More thoughts on education
04/11/2009
I've been giving a lot of thought to higher education these days, in part, because of the workshops I'll be giving here in the coming week. When Deb visited recently, she attended a class with me, and her impression was that there are many similarities between a Vietnamese and an American college classroom. But I see many differences too! Perhaps she can respond to this blog by listing some of the similarities she observed. I think some of them would include the use of group work/presentations in classes, technology that doesn't always work when you want it to, and the way students interact with one another in the classroom. I know she was impressed by the quality of the presentation she saw when she visited, and by the students' enthusiasm.
And now, for a few differences, given in no particular order. Here classes are organized by periods, much like high school, and a bell rings at the beginning and end. Classes may meet for more than one period (the class I teach today, for example, is 2 periods long). Classrooms are much noisier and dustier than at I.U. East because the windows must be open in order to have good ventilation. Since there are many other classes at the same time, I sometimes can't hear myself think, let alone hear quiet students speak. Students stand when the teacher enters the room, and they stand to recite. If called upon and they don't know the answer, they stand to tell you that they can't answer. I have been impressed how well some of the students "think on their feet."
Another thing that takes a little getting used to is the criticism that is given to students after they deliver presentations. We don't spend a lot of time building self esteem. Instead, everyone wants to improve. Sure, they want to feel good about their presentations, but they also know that it is important for them to have criticism so they can become better. After presentations the students critique each other very honestly. They will say what a classmate has done well, but then spend much more time on the flaws. We teachers reinforce the students' comments and add some of our own. Notice how I used the word "teachers." That's what people who teach at the university here are called--teachers (I have not heard them referred to as faculty or professors, but this could be different elsewhere in the country).
Students here seldom seem to write research papers, which is why the library is not used more, and perhaps why there is no reference service yet. I'm sure this will change under the credit-based system. As with classes at I.U. East, students here seem to do most of their research for presentations on the Internet, but they lack awareness of the need to cite sources and to consider their credibility. We are working on that! When they do write papers, I understand that there is a lot of cutting and pasting going on because the concept of plagiarism is not widely understood. There also seems to be more pressure to cheat on exams. I've noticed some students looking at each other's papers when taking tests, even when they see me watching them, and I sense that the desire to do well could easily lead one to cheat. The actual grade does not seem to be as important as the fact that you did well enough to pass because the consequences of failure here are much more severe. Students seem to know that a college education means the difference between success and failure in their futures.
For anyone in the Registrar's Office who might be reading this, ideas about privacy of student records are also very different here. The results of exams are posted on bulletin boards, giving students' names, birthdates, and scores. Identity theft would not be as much a problem in a nation where very few people have bank accounts, let alone credit cards.
I've written before about the reliance on photocopied texts (rather than the commercial texts that students use back in the states). There is much less opportunity for one-to-one interaction with a teacher here, in part because the teachers do not have individual offices and office hours, but also because many of them have other jobs in addition to teaching at the University. We talk about low salaries back home, but being here has given me quite a different perspective on that!
At IU East we have writing and math centers, supplemental instruction, and offices to work with students with disabilities. I wonder what the prevalence of learning disabilities is here? If you must take a competitive exam to gain admission to the university, it is possible that fewer students with disabilities make it to the university. I have not seen evidence of students with physical disabilities here (other than those like me, who wear glasses), but then, I haven't seen everyone either.
Today's class (yes, on Saturday!) featured a fabulous student presentation about the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Teachers in the English department are really pushing students to be creative, and today they succeeded. We were entertained and enlightened by a very enthusiastic Ms. Pyramid, Ms. Temple, Mr. Colossus and several others. I love how the students seem to have such close connections with one another, but then, they are all in same cohort, taking the exact same courses together. They see each other day in and day out--another thing that is different from education at IU East.
Let me conclude on a different note. For those of you who are celebrating Easter tomorrow, I can report that I have seen no signs of it here outside the Catholic church. In other words, the Easter Bunny, Easter candy, egg hunts, Easter bonnets, or any of the other customs we celebrate with Easter do not seem to exist here. It's not on the calendar, but Victory Day, or Liberation Day (April 30) is. Already my students are asking what I'm planning to do over that holiday. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, what will I be doing tomorrow? Attending a 7:30 a.m. presentation by students who will be graduating this year. Happy Easter to you!
