Week One July 20-26, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week One July 20-26, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of July 20-26 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Beginnings at la UMCE

I have found my way to the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencia de la Educación (UMCE) and have set up residence in Ñuñoa, which is where the univeristy is located. I am living near the main plaza and have a 15 minute walk to get to my office in the Physics department. I am sharing an office with Claudio Perez Matzen who has been to UTEP many times, most recently to attend the COE Digital Academy as well as to work with teachers from Juarez in Science Education. I am working with 11 Physics Education Faculty members, who are part of the Facultad de Ciencias Básicas which consists of departments in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Entomology. It is one of 4 Colleges (or Facultades) within the University that also include the Facultad de Artes y Educación Física, Facultad de Filosofía y Educación and Facultad de Historia, Geografía y Letras. More information can be found on their Web page (http://www.umce.cl/).

ECBI (Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Educación)

On Monday, July 21, I attended a meeting of local universities who were engaged in a program designed to improve the science content of students and teachers in elementary and middle schools. The conference was held in Viña del Mar, which is just one hour north east of Santiago along the coast. The conference was attended by some 12 universities in a program that impacts 260 schools and over 90,000 students. The conference format included an opening plenary session by the conference organizers and hosts as well as an overview of the ECBI program. The main tone of this provided me with some understanding of the common ground we at UTEP share with our colleagues in Chile as it pertains to hands-on learning in a student-centered constructivist environment. The presentations that were given described the use of the learning cycle for developing classroom activities and learning experiences, using inquiry based science and developing templates or guides for teachers to use in lesson preparation. The program reminded me of approaches we have at UTEP which include Peer Led Team Learning (for anyone familiar with this approach, most notably sued and promoted by Jim Becvar in Chemistry), as well as the GK-12 Program which puts graduate science students in MS classrooms 2 days a week to work along side a classroom teacher.

Faculty Meeting with the Physics Department

On Wednesday, July 23, I attended what would be my first of regular weekly staff meetings with the Physics department in order to better understand the new project they are implementing this coming semester as well as to gauge my involvement as both an instructor and evaluator. The 11 professors have divided up 4 modules including Mechanics, Experimental Physics, Mathematical Methods in Physics and the Workshop in the Development of Scientific Thinking. In the 90 minute meeting, there was presented an overview of the 4 areas, with particular attention paid to Mathematical Methods in Physics and the Workshop in the Development of Scientific Thinking. The use of Problem-Based Learning and Constructivist Methodoogies is foremost in the design, development and implementation of these modules. At this time, I am designing an evaluation study that will utilize instruments in order to measure student attitudes toward science and computers, science efficacy, technology use and science content in physics. I am also beginning my plans for evaluating the faculty in science efficacy and technology use. I hope to be able to present my work and ideas at an upcoming faculty meeting.

Meeting with the Director and Staff of Fulbright Chile

On Thursday, July 24, Claudio Perez, my wife Sarah and I met with the Director of Fulbright Chile, Denise Saint-Jean and members of her staff at their offices in the section of Santiago known as Providencia. It is a really nice area that is between Ñunoa and downtown Santiago, and we were given a tour of the offices as well as a meeting with Dr. Saint-Jean. We spoke a bit about our project and our plans for continued growth in collaborations between our 2 universities, as well as opportunities to meet and connect with other Fulbright Scholars here in Chile. This seems to be a rich area for both faculty and students alike. We also talked about having the opportunity to meet with the Director of the US Embassy here in Santiago, who may also have means to provide funding for other types of exchanges. We are planning to meet with him in the next coming weeks as his schedule will allow. Information on Fulbright Chile can be accessed at the Web site (http://www.fulbrightchile.cl/).

Work Requirements and Facilities

I have had to spend some time getting through some of the requirements for living and working here in Chile, which includes registering with the Police and obtaining a Chilean ID card. I have also had to establish my home away from home, a small apartment that is furnished and near to UMCE. I also have been using a computer supplied by my hosts at work which includes all current computer programs, with the added benefit of everything being in Spanish. I am also learning to use the Spanish language keyboard, which I really like, as I do have to prepare all my materials in Spanish for students and staff. All in all, the facilities are great and I will certainly have more to describe as I interact more with students and faculty in classroom settings.

Fulbright Chile and la UMCE

I have received an appointment with the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación (UMCE) in Santiago, Chile. I will begin this appointment to begin in July of 2008 in order to coincide with the beginning of the second semester at UMCE, as indicated in the invitation letter. Professionally, I have realized in my collaborations with my colleagues at UMCE that we have complimentary and congruent visions and understandings of science education, and that the collaborative efforts we are pursuing would be strengthened by an experience such as a Fulbright award would afford.  The fundamental tenets of our profession align directly, and my desire to collaborate with highly skilled and like minded educators would help me grow immensely as a multicultural science educator at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), in the surrounding Juárez, México area and other Hispanic serving locations both in the US and abroad. Living in the border region of the Southwestern United States has convinced me that my future as a science educator rests on my ability to communicate effectively in both English and Spanish. Becoming a Fulbright Scholar would provide the opportunity for a transformative experience for me personally and professionally, one I am highly motivated to secure and achieve. I believe that my appointment at UMCE will enable me to grow in my abilities as a multicultural science educator in order to speak, read, write and communicate more effectively in Spanish.

In correspondence with the faculty at UMCE, I have identified a series of topics for lectures from my areas of expertise that seem most relevant to their needs.  These areas include constructivism, Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and the Critical Thinking Curriculum Model (CTCM).   Constructivism is a learning strategy that builds upon students' existing knowledge, beliefs, and skills. Within a constructivist approach, as students encounter new information, they work to synthesize new understandings based on their current experiences and their prior learning. In other words, the constructivist approach to learning states that learners of all ages build new ideas on top of their personal conceptual understandings. PBL is an inquiry-based approach that can be defined as both a curriculum and a process. The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems that engage the learner in the process of acquiring critical knowledge, developing proficiency in problem solving, engaging in self-directed learning, and participating in collaborative teams. The CTCM is a multidisciplinary approach designed to encompass computer technology, a current real world issue, and effective learning and teaching practices.

For the research aspect of this project, I plan to provide a detailed analysis of the use of online tools and assess their appropriate use in science education classes. The purpose will be to measure learning achievements in Chilean students and to provide comparisons with science education students attending UTEP. The research results will be utilized in order to develop future plans for collaborative work between the two universities. This research methodology for the study may be defined as the design, collection, and interpretation of data and information in order to understand the value of an instructional methodology. To measure the increases in student learning in science and technology, specific educational objectives will be tested and the results analyzed.  Students participating in the research study will be enrolled at UMCE and be participating in their new curriculum, which is purported to be theoretically more student-centered and technologically assisted. The main objective of the research project will be to determine if the new curriculum does increase student learning in objective areas as defined by the host institution.