Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

Hiyas,

Last night I was watching an opinion piece about how Latin America needs to concentrate on education to help it become more competitive in the global market (in all ways, not just business). The guy was talking about quality of education and mentioned that in a world ranking of universities, the highest rated university (Mexico's UNAM btw) was ranked something like 192nd in the whole world. He said that a large part of the problem was that teachers in Latin America instruct rather than educate using creativity and allowing the students to develop new ideas and so forth.

I have seen this a lot in my classrooms here, where the students want me to tell them the answers, rather than discovering them for themselves like we are supposed to help them do with the communicative method. Sometimes they get a little frustrated when I ask them to think and try to work it out for themselves (which I never do unless I'm pretty sure they can).

How much of this do you see where you are? Do your students expect you to teach them, or do they like it when instead of doing that, you help them learn?

Have a great day!
Lozwich.

[Guy Courchesne]

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2005/ARWU2005TOP500list.htm

List of the top 500 unis in the world, 2005. There's also ranking criteria to understand how it's done.

The Koreans seem to emphasize memorization and massive cunsumption of information without a lot of creative thought, so I'm told. The top Korean uni ranks at 120 (and no others until later in the list - 290+), so maybe you're onto something with instruction vs education.

I don't teach at a uni of course, but of the students I do have, I find the Mexicans more creative and able to work ahead on their own than the (albeit only) two Koreans I tutor. Mind you, those two young Korean girls do a far greater amount of homework and reading.

[MELEE]

According to the thing Guy posted, The University of Sao Paolo came in above UNAM.

In the Americas, my alma mater is tied for 58th! (its a 19 way tie!)

Loz,
I have found that, but I've also had the good fortune to work with some very creative students here. But I think its more of a problem in the primary and secondary school than at the universities. Those are the ages when kids need to be learning problem solving and investigation.

[lozwich]

Granted, Melee, but here at the private academy where I work, my students sometimes seem to want me to teach them in the chalk and talk style rather than in the communicative way that my bosses do (and that I think is more effective for learning languages).

Is this a result of their education that according to the guy I was watching on tv last night is the kind where the teacher stands up the front and lectures for 2 hours without the students having any input at all?

[Cdaniels]

My alma mater isn't on the list
About the communicative approach.
I'm sure some students feel like the teacher is not part of the process. They might be thinking, "what use is he/she, we might as well just come here on our own and play these stupid word games! "
Not good if your pay is based on student evaluation!
Ideally I'd like to have a mix of student-centered and teacher-centered activities.
I also think the methodology was less important than the teacher.
Maybe I better stop there before I talk my way out of some job opportunities.

[MELEE]

[thelmadatter]

I went to the Tamaya museum yesterday with the (Mexican) guy Im seeing, who has a bachelors in fine arts. I didnt notice them, but he started complaining why teacher make students come to the museum just to copy word-for-word the sign explaning the exhibits on display instead of letting them comment on the works for themselves. I looked over and sure enough, that is exactly what they were doing.

While I have to instruct most of the time, I manage to convince admin to let me "educate" some of the time...esp for the really advanced students.

[ls650]

[Cdaniels]

[lozwich]

[Cdaniels]

Hey, that's a good idea!
I'm just venting a bit.
I should let you guys vent about the Mexican education system-
It's probably awful-


Good night, sweet dreams.