Bangladesh "Virtual Classroom" - CiteSeerX

Åke Grönlund Örebro University Professor ESI/Informatics +46 70 585 1790 / +46 19 30 1295 701 82 Örebro [email protected] Sweden

1

Bangladesh "Virtual Classroom" Final report

May 25, 2007 Åke Grönlund

Örebro University ESI/Informatics

Summary The project “Bangladesh Virtual Classroom” was conducted from October 2005 to May 2007. It was a cooperation between the Universities of Örebro, BRAC, and Umeå. During the course of the project also Bangladesh Open University (BOU) joined by means of a Memorandum of Understanding setting the framework for cooperation in pursuing field trials. The project had two parts: 1: Using Mobile Technology to Create a Virtual Interactive Participatory Classroom using sms technology. 2: Conducting an Educate the Educator Program to introduce interactive teaching methods. Both parts have now been completed. The project deliverables are:

1. Tested methods for ICT-supported education: The interactive pedagogical method designed has been tested in labs, in small-scale field tests at BRAC, and in nation-wide TV broadcast at BOU.

2. A tested technical system to support such education, a “virtual classroom” adapted to developing country technical environment: The sms system designed has been used for all the above trials.

3. Curriculum for Education of Educators adapted to developing country context: A curriculum for the EoE training has been designed and documented in a Teachers Handbook.

4. Education for a group of teacher-trainers: The EoE program has been run at BRAC University following the above curriculum. The trained teachers are now conducting teacher training as designed regularly each semester using our curriculum.


2

Contents Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2 Project activities and results ....................................................................................................... 3

Part 1: Using Mobile Technology to Create a Virtual Interactive Participatory Classroom.. 3 Lessons learned ...................................................................................................................... 5 Continuation ........................................................................................................................... 6 Part 2: Educate the Educator Program ................................................................................... 6 Lessons learned ...................................................................................................................... 7 Continuation ........................................................................................................................... 7

Budget and financial result......................................................................................................... 8 Appendix A: A Case Study on Bangladesh Open University.................................................... 8 Appendix B: Open and Distance Learning in Bangladesh....................................................... 24 Appendix C: Evaluation of the Educate the Educator programme .......................................... 33 Appendix D: Teacher Handbook.............................................................................................. 37

Introduction The project “Bangladesh Virtual Classroom” was conducted from October 2005 to May 2007. It was a cooperation between the Universities of Örebro, BRAC, and Umeå. During the course of the project also Bangladesh Open University (BOU) joined by means of a Memorandum of Understanding setting the framework for cooperation in pursuing field trials. Project leader was Åke Grönlund. Yousuf Islam, at BRAC University, was coordinator of local activities in Bangladesh. At BOU, Shafiqul Alam was coordinator of BOU activities during the field trials. The project had two parts:

1) Part 1: Using Mobile Technology to Create a Virtual Interactive Participatory Classroom

2) Part 2: Educate the Educator Program The second part was performed as planned during Spring 2006. The first part was delayed due to problems with engaging Bangladesh Open University (BOU) in the field tests. The first part was where most of the project resources were allocated, this was also the most interesting and innovative part of the project. We therefore asked for prolongation until May 2007, which was agreed. During 2007 the situation at BOU changed and field tests could take place as planned during the Spring Semester. The project envisioned deliverables and actual results are in summary: Deliverable Result

1. Tested methods for ICT-supported education The interactive pedagogical method designed has been tested in labs, in small-


3

scale field tests at BRAC, and in nation-wide TV trials at BOU

2. A tested technical system to support such education, a “virtual classroom” adapted to developing country technical environment

The sms system designed has been used for all the above trials

3. Curriculum for Education of Educators adapted to developing country context

A curriculum for the EoE training has been designed

4. Education for a group of teacher-trainers The EoE program has been run at BRAC University following the above curriculum

Below some notes on each part of the project.

Project activities and results

Part 1: Using Mobile Technology to Create a Virtual Interactive Participatory Classroom This part of the project was delayed, but eventually it was carried out according to the plan as concerns the content. The table below lists planned events and results. We originally explored different options for implementation, such as doing programs in regular TV channels. It turned out that this would be both complicated and not really the kind of education we set out for. Hence we contacted Bangladesh Open University (BOU), which runs distance education from 8th grade up to university level (See Appendix A for a description of BOU and Appendix B for a country study of the history and current status of distance education in Bangladesh). Initial contacts were positive so we decided to work on that alternative. The market is huge, as is the room for innovation. BOU has some 800 000 students, and education is virtually without any interaction between teachers and students. For the project the decision to work with BOU meant we saved some money on airtime and equipment, but instead had to put more work into doing our own recordings. Table 1: activities and results in the “Virtual Classroom” part of the project. Planned events Results Comments September 2005 – January 2006 Preparatory phase

* Agreement with TV Channel for air time * Agreement with Mobile company(ies) in both countries * Agreement with existing teacher training institute to look at their courses and existing limitations. * Setup and selection of facilities * Selection of participants for course and allocation of field practice

We used BOU’s regular time slots Cancelled – not necessary BOU has taken up the idea for their own internal education Done. Done in cooperation with BOU Spring 2007

Buying from a commercial TV channelproved not to be a viable solutions and hence we turned to BOU who already had airtime This is left to BOU for their regular operations, as they have good business relations For the test we set up our own sms server This was delayed but worked well once done


4

* Preparation/Development of course material * Checking of interactive design of course material * Lab trial runs with software, cameras, teachers and course * Design of evaluation processes * Study of distance learning system in Umeå

Done Spring 2006 Done Spring 2006 Done Spring 2006

We first made a demo at Örebro Uni. The programs that were actually sent on Bangladeshi TV were recorded in BOU studios. We have tried the material in demos for e.g. BOU staff and in real lectures in classrooms. We first made a demo at Örebro Uni. The programs that were actually sent on Bangladeshi TV were recorded in BOU studios.

August 2006 – May 2007 Evaluation and improvement phase

* Continued trials with feedback from evaluations * Action research evaluation * Second lesson with feedback from first lesson * Feedback from students watching the program on national television.

Done March-May 2007: Field tests at BOU Evaluation includes interviews with teachers and students and analysis of return sms messages The participants watching the interactive video lessons used mobile sets as they would use a game console. They watched the programs intently and at the time felt that the program was ‘live’. Eyelids of a few students were drooping while watching the original non-interactive program. A total of five sessions were done. The 600 odd sms’s sent during the nationally aired program have been additionally analysed for key press errors – an extra prototype has been designed to catch and self correct such errors.


5

* Feedback from BOU

The teachers and Vice Chancellor of BOU are very excited about the prospects of such interactive programs. They feel that there is a definite future and would like to test a complete large scale course to evaluate student learning in an interactive course.

Lessons learned In the interviews students appreciated the interactivity of the video session and said that the immediate response of right/wrong answers acted as a motivator and spurred them on for trying the next interactive question. When the teacher in the video program made phone calls to participants to discuss answers, the feeling was that the program was being aired ‘live’. This created a ‘classroom’ feeling in the distance education situation. In the nationally aired interactive program (second lesson), there were just over 600 responses. This helped identify key press mistakes that people can make while watching television at a remote location. In addition to the software routines for managing the server responses, we now have a prototype routine that can filter key press errors in response to multiple choice questions. In terms of technology and pedagogy all has gone well according to the plan. The trick has been organizing field trials in a way that would not only test the system and the pedagogy but also paved the way for actual implementation. This was why we choose BOU, and this was why we were delayed. The project has eventually succeeded in making BOU interested in both the pedagogical idea and the technical implementation. The trajectory of the project shows that this was very much depending on finding the right people at BOU. We made several trials and eventually succeeded. This is not a new lesson, but yet important: without champions no development. It would of course have been better to have a deal with BOU already before the project started, but this was impossible as we first had to invest some resources in making a demonstrator – a TV program, not just the sms application; people must see the end product to be able to see the potential of it. Even though the system and the teaching method are now tested it is important to understand that there is no single design to interactive teaching. Teaching methods and course contents change, and they should do so. It is important that teachers continuously strive to find new and better ways to teach. This is important to keep up vitality. What we have done is planted a seed for new opportunities at BOU – the idea that interactivity and “e-learning is indeed possible even in Bangladesh where there is virtually no broadband infrastructure available – and we have shown them a sample flower, our design of interactive lessons. They can use this flower as it is, but they can also grow the seed in different ways to make different designs of lessons and courses. One example has already been discussed, namely using the technique for education of local staff at the learning centers. There may be more. The important thing is that here is now interest at BOU to develop in this direction, and there is technology and knowledge available to do so.


6

Continuation Given the interest generated via the two different lessons finally aired over national television, BOU now would like to convert a subject course and evaluate the learning of the students that register for the course. They would like to see if the current high drop rate in the course can be reduced and whether student learning can be affected. If successful, the quality of distance education delivery in developing countries may be significantly improved. As BOU now is very interested in talking up the idea on a large scale we have applied for further funding from SPIDER. We believe that further support to BOU is necessary for large-scale implementation to happen. It is necessary both to educate and train BOU staff in interactive education as well as technicalities of using this particular method, and to revise recording practices at BOU. There is also a need to evaluate the new operations. In this new application, BOU is a partner so we will be able to set up a realistic schedule. There is also a potential in using the method for training of staff at the BOU local learning centres. There are 1300 such across Bangladesh, and interacting with the staff is complicated, at least.

Part 2: Educate the Educator Program This part consisted of workshops and seminars held in Dhaka, and a distance tuition phase stretching from January to May 2006. The results are in brief summary

1. A Teacher Handbook for introducing and educating new teachers to BRAC was created as a result of the course (See Appendix D).

2. This handbook is now used regularly for the teacher education at BRAC. 3. The curriculum developed is sustained.

Activities in this part of the project as envisioned in the project plan and as actually conducted are listed in Table 2. Table 2: activities and results in the “Educate the Educator” part of the project. Educate the Educator

Program Results Comments

September 2005 – January 2006 Preparatory phase

* Evaluation of current teaching practices at universities * Study of existing facilities and teacher training practices at various teacher training institutes * Study of needs of development agencies in the area of training in rural areas * Comparison with practices in Sweden * Agreement with universities for teacher training support * Setup and selection of facilities

Done Done Not done Done Done Done


7

* Selection of core people who would sustain the Educate the Educator Program * Selection of participants for course and allocation of field practice * Preparation of course material * Design of evaluation processes * Training of core personnel * Month long training of trainees

Done Done Done Done Done Done

The program was partly done as distance online tuition and stretched over four months, from January to May 2006

February – July 2006 Pilot test phase

* Field practice of trainee teachers * Action research evaluation

Trainee teachers held a week-long introductory course for new students Interviews and a questionnaire

August 2006 – May 2007 Evaluation and improvement phase

* Continued trials with feedback from evaluations * Feedback from trainees of the teachers being trained

Using the system designed for conducting the training, four sets of teachers have been trained in May 2006, August 2006, January 2007 and May 2007. Each successive program was built on the lessons learnt and feedback given by the trainees. The program is now self-correcting and the core team are able to manage on their own.

Lessons learned

We evaluated the EtoE program in different ways, observations, interviews with students and a questionnaire. Evaluation of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix C. The “Student Handbook”, one of the tangible results, is provided in Appendix D. Using the system designed for conducting the training, four sets of teachers have been trained in May 2006, August 2006, January 2007 and May 2007. Each successive program was built on the lessons learnt and feedback given by the trainees. The program is now self-correcting and the core team are able to manage on their own.

Continuation


8

The program is now self-correcting and the core team are able to manage on their own. What could further be done is disseminate results and encourage similar designs at other universities.

Budget and financial result Project resources were spent as follows: Salaries 232 663System development 154 074Travel and subsistence 268 358Adm. overhead 233 922Consumables 10 973Total 899 990

In comparison with the budget, less was spent on equipment and more on labour. This is due to the changes described above; Equipment at Örebro University and BOU was used, which led to savings on equipment but also to more work.


9

Appendix A: A Case Study on Bangladesh Open University

Analytical Review of Open and Distance Learning Practice in Bangladesh : A Case Study on Bangladesh Open University

Writer and Presenter:

Dr. Md. Mayenul Islam

Associate Professor (Management)

School of Business

Bangladesh Open University


10

Gazipur- 1705, Bangladesh


11

Analytical Review of Open and Distance Learning Practice in Bangladesh - A Case Study on Bangladesh Open University

Abstract:

The Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is the only distance and open learning public university in Bangladesh. It has opened up a new vista in distance education in the country. BOU was established in 1992 under the Act No 38 of the Bangladesh Parliament. The Prime objective of BOU is to transform the country’s vast human resources into educated and trained workforce by extending to them a wide range of academic programs both formal and non-formal. BOU’s programs are aimed at every one, particularly working men and women and the socially disadvantaged groups, who cannot enroll themselves in traditional universities. A medium is a generic form of communication associated with particular ways of presenting knowledge. There are five important media in education: (1) direct human contract (face–to face), (2) text (including still graphics), (3) audio, (4) television and (5) computing. The use of each medium gives both variety and the chance of accommodating different learning styles. In open and distance education system, print materials, tutorial sessions, radio and television programs, audio & video-cassettes, CD and other innovative techniques are used for effective transmission of knowledge to the learners at a distance. This study puts forward the overall scenario of Bangladesh Open University.

1. History of Bangladesh Open University

The need for an Open University in Bangladesh was felt long ago. The history of distance education in Bangladesh dates back to 1956, when the education Directorate was assigned with the responsibility for distribution of 200 radio receivers to educational institutions. This led to the creation of an Audio-Visual Cell and later the Audio-Visual Education Centre (AVEC in 1962). No further progress in distance education was made till 1971.

After Independence, Bangladesh faced the challenge of meeting the educational needs of mass people. To meet this challenge the necessity for a new mode of education was widely felt. As a sequel to that feeling, the School Broadcasting Pilot Project (SBP) was launched in 1978 and this was initiated under the visionary leadership of the then President Ziaur Rahman. Later in 1983, the project was transformed into National Institute of Educational Media and Technology (NIEMT). NIEMT was later replaced by the Bangladesh Institute of Distance Education (BIDE) in 1985. Apart from producing audio-visual materials, BIDE offered the Bachelor of Education (B Ed) program in distance mode. The success of BIDE encouraged policy makers to take up a major plan for establishing an Open University. The plan became a reality in October 1992 when the Bangladesh Open University Act was passed in the Parliament. The then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia was the founder Chancellor of the University.


12

2. Objectives of Bangladesh Open University The Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is the only distance and open learning public university of this country. BOU has opened up a new vista in distance education in the country. BOU was established in 1992 under the Act No 38 of the Bangladesh Parliament. Its objectives are to:

Expand all levels of education, knowledge and science by a diversity of means, including the use of any communication technology to improve the quality of education and to provide opportunities for education to the general public through mass-orientation of education and to create efficient manpower by improving the quality of education in general (Bangladesh Gazette-1992).

This is indicative of three-fold objectives as: (1) the improvement of the quality of education, (2) the provision of educational opportunities to a wide range of citizens and (3) improving the competence level of the workforce.

3. At a glance of Bangladesh Open University The main campus of the University is located at a picturesque site of Gazipur, 32 kilometers north of Dhaka. It covers an area of thirty five acres of land. On this sprawling campus, in the vicinity of villages, stand in serene silence the office buildings of the Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Treasurers, seven Schools, different administrative Divisions, the Central Library, the Media Centre and the residences of the VC, Pro-VCs, Treasurer, teachers, officers and staffs.

In addition the Open University has 12 Regional Resource Centers (RRCs), 80 Coordinating Office (COs) and 1100 Tutorial Centers (TCs) all over the country. Table‐1: At a glance of Bangladesh Open University

Main Campus: Board Bazar, Gazipur-1705, Bangladesh Area 35 acres

Established October, 1992

No. Of School/ Faculty 7

No. of Official Division 11

No. of Regional Resource Center 12

No. of Coordinating Center 80

No. of Tutorial Center 1000

No. of Formal Program 23

No. of Non formal Program 20

Total Students pass out 1,14, 559

Total Students Enrolment 7, 80, 007 ( Till July 20, 2006) Source: http://www.bou.edu.bd and Field survey 4. Programs and Students of Bangladesh Open University

BOU has seven schools in the field of science and technology, education, social science, agriculture and business, open schooling and law. BOU has already launched 28 formal program. Formal programs include master degrees, bachelor degrees, postgraduate diploma and certificate programs. BOU has produced 20 non-formal programs to create awareness of the people of the country on environment, basic, elementary mathematics, agriculture, bank


13

services, marketing management, disaster management, health, nutrition, population and gender issues. Faculty or School wise formal and non-formal programs lists are as below:

Table-2: Formal and Non formal programs of Bangladesh Open University

Name of School Programs (formal) Programs (non formal)

School of Education 1. Master of Education (M.Ed.) 2. Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) 3. Certificate in Education (C.

Ed.)

1. Environment

School of Social Science, Humanities and Language

4. Certificate in English Language Proficiency (CELP)

5. Certificate in Arabic Language Proficiency (CALP)

6. Bachelor in English Language Teaching (BELT)

7. Bachelor in Arts (BA) 8. Bachelor in Social Science

(BBS) 9. Master of Arts ((M. A. to be

offered shortly)

2. Irrigation Management

3. Employed Women

4. Religion and Ethics

Open School 10. Secondary School Certificate (SSC)

11. Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC)

12. Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS to be offered shortly)

13. Junior School Certificate (JSC to be offered shortly)

5. Physical Science

6. Mathematics

School of Business 14. Certificate in Management (CIM)

15. Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)

16. Master of Business Administration (MBA)

17. Commonwealth Executive MBA (CEMBA) and

18. Commonwealth Executive MPA (CEMPA)

19. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) to be offered shortly)

7. Bank Loan

8. Marketing Management

9. Disaster Management

School of Agriculture and Rural Development

20. Bachelor of Agricultural Education (BAgEd)

21. Certificate in Livestock and Poultry (CLP)

22. Certificate in Pisciculture and Fish Processing (CPFP)

23. Diploma in Youth in

10. Irrigation Management

11. Employed Women 12. Pisciculture 13. Fish Processing 14. Forestry 15. Horticulture


14

Development Work (DYDW)

16. Food Preparation and Preservation

17. Poultry Rearing 18. Livestock

School of Science and Technology

24. Diploma in Computer Science & Application (DCSA)

25. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

26. B. Sc. (Hon’s) in Computer Science

27. Post Graduate Diploma in Environment and Sustainable Development (PGT in ESD) (to be offered shortly)

19. Health and Nutrition

20. Maternity and Child health

School of Law 28. Bachelor of Law (LLB to be offered shortly)

Over 7, 80, 000 (Till July 20, 2006) students have already been enrolled in various programs. Non- formal programs are designed to make people aware as to how to live a better life. These are community based programs and are intended for the people who are willing to improve the level of their knowledge and understanding about the environment and socio-cultural aspect of life in general. These include basic science, agriculture, pisciculture, poultry, livestock, health, nutrition, ethics and environment. The university is also planning to start its M. Phil and Ph.D. level programs in the near future. BOU achieved the membership of the Global Mega Universities Network in November 2004. In recognition of remarkable achievement, the BOU received the award of “The National Federation of UNESCO Association in Japan Prize” in November, 2005. Now BOU is planning to introduce e-learning in its curriculum activities.

Table-3: Programs wise Student of Bangladesh Open University for the year, 2006

Program No. of Student Enrolled Male (%) Female (%) M. Ed. 8215 69.66 30.34 B. ED. 60284 54.60 45.40 C. Ed. 12105 65.84 34.16 H S C 192516 61.99 38.01 S S C 376036 60.65 39.35

BA/BSS 63025 67.95 32.05 CELP 23459 76.65 23.33 CALP 3163 94.64 5.36 BELT 2729 76.80 23.20

B. Ag. Ed. 11732 77.30 22.70 CPFP 735 92.80 7.20 CLP 1034 92.46 7.54

DYDW 476 77.35 22.65 PGDM 14017 93.69 6.31 CIM 1563 94.60 5.40 MBA 2210 95.97 4.03


15

CEMBA/CEMPA 726 96.60 3.40 DCSA 4151 89.01 10.99

BSC in Nursing 1831 7.22 92.78 Total 780007 63.00% 37.00%

Source: Field Survey

The table -3 Shows the total number of students enrolled in various programs of different schools of BOU. Out of 7,80,007 students 4,91,447 are male and the rest 2,88,560 are female which is 63% and 37% respectively. Following figure (Figure-1) represent the total student (male and female) position of Bangladesh Open University.


16

Figure-1: Summary of Student Enrolment in Bangladesh Open University

Total Students of Bangladesh Open University

780007

491447

288560

Total StudentsMaleFemale

Yearly student enrolment trend in various programs is presented in Table-4 and Figure-2 below: Table-4: Summary of Year Wise Student Enrolment of Bangladesh Open University for the year 2001-2005

Year No. of Students Enrolled

2001 58,844

2002 82,660

2003 82,424

2004 10,6634

2005 10,0606

Source:

The Table-4 and Figure-2 of year wise student enrolment for the years 2001-2005 show an upward trend. The actual enrolment for the year 2005 was 1,00,606 and January to July, 2006 is 89,007.


17

Figure-2: Summary of Year Wise Student Enrolment of Bangladesh Open University for the year 2001-2005

Student Enrolment Trend (2001 - 2005)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

58844

82660 82424

106634100606

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

1 2 3 4 5

Yeasr

Enro

lmen

t

Year Yearly students enrolment 5. Delivery Modes of Bangladesh Open University Bangladesh Open University in its learning process is using print, television, radio, audiocassettes, e-mail and other media. It also provides the students with face-to-face tutorial services. It has not adopted computing media and technologies for teaching, for obvious reasons of cost and poor access but it has adopted a spectrum of four of the five media, and makes use of four technologies (Table 6).

Table‐6: BOU media and technologies Media Technologies One way

technology application

Two way technology application

Direct human contact/ tutorial service

Over-head or Multimedia projector

Lectures/seminars/Tele-communication and E-mail

Text Print Text and other supporting printed materials

Audio Radio-broadcasting and Audio cassettes

Radio Programs Cassette Programs

Television Tele-Broadcasting Telecast Programs

The table indicates that the technology-based media is very important for distance learners. The following sections such as direct human contact, print media, radio and TV briefly discuss the possible functions that the technologies and media employed by BOU can play.

5. 1. Direct Human Contact (tutorial session)


18

Face to face teaching may actually encompass a range of activities from lecturing (where the level of interaction is low) to situations where there is considerable interpersonal interaction. How much effective the interaction is may be a function of numbers (the larger the class, the less likely that everyone will participate in dialogue with the teacher). Equally, underlying approaches to learning may restrict or open up the dialogue. Bangladesh Open University provides face to face contact as tutorial service. At present BOU provides twelve or above tutorial classes per course in a semester.

5.2. Print Media Print media is a powerful and effective mode for open and distance learners. Besides tutorial sessions the study package provided by BOU for distance learners includes printed texts. As the core medium, it is essential for the distance learners get hold of the printed course materials well in advance of their routine of tutorial sessions. Printed materials for each course are delivered through 12 regional resource centers and 80 local centers for 1100 tutorial centers of Bangladesh Open University from where students can pick them up when they register for their courses. The print materials are developed by a course development team. Writers, editors, style editors, instructional designers, graphic designers and the course coordinators are members of the team Islam and Karim, 2002). Keeping this in mind BOU has a Printing Publishing and Distribution (PPD) division to print the course materials for distance learners. Yearly printing position is showed in Table-7 and Figure-3 below: Table-7: Summary of Year Wise number of books printed by during 2001 to 2005 Bangladesh Open University

Years No. of Copies Printed

2001 7,85,600

2002 6,65,350

2003 9,66,800

2004 15,50,400

2005 19,61,500


19

Figure-3: Summary of Year Wise number of books printed by during 2001 to 2005 Bangladesh Open University

No. of Copies Books Primted

2001 2002 2004 2005

785600665350

966800

1550400

1961500

20030

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

1 2 3 4 5

Years

No.

of C

opie

s

Year No. of Copes

The table-7 and figure-3 show an upward trend if the number of books the BOU has printed. 5.3. Radio Broadcast Radio is the most popular and an inexpensive medium of mass communication all over the

world. In the context of developing countries like Bangladesh use of radio is very common

among the masses. Radio transmission can cover a vast area with geographical barriers. BOU

has also been making successful use of radio for distance education in Bangladesh. School

wise Radio Programs Transmission is depicted in Table-5 and Figure-3 below:

Table-8: Summary of School Wise Radio Programs Transmitted by 2001 to 2005 of Bangladesh Open University

Schools No. of Radio Program Transmitted

School of Education 465

School of Social, Science Humanities and Language

117

Open School 89

School of Business 89

School of Agriculture and Rural 20


20

Development

School of Science and Technology 133

Figure-4: Summary of School Wise Radio Programs Transmitted by during 2001 to 2005 Bangladesh Open University

No. of Transmitted Radio Program

465

117 89 8920

133

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

School ofEducation

School ofScience

Humanitiesand Language

Open School School ofBusiness

School ofAgricultureand Rural

Development

School ofScience andTechnology

Name of the Schools

No.

of R

adio

Pro

gram

No. of Transmitted Radio Program

BOU is engaged in planning, producing and evaluating both radio broadcasts and audiocassettes for its students. From the very beginning, audio tapes and radio broadcasts have formed distance parts of the BOU course materials. Under the existing arrangements, the BOU enjoys the facility of radio broadcast for its students only for 40 minutes each day in between 7.00pm and 8.00pm.

5.4. Television Broadcast Television has been accepted as one of the powerful mass media because of its audio-visual

presentations. TV can communicate messages to distance learners in a more natural and

effective way than radio instructions. One of the main objectives of establishing BOU is to

provide the various sections of the population with a wider access to higher education. To

achieve this objective, BOU has adopted a teaching-learning system based on a combination

of print and non-print media. As one of the non-print media BOU aims to advance and


21

disseminate knowledge by television broadcast. School wise Television Programs transmitted

for the year 2001-2005 showed in Table-9 and Figure-5 are below:

The School of Education through radio has broad cast the maximum 465 programs for its distance learners following 133 programs broadcast by the School of Science & Technology.

Table-9: Summary of School Wise Television Programs Transmitted by during 2001 to 2005 of Bangladesh Open University

Schools No. of Transmitted Radio Program

School of Education 235

School of Social, Science Humanities and Language

69

Open School 116

School of Business 107

School of Agriculture and Rural Development

121

School of Science and Technology 104

Figure-5: Summary of School Wise Television Programs Transmitted for the year 2001-2005 of Bangladesh Open University


22

No. of Transmitted Television Programs

235

69

116107

121

104

0

50

100

150

200

250

School ofEducation

School ofScience

Humanitiesand Language

Open School School ofBusiness

School ofAgriculture and

RuralDevelopment

School ofScience andTechnology

Name of the School

No.

of T

elev

isio

n Pr

ogra

ms

No. of Transmitted Television Programs

At the time BOU was planned, the percentage of population having ownership of television was still very low in Bangladesh. Not surprisingly, there were concerns about the use of broadcasting technologies where ownership of receivers is so low. Bangladesh Television (BTV), the government owned network, broadcasts on a single channel which currently covers about 85% of the total population area via its originating station in Dhaka, and nine relay stations. Some areas of the country notably the Chittagong Hill Tracts are currently not covered by BTV. Currently Bangladesh Government started a Satellite channel that is BTV World. Now BOU is planning to open independent Satellite channel to broadcasts its Television programs. The university has a media division to produce audio-video educational programs and transform them into cassettes for broadcasting by radio and television.

5.5. Audio/Video – Cassettes: The value of the audio or video cassette lies not just in its ability to allow students to view programs at more convenient times; it also enables learning from broadcast what the book is to the lecture. The BOU has been preparing the audio and videocassettes for broadcasting through radio and television. But it yet has not provided audio/video cassettes for using its distance-learning students, for obvious reasons for cost and poor access.

5.6. Satellite: Satellite can also transmit voice and data signals, using a fraction of the capacity of a television channel and hence at far cost a point particular significance for distance education


23

(Bates, 1994). BOU has tried made a plan for delivery of open and distance learning programs through satellite channel.

Conclusion To conclude, the presentation of distance learning in Bangladesh it will be narrowness if we don’t mention here that Open education is particularly characterized by the removal of restrictions and privileges; by the accreditation of students' previous experiences; by the flexibility of the management of the time available; and by substantial changes in the traditional relationship between professors and students. On the other hand, distance education is a modality which permits the delivery of a group of didactic media without the necessity of regular class participation, where the individual is responsible for his own learning. Since the distant learners cannot have much face to face contact with teachers like the on-campus students, learning from only print materials may be boring to them. An interesting but effective package of academic program may help relief them from this problem. However, in order to make the delivery of open and distance education more effective BOU is very much concerned with its Academic and administrative activities. Its is also concerned with quality education for the nation. For this reason BOU is careful about the effective tutorial sessions, print materials, media programs, and counseling with students.

BOU is engaged in planning to produce both video and audio conferencing for its students. In a technically advanced society with a reliable and accessible telephone system counselling through teleconferencing, answer-phones, audio videocassettes, broadcasting by computer or interactive videodisc can be emphasized. However, in any situation students feel comfortable with face to face and telephone counselling which are provided by BOU for their existing and potential students. BOU was set-up in 1992. Within s short span of about 11-12 years the university has launched more than 21 formal and 19 informal programs categories. In such a short span of time, for a small country like Bangladesh, it is a significant achievement and breakthrough. BOU has been able to curve out a niche for itself in the community of Open University in the world.

References Web: http://www.bou.edu.bd

Bangladesh Gazetts (1992). Bangladesh Parliament: The Act no. 38.

Bates. A. (1994). Technology for distance education: a ten-year prospective. Distance

Education: New Perspectives. Rutledge, London and New York.

Islam, M. M. and Karim, S. (2002). Delivery Mode of Second-Generation Open and

Distance Education: A Study of Their Effectiveness at Bangladesh Open University..

Journal of Social Science Humanities and Language, vol.-2, July.


24

Appendix B: Open and Distance Learning in Bangladesh A paper by Professor M. Qaisuddin, formerly Vice-Chancellor of the Bangladesh Open University. Historical Development and Current Status :

The history of distance education in Bangladesh dates back to 1956 when the Education Directorate of erstwhile East Pakistan distributed 200 radio sets to educational institutions for receiving education programmes delivered from a distant centre. This led to the creation of an Audio-Visual cell and later an Audio-Visual Education Centre (AVEC) in 1962. In 1978-1980, a pilot project entitled School Broadcasting Programme (SBP) was taken up. In 1983, however, the SBP and the erstwhile AVEC were merged together to form the National Institute of Education Media and Technology (NIEMT). In 1985, Bangladesh Institute of Distance Education (BIDE) was established incorporating NIEMT into it. It was affiliated with the University of Rajshahi, the second oldest university in the country. Apart from producing print and audio-visual materials, BIDE offered the B.Ed. programme in a distance mode. The success of BIDE encouraged policy makers to take up a major plan for establishing an open university in Bangladesh. In 1989, at the request of Government of Bangladesh, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) Fact Finding Mission on open university visited Bangladesh. Consequently, with the ADB assistance, a feasibility study on open university was made under a Technical Assistance Project (TAP). The objective of the TAP was to formulate a comprehensive project proposal for Bangladesh Open University (BOU). Based on the proposal, BOU Scheme was drawn up with the help of foreign and local consultants. An agreement was finally reached between the ADB and the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) in 1992 in this respect. In the meantime, a remarkable coincidence occurred and in October 1992 the Bangladesh National Parliament passed the “BOU Act,1992 (Act No. 38 of 1992)” with a view to ensuring access of people, particularly the deprived and disadvantaged ones, to all levels of education, including science education through distance mode using information technology and other means of mass-communication. The BOU, thus, came into being. As per agreement, ADB had committed 34.3 million and the GOB, 8.7 million US dollars for the Scheme.

Although distance education was available in the country since 1985 for

obtaining formal education through Bangladesh Institute of Distance Education

(BIDE), the activities of the Institute were confined mainly to production and supply

of print and audio-visual materials to educational institutions and to deliver only B.Ed.

programme for secondary school teachers’ professional development. BIDE’s

academic programme was constrained much due to lack of regular and trained

academic staff, physical facilities and appropriate support services and BIDE was


25

merged into BOU with its manpower in 1992. This is in brief the history of evolution

of ODL in Bangladesh.

Initiated in 1992, the BOU project continued and was completed in June, 1999 with a total cost of 41.1 million US dollars. During the project period, two international consulting firms and more than a dozen of foreign and domestic consultants worked hard giving a total input of about 67 person-months to make the project a success. On completion, the project was placed under the ‘Grant-in-Aid’ head of the Government’s Revenue Budget in the fiscal year 1999-2000, and BOU became a full-fledged public university in the country.

To look after its academic and administrative affairs, BOU has 7 academic Schools and 11 administrative Divisions and a total manpower of 1164 including teachers (112), officers (291) and subordinate employees (761). Some of the administrative Divisions namely, Student Support Services (SSS) Division; Publishing, Printing and Distribution (PPD) Division; Media Division; Computer Division; Examination Division; and Library and Documentation Division are quasi-academic in nature and function. The quasi-academic Divisions provide necessary support services to, and help coordinate the activities of the academic programmes launched by the Schools through a network of Regional Resource Centres (RRCs), Local Centres (LCs) and Tutorial Centres (TCs) spread over the country.

The responsibility for formulating administrative and fiscal policies and for taking policy decisions on all administrative and financial matters lies with the Board of Governors (BOG), the apex body of the University. The Academic Council (AC), constituted mostly of educationists from within and outside the University, however, takes policy decisions on all academic matters. Apart from these, there are a number of statutory committees including Finance Committee, Works Committee, Academic Planning Committee, Curriculum Committee and Admission Committee to advise and assist the AC and the BOG.

The general pattern of administrative and academic structure of the University is somewhat pyramidal converging upward for decision and diverging downward for implementation. The lateral relationship among the administrative Divisions is rather weak and needs strengthening to make the system more efficient and effective.

The Vice-Chancellor is the Chief Executive and Academic Officer of the University and the ex-officio Chairman of the Board of Governors. He presides over the meetings of most of the statutory bodies and is responsible for good governance.

Academic Programmes :

About the academic programmes of the University, the BOU Act states clearly that the University shall have different Schools including School of Education, Management, Humanities, Health Science, Agriculture and Rural Development, Engineering and Technology, General Science and Social Sciences, School of Women Studies and Open School to formulate, initiate, organize and launch academic programmes. Since its inception, BOU has been working for transforming the country’s vast human resources into an educated and trained manpower by bringing to the masses a wide range of academic programmes, both formal and non-formal ,through its different Schools. The Schools at present are : (i) School of Education, (ii) School of Social Science, Humanities and Languages, (iii) Open School, (iv) School of Business, (v) School of Science and Technology, and (vi) School of Agriculture and Rural Development (vii) School of Law. The Schools develop their own


26

curricula and academic programmes with the help of resource persons drawn from other institutions and universities. The programmes are launched only after the Academic Council has approved them.

BOU is selective in introducing academic programmes, and every endeavour is made to ensure that the course content of an academic programme is aligned well with emerging economic and occupational demands. Before launching the academic programmes, BOU undertook a nation-wide Need Assessment Survey in 1993. The Survey Team identified 76 education and training programmes of which 33 were listed as priority programmes in consultation with the ADB. Based on this initial need survey, BOU could by now launch only 37 including 18 formal and 19 non-formal education programmes. The formal programmes include secondary and higher secondary (SSC and HSC), undergraduate and postgraduate (B.A., B.S.S., B.Ed., B.Ag.Ed., BELT, M.Ed., and M.B.A.) diploma (GDM, DYD and DCA) and certificate (C.Ed., CELP, CALP, CIM, CLP and CPFP) programmes. Non-formal programmes are usually designed to make people aware of how to live a better life. These are mainly community-based programmes and are intended for people who are willing to improve upon the level of their knowledge and understanding of the environmental and socio-cultural aspects of life in general. These include everyday science, agriculture, aquaculture, poultry, livestock, public health, nutrition, drug prevention, disaster management, ethics, environment, etc.

BOU has thus far enrolled a cumulative total of 7,80,000 students in its different programmes.

Instructional System :

Broadly speaking, BOU’s instructional system comprises mainly of (a) development of instructional materials in modular form, (b) delivery of instructional materials to learners and (c) tutoring of students at selected Tutorial Centres.

The curricula and the syllabi are developed by the respective Schools taking into consideration the curricula and syllabi devised for equivalent programmes by other universities and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and are approved by the Academic Council of the University.

Instructional materials for academic programmes of BOU are developed with the help of resource persons from within the University and outside. Reading materials, suitable for self-learning, are written in modular form. Media instructional programmes are produced and recorded on audio-video cassettes in the Media Centre for transmission/distribution.

Instructional Delivery System of BOU is at present based mainly on print media supported by audio-video programmes transmitted through national broadcasting network (radio and television programmes for a total of 40 minutes daily). Because of poorly developed local technical infra-structure, BOU, inspite of its best intention, could not take the full advantage of the Information Technology (IT) yet. However, it has been able to bring its Academic Schools, Administrative Divisions and Regional Resource Centres under computer networking on a limited scale. This networking is at present being used only for administrative purpose and could not be extended to instructional delivery. However, the University hopes to realize the benefits of the emerging technologies and adapts its programmes accordingly.


27

For delivering instructional materials and for providing interactive tutoring and other support services to its clientele, BOU has established 12 Regional Resource Centres (RRCs), 80 Local Centres (LCs), and over 1040 Tutorial Centres (TCs) through out the country. RRCs are contact points of students for information, admission, registration, tutorial services, examinations, and results. LCs supervise tutorial programmes. TCs are places where tutorial classes are held for students of different programmes. They are usually housed in schools or colleges or universities or upa-zilla (a lower-tier administrative unit) offices for providing direct tutorial support to students weekly (on Fridays only). The RRCs, LCs and TCs receive regular support services from the quasi-academic Divisions.

BOU has 112 members on its teaching staff. The teachers who are appointed school-wise, perform teaching through multimedia, design and prepare instructional materials, and assist the authorities in preparing curricula/syllabi and in conducting examinations. Each School is headed by a Dean appointed from among the Professors of the School by the Board of Governors on the recommendation of the Vice-Chancellor.

Place of ODL in over all educational scenario of the country :

“Information technology will make independent study much more the norm : The general population will have ready access to continuing education or alternative degree programmes through the auspices of the Bangladesh Open University”. (A Vision for Education and Training in 2020, Bangladesh Education Sector Review, Volume-1, World Bank, The University Press Limited, Dhaka 1000, p-11). What a remarkable expectation from the BOU !

The above quotation shows, briefly but meaningfully, what is expected of the BOU and hints at the place it has already obtained in the overall educational scenario of the country. It speaks also of the role, BOU has to play in future.

Bangladesh achieved its independence in 1971 through a freedom struggle unique in the contemporary history. It has an area of 147,570 square kilometers, a population of around 130 million and a per capita income of about US $ 350. Having an almost agrarian economy, and visited frequently by natural calamities such as flood and drought, the country has recently attained self-sufficiency in food. But in spite of its satisfactory progress in the arena of education, its adult literacy rate remains yet at 56%(34% in 1999). The constitutional commitment for establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and need-based education system and extending free and compulsory education to all children, and removing illiteracy within reasonable time-limit, is yet to be complied with. Considering the enormity of these requirements and fund constraints (public spending on education is just over 2% of GDP), the Government realized that the conventional system of education was inadequate to meet the demand and that there was a compelling need for exploring and introducing new modes of education and training. The realization ultimately led to the creation of BOU in 1992.

In any country, the importance of a university depends very much on the good it delivers to the society and the role it plays in over all nation-building activities as a whole. In this respect BOU is not lagging behind. Its performance in providing educational opportunities for out-of-school children, adolescents, youth and adults through formal and non-formal channels and continuing education i.e. in bringing education to the doorsteps of the masses is satisfactory. It has, by virtue of its activities, established itself as a unique national distance education institution. This can be seen in its success in enrolling over 2,80,000 students for its currently available 19 formal programmes as against 2,38,000


28

students for 19 programmes stipulated earlier in the final project plan. In major academic programmes about 67% of the learners are dropouts from other institutions while the rest (33%) are working men and women. Further, in major academic programmes male to female ratio is on an average 5.5 : 4.5. This scenario reflects the necessity, importance and appropriateness of ODL in the country.

Policy Issues :

Open and distance learning is becoming increasingly important in making education more mass-oriented and responsive to need with its ability to reach students in remote areas and address the educational needs of children, adults, the deprived and the disadvantaged alike. The last two decades have seen a phenomenal growth and use of open and distance learning methodologies all over the world. During the period South Asian Countries, aware of their responsibilities of removing illiteracy and making education more accessible to general public, established ODL institutions to cater to their needs.

Universities are institutions created to discharge their responsibilities for centuries and have, therefore, to adjust themselves to the need of time. They have to face issues and challenges every so often.. The BOU is no exception to this and has issues that need be addressed to seek appropriate solutions :

Recognition of certificates , diploma and degrees:

The question of recognition and equivalence of certificates, diplomas and degrees of ODL institutions by conventional institutions and society is often, in my opinion, more psychological than academic. This stems mainly from prevailing conservatism and inadequate knowledge of ODL. The BOU is facing a bit of this problem. However, in the job market this has not landed us in any major difficulty because certificates, diploma and degrees awarded by BOU are of comparable standard.

There is a provision in the Loan Agreement signed between the ADB and the GOB that the Ministry of Education(MOE),the University Grants Commission(UGC) and the BOU shall take necessary measures to ensure that the degrees, diplomas and certificates of BOU are recognised as equivalent to those of other conventional educational institutions. It is to be noted in this connection that BOU is, with the help of the GOB, taking necessary steps to overcome the problem of recognition stemming mainly from orthodoxy and conservatism.

Quality and standards :

The maintenance of quality and standard calls for strict monitoring and evaluation of academic programmes. Continuous evaluation should form the basis of quality assurance, particularly in the distance education operations. Accordingly, BOU is working for developing its own programme evaluation techniques. Well designed curricula, appropriate instructional materials and efficient delivery systems have also much to do in maintaining acceptable quality and standard. Bangladesh National Education Policy emphasises the need to improve these aspects to ensure quality and standard.

The quality and standard of learning materials are maintained by getting them developed by a team of competent writers, editors, instructional/graphic designers and referees. Audio-video materials are likewise developed, produced and previewed by a team of experts competent to do so.


29

The minimum entrance requirements for formal academic programmes of the University are well defined. Admission into a course of study is made on competitive basis where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available. The SSC (Secondary School Certificate) examination being the first public examination, and the minimum entrance requirement being 8 years of schooling, there is a heavy rush of students for admission into the SSC course of study. In such a situation, absence of any scientific method for assessing the quality of prior learning may lead to a poor selection of learners and, therefore, to low throughput (vide infra).

An issue that need be addressed is the low rate of effective completion of the SSC course resulting in a low throughput. The rate of effective completion of courses in SSC programme is 56.3% on the average. This is typical of most distance learning, since distance learning is self-learning as well. The average percentage of passing out of SSC examinees is, however, around 53.5% bringing the throughput to about 30%. Introduction of some sort of screening mechanism at the entry points is being thought of to help raise the throughput.

Intellectual resources and staff development:

Trained quality manpower, specially teaching staff, is a precondition for successful implementation of any academic programme. Unfortunately, one of the major weaknesses of our development planning is the paucity of scope for professional amelioration of university teachers. Higher training and research opportunity is crucial to improvement of professional expertise. It is, however, observed that construction of building and residence gets greater preference over development of skills in most plan structures. This is true in case of BOU as in others and there is a growing complain about the absence of appropriate staff development programmes for keeping teaching staff up-to-date.

Since distance education is relatively new in Bangladesh, there is an urgent need for generalised and specialised training opportunities for academics, administrators and technical staff of BOU. To meet this dire need, the implementation of a collaborative plan to establish a ‘Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning’ (TRIDOL) with generous assistance and help from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is under way. The activities of the institute, it is expected, would go a long way towards fulfilling the staff development requirement of BOU. The University has also initiated short training programmes for academics, administrators and technical personnel for having interactive exposure to ODL system obtaining in Indira Gandhi National Open University (India), Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (Thailand) and other similar institutions.

Infrastructure and resources:

The BOU is situated at a distance of 32 kilometers in the north of Dhaka at Gazipur covering an area of 35 acres of land. It has a 4-tier structure i.e. the Main Campus at Gazipur, 12 Regional Centres, 80 Local Centres and about 1040 Tutorial Centres spread all over the country, and supported by 1164 full-time staff and nearly 8,000 part-time tutors. The other infra-structural facilities include a modern and impressive Media Centre built and equipped at a cost of US $ 14.25 millions (about 33% of the total BOU project outlay), and a well equipped Computer Division. Notwithstanding its sufficiently developed infra-structural set-up, the university does not at the moment utilize optimally the capacity, and the resources acquired during the project period. The Media Centre can not function efficiently because of poorly trained personnel manning it. The Computer Division suffers similarly from lack of


30

qualified and experienced staff. The output from these units cannot, therefore, be said to be satisfactory. This is mainly because the human resources available mismatch, in most cases, the philosophy of ODL, and the equipment acquired. Again, in some cases divergences at the conceptual level do not allow the available resources to be combined for optimum output. The COL is, however, rendering every possible assistance to BOU to meet the deficiencies, and every effort is being made to maximise the benefit of available infra-structural facilities.

Financing and Resource Generation :

The BOU project ended in June, 1999. Since then, the University has been placed under the ‘Grant-in-Aid’ head of the Revenue Budget of the GOB on the understanding that BOU will contribute at least 30% to the total budgetary requirements. The rest 70% will come from the GOB. In addition to regular allocation, BOU now also receives some allocations from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the BOG for its developmental activities . In an environment of financial constraints, BOU may not have the affluence it had during the project period . But the hope is that the Government, because of its firm political will to bring education to the doorsteps of the masses, is keen to develop BOU in a right manner. The University are not, however, sitting idle but trying to tap resources from within and outside. The possible external sources for funding are donor agencies(World Bank, COL, UNESCO, ADB etc.), philanthropic individuals and institutions. The major source of internal income is at present fee income from the students. The Media Centre can be a good source of internal income, if it can be made to work at its full capacity. The University is taking necessary steps in this direction.

The major expenditure involved in academic programmes is, under the present circumstances, that for maintaining and running a large number of TCs spread over the country. This reduces the cost effectiveness of the University. The expenditure could be cut down by bringing the number of the TCs to a minimum and by rationalising their activities. But this is possible only when local technical infra-structural facilities are available at remote places to realise the benefits of emerging technologies (internet, e-mail, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, DVD, etc.). Till that time possibly, a major part of the expenditure has to be regarded as a first charge against fee income from the students.

Reaching the Disadvantaged Groups and Communities :

Distance education is an approach that allows for increase access of the masses to education. BOU’s academic programmes are accordingly aimed at every one, particularly the disadvantaged groups (working men and women, factory labours, etc.) and communities (aborigines, tribal people and other ethnic minority groups). The University has established LCs and TCs in certain specific areas* to reach the disadvantaged communities. Primary statistical data on SSC and HSC programmes, the two major programmes of BOU, indicate an average male to female ratio of 5.5 : 4.5. Available statistics show that the informal programmes of BOU are very popular with the womenfolk.

*Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Naogaon, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat, Madhupur, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachory, etc. where aborigines and tribal people abound in.


31

Suggestions and Recommendations for Regional Cooperation in ODL :

The last half of the 20th century had seen a tremendous expansion of knowledge and unprecedented advancement in technology. These achievements have indeed reduced the world to a global village bringing the nations closer to one another more than ever before. As a result, the countries of the world, big or small, developed or developing, have become mutually interdependent. The 21st century dawns with a crying need for sharing the benefit of knowledge, technologies and even of wealth. In view of this and the 21st century’s commitment to providing education for all, the following suggestions and recommendations are made :

1. There should be co-operation between member countries of the SAARC for

developing ODL to further education in their respective countries. Such co-

operation would help exchange ideas, information, experience, understanding and

even resources among the ODL institutions of the SAARC countries. The SARRC

Forum of Vice-Chancellors of Open Universities could, with the help of the COL

and the SAARC Secretariat, prepare a draft memorandum for such co-operation for

consideration of the Council of Ministers of the SAARC. The draft memorandum

should indicate the structural framework and modalities for the co-operation

strategy.

2. Co-operation at institutional level between ODL institutions should be encouraged

and initiated. Such co-operation should include, among others, shorter exchange

programmes for academics, researchers and administrators to have interactive

exposure. Joint academic programmes should also be encouraged. Inter-ODL

university networking at a global level should also be established to share resources

for mutual benefit.

3. Library and Documentation Centres of ODL institutions of the South Asian

Region should be brought under computer networking for accessing and sharing

Library and Documentation Resources to their mutual benefit.

4. Since written instructional materials are yet considered more effective and are

more popular with the students, ODL institutions should develop mechanism for

exchanging such materials with each other. Curricula/Syllabi of the equivalent

academic programmes being almost similar, if not the same, books and other

course related materials developed by one institution covering particular courses


32

should be made easily available to others. The language barrier could be overcome

by a translating the books into appropriate languages.

I would like to conclude this paper with a hope that public leaders, policy makers, academics, University Grants Commission, Universities, Community-based Organisations, Non Government Organisations and others will work together to develop ODL as a more effective and popular means of removing illiteracy and making education accessible to the masses in general and to the disadvantaged and the deprived in particular.

Select Bibliography

1. Bangladesh Open University Act (Act No. 38), 1992.

2. Project Proforma (PP) : Revised Scheme for Establishment of Bangladesh Open University 1991-1999, Planing Commission Ministry of Planing, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1997.

3. Project Completion Report on the Bangladesh Open University Project(Loan 1173-BAN(SF) in Bangladesh, Asian Development Bank.

4. Project Proforma (PP) : Scheme for further Development of Bangladesh Open University 1999-2000, Ministry of Education, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 2000.

5. Consultancy Report : Consultancy to Assist Bangladesh Open University, Professor Badri N. Koul, the University of the West Indies, 2000.

6. Mission Report on Bangladesh Open University, 1997, Greville Rumble, Honeyhurst, Open University South East Region, West Sussex, U.K.

7. Higher Education in Developing Countries : Peril and Promise, Task Force on Higher Education and Society, World Bank, 1818 Street, N.W. Washington, U.S.A..

8. Bangladesh Education Sector Review : Volume I, Volume II & Volume III, World Bank, The University Press Ltd, Mothijheel, Dhaka, 2000.

9. National Education Policy 2000, Ministry of Education, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

10. The Fifth Five Year Plan 1997-2002, Planning Commission Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

11. ACU Bulletin, No. 147/April 2001, The Association of Commonwealth Universities, Gordon Square, London.

″


33

Appendix C: Evaluation of the Educate the Educator programme

Summing up 3 evaluation points of the Educate the Educator-program June 2006

Annika Andersson [email protected]

Objectives of the “Educate the Educator” project The “Educate the Educator” project was set up in order to create a “Teacher Initiation and Upgrade Program” that would train any teacher joining BRAC University. The need for the program is large because currently Bangladesh faces a serious shortage of qualified university-level educators in the field of ICT. For example, BRAC university currently hires fresh graduates and in much lesser numbers, fresh Master degree holders as teachers for conducting its various courses at the university. While the new recruits are undoubtedly bright and have outstanding academic records, they lack pedagogical competence and in most cases lack knowledge of effective teaching methods. The project would create a core team of people who would support this program and this evaluation has been done in order to catch the core team’s attitudes towards the program and to see if the program has had any effect on their teaching techniques. The Evaluation Between February and June 2006 the teachers have filled in three different questionnaires in order to estimate if the level of interaction in the classroom and the teachers teaching techniques would change due to the Educate the Educator –program (hereafter referred to as “the program”). The first evaluation concerned the present situation (before introduction of the program), the second evaluation concerned the desired situation (what do the teachers want?) and the third evaluation was a summative evaluation after program completion in order to find out if it had had any impact. The first two evaluation points (on present situation and desired situation) included 10 informants (5 women and 5 men) and the age mean was 32 years. When it was time for the third evaluation the group had grown and now consisted of 16 informants (5 women and 11 men) and the age mean was 28 years.


34

When comparisons between the different evaluation points are made we have chosen to calculate percentages in order to describe the frequency of the answers. Considering the small number of informants (10-16) this is not really an appropriate approach but due to the fact that there were different numbers of informants on the evaluation points (and that the first ten could not be identified the third time) this has been done in order to be able to make any comparisons at all. Findings Despite the shortcomings of this program being a small-scale experiment, including few informants and evaluated after only a couple of months it is evident that the program has had a high impact on teaching methods. Findings show that the level of interaction in the classroom has increased, group-work is more frequent and the students work harder. Also the teachers´ teaching style has changed and pedagogical discussions have intensified. Findings in detail The role as a teacher Before initiation of the program the core group mainly described their role as a teacher in terms of “facilitator”, “lecturer” or “instructor”. After the program their roles are described as “mentor” or “facilitator”. “Mentor” that was the most common way of describing the teacher’s role after the program was not chosen by any of teachers when describing their roles before the program. This could indicate an actual change in the teachers´ perceived roles or it could be due to the fact that the core group has been conformed in the way they describe their profession.

010

2030

4050

Instru

ctor

Mentor

Coach

Lectu

rer

Facilita

tor

Trainer

Guide

Before After

Teaching style The teachers were asked if they thought that their teaching style had changed due to the Educate the Educator–program and 13 out of 16 said that it had. One informant said “no” whereas two had not had any classes during the trial period so they could not say. If not taking these two into account we could definitely say that all but one thought that the program has had an impact on their teaching style.


35

Level of interaction in the classroom After the “Educate the Educator”-program 10 of the 16 teachers said that the level of interaction in the classroom had increased. 4 teachers had not had any classes, one said the level was the same and one did not answer at all. This indicates that the majority of the teachers believe that the program increases interaction in classroom. Looking back at the first questionnaires where one described the present and desired situation (pre-program) the ten teachers said that the level of interaction in the classroom was high, but the majority still thought that the level of interaction should be even higher - and in this regard they have obviously succeeded. Course design The chart below illustrates the comparison of the three evaluation points in regards to what form of teaching the courses mainly are based on:

Lectures

Lectures Lectures

Seminars

Seminars

Seminars

Group-work

Group-work

Group-work

Other:

Other:

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Before After Desired

What we see is that group-work has increased (possibly on behalf of lectures). However, the most wanted form for running the courses (from the questionnaires on desired situation) were through seminars and here we do not see an increase. Frequency of pedagogical discussions with fellow teachers In the first questionnaire the teachers said that they discussed pedagogical issues about once a week and according to the last evaluation there has definitely been an increase in the number of pedagogical discussions - from once a week to almost everyday. From the questionnaire on desired situation, however, we find that the teachers think that once a week is enough. This could indicate that there has been a change in attitude or that teachers at BRAC have to discuss more pedagogical issues than they actually want to. On the other hand it would seem likely that the number of discussions will decrease when the novelty of this program fades. Student behaviour Before the program was started the teachers had an overall positive view on the average student at BRAC - 70 % of judgements made were positive - but 8 out of 10 teachers still wanted the students to take more responsibility for his or her learning, be more hard-working and more eager to learn. In the final questionnaire 10 teachers believed that there had been an improvement (the other 6 did not answer) saying that the students are more hard-working and more eager to learn today.


36


37

Appendix D: Teacher Handbook

The Educate the Educator Program

- Results, reflections and tools for thoughts

Contributors: Bushra Tawfiq Chowdhury, Naira Khan, Irum Shehreen Ali, Sakiba Zeba, Muntahi

Abbdussamad Ahmed,, Yousuf Islam, Jaddon Park & Carljohan Orre.

QuickTime och enTIFF (okomprimerat)-dekomprimerare

krävs för att kunna se bilden.


38

Appendix Content

What a teacher needs to know when joining BU PART I: A BACKGROUND REGARDING THE INSTITUTIONAL PROCESS 3

PART II. A BACKGROUND FOR CLASS ACTIVITIES 5

Student and Teacher practice PART I. DOES THE TEACHING AT BU CORRESPOND TO PREVAILING STUDENT PRACTICE? 12 PART II. DOES THE TEACHING ACTIVITIES ADDRESS AN ANTICIPATED STUDENT SITUATION THAT DOES NOT EXIST? 15 PART III. THINGS TO REMEBER 16 PART IV. BRIEF OUTLOOK OF AN ANTICIPATED FUTURE 17 PART V. MINDTOOLS FOR REFLEXIVITY 18 PART VI. HOW CAN THEORIES AND TEXTBOOK CONTENT BE ADDRESSED IN A CULTURALLY RELEVANT MANNER THROUGH LEARNER-CENTERED ACTIVITIES, 23 PART VII. CONFESSIONAL ACCOUNTS 31


39

What a teacher needs to know when joining BU

PART I: A BACKGROUND REGARDING THE INSTITUTIONAL

PROCESS

AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES: Things change with time. So does the culture. Teaching is a culture and an art. Perception of the students too has changed a lot. Teaching has become much more challenging and competitive now-a-days. With the introduction and the use of technology as an aid to the teaching method, it has become even harder. Off course technology facilitates interactions between teachers and students. On the other hand, an excessive use of the technology makes the students idle. BRAC University is one of the forerunners when it comes providing the technical support to the lectures. The availability of resources, such as Multimedia Projectors, OHPs and online access helps the teachers to conduct online discussion regarding the current issues. The slides and the lecture handouts on the server help them to be in track. With the uses of PPT it is easier for the teachers to manage time efficiently. Of course the drawback is getting accustomed with the technology and the lag time for getting started with the lectures. It is also important to monitor the students and to make sure that they are consulting the books as well.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS STUDENTS: Teaching is not about showing the students what we know; rather it is our ability of making them understand what we want to teach them. There come the values and ethics. The attitude towards the students should be simple and straightforward. We need to play different roles at different times and in different situations. First couples of classes are the most important ones. We need to know about the compositions of the class and the backgrounds of the students. This will help in future when formulating the lectures. Teaching is a kind of contract but an implied one. The bonds are created. It is important to make sure that we are not forgotten sooner the course is over rather it is important to make sure that we should be the who is remembered whenever our students are in trouble.

BACKGROUND/STANDARD OF STUDENTS: Before taking preparation of a course, a new teacher should know the background or standard of students. The percentage of students comes from Bangle medium and the percentage of students comes from English medium. What levels of students are coming at BU? If he or she knows the standard, then he or she can able to prepare a good course module.


40

UNIVERSITY RULES: There are some rules and regulation of a university. The following rules need to know of new teacher at BU-

• Provide a course outline as well as a class plan on the first day • Office hours (9:00 am to 5:00 pm) • Make-up class (no Make-up class in Friday) • Contact hours per section class (two hours) • Results of midterm and final have to show the students within 48 hours • No midterm and final examination without university authorization • English as a method of communication in the class •

UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT: The internal environment of a university helps of a new teacher to inspire for working at BU. We have strong social activities with students and faculties. We can know each other in formal way and informal way which reduce the student and teacher gaps. We are working here as a BRAC university family. Then students can easily able to express their problems to the teacher. EVALUATION PROCESS: The valuation procedure is differed from one university to another university. The following evaluation issues are required to know of a new teacher at BU-

• Attendance policy (mandatory) • Quiz (Contents, Time, Marks) • Assignment • Lab Examination • Midterm (One midterm) • Final examination (Comprehensive) • Grading system •

CHAT WITH PERSON PREVIOUSLY TOOK SAME OR SIMILAR COURSE: The following subjects can assemble if the new teacher chat with person previously took same or similar course‐

• Availability of books, journals, articles, etc. • Course outline • Course standard (depends on student level)


41

PART II. A BACKGROUND FOR THE CLASS ACTIVITIES

DESIGN THE COURSE Every new faculty needs to know that we design our courses well before the semester begins. We have to provide a course outline as well as a class plan on the first day of the semester. So, they have to prepare those items, make adequate copies and distribute them in the class. The new faculties may be provided with copies (both soft copy and hard copy) so that they understand how the class plan has to be prepared. They can also take the help of the format if they wish to do so.

EVALUATION PROCESS The teacher should be aware of the evaluation process. He/she should get to know the set guidelines. The faculty should also be advised on the flexibility he has on the grading process. Some universities have a culture of grading leniently. The faculty should be strongly advised that such is not the case here at BRAC University. He/she should be encouraged to use assignments and quizzes on a regular basis for continuous evaluation purpose.

CLASS RULES Sometimes the students mislead the faculty regarding class rules. To avoid such a situation, they should no certain class rules (e.g. attendance, coming to class on time, using English as a method of communication in the class etc.).

THE INTRODUCTION Introduction of the faculty and students to each other is very important. The faculty should know that he is supposed to talk about his background so that the students understand him better. On the other hand, a background check of the students will help the faculty understand how to go ahead with the course and how to reach the level of the students.

What more does a teacher need to know when joining BU?

To follow up in what is discussed earlier, we woudl like to stress a couple of other issues which will be beneficial for a new teacher in BU to be aware of. We have considered and stressed three major points .

1. Background of the person, who is going to teach.

2. Nature and quality of students, who will be taught by that person


42

3. Nature of the course which s/he is going to offer

In case of the first point, things may vary in terms of experience. If the person is experienced, s/he will have an edge. Still, s/he has to talk to other colleagues, seniors for a better understanding of his/her upcoming assignment/s. In case of a newcomer (without any previous teaching experience) things are not that smooth. S/he has to take information from all possible sources about his/her assignment/s. S/he shall talk to his/her colleagues, senior faculty members in detail about the challenges, complications of his/her upcoming task/s. In this respect ‘conversation’ has no other alternative. If possible the newcomer should attend classes of senior and ‘popular’ teachers who have attained professional success. Rather than considering ‘teaching’ as a burden, the newcomer has to accept it as a challenge, where s/he can develop and adjust himself/herself every single moment. S/he needs to be flexible and has to pay heed to the needs and demands of the students, who are virtually the ‘object’ of his/her consideration. In BU a variety of students come to study. As a result, almost all the classes have students of mixed capability. It makes the learning process challenging and colorful. To cope up this kind of rich variety, a newcomer should have done his/her homework. S/he should have healthy knowledge of his/her students. If the students are also new (fresher), s/he has to spend a considerable amount of time behind getting the mindset of his/her students. S/he should try to know the demands and expectations of his/her students. In case of old students, senior colleagues can be very helpful. The newcomer has to converse with his/her senior colleagues, who have already dealt with the students .If possible, the newcomer should take useful ‘tips’ from them. These steps are not mandatory , but they will definitely ease a new teacher’s role and give him/her a clear picture of his/her ‘student body’. The third point (mentioned above) received maximum importance in our consideration. For a newcomer it would be best if s/he starts working on course/s (which will be offered by him/her ) before the beginning of the semester. S/he should be prepared with relevant texts, materials and should form a clear and detailed course outline. Besides, s/he should take information from his/her colleagues about the evaluation process, scope and practical aspects of the course. In case if the course was offered before , s/he should go through it’s previous details. In addition to the already discussed points, a newcomer should also come in terms of institutional details ( for example, official rules within BU campus),full semester’s plan and list of duties ( which should be done by him/her ) from his/her higher authority. Mentioned tasks may seem complicated. But we believe, with the support and environment that BU provides to it’s teachers, things can be easily sorted out. Rather than being a job with unusual ‘burdens’, it would definitely become a place of enjoyment and constant learning which are prerequisites for a challenging career in this competitive world.

How would you groom your friend who is a new teacher at BU?

The term ‘friend’ by default brings with it a number of qualities present that colours that relationship i.e. compassion, respect and a sense of ease. We would like to create an


43

orientation program that has the same ‘feel’ whereby an outsider is welcomed into a new work environment will have a starkly different entrance then one who is inducted as a ‘friend’. Hence the ultimate challenge here would be to recreate those feelings present on a friendship in an orientation program designed for all newcomers. The following points should be taken into consideration: Most of the information below basically entails that which should imperatively be present in any program and has usually been included in previous orientations. Nevertheless, not all of it can be easily palatable and is included more out of necessity than anything else. We have added side-notes as to how we feel based on our own personal experience. After the specifications, at the very end, we have added measures which can be taken in order to make the boring and yet very important parts of the orientation a bit more entertaining and hence a lot more effective. 1. Friend’s background Such information is important in that we want that the orientation program should be sectioned into different categories whereby, on the basis of qualifications and experience the orientation is more constructive and does not feel like a waste of time. Eg – someone with a substantial amount of prior experience should be exempt from certain sections.

Educational background Bachelors / Masters / PhD

Professional background 1. Previous teaching experience 2. No previous teaching experience 3. Studied in semester system 4. Did not study in semester system

Personal likes and dislikes – If this were my friend this is something I would take into

consideration. Eg – if someone wishes to be called by a certain title etc 2. BU Rules and Regulations This could be the generic section compulsory for all.

What sets BU apart from other universities? The academic rules

1. Expected course load 2. Year plan 3. How and on what circumstances classes can be cancelled, how to arrange a

make up class etc. What are the various types of leave (important for their own good)

1. Earn leave 2. Paid leave 3. Sick leaves

Career path at BU: Promotion – conditions and requirements (might not seem important but is necessary in the long run)


44

Being part of clubs and forums. You can be an advisor/co-ordinator/patron etc.

3. Dealing with Students As a teacher our friend will come across diversity in terms of different types of students and hence the following information will prove to be invaluable:

Students 1. Various student backgrounds 2. Expectation from students 3. How to deal with their complaints and problems 4. How to get the best out of them (always included but somewhat idealistic!) 5. Counseling 6. Where to find help? 7. Beyond the classroom

4. BRAC University from a Student’s Perspective This was never discussed in our orientation and we feel that it is integral piece of information which every teacher should be aware of. If we ourselves don’t know what the structure is we won’t be able to guide them or advise them properly. (this is unfortunately very boring as well)

1. Tuition fee

Per course Total amount spent during 4 years During registration

2. Courses offered in the university Number of credits needed to major in various subjects Number of credits needed to minor in various subjects

3. Scholarships offered HSC or A level based Admission test based Performance based Tuition waiver for students For ultra poor

4. Disciplinary actions and probation conditions for students


45

5. Acclimation This is to acclimate our friend to the new environment and get them familiarized to the workplace and inform them of the available resources.

Tour within the department (physically drag them if necessary) Opportunity to meet colleagues How to use resources

1. Library 2. Transportation 3. Food, tea (eg. two cups of free tea) 4. Information technology (eg. free printing and photocopying facilities)

6. Teaching

Orientation with the subject matter that is to be taught. If the course has been taught previously then course materials made available (should be archived in the first place)

How to evaluate the students (Very Important but boring) 1. Mark distribution 2. Grading policies 3. No. of quizzes to be taken 4. Question types 5. Showing grades to students 6. Midterm and final grade submission- using the grade submission software 7. How grades can be changed if mistakes have been made in the final submitted

grade 8. How to advice students about courses

Pre- requisites Qualifications

How to deliver a lecture (boring) How to be friends with the students (that is the ice breaking ground that facilitates the

pace of effective teaching and receiving) (not important to some people) How to use power-point (extremely boring and not always necessary) Usage of different journals (boring) How to make the class interactive (boring) Provision of case studies (boring) Evaluation of teacher performance (does it actually make a difference?) To take a mock class / openly discuss on how the teacher is going to take the course-

criticize and analyze in a constructive way (very important but sensitive issue) 7. Suggestions for Amelioration:

Add a clause while signing the contract that it is imperative for any newcomer to successfully complete the orientation program.

There should be a monetary incentive Some of the sections could be made competitive in an entertaining way with rewards

which will work both as an ice breaker and will prove more effective in getting information across. Nice prizes will encourage participation


46

If they are informed that the performance in the orientation will be a beginner’s step in gaining recognition within the university itself then it will be an added incentive. But of course, the recognition factor has to exist in the first place.

Make them handwrite some of the relevant parts of the orientation. This is how some large organizations get their employees to learn about company policies.

Students can re-enact parody skits to illustrate good/bad teaching. Some animations could also be an alternative to this.

A Cecklist for New Teachers at BU 1. Background Information:

We need to understand the new teacher’s background (education, work experience, teaching experience)

We need to learn about the goals and objectives of the new teacher

o Is s/he hoping to make a career of teaching at BU? o Is s/he using this work experience as a stepping stone to some other type of job

in the near or distant future? 2. Sharing Information:

BRAC and BRAC University ‘values’ and ‘culture’ need to be explained to the new teacher

o Concern for people, people oriented, honesty, motivation, maximization of one’s potential

o Research culture within the university BRAC University expectations and ideals

o Comprehensive list of the administrative policies, rules and regulations for teaching staff at BU

o Codes of Conduct for staff of BU o Professional expectations for teaching staff at BU (organized, punctual,

prepared for lessons, subject mastery, life-long learner, etc.) o Academic Calendar (Important dates to remember)

BRAC University Staff Support Systems

o Department Chair, colleagues, Administration Team (Registrar, SCLFD, Librarians, etc.)

o Information technology services (email, website development) o Mentoring (provide practical assistance and support in teaching and advising

students; encourage collaboration with colleagues within and outside of the various departments; indicate areas of weakness or needed attention)

BRAC University Course Management (Nuts & Bolts )

o Syllabus needs to be understood and prepared for students o Evaluation and grading system and rules must be understood o Lesson plans, Unit plans need to be developed following BU expectations


47

o Teaching Tools (explore ways to employ technology in teaching and learning and share lessons about what works and what does not)

BRAC University’s Students

o Educational background of students is very diverse (English medium and Bangla medium schools, urban, rural schools, etc)

o Students have individual learning styles and needs o Students have different levels of English language competency

3. Preparation for Day #1 Know your subject

o Ensure that all textbooks, additional readings, learning aids, are collected o Ensure that laboratory space, materials, activities are organized

Pre-visits o Arrange to observe classes being taught by experienced teachers on related

subjects o Find time to meet Department Chair, colleagues in same faculty o Establish a mentorship with a more experienced faculty member o Try to build social and professional networks through interaction and

information exchange with colleagues across the university o Familiarise yourself with location of classrooms, labs, library, etc. o Do not be afraid to ask a lot of questions

Remember to HAVE FUN!!!

Student and Teacher practice

PART I. DOES THE TEACHING AT BU CORRESPOND TO

PREVAILING STUDENT PRACTICE? Overview


48

If we look at the BRAC University (BU) students, we find some characteristics. The quality of students is very diverse. Some of them do very well in their courses and some perform quite poorly. Now this happens for these reasons.

a. Background and medium of instruction: English is the medium of instruction in BU and this sometimes becomes a big problem for the students who come from Bengali medium background. Some of the students are very good but have problem with English and start doing bad in the classes.

b. Social pressure and Student interest: Parents of some of the students often decides

for the student the subject they will study who does not make an effort to find out their interest. Some students choose to study a subject because that might help them later in the job market. And also some students do not get entrance to the subject that they want to and settles for some other subject. So, it is found that students do poorly due to lack of interest.

c. Intellectual ability: Some students have a lot of enthusiasm, but for poor student

quality, they suffer and become depressed and uninterested with the course. But it is possible to take them to an acceptable level with proper guidance.

One of the things that we have seen is that students tend to go for more notes and slides of a class rather than books. Actually this “spoonfeeding” attitude is not entirely the students’ fault. Their previous education system is kind of responsible for that as well as some teachers who actually encourage this kind of method. B.U. pays due attention to students. As a result, here teachers are focused more on the needs and demands of their students. Theoretically, teachers plan their lesson by anticipating a certain standard of their ‘student body’. This is quite normal. Because, it is not always possible to know the quality/standard of students before teaching them. Sometimes the anticipation, if it is a product of valid experience, works on well even if there are differences between anticipation and reality. Unfortunately, often (in a class of students of diverse ability and standard)it can give birth to complications. Anticipation is something which is pre-determined and is a product of a certain point of view/s. As a result, it’s really hard to anticipate things about the ‘student body’, which is diverse in background and quality. But this problem is not beyond solution. Some adjustments in the teaching technique/s may prove handy. This is what we do in B.U. Initially most of us (teachers) start our teaching assignment by anticipating a certain teaching situation and in case of problems/discrepancies in class situation, we make changes to stay at per with the discrepancies. Prevailing student practice: Student Quality: BU has its share of variation in terms of student quality ranging from the very weak to the highest achievers with brilliant academic records.


49

Level of interest. One aspect of student practice we found to be omnipresent was the marked level of ‘interest’ or lack of therein in terms of the subject being studied. This is primarily due to two factors:

• Choice of subject forced upon by parents • Inability to get entrance into subject of choice and hence settling for something else

Thus within courses it is found that certain students do poorly simply due to a lack of interest in the subject. And hence attendance drops. There are also those students who are extremely eager but lag behind due to poor student quality. (If such students are properly coached their positive energy can be sublimated into good grades) Medium of Instruction: The medium of instruction is a big issue and a key contributing factor in terms of student quality. A huge chunk of the students of BU come from Bengali medium background. Amongst these students are those who are extremely good quality students but whom are weak in English. Hence they do badly simply because they have trouble coping with the medium and therefore student quality goes down. Perseverance (Spoonfeeding): One of the chief complaints concerning BU students is the lackadaisical manner in which they wish to carry out their studies and the absence of will to do hardwork. However, we feel that this is a two way street in which teachers are responsible for cultivating such a practice where teachers themselves are building up such students an creating an unending cycle of ‘spoonfeeding’. Previous Academic System: Bu students come from two backgrounds and are accustomed to the drawbacks of their respective systems:

• Bengali medium: memorization is advocated, originality in terms of thinking is discouraged

• English medium: students are not willing to persevere for academia


50

QuickTime och enTIFF (okomprimerat)-dekomprimerare

krävs för att kunna se bilden.

Figure 1. One of the first core group meetings, february 2006.

A list of adjustments:

1. Preparing a flexible course outline. 2. Trying to know the demands and expectations of the students and making changes

accordingly. 3. Keeping time within each class for ‘question-answer’ session. 4. Counseling ‘poor’ performers (students) and paying heed to students’ problems. 5. Giving a ‘re-cap’ at the beginning or at the end of a class after concluding a particular

chapter of the course. 6. Identifying and correcting mistakes of examinations and giving effective tips for a

better performance. Teachers at BU are as diverse as students. They come from different background and different education system. Each of them has different techniques and views how they want to teach. So the problem comes to this, there is no homogeneity in the teaching method. There should me a guideline for the teachers that they can follow. This will help the teachers as well as students to create a good learning environment.


51

PART II. DOES THE TEACHING ACTIVITIES ADDRESS AN ANTICIPATED STUDENT SITUATION THAT DOES NOT EXIST?

Anticipated Student Situation To even have an anticipated student situation is simply too idealistic and too detached from reality to be good teaching practice. In every teaching situation it is absolutely imperative to come across students first, assess them and then tailor the teaching goals accordingly. Teaching Activities at BU Teaching activities at BU, unfortunately, is as varied as student quality. There is very little consensus or unity among teachers in terms of teaching ideals and goals and therefore we find:

♦ there are some teachers who not only teach well but inspire students to think differently

♦ there are some who would like do better but have not been exposed to good teaching strategies and techniques

♦ there are also those who simply teach as just another a cog in a mechanical wheel following a preset syllabus with no effort to generate student interest or a make a difference.

Therefore it is difficult to state whether BU teaching as a whole addresses any anticipated situation due to such lack of homogeneity in terms of teaching practices. To answer the Does and Does not The teaching activities at BU mostly addresses the prevailing student practice because the teachers who could do better simply would like them to learn at least a little, so they try to make it easier to swallow. And the teachers who don’t know how to teach better simply teach in a mundane manner. Initiatives to be taken

• BU has to set up a guide line as to what the teaching practice should be • The guide line should not be an IDEAL guide line rather it should address the issues

pointed in the prevailing student practice • This teaching guide line should be department specific • Teachers should abide by the guide line • The teachers should be evaluated in manner that reflects his/her teaching • Confidential feedback should be provided to the teacher such that he/she can improve

him/her self • Students need to be exposed to the IDEAL teaching practice • They themselves have to recognize that it is GOOD for them • The realization has to come from both sides (teacher and student )


52

PART III. THINGS TO REMEBER


53

PART IV. BRIEF OUTLOOK OF AN ANTICIPATED FUTURE When the group was asked to reflect upon how they feel, think, hear, speak, co-ordinate and move forward and what they would like to see in future, this is what they had to say.

1. There should be more flexible working hours. 2. The residential semester needs to be re-modeled. 3. In order for them to move forward they need to have quality teaching, give better support to their students, better co-ordination, more resources should be made available and there should be less beauracracy. 4. They felt that swipe cards should be abolished. 5. There should be less resistance to change. 6. There should be less dependency on guest faculty. 7. Communication needs to improve at all three levels; Departmental, Individual and University levels. 8. Ad-hoc solutions should be replaced by systematic and pro-active solutions. 9. Physical and organizational structure should support the staff.

In terms of developing skills within themselves so that it will improve their students’ performance and overall development, the group said the following things. They need to develop:

1. Listening Skills 2. Non-judgmental attitude 3. Give the students time and be patient 4. Remember to follow up 5. Be compassionate 6. Be observant 7. Be a role model, a mentor 8. Be trustworthy 9. Give positive reinforcement, encouragement 10. Be open minded 11. Respect confidentiality 12. Be inspiring 13. Respect each individual 14. Be supportive 15. Teachers’ work station should be approachable for the students. 16. Teacher’s need to think ‘Out of the box.’ 17. They felt that they are open to new ideas and learning, they need to be more focused, confident, be innovative and extend their teaching.


54

PART V. MINDTOOLS FOR REFLEXIVITY In an attempt to identify any discrepancy of current and anticipated or “idealized” teaching practice, we have chosen to develop a simple matrix (see below) to illustrate student and learner practice at BU. 1. BU PRACTICE

Figure 2. Matrix illustrating the student and learner practice

A. Current Teaching Practice: • Lack of follow through in teacher’s expectations and class requirements (ex. Teachers

tell students to read the book but exams based more on lecture materials and less on textbook content)

• Little opportunity for students to talk or discuss issues during class time • Expectations of students are higher than the students’ capabilities. • Teaching is often provided without a contextual approach that takes into consideration

student’s background and previous experience. • English language proficiency of a majority of teachers is inadequate. • There is no systematic training/capacity building framework for faculty. • There is an ad hoc approach to providing class materials, maintaining strict

consultation hours, quiz policy, etc. • Course objectives and learning outcomes are not defined and followed. • There is little co-ordination at the departmental level for multi-section courses

resulting in discrepancies in syllabi, assessment and teaching approach. • Due to large class sizes at the 100 and 200 level, teachers are often unable to provide

sufficient diagnostic and remedial time to those students who are weak. • Teaching culture at BU does not require teachers to be mentors for students. • Teachers do not have the resources, e.g. subscriptions to up-to-date journals, ease of

book acquisition at the library, access to teaching aids, etc that would enrich teaching. • Many teachers are not motivated or forced to update course content over time.

B. Current Student Practice:


55

• Students have diverse educational backgrounds:

i. Students from Bengali medium schools often do not have the language proficiency to undertake tertiary education in English.

ii. They are used a “rote-learning approach” which is not compatible with BU’s preferred system of education.

iii. They are not familiar with the concept of broad based education. iv. They are often afraid of consulting teachers regarding problems as they are not

from an institutional culture where that is encouraged. v. Problems of conceptual understanding from the beginning of the semester get

compounded if they are not addressed before new material is piled on. vi. Students from English medium schools have sufficient English background, but

are often not challenged enough in class. vii. They have in-depth A-level knowledge in a subject so introductory classes are

often merely revision. viii. Students from different educational cultures at times have problems working

with each other due to different socializations. • Students are not used to studying concepts for application, rather they are prone to

memorize material. • Students are not used to discussion classes and oral presentations. • Students are not familiar with reading strategies and study skills.

C. Idealized Teacher Practice: • Degree of consistency within programmes such that all students will achieve the same

learning outcomes at the end of a course irrespective of the teacher • Teachers will make the effort to get to know each student • Teachers will conduct classes that are characterized by an active learning environment • Teachers utilize the textbook only as a resource and not as the curriculum. • Focused, goal-oriented teaching that places emphasis on learning outcomes that

include both knowledge and skills. • Assessment of students’ backgrounds, needs and context before course design –

followed by continued adaptation and re-evaluation. • Accessible teaching staff that encourages consultation and discussion. • High-level English competency among staff. • Up-to-date syllabi and material delivery methods that integrate many different kinds of

teaching, e.g. discussions, presentations, projects, multimedia, etc. • Distribution of detailed and structured course materials within first week of class. • Students should be assessed via quizzes, tests and examinations that do not test recall,

rather conceptual understanding. • On-going efforts by teacher to make course materials relevant to student’s societal

context via examples, field trips, etc. • Encouraging students to work with each other on both in-class projects and outside

class study/discussion. • Mentoring activities carried out by teachers for students both within and outside the

class. • Other qualities include:

o Listening skills


56

o Non-judgmental o Compassionate o Be a role model, a mentor o Respect confidentiality o Be inspiring o Be supportive and approachable

Figure 3. Session resul concerning BU students using QBP, february 2006

D. Idealized Student Practice: • Students will be able to communicate effectively in English • Students will demonstrate an interest in the subject by being prepared and reading

class materials in advance • Students will be more capable of critical thinking, independent thinking and problem

solving • Students will have the study skills that enable them to be effective learners • Students will be adaptable to meet the demands of the situation and requirements of

their courses • Students will be able and willing to work hard • Alerting the instructor in advance when they are falling behind, unable to attend class,

etc. • Students who are engaged with the instructor and classmates in clarifying

understanding. • Students who are excited and adept at working with other classmates. • Open to a wide range of classes in keeping with BU’s broad based education goals. • Does not participate in activities such as plagiarism and cheating.

2. INITIATIVES


57

Figure 4. Matrix illustrating the student and learner practice

A. Faculty: • With committee support, the Chairs of each department can support teacher

effectiveness through teacher evaluations, establishing common syllabi, standardized examinations, etc.

• Chairs can support new teachers and experienced teachers by offering guidance and act as mentors

• Nominate two or three members from their respective departments to become part of the university-wide “core team”. Core team works to define areas for improvement and development for new and existing faculty.

• Work to improve communication and synthesis of issues and ideas across departments and among Chairs, teachers and students, e.g. Faculty Seminars

• Make efforts to develop the concept of a “Learning Organisation” within BRAC University by providing long-term capacity building support to teachers so that they can upgrade and modify teaching methods and course content.

• Develop one English course for each department. Students will be required to take one English course from whatever department they are most interested in. The course will focus on writing skills, styles of writing, reading strategies (scanning, skimming, etc).

• Provide performance based incentives for teacher evaluations.


58

B. Teachers: • Teachers can support students by becoming more effective communicators by being

accessible and open to students. • Course design and assessment workshops can be offered for teachers to help them

improve their teaching skills, update their teaching strategies, assessment methods • Address the issue of rote learning and identify strategies to overcome this problem

among students • Offer seminars for students. This can help improve communication between students

and teachers and can enable students to become more immersed in their subjects through group work assignments, projects and presentations. It can be a place to discuss the readings in a non-threatening environment.

• Employment of senior students as TAs in the introductory classes to provide assistance and guidance to small groups.

• Give group assignments, long-term projects and oral presentation to integrate concepts learned in class with real life.

• Create assessment methods that check whether students have done the required reading.

• Provide adequate office hours, and beyond, for consultation.

C. Students: • EL-PRO is designed to help assist students with their English language skills. • Study skills need to be improved. Workshops can be developed on a variety of topics

including study techniques, time management, exam writing, and research skills. • Students need to be encouraged to become more independent learners and not expect

to be spoon fed by their teachers. • Encourage engagement with extra-curricular activities that broaden horizons and

provide valuable skills. • Student counseling to deal with students academic and personal problems. • Provision of the same student advisor during the students’ entire time at BU. • Student Ambassador Programme to provide academic and personal support for

students within the department.


59

PART VI. HOW CAN THEORIES AND TEXTBOOK CONTENT BE ADDRESSED IN A CULTURALLY RELEVANT MANNER THROUGH

LEARNER-CENTERED ACTIVITIES, This section seeks to discuss how different learning materials such as books, whiteboards, pen and paper pose constrains on the teacher ’s practice. There is a number of accounts from a number of subject matters and authors, as well as a discussion giving tools for thought communicating students assigments and knowledge ancored in a cultural relevant manner. What does it mean for a teacher’s work concerning preparation and

planning of a course? The textbooks we have in our country especially in higher education are westernized. As a result at the end of an economics course per se our students would probably associate themselves more with the Dollar than the Taka (local currency). In other words, the examples are incongruous with the cultural context of Bangladesh and as a result the students are unable to relate to the material taught: For example:

They are asked to find the shortest path from New York to Washington. Instead of explaining how to program a scoreboard for a baseball match, the teacher

could suggest to make a score board for a cricket match. In teaching speech sounds it would be easier to get the students to learn acoustics in

terms of their own native language rather than the examples from the textbook. This is a widely acclaimed truth. The theories are also somewhat more applicable for western societies. In this situation, we have to be very careful not to conform to the textbook statements completely. Several steps could be taken regarding learner-centered activities to make the material more relevant to our culture:

• Teachers must read a lot. An example: we know there is an inverse relationship between interest rate and private investment. Theoretically this has been proven for developed industrialized countries. In order to check the theory teachers must read articles in the backdrop of Bangladesh. The theory might prove to be misleading, as there are immense amount of loan defaulters and government-subsidized industrialization that had occurred at a large pace previously. Then the teachers can refer to the articles and make the students understand about the aberrance of the theory to further strengthen the understanding.

• The teachers themselves need to have exposure to both the societies. The teacher needs to understand where the textbook context is coming from so that the teacher can relate it to local context. For better understanding attending seminars, visits abroad, reading international journals and trying to understand cultural differences is a must. In that sense the teacher needs to be exposed to local culture too. Often we see teachers themselves can be too bookish and hence their methodology may be irrelevant to the local society.


60

• We can also initiate some game like activities. For example, instead of chocolates we can introduce local fruits and distribute those among the students to estimate the diminishing rate of marginal utility. Of course that involves a little bit of spending on the Universities’ part.

• Visiting actual domestic institutions to get a flavor of the practical application of theories being taught.

• If necessary consultants may be brought into the class in order to exemplify course material.

• Resource persons visiting and lecturing them on how to use the theories in the context of our country.

• The students can be given assignments in which they are to relate the theories to local context.

• In case of preparation, relating all theories to local context is a too much to ask from a teacher. He/She may be able to relate certain examples. In course of time the teacher may be able to incorporate more. But a single teacher cannot localize context. A team is needed. The team should constitute different types of personal for diversity. With this diversity we can only break the so-called barrier.

• An easy way of bringing in context is to assign practical work as this compels the student to work in their own locality and hence automatically provides a cultural context which they have to adapt their theoretical training to.

In short the planning and preparation would involve a lot of studying to incorporate the theories into our culture. If necessary, steps should be taken to involve experts in the field to prepare guidelines. Planning and preparation should also involve a module (depending on the subject taught) that integrates practical fieldwork or hands on application of the theory being taught in class, as such activity will automatically thrust the student into their own cultural context and hence a learner friendly environment in terms of applicability will be automatically generated.

How different learning materials affect the scope of action the teacher has within a specific subject.

I am giving two courses in Computer Science this semester: Data Communications and Computer Architecture and Organization. I will try to discuss a tool for each course. Data Communications: This is a level 3 course. So, students are pretty senior. The subject is a bit descriptive, and I need to deliver lots of information. The contents are fairly simple and understandable. So, I use MultiMedia Presentation. MultiMedia Presentation helps in-terms of highlighting specific topics. Showing graphs or different examples becomes easier. Animations also helps giving visual representation of the ideas. But, students tend to restrict themselves only on slides. However I try to keep only the


61

only the main points in the slides so that they concentrate on my lecture and read the book and use slides only as a helping material. Computer Architecture and Organization: This is also a level 3 course with senior students. This subject deals with a lot of understanding and design of the Hardware part of a computer. So, for this subject I use White board. This is, though primitive, by far my favourite tool. During a lecture, white board helps describing the content. Because the information on the white board is gradually developed by me, it is more interactive and it revolves around the lecture. So, it is easer for the students to get good hold of the subject matter. White board is also helpful to provide any spontaneous example to help students. There are other tools like Books, Lecturer notes (to deliver in the class) etc. which also complement the tools above mentioned. All of these helps me as well as the students in the course.

A comparison of how different tools work and give means for different action using economics as an example.

I will give two courses this semester. I would discuss the utilities of the two most effective learning materials that I use and has also given me the maximum feed back, course by course. Introduction to Macroeconomics: This course is the first Macroeconomics course that the students get to learn in their first/second semester. The students are mainly fresher and I have to deal with them in such a delicate way so that they do not feel lost or cease of their learning eagerness. But at the same time I have to do my work and deliver as a teacher. Tools that I use:

• Power Point Presentation • White Board and Marker

Using power point really helps me a lot in-terms of pinpointing or highlighting several issues pertaining the specific topics that I am teaching. Showing graphs or different examples becomes immensely easier using the power point. I also try to introduce some related paradoxes from the net. I do use a lot of power point tricks (thanks to the state of the art operating system). They do take a lot of interest. Since, they are animated in a special way, they cannot even ask for the handouts. So, this also develops a habit to go through the text. However, if they have a sudden query or something very interesting gets played in my mind instantaneously, I use the white board. This is primitive but do supplements the modern method of technique. In this way, if I do not have a slide on a specific issue that a student is asking about, I can always satisfy him and attend to his questions.


62

Introduction to Econometrics: Tools that I use:

• Power Point Presentation • Computer software operation

I use the power point, multimedia to pinpoint the major issues and also for the calculation and derivation. This way, instead of spending a lot of time deriving myself, I can just explain and maintain face-to-face communication. Obviously I use white board and marker to exemplify or to resolve problems. Using the power point I also give them the idea of any econometric article and interpret the results. Computer software is one thing that must be learnt by the students. I use it to teach them how to manage piles of data and how to get some good results out of it. This trains them to analyze data properly and interpret them, which is a part of their training. This also gives the students a taste of econometric problems and the remedial measures. Thus using various tools in the class I try to make my class enjoyable as well as impart knowledge, which is my prime objective.

A comparison of how different tools work and give means for different action using computer science as an example

I am giving 2 courses; Data Structure & Programming in C++ Tools use d are

• Java applets (stimulations): In both my class, for the students to understand what goes within a queue or a stack I showed the students animated operations of stacks and queues. These animations are available free online. I used the projector in the class to show it to them. The students also use these websites individually while studying the material from the book.

• Paper and pen: In Data Structure class I cut paper in to small pieces to represent memory with content. Moving the pieces around physically help the students to understand what goes on in the computer memory. While teaching array, linked list and sorting this method helped them a lot. In my Data Structure class I only have 8 students. So I try not to use the white board. I use sheets of paper and write while I am discussing a topic. I do this because I think if I write in a piece of paper, same as the students then they will know how to express the matter on their own in paper. While using the white board sometimes the students cannot figure out how to express the topic in the paper- because in a white board you can easily write something in place of something by simply erasing and you have a more wider area to work with. I have seen students struggling to write something even though they understand what is going on. That is why I try to write on paper, same as they are suppose to do in an exam or for home work.

• White board: Same as Sakiba I have to use the white board for larger classes and in topics which need a big space to demonstrate.


63

A comparison of how different tools work and give means for different actions within different subjects using CS and Sociology

as examples 1. Subject: Computer Science A. Nature of Subject Matter of Computer Science Courses:

1. Lots of technical details (nuts and bolts of computer hardware and software). 2. Hard to find real-life examples. 3. Programs of Computer languages = Abstraction of real life problems (Difficult for

students to find the relationship) 4. Lots of mathematics involved.

B. Learning Materials:

1. Handouts. 2. Articles/Research papers. 3. Animated slides (e.g. power point, pdf or post script files) 4. Partially written codes 5. Course forum 6. Course web-page 7. Reference books

C. Scope of actions:

1. Delivering lectures 2. Providing assignments (Theoretical/practical in labs) 3. Conducting quizzes/exams 4. Group discussion 5. Presentations 6. Consultation

D. How learning materials affects the scope of action? Providing Handouts Affects:

• Students understand the overall ideas of the class. • Students can understand the lecture better by relating the handouts and lecture. • Many details not covered in lectures can be included as handouts. • Blank space in the handouts provides student to take notes during lectures for

better understanding.


64

• Handouts with instructions provide the necessary guidelines for assignments, group discussion, and presentations.

• Complex mathematical derivations and explanations can be included in handouts for interested students.

• Partially written code segment given to students to be filled up to judge their understanding (like an unannounced quiz).

Animated slides (MS powerpoint) in algorithm classes. Affects:

• Lecture delivery becomes faster. • Lecture becomes more organized. • Graphics/pictures that provide better understanding of any subject matter can

be easily presented without requiring the teacher to draw it from scratch in class.

• Algorithm, a step-by-step process, to solve any real world problem by computer can be simulated through animated slides that make the students understand the internal workings of the algorithm better.

• Animated slides used by student for presentation or group discussion makes the topic being presented more understandable.

• Slides provide learning cues to the class that keep it focused on the task at hand • Allows you more time for explanation if difficult definitions/diagrams are on

slides • Fewer slides keep the class focused and reduce chance of students being

overwhelmed with too much information • It also allows you to draw/write on the white board a more detailed explanation

of the main points on the PP so that learning is more interactive • Simple slides work best to convey information faster and with more clarity:

Should follow the rule of 6 x 6 - not more than 6 points, and each point should ideally be no more than 6 points

• Font size and clarity is very important - font should be no smaller than 28 point and there should not be any diagrams or pictures that are unclear


65

2. Subject: Sociology A. Nature of Subject Matter:

1. Introduces students to brand new ways of looking at things they already think they know about

2. Quite theory based 3. Real life examples necessary 4. Have to approach each topic from many different theoretical perspectives 5. Exploration of real life issues requires good analytical skills

B. Learning Materials:

8. White board 9. Animated slides (e.g. mainly MS power point) 10. Handouts 11. Field Trips 12. Articles/Research papers. 13. Reference books 14. Assessment tools: examinations, quizzes, assignments

C. Scope of actions:

7. Delivering lectures 8. Providing assignments and clear guidelines as to their completion 9. Conducting quizzes/exams 10. Group discussions 11. Assigning and assessing student presentations (Oral/PP) 12. Organizing and carrying out field trips 13. Consultation Hours

D. How do your chosen learning materials affect the scope of action? White board and marker Affects:

• Allows teacher to present the learning objectives and expected progress of the class for all students to see for entire duration.

• Forces students to follow as you write – they can “space out” if all the information is presented at once.

• Forces teacher to be organized and neat to avoid a board full of indecipherable scribbles.

• Provides a visual record of ideas generated by students during the class. • Allows for creative brainstorming! • Allows teacher to provide step by step visual representation of difficult ideas,

diagrams and processes.


66

• Is more adaptable than pre-prepared slides – you can tackle unanticipated learning problems that come up in class.

• Is less distracting and intimidating than PP. Field Trips Affects:

• Allows teacher to integrate theory learnt in class into real world situations (practice).

• Allows students to exercise learning outside the classroom • Allows students to have fun in learning and applying knowledge • Makes the course material context- relevant • Takes students out of comfort zone and forces interaction • Requires a lot of pre-planning and thought on part of instructor • The assignment that they do post-field trip requires analysis and afterthought


67

PART VII. CONFESSIONAL ACCOUNTS This section provide tales sharing experince working as tecahers at BRAC U and proffesionals in education. One aspect these tales tell is that the most effective tool you have at your disposal is your ears. The theme running through them all are that listening and understanding the world from the students perspective is the difference between failure and success. There are however other aspects besides these of course, but we cannot implement those well enough without using our ears first.

“Never take an advanced level course from area in which you are not specialized”

I taught the Intermediate Accounting (ACT 301) course during Spring 2005. I took some basic courses in accounting and prior to teaching this course, I did have the experience of teaching Financial and Managerial Accounting. In both the courses, I was quite successful as far as dissemination of knowledge is concerned. However, I must confess that I was not well equipped to take ACT 301 as it is an advanced level accounting course and I never had any such course in my BBA or MBA program. Now comes the question, why I took the course. Well, in my department faculty retention rate is very poor due to various reasons. As a result we often find ourselves in a position where a faculty has left suddenly. In that particular semester a faculty left suddenly as he wanted to switch sector and he joined a multinational bank as a management associate. So, we were left with no teacher on the last day before the semester was supposed to start. Since I taught the other accounting courses, the then chairperson of the department assigned me the course. I had to take it as nobody else was agreeing to take that course.

I think my first mistake was to take the course in the first place. I should have realized that since I have never taken this course and it is an advanced level course, I should not have agreed to take the course. Since I did not have any experience and I did not have any time I made some subsequent blunders. First one was to take a course outline from a friend of mine (He has an accounting background and I have a finance background) who was teaching the same course at another University. The problem was he prepared a very in-depth course outline as he had prior knowledge of the subject. I gave my students the same outline without knowing the fact that it will be very difficult for me to cover all the topics, as I will have almost no time to prepare. If I am compelled to take a course in a similar situation in future, I will agree only if the authority provides me a minimum of two weeks to prepare the course outline and course planner. I will prepare my course outline in a way that it reflects my limitations related to that subject. The next mistake I made was that I overestimated my knowledge related to accounting. As I have a finance background and I have worked in three organizations as finance executive before joining BRAC University, I have substantial amount of knowledge regarding real world of finance. But my knowledge related to the accounting practices is confined to the books that I have read. I found myself in many embarrassing situations when I failed to give an explanation in the class because I was not sure whether the practice is followed in Bangladesh in the manner mentioned in the book. If I have to take a course in similar situation


68

in future, I will spend substantial amount of time in gathering knowledge on the subject and make myself more aware of the practical scenario in the country. I took presentations in the class based on term papers prepared by different student groups. I made a mistake there also. There were eight groups and all of them had the same topic – “Ratio analysis of a company based on the annual report”. The students got bored and I got bored. So, I learnt from my mistakes and now I make my students present on a variety of topics so that the interest level in the class remains OK. During the presentation part, I never used to mark any individual, I marked the whole group. As a result there were free riders in almost all groups and the students were constantly complaining about it. This problem I have rectified in later semesters by having individual Q&A sessions for each students after the presentation. These are some of my learning from teaching the ACT 301 course. I believe experiences like these should occur in the life of any teacher so that he/she may realize what he/she is doing wrong and can learn from it. After all, learning is a continuous process and nobody should be afraid of failure, as it is failure that creates the drive to learn and improve. Could I have done otherwise? It is every teacher’s nightmare if teaching does not go well. Teaching is a process that commences long before the actual semester begins. All the hard works that has been put into preparing course outlines, lesson plans, collecting journals, papers, carefully selecting the books really goes in vain if things do not turn in the anticipated way. I myself have experienced such a case where things did not go according to plan. In the last Fall Semester, as soon as I joined BRAC University, I was handed over a course, ECO 104, which is basically Economics for the Architecture students. Back then I was an incumbent teacher; I was not acquainted with the student practice of BRAC. So, I did everything wrong. I will discern my situation right from the beginning. The students of Architecture was quite different, they were imaginative and creative. They were the most reluctant group to study Economics. Before starting with the course material, I asked them the way they wanted to be taught. They suggested more graphical and mathematical explanation. As planned before, I started off. Then hell broke loose when they discovered that the materials are not as easy as they had expected. The topics were easy, but later on they found the math to be too hard. Lack of studying coupled with the tendency of mugging up before the exam made things worse. Eventually, in the first quiz everyone failed. They started to lose the grip. Then would pay very little respect to me as a trainer. A larger fraction of the class started to skip classes. Graphs and Mathematics did not help because if I am to explain an economic problem with mathematics and graphs alone, things do get quite complicated and technical too. Sometimes words do not hurt. Superfluous explanation of consumer behavior sometimes facilitates the understanding of laymen instead of hard-core budget and indifference curve approach with constraint optimization. Most of all the timing of the class was quite inconvenient for them as they would have a design class before and grow very tired. The classroom and the ambience (the studio were I took the class) were not congenial for me. In short, according to the Murphy’s Law, anything that could have gone wrong went wrong with me. In the Final examination, none got an A. The highest was a B-. I got a really poor student evaluation. I felt so miserable. The burden of failure falls on me just as much on them.


69

After that disastrous start off, I tried to think back about what went wrong. Were they not receptive enough or I was not delivering in the right fashion? The answer was both. If I could turn back the wheels of time, I would certainly change the entire mode of teaching. First of all I would take a time for the class before the design class and a proper classroom, not a design studio. I would try to communicate in a different manner. I would go to their other activities like exhibition, jury to make them understand that I do like their sense of imagination and appreciate the creative genius. Then choosing the text, I would choose quite an easy text rather than books full of economic jargons. Lesser study materials and more imaginative thinking is what I would have introduced. More rationale could have been drawn with Economics and Architecture. I would have tried to make them more receptive. May be by using audio-visual aids that elaborates problems pertaining to the topics say, urban slum and depreciation of resources coupled with pollution and congestion. This way, they could have understood the problems of externality, optimization and pollution more at the same time could be curious enough to design something to provide dwelling for the urban poor. I could have oriented the students more by giving them interdisciplinary topics to discuss rather than boring Demand Supply analysis. Most importantly, I would never teach a class only with graphs and mathematics to make things messier. I would always prefer any piece of method, which really provokes the students to think, not because they are compelled to but they are interested to. This way I could make a class more enjoyable and make teaching palatable.

Fancy teaching techniques mean nothing if they don’t help you

communicate with your students. In life, few things ever go as planned, and teaching assignments, no matter how painstakingly planned, are no different. I recall an event during my first semester of undergraduate teaching that at the time left me convinced that I was unfit to teach, but in retrospect gave me the skills to be a better teacher. The event also gave me a valuable lesson in realizing that all the fancy teaching techniques in the world meant nothing if they didn’t help you communicate with your students. I was teaching the Introduction to Sociology class and it was the middle of the semester. In an effort to “spice things up” I had assigned that the students would have a debate during the tutorial class on topic at hand – globalization. We had been exploring the concept in the lecture previous to the tutorial and I was confident that the debate would be lively and interesting. I had asked the students to prepare arguments in favour of and against economic and media globalization. I walked into tutorial feeling quite revolutionary – I mean how many other teachers were using innovative approaches like debates and the like with first semester undergraduates? The first shock came as soon as I entered. The class which is supposed to have 20 students only had 10-11. I thought to myself – the rest are just late, they’ll show up. So I proceeded to split the students into groups, and positioned the lectern as a podium and the chairs in an audience. After a few opening remarks, I opened the debate. The first student went up to the lectern, clearly nervous, shaking visibly. Just nerves, I thought.


70

What followed was a disaster. She stumbled around for 2-3 minutes, struggling to complete sentences, mumbling a few of the terms I had used in class. At the end, she looked at me helplessly and ran back to her desk. A bit shaken, I thought that it must be an isolated case and called on the next speaker after warmly thanking the first speaker for making an effort. The second speaker, a young boy who was usually vivacious and responsive in class, came up to the lectern, read a few lines on globalization from the text, shrugged and left. This was followed by at least three more similar performances. All this time, I had to fight the rising tide of panic inside me. My carefully planned and supposedly innovative idea was going up in smoke before my eyes. As things went from bad to worse when students one by one just refused to come up, I abandoned the idea and decided to investigate why the assignment had gone so badly wrong. In speaking to the students, many things became clear, including the mistakes I had made in delivery this particular assignment. These were:

• I had assumed that everyone knew what a debate was – its rules, style of speech, method of content delivery, etc.

• I had not explained the content of the assignment adequately – i.e. my instructions were not detailed or clear enough. For example, economic globalization was such a vast topic, students got lost in it! I had not given them any guidelines in regards to focus.

• I had not provided enough guidance as to how to find the materials for the debate. I had merely said “search the web” – not realizing that many students were unfamiliar with the web, searching and utilizing electronic information.

• I had not taken into account that many of the students had never spoken publicly before, least of all in English – and were just horribly nervous.

• I had overplayed the assignment and made it sound like a bigger deal that it really was – in effect, scaring off a lot of the students!

Most of all, I had placed my expectations on a group of students without adequately assessing their abilities and background. This was my fundamental mistake. So, if I were to do it differently, what would I have done? Firstly, I wouldn’t have assigned a public speaking assignment so early in the semester. I would have eased them in with small discussion sessions to make them feel at ease with sharing thoughts. I would have explained the concept of a debate in detail, covering what each speaker does, how they approach the topic, given them guidelines as to what the content should be and also tips on speaking style. I would also teach them elementary web searching skills and show them an example of to extract information from articles on the web. I would have given them a few samples of articles on globalization. In retrospect, this debacle taught me that we cannot ask of students what they have not been previously taught to do, we can impart skills that they will in turn employ. Teaching communication skills is as vital as teaching students concepts – they are the tools with which they can engage with and demonstrate their knowledge.


71

Teaching culture differs and matters

I taught Bangladesh Economy course in spring 2005. I faced lots of problems when I taught this class. The course design was not so good. At the same time, I have to give this class in the TARC. I joined at BRAC University in fall 2004. At the first time, I faced different problems in my class. I did my MSS and BSS in Economics from public University. The education system in public university is totally different from the private university. I used to think like public university. I prepared a course outline by a day because I joined a day before my first day class. At first, I took the course statistical techniques for business and economics. I faced the following problems when I taught the Bangladesh Economy course in spring 2005-

• Course Design, The course design is an important factor for giving good lecture in a class. I was not well prepared on the course design because I used the same course outline as previously used in the course. The course is basically for freshmen students. They have no any idea about the economic theories and concepts but in the course having lots of economic theories and concepts. When I delivered my lecture on any topic, then they are not able to understand my lecture because it requires some previous experience on economic theories and concepts. When I realized that issue, I reduced some course contents and added some general issues on Bangladesh economy. So, I realized that the course outline gives the guide how can I well prepare in my class.

• References, I needed lots of references for Bangladesh Economy course. As new

faculty I did not have that much reference and could not collect all the references in the short period. I used only that references which used by other teacher in the course. Those references were not appropriate at the student’s level.

• Statistical Data, I needed lots of statistical data on Bangladesh Economy. I did not

have all the statistical data and at the same time I did not have sources where I can get the data.

• Multiple Department, all students in BRAC University have to do this course. Some students are not interested to do this course. For example, the CSE students are not interested to do this course. They think that this course is not required for them. So they are not concentrated in the class.

• Field Work, there was a field trip in the course. At that level, they are not interested to go to field. At the same time they are not able to write report on the field visit.

• Number of Students, class size in this course was large (more than 40 students). Actually that was the special case. As a new teacher, I could not handle all the students properly.

• Teacher Assistant, teacher assistant were not available in TARC. Students faced very difficult when they faced any lecture related problem.


72

If I will give the Bangladesh economy course once again, I will do see to the following things that might provide good lectures and thus a good course:

• I will prepare a good course outline which can able to understand without any background in economics. I will include some interesting topics for other department students. So, other department students are not fell bore in my class.

• Before taking class, I will collect all information like references and statistical data

from the appropriate sources.

• I will take one extra class on how they can prepare a field report.

• I will give some messages to the university authority that class should be within 40 students.

• TA should be available more time in the TARC.


73

A Journey to Bangladesh

- I am not currently teaching at BRAC University but through the use of the narrative inquiry approach, I will share with the reader an E-mail ‘vignette’ which highlights a “teachable moment” composed during my time living and working as a school principal in Bangladesh. The E-mail I have chosen for this assignment is selected from a collection of hundreds written during my time in Bangladesh. The one that I have chosen for this assignment will help illustrate some of the challenges I faced as a stranger in the country and my personal growth, development and experience as an educator.

I have chosen to include the perspective of a student in the form of a letter that was read out loud to me during an assembly on my final day as the principal of Anandaniketan School. It seems ironic that so much that is written about education forgets to acknowledge the voice of the children. Joseph Farrell states that there are a multitude of narratives by and about adults who profess to work on behalf of the children but there is one voice absent: that of the learners themselves (Farrell, 1996, 236). What has been most conspicuously absent from the recent research literature in education is the first-person voice of the students (Erickson and Shultz, 1992, 480). It is my intention to try and help fill that gap, although in a small way. “Goodbye J.T. Sir” It was the 28th of November 2002 and the teaching staff and my Standard Nine and Ten students had organized a farewell party for me at school. Earlier in the day I had said my goodbyes to the rest of the students. It was a day filled with a mixture of great joy and sadness. The party began at dusk with speeches by many of my teachers, board directors and even the school’s elderly gate guard or chowkidar. After the adults had made their speeches and stepped down, each of the four students in my G.C.E. ‘O’ level program took to the stage. One by one they began to read their stories to me. As I listened to these young adults share their personal reflections about me I was incredibly moved. I was very touched by their kind words and have chosen to share one of the stories in this short narrative. This letter was written by a young woman in Standard Ten, who had only just begun her studies at Anandaniketan in September 2001. Prior to that, she had been attending a different English medium school in Sylhet but her parents were not satisfied with the quality of education she had been receiving and decided to transfer her to our school.


74

Reflection My purpose for including this letter in this narrative inquiry is not to demonstrate that my students thought I was a great guy or a great principal, rather, I want to try to illustrate the efforts I made during my time at the school to be a caring and empathetic listener and unrelenting supporter of all my students. I believe that this student’s letter clearly illustrates how important it is to attempt to meet children at their level. In order to connect with children one must make the effort to talk to them with respect and value their voice and their ideas. Of course, there were times when I would have to be strict or act as the ‘disciplinarian’ but I always tried to be fair. I firmly believe that it is extremely important to be a good listener for students and I always tried to model that quality to my staff in the hopes that they too would become good listeners for their students. The school belonged to the students. That was the belief that I carried with me everyday I went to work. During each staff meeting, I would remind my teachers that this school belongs to the students first, and without them none of us would be here today. I also tried to instil this idea in my students as a way for them to learn to take ownership and develop and sense of responsibility and pride in themselves and their school. I think it worked! The Student’s Voice


75

It is ironic that in most educational research involving students the focus traditionally has been on their performance, achievement, motivation, cognitive or affective development and so on (Cole and Knowles, 2000, 95). Very little attention has been paid to how students actually experience school, learning, and teachers. As the school principal, I believed it was always important to listen to students, and try to make sense of their learning experience at school. As equal participants in the teaching-learning process, students can inform teachers in helpful and meaningful ways (Ibid, 95). As Erickson and Shultz (1992) observed, the absence of student experience from the current educational discourse limits the insight of both educators and students. When student voices go unheard, it means that teachers’ skills of listening and learning from what is said are neither developed nor utilized. The letter read out to me on my final day of work by my student was probably one to the best compliments I ever received while acting as principal. To know that my efforts to try and share the joys of learning and life’s experiences with a student had made an impact was very fulfilling. The small moment that we shared together talking was insignificant in the grand scheme of the amount of classroom time that a teacher spends talking to his or her students. Yet, the short story written from the student’s perspective provides us with valuable insights into the affect and impact that we as teachers can have on students. Acknowledgement of the student’s voice can contribute to a more dynamic and effective classroom or school. Assuming we are willing to listen.

Documents

Bangladesh "Virtual Classroom" - CiteSeerX