Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The first Tuesday at MSU
October 16, 2007
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
Today’s schedule was more or less like yesterday’s. It started with Prof. Rick’s class. I felt as if I had turned back time to when I was an English major student years ago. As an English teacher, it’s important to always look for something new in language. New things in language can be new words, new idioms, new expressions, etc.
After Prof. Rick’ class, we went to Dr. Brody’s class of active learning. Today was quite special because we had a chance to attend his classroom. We had learnt a little bit about “inquiry method” and today we actually saw how it was applied to the classroom. Dr. Brody’s students acted as teachers, while we acted as students. It was a very interesting class; though I had very little background knowledge related to the topic; magnetism. The class started by an interesting demo (a demonstration of an experiment). Students were asked to do experiments themselves by following the instructions from the clear and well-organized handout. The teachers acted more like guides or facilitators since they let us do the experiments freely without interference. Students were also asked to apply their magnetism knowledge to something related to their real world such as bird migration, and speakers. We learnt about Active learning assessment with Dr. Art after that and ended our day with blog creating.
What I’ve gained today is that in learning, students should also have fun doing activities. Another important point is that answers to the inquiry aren’t always the key to the learning activity but the process of stimulating students to think and find the answers themselves are much more important because if you “give a man a fish; you have fed him for today, but if you teach a man how to fish, you have fed him for a life time.”
After Prof. Rick’ class, we went to Dr. Brody’s class of active learning. Today was quite special because we had a chance to attend his classroom. We had learnt a little bit about “inquiry method” and today we actually saw how it was applied to the classroom. Dr. Brody’s students acted as teachers, while we acted as students. It was a very interesting class; though I had very little background knowledge related to the topic; magnetism. The class started by an interesting demo (a demonstration of an experiment). Students were asked to do experiments themselves by following the instructions from the clear and well-organized handout. The teachers acted more like guides or facilitators since they let us do the experiments freely without interference. Students were also asked to apply their magnetism knowledge to something related to their real world such as bird migration, and speakers. We learnt about Active learning assessment with Dr. Art after that and ended our day with blog creating.
What I’ve gained today is that in learning, students should also have fun doing activities. Another important point is that answers to the inquiry aren’t always the key to the learning activity but the process of stimulating students to think and find the answers themselves are much more important because if you “give a man a fish; you have fed him for today, but if you teach a man how to fish, you have fed him for a life time.”
The first Monday at MSU
October 15, 2007
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
Today was my first day here as a student of MSU Active Learning Program. I woke up early in the morning. This morning was colder than any other days. It was so cold that smoke came out of my mouth while I was talking. I love it because I wouldn’t be able to experience cold weather like this in Thailand. At 8:30 am, we left our hotel and headed towards MSU campus.
Our first class today was ACE Language Class. Prof. Rick asked us to choose the topics we were interested in studying during this two-week program. I think asking students such a question was a good teaching technique because it motivated students to think, and discuss. Our final decision was that we would learn English and Action Research. Prof. Rick also checked our assignments including daily journal, and goals of the program. For my assignments, I made two preposition mistakes but the rest of the text was good. I learnt many new and interesting words during the class such as “politically correct” or PC words. PC words are more or less like euphemism. These words are used to avoid negative connotations of the words. For example, instead of saying lazy students, we should say underachieving students and instead of saying retarded students, we should say cognitive deficit students.
After the English class, we went to Reid Hall to study how to do our own blogs, and brochure. Before learning how to do blogs and brochures right away, we were taught how to use Macintosh computer. This may sound awkward for some Americans because they are so used to using Macintosh. For Thais, however, Macintosh is not as widely used as Microsoft. Many of us had problems using it. I myself had some problems but after using it for a while I started to like it and really enjoyed using it.
At lunch, we went to the cafeteria. It was quite crowded. I shared my meal with Waan because if I ordered one for myself, I wouldn’t be able to finish it. One serving of food here is ENORMOUS!
We began our afternoon session with Prof. Brody. He asked us to do an activity in active learning. We were asked to answer three questions; 1) What do you know about active learning?, 2) What question do you have about active learning?, 3) What experience do you have with active learning?. After answering those questions, we posted our answers on the board and shared our ideas related to the posted answers. This activity is very good in encouraging students to think and teachers will learn a lot about students especially their background knowledge and feelings.
After Prof. Brody’s class, we went to the fourth floor to continue our work on the computer. The afternoon session was mainly about the Internet. We now got our own account for google group. It was new to me and I’m glad I have a chance to learn about it because I think my students will be interested in using. After class, we went to Wall Mart to do some shopping. I bought some food and fruits. And now, it’s time for me to enjoy my food. Yummy…. ☺
Our first class today was ACE Language Class. Prof. Rick asked us to choose the topics we were interested in studying during this two-week program. I think asking students such a question was a good teaching technique because it motivated students to think, and discuss. Our final decision was that we would learn English and Action Research. Prof. Rick also checked our assignments including daily journal, and goals of the program. For my assignments, I made two preposition mistakes but the rest of the text was good. I learnt many new and interesting words during the class such as “politically correct” or PC words. PC words are more or less like euphemism. These words are used to avoid negative connotations of the words. For example, instead of saying lazy students, we should say underachieving students and instead of saying retarded students, we should say cognitive deficit students.
After the English class, we went to Reid Hall to study how to do our own blogs, and brochure. Before learning how to do blogs and brochures right away, we were taught how to use Macintosh computer. This may sound awkward for some Americans because they are so used to using Macintosh. For Thais, however, Macintosh is not as widely used as Microsoft. Many of us had problems using it. I myself had some problems but after using it for a while I started to like it and really enjoyed using it.
At lunch, we went to the cafeteria. It was quite crowded. I shared my meal with Waan because if I ordered one for myself, I wouldn’t be able to finish it. One serving of food here is ENORMOUS!
We began our afternoon session with Prof. Brody. He asked us to do an activity in active learning. We were asked to answer three questions; 1) What do you know about active learning?, 2) What question do you have about active learning?, 3) What experience do you have with active learning?. After answering those questions, we posted our answers on the board and shared our ideas related to the posted answers. This activity is very good in encouraging students to think and teachers will learn a lot about students especially their background knowledge and feelings.
After Prof. Brody’s class, we went to the fourth floor to continue our work on the computer. The afternoon session was mainly about the Internet. We now got our own account for google group. It was new to me and I’m glad I have a chance to learn about it because I think my students will be interested in using. After class, we went to Wall Mart to do some shopping. I bought some food and fruits. And now, it’s time for me to enjoy my food. Yummy…. ☺
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The first Sunday at MSU
October 14, o7
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
MSU, Bozeman, Montana
Not very early in the morning, we got in the van to MSU campus. Today, we officially met all the staff and listened to the program schedule (It sounds like fun especially the part in which we can do our own blog). After the orientation, we went around campus. We got to know many interesting buildings. After the campus tour, we went to “Bamboo Gardens”, a Chinese restaurant near our hotel. The food was good; though it was a bit salty. I ate so much that I didn’t feel hungry at all. (It is 9:30 pm now but I still haven’t had dinner!)
Then, we walked to the city center. We walked pass a high school, a museum, etc. My next plan is to go to the city center again because there are many shops I’d like to explore. We walked through the city center; then, up the hill to see the panoramic view of Bozeman. On our way back to the hotel, we walked pass beautiful houses. I learnt that people here are very friendly because people on the streets said hi or waved at us. Thank you Prof. Brody, Prof. Jim, Prof. Rick, Prof. Bill, Jess, Janelle, and Daniel for today’s warm welcome.
Then, we walked to the city center. We walked pass a high school, a museum, etc. My next plan is to go to the city center again because there are many shops I’d like to explore. We walked through the city center; then, up the hill to see the panoramic view of Bozeman. On our way back to the hotel, we walked pass beautiful houses. I learnt that people here are very friendly because people on the streets said hi or waved at us. Thank you Prof. Brody, Prof. Jim, Prof. Rick, Prof. Bill, Jess, Janelle, and Daniel for today’s warm welcome.
I wanna see snow!!!
I am at Montana for four days but it hasn't snowed yet. It seems like it's gonna snow soon. What I can do now is keep looking at the sky and wait......
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