and returning customers to our venture’s business
      • We will be measuring the educational outcomes for our venture by assessing our partnerships with other university students/professors who are utilizing our product to conduct educational research and having our name connected to this line of research where we can act as a connection between researchers.

 

  • What are the concrete details we are looking at that will tell us our product is working?

 

      • Concrete details we are looking at that will tell us our product is working is continued and expanding relationships with the educators using our product; individuals who are better informed about their environment and local resources.
      • More people come to us to make games/use our game to teach about environmental science topics.
      • Sales reports

 

  • Currently, what does the market for immersive learning apps look like?

 

    • https://www.immersivelearning.news/tag/market/
    • An expected market value of about $12 billion through 2022
    • Several Fortune 500 companies, such as Boeing, UPS, and Walmart, have already introduced VR into worker education programs on a massive scale .
    • A report on the global VR market in the education sector, the increased number of VR social spaces has opened up opportunities for growth in this sector.
    • “This was one of the top elearning trends in 2019, and there is a big chance that its influence won’t abate anytime soon.”

Virtual Reality (VR) in education

      • “The intense adoption of VR in education is partly due to the increased demand for experience training. By taking the learning process beyond the classroom, VR facilitated the growing trend toward the independent learning path. For example, the medical realities platform employs VR technology to help medical students watch live broadcasts of mock surgeries, providing real-world experiences – something they would not normally have access to until the end of their education.”
      • “According to our latest report on the global VR market in the education sector, the increased number of VR social spaces has opened up opportunities for growth in this sector.”

 

  • What is our target demographic for users? 

 

      • Our target demographic for users are people from ages 13-80 in non-formal education settings

 

  • Who is our market that will invest in the product?

 

      • We have several markets who will invest in our product: alternative learning environments like nature centers; non-traditional schools; virtual learning environments
      • Given the “new normal” of education during Covid, virtual learning environments are the best way to keep students, teachers and the community safe

 

  • How is this different from what is already on the market? 

 

  • Most of the products on the market are developed for different subjects, not environmental science
  • Engaging educational material is hard to find; our product includes both a lesson plan and the materials necessary to implement 
  • We lower the barrier of adoption by providing the technology ready to go and other assistance services such as tutorial videos

 

  • How do you see the future market for this product? Is this just a fad?

 

      • We believe that the market for this product and similar technologies will continue to grow in the future. While gaming has always been seen as a form of entertainment, it has also been used to incorporate lessons such as strategy and critical thinking. For example, Go or chess. Today, gamification is already being incorporated into multiple sectors of our lives to motivate higher user engagement with interface designs such as unlocking “levels” in commercial activity when you spend a certain amount in a year.
      • Educators will be looking for ways to keep their students engaged when not in the classroom. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, every classroom (and workplaces) became non-traditional learning environments. VR has demonstrated its potential to bridge the distance gap while engaging the learner, providing the sense of presence. Thus, it is unlikely that VR will be just a fad.

 

  • Why are we using VR as our platform? 

 

      • “Humans learn best by doing, and VR is designed to espouse this principle.”
      • “VR provides an immersive experience anchor to the theoretical part of learning.”
      • “Its ability to support distance learning is a well-timed intervention, especially in the modern workplace where remote work is the new norm”. With the social disruption caused by COVID-19, it seems that Virtual Reality is the only safe Reality.

 

  • What are the benefits compared to the high cost?

 

      • In terms of cost, it is more expensive to organize a trip down the Lehigh river for a group of students than it is to take them on the same tour virtually. In addition, in the virtual environment, we can take learners back in time so they can “see” the effects of past behaviors. We can’t actually take them on a trip down the river in the early 1900’s on the maiden voyage of a canal boat.

 

  • What exactly are we doing that makes this gamified and will make students more engaged?

 

  • Creating compelling narratives that are place-based (i.e., real locations, relatable to the audience) 
  • Creating immersive learning experiences with elements of gamification and the theoretical framework of game-based learning. 

 

“This is different from game based learning. Game based learning is an approach of learning where students learn experimentally through playing in a game context. Gamification is slightly different in that it is taking game elements such as points or achievements and applying them to a non-game environment. It’s a form of user interface design that increases engagement through manipulating what makes people drawn to games in settings that are not. We apply this type of design to our product where users are unlocking achievements through exploring the built environment. This creates a sense of accomplishment and recognition for what they are doing which encourages further activity.”

 

 

  • What is our expertise? Why are we qualified?

 

  • Instructional Technology from Lehigh University.
  • Diverse/interdisciplinary team of students and professors. 
  • Our team has significant experience in areas that include design and implementation of iVR learning, game-based learning, instructional design, research in the area of science, learning with novel technologies, environmental content, and spatial understandings.
  • Our project mentors Bodzin, Anastasio, and Hammond have an established track record of prior success with implementation and management strategy on related projects (see for example, Bodzin, Anastasio, & Sahagian, 2015; Bodzin et al., 2015, Bodzin et al., 2016; Carrigan et al., 2019; Hammond et al., 2018).

 

 

  • What are the risks associated with using VR headset technology, if any? 

 

Health hazards:

– Motion sickness, nausea. 

– According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) (2020) too much screen time can harm the amount and quality of sleep as well as lead to other physical and social problems. Since VR easily provides high levels of engagement and triggers flow state, one must be mindful of the amount of time they spend with their headsets on.

 

Other related risks:
– A group of scholars (see Makransky, Terkildsen, & Mayer, 2019) have been conducting research based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and their preliminary findings point to immersive VR being a possible source of less learning when compared to more traditional instructional media.

 

 

  • How are these risks being addressed?

 

  • It may not be suitable for everyone so general precautions are to use the technology for short periods of time and see if you have any adverse effects to it. Also, we are targeting the population from 13-80 in which they are above the minimum age advisory for the technology. There is a desktop VR version for those who are unable to use the standalone headset.

 

 

  • How do you plan to fund your venture/ who’s going to pay?

 

  • Initial funding during the research and dissemination phases will be the University and grants from different organizations whose programs are in line with our venture’s vision. After that, we will be working on building scale with our product from local to regional in order for our venture to be self-sustaining. Ideally, we would be reaching a steady state by two years after launching our product. 

 

Nice work! Good thought into everything. Grade: 10 

Jenn’s Week 4 Blog

Week 4 

Jenn Nester Beigie Lam Spencer Moros Ugochi Amadi 

Questions:

What is our role in the cooperative? Are we on the ground (making, selling, educating)?

  • We’re developing the whole cooperative
  • Malnutrition team is a good example of people who are doing what we want to do

Are there any crops that aren’t using pesticides? 

  • No, practically all use pesticides.

 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

  • Livelihoods of rural households
    • 500 women want to join the co-op
    • They are skeptical of the porridge because it is new
  • HIV/AIDS and breastfeeding
    • HIV+ should wean early
    • Not everyone knows if they are HIV+
    • Access to supplements that prevent spread of HIV through breast milk more prevalent
    • Nutritious alternative really a good supplement
  • Pesticides on produce
    • Cash crops
    • Subsistence crops
  • Childhood nutrition is a problem b/c local gruel is not providing all key nutrients
    • 35% of children have stunted growth
  • Breastfeeding can spread HIV from mothers to infants 
  • Want to reduce risk of spread of HIV by using new porridge formula for children instead of breastfeeding
  • Porridge formula is using locally grown crops in a different way (as opposed to traditional gruel)
  • Mothers usually give gruel from ~2 months to 24 months
    • Skeptical of using new formula because it’s not something they’re used to, the traditional gruel is cornmeal
    • Not something they’ve done before
  • The WHO recommends breastfeeding until ~6 months but the longer time of breastfeeding with HIV means greater risk
  • Reduce risk of HIV/AIDS by having children eat the porridge → Formula for new nutritious porridge is made from locally grown crops → locally grown crops have high levels of potentially harmful chemicals from pesticides / porridge can be sold to improve women’s livelihoods
  • Don’t know who has HIV or not, there is now aggressive plan for testing of HIV and most people who have it know that they have it

Ethical Issue: Is it better to expose the infants to the risky chemicals from the pesticides from the crops or spread HIV through prolonged breastfeeding?

 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome / Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders 

  • Mothers
    • Give their child the best food
    • Have their child grow safely & healthily
    • May have mixed opinions about the effectiveness of the porridge formula
    • Want to improve their livelihoods
    • Not risk giving HIV/AIDS to their children
    • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops
  • Children 
    • Stay healthy (not get HIV/AIDS)
    • Get good nutrition / be fed
  • Cooperative Participants
    • More participants, lessen burden on individuals
    • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops, getting some form of return from their investment be it labor or something else
    • Bring more success
  • Cooperative Organizers/researchers
    • Respect local traditions and culture
    • Attract women to join
    • Build reputation and credibility to gain more funds and resources for future
    • Reduce malnutrition, improve nutritional status of children
    • Increase livelihood of households
    • Reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS
    • Make venture financially successful/sustainable
  • Donors of money for the projects (secondary)
    • Improve nutritional status of children and livelihoods of rural households

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide 

 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] 

  • Potential solution: Have women give children the traditional gruel from 2-6 months, then market the porridge as “stage 2”, 6-12 months wean children off breastfeeding entirely. Educate women as to why this is best for their children 
  • Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking & ethics of care
  • Pros:  respect local traditions while supplementing nutrition, while child is eating gruel they have supplemental nutrients from breast milk; would be less financially costly for the venture
  • Cons: Children are more at risk for acquiring HIV/AIDS (breastfeeding to 12 months instead of 6 months suggested), children are exposed to pesticides, 

 

  • Potential solution: Have mothers switch to the porridge formula or some diet of both the formula and traditional gruel after ~2 months of breastfeeding and Educate women as to why this is best for their children  
  • Ethical Principle or code: consequence based thinking
  • Pros: Reduces risk of passing HIV to child in timely manner by cutting short the breastfeeding period, new formula compensates for key nutrients in infants’ diet, improve livelihoods with increased sales or production of porridge
  • Cons: May not convince a lot of mothers who don’t believe that the new formula will provide enough nutrients for their child, would expose children to more pesticides from the produce, would be more financially costly for the venture

 

  • Potential solution: Refer all of the mothers to a place where they can be tested for HIV/AIDS in order to identify the most at risk children
  • Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking & duty based thinking
  • Pros:  Many at-risk children are identified as early as possible, targets problem at root by identifying mothers who should switch to porridge from breastfeeding, allows mothers to learn if they have the virus and what measures they should take for their own health, 
  • Cons: Invasion of the privacy of the women, not many women get tested so there may not be many testing sites/facilities/resources, adds more stress on the venture as a whole, morally obligated to educate about HIV/AIDS if test positive, identifying at risk children puts a target on some mother’s backs

 

Other possible solutions: 

  • People might be reluctant to use the new formula
  • Have information sessions to inform the locals about the harms of pesticides and HIV and educate them about what the porridge’s benefits vs consequences are so they can make decisions for themselves
    • Who will pay for that?
    • Who will organize and make these sessions happen?
    • Way to make money with this cooperative is to scale up with this product so it gains traction and spreads 
  • Partner with other entities to aid with product development
    • Put information labels or tags on the back or packaging of the porridge
    • Community health workers (need incentives)
    • Do partners have something to gain from working with you?
  • Focus on tackling HIV problem by providing infrastructure to fight HIV epidemic
    • Better sex education by focusing on impact to children
    • Very expensive because they have deep ingrained beliefs
  • Partner with Health Ministry and WHO to leverage introducing the porridge product as a second stage diet product for infants
  • Focus on scope issues which is this cooperative that sells porridge for infants after 6 months of breastfeeding
  • Profit by making this product shelf stable and with low production cost that can sell for higher prices
  • Source input locally when practical but go to the open market if it is more efficient

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

  • Malnutrition Team
  • What accountability structure do you make in order to incentivize people but also have people join for the right reasons (might be second part)
  • Look at long-term effects of either side of the problem to decide which problem is more impactful (e.g., pesticides may not be as bad as HIV)
  • How do you start as close to the solution as possible?
  • Addressing skepticism isn’t the biggest issue (in terms of an ethical issue)
  • https://www.azurihealth.co.ke/ 

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class. 

The best course of action is to have women give children the traditional gruel from 2-6 months, then market the porridge as “stage 2”, 6-12 months wean children off breastfeeding entirely. Educate women as to why this is best for their children. This course of action satisfies the highest core ethical values because it respects the traditions of the community (using the gruel to supplement) while also introducing a newer, more beneficial product. The women of the community are already supplementing with solid food, so rather than criticize the quality of the gruel, we simply step in with our “stage 2” nutritional supplement for older babies. This will decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission and improve the nutritional status of the babies while respecting local traditions.

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

  • Since we are using community resources to source and produce the porridge, there stands to be significant economic, social and environmental benefits. Economic benefits include increased trade for a healthy, nutritious and affordable dietary supplement. The social implications include elevating the role of women in the community by helping them make a living for themselves. The environmental benefits include educating the local producers of the produce in more healthy, organic methods of farming, since the use of pesticides will reduce the quality of the final product. 

 

Part 2

Issue: women work and the men take the money and spend it on things other than food for the family.

 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

  • Mothers
    • Want to improve their livelihoods
    • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops
    • Don’t want the money they earned to be wasted
    • Want the money to go to their children’s benefits
    • Use the money to feed their children
  • Cooperative Participants
    • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops, getting some form of return from their investment be it labor or something else
    • Improve livelihoods of rural women

 

  • Cooperative Organizers/researchers
    • Respect local traditions and culture
    • Build reputation and credibility to gain more funds and resources for future
    • Reduce malnutrition, improve nutritional status of children
    • Increase livelihood of women in rural households
    • Ensure the added wealth is going towards feeding the children
    • Make venture financially successful/sustainable
  • Donors of money for the projects (secondary)
    • Improve nutritional status of children and livelihoods of rural households

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]

 

  • Potential Solution #1: Offer “store credit” rather than cash so the women can use their money to feed their families.
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: Money goes where the earner wants it to go, there is no risk of it being taken away by the husbands or being sold off, more value if they use it as credit instead of cashing it out
    • Cons: Might cause domestic issues; go against traditional hierarchy
  • How does it save face of those involved?
      • Women don’t have to worry about the money being misused
  • Implications on relationships
    • Short-term: Women can get more food for their children, might create mistrust between the men and the cooperative organizers/researchers
    • Long-term:  
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term: mitigate the issue of mismanagement of funds
    • Long-term: make women more independent; close the gender gap 

 

  • Potential Solution #2: Give the women the option to get paid in essential items as opposed to cash, make them accept part of the wage to the product that they are making and the rest will be cash or credit, buy in bulk things like goats that cooperative members can get for cheaper than market price so they can take it directly home
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: builds livelihood of families because the members can save money and keep producing with things like goat milk and cheese, can bring the men in because it makes them money in the long run, production of things will build towards feeding the children
    • Cons: only about 20 women will actually be working in packaging the porridge so it’s unrealistic to create an entirely separate system of distribution of goods
    • How does it save face of those involved? The women don’t have to worry about the men using the money they earn to buy things other than family necessities. The men won’t seem weak, unable to take the money their women make.
  • Implications on relationships
    • Short-term: Gender equality
    • Long-term: Women entrepreneurs are able to thrive 
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term: might be some kickback from the men if they think their wives are holding back money. Needs to be seen as a benefit for the men 
    • Long-term:Develop a reputation for improving the lives of local communities 

 

  • Potential Solution #3: Act as a bank for the workers, hold the workers’ wages and let them grow and only let them cash out when they reach a certain amount or emergency
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: allows people to save and build capital, free as opposed to banks that need you to pay to make an account, allows women to save and improve their livelihoods because it prevents the money from being taken away by the men
    • Cons: Social implication that the men may get angry that the women are working without making anything, may still take the money after it gets cashed out
  • How does it save face of those involved?
      • No domestic issues related to the earning/spending of money
  • Implications on relationships
    • Short-term: helps families use resources efficiently
    • Long-term : teach individuals how to budget and save
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term:farther reaching implications in terms of other communities requesting our services.
    • Long-term: fiscally responsible individuals lead to a strong economy 

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

  • Maybe only 20 women will be working with the cooperative to grow/sell crops
  • Cooperatives emerged as a way for people to save money and collect capital
  • Research indicates that men are less likely to take all of the money that’s saved compared to a weekly wage
  • Women aren’t upset men are taking the money, they’re upset about their misuse
  • Don’t cut off the entire money source (maybe leave like 5% or something)
  • How to establish a banking system
  • Sporadic bigger rewards (e.g., every three months can buy a goat)
  • Bring together a group of people who have clout in the community
  • Get people with clout including men and religious leaders so that they can deal with this issue and consider taking ⅓ of the wages in cash while the ⅔ is going back to the cooperative as an investment so they can grow it
  • Have the council agree on what products they think the cooperative should make available to use the credit for such as goats, etc..
  • Address nutrition issue by having women who work in the cooperative walking away with a small amount of the porridge everyday that can feed two people
  • Elderly people are a big customer section for the porridge
  • Validate the solution by telling it to the other 6 leaders on the committee, also go out to men and other leaders (maybe 25 people one on one) and get them on board with the way to tackle the issue → bring people together to talk about the problem and let the people discuss and come up with their “own” solution → create a contract or system of more equitable bylaws that everyone involved will agree with and enforce in the community → go towards developing this in the community so they adopt it 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

 

Combine solution 1 and 3 where the cooperative can act as a bank where the women can keep their wages as credit and build capital until they reach a certain amount to cash out or want to cash out. Keep a portion of their wages as immovable credit and maybe cash out about 5-10% directly so that the men can have something to spend. Have the cooperative act as a distribution center or “store” for alcohol and cigarettes at lower than market price so that the men are incentivized to spend at the cooperative instead of outside markets. They are only allowed to spend that certain amount of money on these types of goods or entertainment and the rest is saved so that women can keep it for buying food stuffs or other necessities. The cooperative can act as a source of goods that the members can get stuff from for a better price based on the women’s needs and the men will feel motivated to save as well if they realize that saving for a couple months will actually build more value for them. 

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

 

  1. Find out if women would want a banking system
  2. Make sure the men are also on board with the banking system
  3. If general consensus is yes, the banking system would be established
  4. Work with women to decide how much of their wages go between store credit and entertainment (make 3 options: 70-30, 80-20, 90-10)
  5. Establish the banking system
  6. Find out the most pressing needs of the women (specific foods, clothing, household items, etc) with which to stock the “co-op” store.
  7. Find out where to get those resources in bulk to keep prices low enough to incentivize purchasing in the co-op.
  8. Get those resources and stock the store.

 

Other possible solutions: 

  • ⅓ of the wage is the porridge 
  • Keep your cash in instead of spending it
  • Instead of money or full amount of money, they can get something that creates value

 

Banking system: 

portion of wage=store credit (stored in every week)

-portion of store credit=saved in the bank

portion of wage=entertainment (given out every week)

Jenn Nester–Fall 2020 Week 3

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

  • Organization donated gifts
  • Jack, an American, was chosen to hand out the gifts
  • Jack got credit for the gifts
  • There were four fewer gifts than children
  • The children who didn’t get a gift, got a black hat
  • A black hat has a negative stigma
  • The children who got black hats felt bad about them
  • One kid blamed Jack for forgetting him
  • Jack spoke to the other staff about the children who got hats feeling bad
  • The staff were offended by Jack’s comments and told him to fix the problem if he thought that there was one

 

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

  • Problem
  • Stakeholders
    • Jack (wants everyone to be happy)
      • Kids thought the gifts were from him and it made him feel good
      • There weren’t enough gifts to go around and he felt bad about the black hats as gifts
    • Kids that got gifts
      • They might tease the kids who got hats
      • Like that they got a gift
    • Kids that got hats
      • (1) Angry that they didn’t get real gift
      • Upset that they didn’t get the hats as ceremoniously as the kids who got gifts
    • Other staff members didn’t think that the “forgotten” kids felt slighted
      • Want things to be smooth and doesn’t want unnecessary turbulence
      • Don’t want Jack to become a children activist

 

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

 

-Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t.

– make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)

-buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts

-request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4

 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]

  • Potential Solution 

 

  1. make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)
    • Pros: Staff gives it to the kids and Jack decorates hat with them, or both (Jack & staff members) can give/help decorate the hats with the kids
    • Cons: Time frame of getting the gifts to the kids matter, because they might change their view on it, or if it seems like a last resort/rushed solution
      1. These 4 kids might brag to the other children about how they received special attention
      2. Jack “sees” a problem and tries to fix it so he might “see” other problems that they don’t and try to “solve” them too.
      3. In the future, he might be asked to go get things bc he doesnt mind getting things for the kids
  • How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: “forgotten” kids get to feel special

o Cons: kids who did get gifts might get jealous of the special hats 

 

  • How does it save face of those involved? 

-Jack and the staff involved won’t seem like “the bad guys” to the kids anymore and it shows that they do care that every child should receive a gift, in those 4 kids perspective.

-Jack doesn’t take all the credit for this situation and involves the staff members to contribute and gain face from the children also

 

  • Implications on relationships 

There may still be a lack of importance or consideration because of the time difference, yet it still shows that the children are valued to Jack and the team as a whole. This may lead to further tension that will be built up about how they are truly valued by the organization. 

 

  1. Jack buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts
    • Pros: Let’s staff members take credit
    • Cons:
  • How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros 

o Cons 

  • How does it save face of those involved?

The staff gets to take credit for the “forgotten” kids 

Jack will get credit from the staff for buying the gifts and letting them take the credit.with the “forgotten” kids.

  • Implications on relationships 

The staff might treat Jack like he is made of money and expect him to buy more things in the future.

  1. Request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4
    • Pros: All of the kids receive a gift
    • Cons: The organization gives gifts out in bulk, so it is almost impossible to give 4 gifts
  • How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: all of the kids receive a gift from the same organization

o Cons: There might be a time delay in getting the four kids their gifts

 

  • How does it save face of those involved? 
  • Implications on relationships 

o Short-term-For the 6 months, everything he says and does will make/break his current relationships. He can’t apologize too much to the staff or even the children because he would then start to be pushed around by them. In other words, the delicate issue here is that, Jack wants to do the right thing without at the expense of hurting the relationships he has already built with the staff and children

o Long-term-If these kids are not happy, this might affect their image of the children’s center in the future. For instance, they may grow to have negative feelings about the center or will prefer not to contribute back to this center after they leave.

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

Previous Cases: 

 

Peers: I was speaking with one of my teaching colleagues who just returned from an extended sabbatical teaching in Kuwait. It took her almost a year to understand all of the nuances of male/female relationships before she felt comfortable setting up parent/teacher conferences. She listed several concerns that would not have even occurred to her in her job in New Jersey.

 

Reliance on Personal Experiences:

Khanjan suggested that Jack should just buy his own black hat and wear it around to make the kids feel better because he was really the only one who felt bad about them getting hats.

Inner Reflection:

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

  1. Best Option: Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t. 
    • Pros: it will give all parties more perspectives of what it was like growing up
    • Cons: Jack’s stories might add to their concern that he is going to be a “children’s rights activist”. Which Jack might not see as a bad thing, per se, but it isn’t endearing him to his coworkers.
  • How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: Jack doesn’t feel bad and he gets to know his coworkers better/ the staff feel like they better understand Jack and aren’t worried about him becoming a  “children’s rights activist” 

o Cons: Jack might not be sensitive to the differences between the cultures and further alienate himself from the staff while trying to endear himself to the children. He might become the  “children’s rights activist” the staff fear.

  • How does it save face of those involved?

Jack gets to know the people he’s working with without anyone feeling bad about who they are. The staff get to feel like they have a special relationship with Jack as they get to know him better.

  • Implications on relationships 

As long as Jack is sensitive to the differences between the cultures and does as much listening as he does talking, he might make some lasting relationships with the people with whom he has only been working.

  • Implications on the venture 

o Short-term 

Jack no longer feels bad. The kids are all happy. The staff feels comfortable working with Jack and showing him their culture and traditions

o Long-term 

The next time a researcher from America comes to the area, the people might be more inclined to work with them given the previous positive experience they had with Jack. Additionally, if Jack decides to return to Kenya, he has made lasting friendships with the people who might, in turn, introduce him to others.

This is the best approach because it correctly identifies who has the problem, Jack. He is bringing his personal experiences into his Kenyan context and labelling the differences as problems. The other three solutions will simply exacerbate a situation that is only a problem for Jack. 

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

 The only response they gave Jack was – “If you think there is a problem, then you go ahead and solve it”. If you were Jack, how would you proceed? 

  1. Jack should ask them if they would be willing to talk to him further so he can understand why they are seeing the situation differently
  2. Jack should ask if this happens all the time, that there are not enough gifts to go around.
  3. Hopefully, this question will lead to the staff telling their own stories about the “time when they were the kid who didn’t get a gift.