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…. ☺
1 comment:
Nice report, Noon. I only got to see you all during the afternoon class, so it is good to hear how you spend the rest of the day. I am glad the other classes are useful to you.
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