My first day of class at Zhongshan University was, thankfully, almost two weeks after my arrival in Guangzhou, so I had ample time to prepare for the first few lectures. Unfortunately, I needed every day to prepare, as I had scrapped my old U.S.-centric syllabus in favor of an internationally focused collection of readings and activities.
My class is “Introduction to NGO Administration” for first-year Masters of Public Administration students. I teach it in English in one 3-hour block. It takes about one hour to get to the new East campus on the shuttle bus, so teaching the course takes most of my Wednesdays. Note that Fulbright lecturers commonly teach two courses each semester, but instead of a second course, I will be available for periodic lectures to undergraduate students.
I entered the classroom and 54 students were there waiting quietly. First, murmurs and groans could be heard when student assistant Linlin announced to the class that I don’t use Powerpoint. Then, they burst into applause when I greeted them in Chinese, and burst into applause yet again when I continued to talk in Chinese. Then (joking), I asked them if they preferred their lecture in Chinese or English. They preferred English…of course, there’s no way I’d be able to deliver a three hour lecture in Chinese.
With an ESL teaching background (1987-88), I fell back into that mode and used the chalkboard a lot, as well as a paraphrasing style (stating things in two different ways so that students follow verbally)…and then opened it up for introductions. And they just took the baton and ran with it….Some of the students went on and on in English. With 54 students, this took over an hour.
Yet — it was valuable information for me. From this, I knew to speed up the lecture pace, and also that most of my students (with the exception of some advanced doctoral students) had virtually no experience in the nonprofit /NGO sector. The following photo is as close as you can get to an action shot in teaching — see how nice the classroom is?
Many students sit in on the first day of class (without registering) just to check it out, so I expected some “melt.” Sure enough, for week 2, attendance was down to 44 students. (It helps to assign a lot of boring reading material early on, too.) Out of those 44 students, a couple are “outside” unregistered students; either from another major or another university or just from the community! As time goes on, I’ll find out more about these “sit-in” students.
Why I don’t use Powerpoint:
* Students memorize the slides and regurgitate the contents word for word on exams. Ugh!
* Writing on the chalkboard slows me down. I go way too fast with Powerpoint presentations.
* The process of writing lecture notes in class helps students retain the material better.
* Clicking through Powerpoint slides tethers me to the laptop. I would rather pace back and forth the length of the room, writing, erasing…it’s more dynamic and involves more arm waving…thereby helping keep students awake for the full 3 hours.
* Turning toward the chalkboard allows students to yawn without me seeing them. Unfortunately, I can hear them yawning…
Yes, there’s the huge drawback of missing the visual material that Powerpoint can provide. It is best to mix the two formats.
After class this week (week 2 of 18) I took 5 students (all young women) out to lunch. Originally, I had intended to take 3 students out to lunch each week (they pick the restaurant, and help me learn about various styles of Chinese food), but the sign-up sheet was so popular on week 1 that I allowed more students to sign up. The five students took me to a Hunan restaurant near campus. Hunan province is Mao Zedong’s birthplace and the cuisine features spicy food — hooray! My favorite dish was the spicy duck, but everything was marvelous (even the eggplant, which I generally avoid). The total bill for the 6 of us was 162 yuan….about $24 total.
We talked about the food, of course (3 of the 5 are from Hunan Province), my college history (they wanted to know about boyfriends during college and how I met my husband), and they asked if I knew the movie star “Brad Pitt.” Having just seen his hilarious role in “Burn After Reading”, I nodded enthusiastically, and we all agreed that Angelina Jolie is impossibly beautiful.
[Don’t be misled by the movie star discussion. These students are very bright; the very best in their field in a country of 1.3 billion.]
I like your style, teaching and otherwise, Renee.
Good reading.
I work with Jay. I’ve been enjoying your blog, especially your last entry. Food is such an important aspect of every culture. I love what you are doing with your students. My brother has been living in Tokyo for the past 4 yrs. He enjoys preparing food ( culinary master pieces actually) for his friends on his free time. Anyway, I am living vicariously through your posts 🙂 Sounds like you love what you do. Take care.
~Phaedra