Source Number/Letter: D

MLA/APA/AMA Citation:
Wong, Joseph Kee-Kuok. "Are the Learning Styles of Asian International Students
Culturally or Contextually Based?." I nternational Education Journal

4.4 (2004):
154-166.
Source Validation: Joseph Kee-Kuok Wong is a professor at The University of South
Australia.
How did you find this source?: I found this on Google Scholar
Intended audience: Individuals who are interested in education.
What arguments/topics does this source discuss?: T
his article essentially explains
the transitions that Asian students make in Western Universities. It also explains that the
learning method of the Asian students and Western students were very similar. Students
learning methods are actually shaped by their environment and surrounding rather than
modeling after perspective education system. Although Asian students have a hard time
adapting at first to a different education system, they quickly learn to adapt. This article
shows that even though a individual may go through a certain education system, the
outcome of their learning method is reflective on an individual rather than a certain
education system.
Minimum 3 quotes, paraphrases, summaries of source text that seem likely to be
helpful in future writing:
A study conducted by Volet and Renshaw (1996, p.208) however, supported the view
that both Chinese and Western students approach to study were influenced by their
perceptions of course requirements, instead of by the so-called stable personal and
cultural features. These students perceived that different courses would require different
strategies of learning. Their study also showed that both Chinese and Australian
students alike were responsive to the demands and influence of new academic and
institutional context in an Australian university.
They argued that for a community where students had been regarded as passive
recipients of data, it would be difficult for the teacher to teach using a constructivist
approach. They further questioned the effectiveness of implementing collaborative
learning in a society promoting an individualistic ethos.
Asian international students regarded the change to one comprising of more
discussions, independent learning and critical thinking as the strengths of their
programs. There seemed to be a preference for a more open and global type of learning
experience.

After I read this article I started to change my view about the East Asian education
system. This article showed me that its not necessary the cultural norms that may control how a
individual might perform. Its a combination of both cultural norms and individual work ethic that
actually affect a students performance. From the numerous other articles I read, they always
link students lack of creativity and performance to their education system. Even though it is a
factor to consider, it doesnt completely describe how successful the student might be. This
article took a different perspective on the East Asian education system compared to other

articles. Its important to research different viewpoint to avoid biases that may occur. Its easy for
articles to explain how the East Asian education can limit certain aspect in education growth but
there also has to be a counter argument. Overall, this article gave me great insight on the
different perspective of the East Asian education success. This article was 16 pages and took
me around 2 hours to read. Since this article countered some points in my last timed writing, I
was taking notes in places I need to research more so I wouldnt sound as bias.

Source Number/Letter: E
MLA/APA/AMA Citation:
Palmer, Lonnie. Why We Failed: 40 Years of Education Reform: A Solutions-based Account

of the Last 40 Years of K-12 Education in the U.S. New York: Guarantee, 2016. Print.
Source Validation: P
almer has over 40 years of education experience as a teacher,
principal, and superintendent in urban, suburban, and rural school districts.
How did you find this source?: This is a newly published book that I stumbled upon on
a recommended reading list about educational reform in the U.S.
Intended audience: Individuals who are interested in education.
What arguments/topics does this source discuss?: T
his book explains how despite
40 years in educational reform, our performance still lacks compared to the rest of the
world. The U.S has been trying to reform their educational system through different
program but they still lack globally. For an economic prosperous country, the U.S
education system results does not compare to those of FInland or South Korea. The
author explains how the U.S is trying too hard in reform their education system to model
other countries. The author also touch bases on how the methods we use for assessing
students also contribute to the problem.
Minimum 3 quotes, paraphrases, summaries of source text that seem likely to be
helpful in future writing:
The bubble sheet test proponents frequently miss a key point in the discussion on
assessments: The ultimate goal of Jims English class is to make his students better
readers, writers, listeners, and speakers, and more confident in their communication
skills and hopefully more adept at understanding and dealing effectively with the
subtleties of communication
One of the characteristics of all effective learning experiences in our lives- including
those learning experiences that occur outside the classroom - is that they are
memorable.
At the same time, we need reliable,believable, numerical measures of student learning.
Without these reliable academic measures, children from poverty would almost certainly
experience more inequity than theyre experiencing in our educational system.

After reading this book, I finally can grasp a reason why the U.S is trying to reform their
education system to model the East Asian education system. If you look at standardized testing,
the U.S lacks behind globally. This is why the U.S reformed some parts of their education
system so they could improve their standardized test score. The however, does not prepare

students for the real world.When the U.S reformed their education system to focus on
standardized testing, they are essentially trying to acquire what the East Asian education
system is trying to avoid. It is also ironic how many articles state that the Western education
systems are the epitome of creativity in school even though they limit you to scantron testing.
The problem of the U.S education system is that they are trying too hard to model their own
education system after other countries. No education system is perfect. To truly have a
successful education system, the U.S must incorporate factors from different education
systems. The book also makes a valid point on how we should have a equal numerical
measurement of educational progress. In impoverished areas, students are least likely to have
access to things such as certain clubs or program which is why there needs to some sort of
numerical way to measure student progress. However, the U.S education should not model their
whole system after standardized testing. Overall, this book gave me good insight on why the
U.S needs to reform their education system. This book was around 562 pages and took me 6
hours to read because the book is really in depth. The book gave personal experiences and well
as statistics to back up their claims.