Culture Clash

Mary Muldowney

Science Faculty Office

You’re destroying Western civilisation!

You’re destroying students’ souls!

Hegel’s Dialecticas applied to educationalphilosophy

The constructivist classroom

• Learning is a search for meaning so the learning process must focus on primary concepts, not isolated facts.

• Teachers must understand the mental models that students use to perceive the world and the assumptions they make to support those models.

• The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning.

• Assessment must be part of the learning process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their learning.

Teaching English as a foreign language

• Students learn a language through using it to communicate.

• Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities.

• Fluency is an important dimension of communication.

• Communication involves the integration of different language skills.

• Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

 

Classroom roles

Teacher as facilitator and classroom colleague

Student as collaborator and classroom colleague

P.B.L. T.E.F.L.Problem based learning – goals:

• Structuring knowledge for use in working contexts

• Developing effective reasoning processes• Developing self-directed learning skills• Increasing motivation for learning• Developing group/team working skills

English for Scientists

Course objectives:

• Communication• Comprehension• Problem solving

The difficulties• Admissions criteria• Different educational systems• Lack of information – on both

sides• Cultural differences – gender!• Individualism • Assessment requirements• Timetabling

The consequences• Pressure on students• Pressure on staff – lecturers, teaching

assistants, demonstrators• Student confidence undermined• Poor examination performance• Institutional reputation damaged

Solutions – so far• Course redesigned• Likely problem areas

identified and confronted early in course

• Explanation of methodology and its relation to course requirements

• Assessment procedures agreed• Open to discussion

Assessment• Academic standards – preparation for exams• Encourage student

reflection • Survey results – ‘stop,

start, continue’• Teacher reflection

Institutional benefits

• In the 2004-2005 academic year 140 million euro was paid in fees by international students in Ireland

• More than 105 million of this sum was paid to the university sector

• In 2006-2007, it is anticipated that this figure will rise to 128 million.