Week Nineteen November 23 – November 29, 2008

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

Week Nineteen November 23 – November 29, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 23 – November 29 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Project Update

On Wednesday, November 26, I attended the regular physics project meeting and the main part for me was to begin the focus on the evaluation instruments I have used, as well as the results for the initial surveys for the students in the areas of attitudes towards science and the use of technology in the classroom.  I am also preparing a guide for the faculty to follow so that if they want to replicate my study, they can have the methods in Spanish to follow for future groups of students, or if they can do a longitudinal study that might follow the students over time.  This has potential, as a large number of the students (approximately 65%) are in their first year in the physics department.

We also brainstormed on a number of possible open ended questions to ask students concerning their experiences in the Physics project, and over the methods that were used including constructivism, project-based assignments, the use of rubrics and the integration of software programs for modeling.

Thanksgiving Luncheon at US Embassy

On Thursday, November 27, I attended a luncheon at the home of Carol Urban, who is the Deputy Ambassador for the US Embassy here in Santiago, Chile. She had invited a number of the current Fulbright Scholars from the US, future and current Fulbright Scholars from Chile as well as staff from both Fulbright-Chile and the US Embassy. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings. In fact, on this day of Thanksgiving, this luncheon provided a chance to honor this traditional holiday in a nontraditional environment and setting. 

Many of my Chilean friends have asked me about Thanksgiving; to them it is a foreign holiday, meaning it is something they do not completely understand in its reasons, manners or traditions. In some ways, Thanksgiving day in Chile is a lot like me, overlooked at times, seen as something in the distance, something foreign, not connected or integrated into the life at hand.  Yet, in other ways, Thanksgiving is alive and well around the world, even in Chile, where American colleagues living abroad take the time to gather and to celebrate this holiday together. 

I have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, and I am truly thankful for the experience that I have been afforded with the Fulbright US Scholars program, which has given me the gift of immersion into another culture and into another language.  I am thankful of the support I have had from others, both here and back home, as an experience like this over 5 months requires cooperation and coordination from a team, not merely from any one individual.  I am thankful that I have been humbled in my days in Chile, and that I have also been allowed to grow and to flourish in new directions.  I am also thankful that I will soon be returning home, to reconnect with my family and friends, to reintegrate into the US society, and to be able to apply what I have learned in ways to benefit my university, community, state and nation.