USING THE CONCEPT MAP IN TEACHING THE KYRGYZ NATIONAL HOUSING BOZ UY

ABSTRACT

This article develops the concept-mapping method as a tool for enhancing teaching quality in higher education. In particular, it describes how concept mapping can be used to transform abstract knowledge and understanding into concrete visual representation that are amenable to comparison and measurement. The article describes three important functions of the method like the identification of prior knowledge among students, the presentation of new material in ways that facilitate meaningful learning, the constructing concept maps and sharing of knowledge and understanding among learners while introducing the Kyrgyz national dwelling boz ui.

АННОТАЦИЯ

В данной статье разрабатывается метод концептуальной карты как инструмент повышения качества преподавания в высшей школе. В частности, в нем описывается, как можно использовать отображение понятий для преобразования абстрактных знаний и в конкретное визуальное представление, для последующего сравнения и измерения. В статье описываются три важных применения метода: выявление базовых знаний учащихся, введение нового материала способами, мотивирующие сознательный подход к обучению, построение концептуальных карт и обмен знаниями между учащимися при ознакомлении текста о кыргызском жилище боз уй.

Keywords: national components, motivation, housing, nomad, boz ui, concept map, diagram, visual tool.

Ключевые слова: национальные компоненты, мотивация, жилище, кочевник, боз уй, концепт-карта, схема, визуальный инструмент.

Introduction

The researchers explain the concept “housing” differently. For example, Webster’s dictionary [4] as one of the explanations for concept “housing” gives the following meaning housing means dwellings provided for people. Similar definition for the concept “housing” is provided in Macmillan Dictionary [3] where the housing is defined as buildings for people to live in. The concept “housing” has a similar concept “house” which was described by Melnikas [2] (1998) as a specific and relatively limited, physically, biologically socially close place where people and groups of people can live their biosocial life, by receiving services, performing house chores and other biosocial activity.

As we aimed to define the housing concept boz ui in Кyrgyzstan, now we will look at several steps toward building more dynamic lesson. These activities are given to check learners’ background knowledge about boz ui and design a concept map based on the given text.

Aims:

• To build the learner’s house and boz ui topic vocabulary and to develop the learner’s ability to say what is in a boz ui. This session provides plenty of opportunity for the learner to talk and discuss about boz ui through concept map

Objectives:

learners will be able to:

• name the different parts of a boz ui (tor, epchi jak, er jak, kolomto etc.).
• say what there is in a boz ui (using there is and there are).

• create a concept map and describe a boz ui
• explain the benefits of using a concept map

Methodology

1. Word search:

2. Match the words with their definitions:

1. Tor - A. latticed folding walls (consist of separate links)

2. Erjak   -   B.   the right side of  boz  ui (for women)

3. Epchijak    -    C.  the left side of  boz  ui  (for men)

4. Kerege   –   D.   the place opposite of entrance for honorary position

5. Uuk      –     F.   fur rugs 

6. Tunduk – G.   the spherical roof of  boz ui is made of sharply bent poles

7. Boz ui   -       H.      the ornamented mat

8. Shyrdak  –   I.  the middle of the boz ui, where the fire made and the meals cooked

9. Koldolong   -    J.     a wooden circle at the top of  boz ui

10. Kolomto   -   K.   a small dwelling, decorated with hand-made felt carpets and strips

Figure 1: Picture of bozui as a pre-reading activity

3. Words in context.

Fill in the blanks with words from the box:

1. Kyrgyz culture has been greatly influenced by their ……..  heritage.
2. Boz ui consists of ………. pieces and a felt cover.
3. The spherical …….. of  boz ui is made of sharply bent poles - uuk.
4. Boz ui can be …… ….. in about 20 minutes till 1 hour depending on the skill of person.
5. …. …… ….. of boz ui was considered the women’s part (epchi jak).
6. The place opposite of entrance was considered an ……. position (tor).
7. The coloring of Kyrgyz national cloth, carpets, and ………… are saturated and cheerful.
8. Shyrdak is made with the help of a mosaic technique of application, based on a patchwork of felt pieces with multicolored ………… .

4. Reading the text “Kyrgyz national dwelling boz ui”:

One of the greatest and most wonderful inventions of humanity, the yurt is the main type of dwelling of Central Asian nomads. According to archeological accounts, the first yurt prototype appeared more than three thousand years ago. This dwelling made it possible to lead a nomadic way of life, roam around the immense territories and reclaim new lands. Kyrgyz culture has been greatly influenced by their nomadic heritage. It is reflected in the way a household was run, in customs and rites. People decorated their homes with items that were both beautiful and practical. The masterpiece of folk creation is the Kyrgyz boz ui (yourt, yurt, tent), which was easy to assemble and transport from place to place. Boz ui is a small dwelling, decorated with handmade felt carpets and strips. Having its roots in ancient Turkic tribes, boz ui took all the best from many centuries’ experiences of nomadic people. Kyrgyz tribes, occupied with nomadic cattle-breeding in the mountains, worked out the best type of transportable dwelling that is easily dismantled, moved on pack animals and again set up. Boz ui consists of wooden pieces and a felt cover. Latticed folding walls (kerege) consist of separate links. They define the size of the boz ui from the outside, the kerege are covered with mats made of cheegrass stalk. It lets air into the dwelling and at the same time protects it from wind and dust. The spherical roof of boz ui is made of sharply bent poles  uuk. At one end, where they are bent, they are fixed to the upper part of the wall base, at the other end they are set into the holes in the tunduk a wooden circle at the top of boz ui. Boz ui is made of willow; for the tunduk, which constitutes the hole for smoke to leave the boz ui, they use more solid kinds of wood (birch, juniper).

Boz ui is covered by felts of different types. These include tunduk jabuu, tunduk, and uzuktor. The felt cover is connected to its frame by narrow woven and leather strips (kyrchoo). The cover of the tunduk is moveable and the hole for smoke is easily opened in the morning and closed at night with help of long cords. The doorway is covered with felt or woven ornamented curtains. Boz ui can be set up in about 20 minutes till 1 hour depending on the skill of person. The internal and external sides of boz ui are richly decorated with different ornamented items as (Jabyk bash) made of felt, application, braided patterned fringe, multicolored tassels (chachyk) and patterned braid (terenchek boo).  Over the years, not only the boz ui as a whole, but its interior has changed. The right side of boz ui was considered the women’s part (epchi jak). Here, colored bags with felt application, clothing, headdresses, jewelry, needle work of mistresses and pottery were kept. Food storage was separated with a screen from the ornamented mat (shyrdak). The left side was for men (er jak), where the best clothing and headdresses of the men were hung, and closer to the entrance hung a harness. The place opposite of entrance was considered an honorary position (tor). On this part of the wall was a row of trunks where rarely used patterned carpets were laid. The more carpets the richer the people living in boz ui. On the floor of the bozui only the best carpets, ala-kiyiz, were laid, and on them narrow quilts (toshok) or fur rugs koldolong. The “Tor” was the center of the boz ui. It was the place for the most honored guests. Before sitting guests, was laid a kind of table-cloth a “dastorkhon”. In the middle of the boz ui they made the fire and cooked the meals. This spot is called “kolomto”. In the bozui, people are always surrounded by comfortable carpets, woven and embroidered covers, blankets and pillows and other items often made by the mistress herself. Materials that she uses include felt, fleecy cloth, furs, textiles, and cheegrass; the main decorations are bright colors and ornamentation. Kyrgyz carpets “kiyiz” and “shyrdak” are made of warm felt and are always richly decorated. Shyrdak is made with the help of a mosaic technique of application, based on a patchwork of felt pieces with multicolored threads. Ala-kiyiz is made by ramming and rolling multi-colored fur into a friable felt base. It is famous for its cleanness of line and its fuzziness. Mats and screens, as a rule, are a whole art composition, made by braiding cheegrass stalks with multicolored fur. On homemade machines, women wove from thick threads the braid (boo) for various ornaments. They embroidered with fur and gold thread on leather, felt, chamois and canvas.

Figure 2:  Alai Queen Kurmanjan Datka near the bozui, 1906

The boz ui has housed Central Asian nomads for at least 3000 years [6].  It is designed to both cope with extremes of weather and temperature and be easily moved and reassembled. You can visit and see master craftsmen at work in villages which produce boz ui.  Boz ui are still widely used in Kyrgyzstan and the country is one of the biggest producers of boz ui, exporting them to neighboring nomadic areas. Everything in the boz ui is made by hand, from the felt covers to the decorative carpets inside.  Ropes are braided from leather or wool.  In summertime, join Kyrgyz shepherds in the jailoo summer pastures.  Live in a boz ui and experience the beautiful simplicity of rural life. That said, they can be a great choice for those who like to live close to nature with fewer belongings. Every Kyrgyz people set up boz ui during wedding celebrities and funerals. The boz ui, therefore, has a number of exceptional qualities that make it perfect for a nomadic lifestyle: mobile, quick assembling and dismantling, reasonably low weight, seismic safety (provided by structural flexibility of walls), all season habitation, the internal space can be varied by means of adding or removing trellis wall sections, etc. However, they do pose challenges for electrical lines and plumbing. Other considerations are a lack of privacy for residents, as can close interaction with all types of nature. [1]

5. Creating group concept maps:

A concept map graphical represents the relationships between concepts or ideas and helps in organizing and structuring the information. Concept map has a central concept branch in relations with other concepts. The concepts are represented in circles or squares connected by labeled arrows with other concepts forming a tree. A concept map is a visual tool that helps learners dig into an idea in detail. This diagram pushes students to explore subtopics, understand relationships, and organize thoughts in a logical and systematic way. Concept maps are visual representations students create to connect ideas, concepts, and terms. Students can use them to organize information they already know and to incorporate new learning with this prior knowledge. They can use concept maps to capture, communicate, and simplify very complex ideas. Concept maps help you see how students understand the content.

Concept mapping is a process that can be used to help a group describe its ideas on any topic of interest [5] (Trochim, 1989a).

In the typical case, six steps are involved:

Step 1. Preparation   participants are divided into two groups to describe interior and exterior part of boz ui. Group work goes more smoothly if group are assigned certain responsibilities. Possibilities include recorder, timekeeper, reporter, reader monitor and observer. Groups identified and engaged and the focus of the concept map is agreed.

Step 2. Statements are generated about the focus of the concept map for example, students might be asked individually or in a group to generate statements about different aspects of boz ui. Identifying key words for example tunduk, uuk and others.

Step 3. Grouping and rating statements participants work individually to rate the importance of each statement and to group the statements into cluster that make sense to them.

Step 4. Drawing a concept map, using proprietary software (CMap tools) that combines cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. It is also possible to draw separate maps for different groups of people for example, comparing interior and exterior part of boz ui. While students are working, teacher walks around the room to assess how they are doing. It is best to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Step 5.  Interpretation in a group, label the clusters and decide how to interpret the results.

Step 6. Use of the results they can be used to identify the values for an evaluation, the elements in a logic model.

6. Group presentations:

Group 1.  Exterior of boz ui

Figure 3: A concept map and reading comprehension Exterior of bozui

Figure 4: Kyrgyz national dwelling bozui

Group 2.  Interior of boz ui

Figure 5: A concept map and reading comprehension Interior of bozui

7. Group discussions:

1. Do you like to go to jailoo? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever lived in bozui? If so, how did you feel?
3. Would you prefer to live in bozui or in a house (apartment)?
4. Speak about advantages and disadvantages of living in boz ui.

Benefits of concept mapping

Concept maps help students see the “big-picture” and visualize relationships.

Concept maps are good for processing and storing large amounts of information.

Through links, concept maps present information in a dynamic manner.

Concept maps help students develop metacognitive skills.

Conclusion

This paper has examined how regional components can be considered as the principal feature of education, considering important issues such as the ethnic and cultural tradition of language, and the level of modern cultural developments.

Learning the history of people’s origin is an important factor to feel the support of the national culture and it, in its turn, is a significant factor of personal development. Furthermore, its use is good for educational activities as well.

The use of regional materials in the learning process using the concept map can determine the conditions for increasing the efficiency of learning the foreign language and the formation of positive motivation in language learning. In summary, this study indicates that concept maps can effectively promote learning of students and thus, can be added to the teaching strategies of faculty in higher education.

References:

1. Kasyanova, L. (2014). Yurts of Central Asia, Part #1 Retrieved from http://www.uzbekjourneys.com/2014/04/yurts-of-central-asia-part-1.html
2. Melnikas, B. (1998). Management and modernization of housing facilities: specific features of central and eastern European countries. Facilities, 16(11), PP. 326–333.
3. Macmillan Dictionary. (n.d.). Housing. Retrieved from http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/ housing
4. Merriam-Webster dictionary.  (n.d.). Housing.    Retrieved    from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/housing
5. Trochim, W. (1989a). An introduction to concept mapping for planning and evaluation.  Evaluation and Program Planning, 12, 1, PP. 1-16.
6. http://www.foto.kg/galereya/169-kirgizskaya-yurta-boz-uy. html Photo by Gustaf Mannerheim 1906