1. Dean Burgess University of Maryland University College
Presentation Project
Dean Burgess
University of Maryland University College

2. Critical Incident #1
Sandra gave her students a grammar test. During the test, a student was looking at another student’s answers and writing them on his paper. The teacher asked him to do the test on his own. The student continued to look at the other student’s answers. The teacher took his paper away and threw it into the garbage in full view of all the other students to make the point that the student’s answers were not an indication of his under-standing of the grammar and that it was pointless to write the test if he was just going to cheat. The student was very upset and went to the office to complain.

3. Critical Incident #1: Cultural Orientations and Themes
Cheating
“To break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something, to take something from (someone) by lying or breaking a rule, to prevent (someone) from having something that he or she deserves or was expecting to get.”(Cheat, 2014)
Teacher/Student
Students feel safe and secure in their learning environments and provide scaffolding for important social and academic skills.
Teachers who support students in the learning environment can positively impact their social and academic outcomes, which is important for the long-term trajectory of school and eventually employment. (Gallagher, 2013)
Discipline
Control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior, a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders, behavior that is judged by how well it follows a set of rules or orders” (Discipline, 2014)
In this critical incident, the student was clearly cheating by breaking the teachers rule on doing your own work. The student wanted to gain an advantage on his grammar test by taking answers off the student next to him. Doing so takes away from his gain in knowledge offered by the class, teacher and test. The teacher was offering a positive academic outcome, which could translate into long-term success. By taking the test from the student, the teacher gained two things. First, the student was held accountable for his actions that were in violation of the rules set by the teacher. Second, the rest of the class may have gained a willingness to obey these rules in the future because of the teachers actions.

4. Critical Incident #2
Len teaches the evening TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class. One day there was a conflict between a student who wanted to do more listening practice in class and a student who wanted to focus only on grammar. The next day, one of the two students came to Len’s office to talk to him about the class. She told him that she thought they had studied enough grammar and that they needed more listening practice. She assured him that she was not trying to tell him what to teach. A week later she invited Len to come to her home so that she could show him some-thing. He did not go. Then she sent him an , thanking him for his teaching and complimenting him on his looks. This made him very uncomfortable, so he made a conscious attempt to avoid her outside of class.

5. Critical Incident #2: Cultural Orientations and Themes
Hierarchy/Equality
“Hierarchy: A group that controls an organization and is divided into different levels, a system in which people or things are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status.” (Hierarchy, 2014)
Equality: “The state of being equal” (Equality, 2014)
Power Distance
The extent to which a group of people accept the unequal distribution of power among different segments of their society.
Teacher/Student
Students feel safe and secure in their learning environments and provide scaffolding for important social and academic skills.
Teachers who support students in the learning environment can positively impact their social and academic outcomes, which is important for the long-term trajectory of school and eventually employment. (Gallagher, 2013)
In this incident, the student is attempting to elevate her status in the existing hierarchy by suggesting what the class should study and making inappropriate advances toward the teacher. Her actions suggests the student believes that her and the teacher are equal. The kind of relationship the student is seeking is not accepted by the society. Currently, society demands an unequal distribution of power in a classroom setting. Because of this, the teacher is required to remain an authority figure in the classroom. The relationship the student is pursuing is detrimental to the advancement of her social and academic skills, and the teachers ability to positively impact her social and academic outcomes.

6. Critical Incident #3
A man was walking past a cemetery when he noticed something very odd. To make sure he wasn’t mistaken, he went in to take a closer look. He was very surprised to see two names on the tombstone he was looking at. One was the name of someone who had already died, and next to it was the name of someone who was still living. The tombstone had a birth date but no death date on it. He just couldn’t believe it!

7. Critical Incident #3: Cultural Orientations and Themes
Death/Dying
Death “is the end of life, the time when someone or something dies.” (Death, 2014)
Customs
“A usage or practice common to many or to a particular place or class or habitual with an individual, long- established practice considered as unwritten law, repeated practice, the whole body of usages, practices, or conventions that regulate social life” (Custom, 2014)
Universalism/Particularism
“The universalist, or rule-based, approach is roughly: "What is good and right can be defined and ALWAYS applies." In particularistic cultures, far greater attention is given to the obligations of relationships and unique circumstances. Take the case of trying to cross the street at the red light. In a very rule-based society like the U.S., you will still be frowned at even if there is no traffic. It tends to imply equality in the sense that all persons, or citizens, falling under the rule should be treated the same.
Asian societies like Taiwan, where particularistic judgments focus on the exceptional nature of circumstances, it is likely to be OK with one if it is his/her brothers or friends that violate the traffic rule.  These people are not "citizens", but their "friends" or "brothers".  This difference probably explains why there have been difficulties in implementing a judicial system that is credible in our country.” (Multicultural Impact, 1999)
Death is dealt with differently from culture to culture through the use of customs and practices. The man that saw the tombstone more then likely comes from a culture that would never consider placing a living persons name on such an ominous object. His disbelief in the idea suggests he is a universalist, believing that only dead people’s names should be on tombstones should always be the rule regardless of the culture.

8. References
Cheat. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Marriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/cheating Custom. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Marriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/custom Death. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Marriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/death Discipline. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Marriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/discipline?show=0&t= Equality. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Marriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/equality?show=0&t= Gallagher, E. (2013, December 13). The effects of teacher-student relationships: Social and academic outcomes of low-income middle and high school students. Online Publication of Undergraduate studies. Retrieved from Hierarchy. (2014, 11 16). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster website: webster.com/dictionary/hierarchy Multicultural Impact. (1999, April 2). Retrieved from Stanford University website: