22 August
Experiential Learning Methodology Workshop with Mr. Paul McAfee
23 August
Training on "Project-Based Learning" with Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen and Mr. Paul McAfee
I recently led a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on my research at a Vietnamese STEM university. I co-led a workshop on Project-Based Learning methodology. The two workshops were:
22 August Experiential Learning Methodology Workshop with Mr. Paul McAfee 23 August Training on "Project-Based Learning" with Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen and Mr. Paul McAfee My first paper summarizing the 2016 student survey and the 2017 instructor and student interviews at the STEM university in Vietnam is in the final editing stage. Here were the questions for the 2017 interviews:
Questions of Interest for Student Interviews:
Questions of Interest for Instructor Interviews:
In the conclusion, I should offer recommendations for future research, and possibly for improvement in teaching methods. The U.S.A.-Vietnamese organization, Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), published a report in 2006 that covers general recommendations at several levels of education management. I am sharing their suggestions for the university level. The VEF list is long, so first I'll share my simplified suggestion for improvement: Conduct an annual assessment of instructors' use of, and students' exposure to, experiential (or active) learning methods. Ask them what they have done, how the methods affected their learning, and how they feel about the methods. Create a double loop feedback system that informs instructors of opportunities for improvement based on what is learned from the annual assessment. Here is what VEF suggested. The following is verbatim but without quotes. A scenario for change led by individual universities includes the following activities to be considered:
Reference Stephen, W., Doughty, P., Gray, P., Hopcroft, J., & Silvera, I. (2006). Observations on undergraduate education in computer science, electrical engineering, and physics at select universities in Vietnam. Retrieved from https://home.vef.gov/download/Report_on_Undergrad_Educ_E.pdf. As I write my analysis of active and experiential learning in my 2016 student surveys and 2017 instructor and student interviews at a STEM university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I am trying to use technology tools. What I have discovered is that the learning curve is steep. There are three tools I am using:
Back to the writing grind ... Paul I have realized two important things about my 2017 interview process.
This image is a word cloud built from the frequency of words used by technology (STEM) students at a university in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, in response to the survey question, "Please provide a definition in your own words of experiential learning, based on one or more courses you have taken at the university [in which you are studying]." The study that generated the word cloud took place in 2016 among technology students. That study was a mixed methods survey comprising quantitative Likert-scale type questions as well as qualitative open-ended questions.
My experiential learning research continues. This week, I interviewed a professor and a student in this program. My first learning point is that "experiential learning" is not a term that is used at this Vietnamese university. The closest word here for this type of teaching is "Active Learning." The professor knew this term because the university has been educating its professors on active learning methods in an effort move away from purely lecture-based teaching methods. In the two one-on-one interviews this week, working on projects arose as the example most provided by both the professor and the student that they considered to be active or experiential learning. I will be transcribing these interviews this week. I will begin to analyze them in detail using phenomenological research analysis methods over the next couple of weeks. As I gather sufficient information, I will share thoughts about the feelings the professor and student expressed about active or experiential learning. I learned a lot this week, as a researcher, but also as a teacher. The student, as he explained his feelings toward his expoure to experiential learning, opened my eyes to the challenges my students face when I have them work on projects in my classes. I am thankful to both the professor and the student for their candid and heartfelt responses during the interview. They both have contributed to improvement in my own teaching methods. I have conducted University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved pilot studies in Singapore (2014) and Ho Chi Minh Ciy (Saigon - 2016). These studies comprised mixed methods surveys of students to learn the extent to which they have been exposed to experiential learning, and their attitudes toward, and feelings about, experiential learning. The image below is a word cloud of students responses in Saigon when asked what they thought comprised experiential learning. This week, I have started a third IRB approved study in Saigon. I am interviewing students and instructors, continuing with research questions that explore exposure to, and attitudes toward, experiential learning in a STEM higher education environment. The first instructor interview took place yesterday. His insights into experiential teaching methods, and his commitment to those methods, would match an of the university instructors I know in the USA or elsewhere, including myself.
I selected a suitable environment for the interview. We met in a spacious lounge at a five-star hotel near the university, getting us into a relaxed and quiet space without interruptions. I put the computer away before we started so that it would not be a distraction. |
Paul mcafeeThis blog summarizes research about active and experiential learning that I have read, and research that I have conducted. Archives
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