Teaching Methods in Science & Engineering

Report on Prof Calvin Kalman’s 3-week course on “Methods in Science and Engineering Teaching” to 37 faculty at Tra Vinh University (December 2010).

The course was of 13 presentations - each of 2 ½ hours.

1. The participants were fully engaged in activities- that is they did not simply see a description of the activities, but they also themselves experienced the activities so that they would be clear about how the students would be involved.

2. The participants learned the research behind the activities. This way they understand why these activities should be implemented. They also heard and saw how students view the activities. Additionally they viewed a DVD showing students undergo a sample activity.

3. The participants saw how activities can be put together to look at the whole course. You cannot expect results after one or two weeks or even a month. A course is a process that covers a whole semester. Moreover they saw how different activities can be used in different courses.

4. There are two objectives:
a) Change how students learn. The activities that are presented have been tested and shown to help student understanding of concepts. The idea is to go beyond this so that students will have a better way of learning in all of their courses.
Regarding this objective the Tra Vinh Physics department has agreed to be part of an experiment joining Concordia, Ryerson university in Toronto, Langara college in Vancouver, Haifeng university in China, and other institutions in Lisbon and Portugal.
b) Develop student critical thinking skills.
Together these goals prepare students to be more effective as entrepreneurs, etc. [not to just learn the course material].

5. There was at the end of the course an agreement of sending a faculty member in Tra Vinh to Concordia University to undertake Ph.D. studies in Science Education under the supervision of Prof. Kalman. A Concordia research assistantship will be provided to the faculty member concerned.

6. Tra Vinh University as well as participants in the 3-week course expressed great satisfaction in the training offered. Learning materials have been translated into Vietnamese for use in the course and subsequent documentation.