Learning: Peer Review 2

This blog entry was done a day after observing in a totally different kind of class than the Peer Review 1 entry. The following excerpt from the instructor email sets the stage for this upper division class utilizing teamwork and presentations as instructional strategies. I have made a few comments from my observations following the course description.

From the Teacher:

Marketing - 22. April, at 8:00-9:30 (Room 406)

The name of subject: Methods of Marketing Communication and Public Relations
Term of subject: One semester (15 week) Number of lessons: 2 lesson/week
Type of subject: practice
Main goals: 1) the students use correct expressions of marketing language, and, 2) they understand advantages and disadvantages of various strategies in a marketing project

Strong point: interesting instructional method. Weak point: low motivation to learn about marketing; a grade is more important

My method of education: I lecture on one of marketing method and then they do a small project in groups. This method is different than in most classes in which students don't work on lessons in groups. Every group presents what they did after working together for 20-50 minutes. They can finish the course in two different ways. They may write a written test without help alone or they may work together in groups. They can choose. If they work in a group then they get from the teacher an average percent, for example 75%. As a group, they can decide how to distribute the grade. They can designate so many percent for every member of the group; the average of the group has to be what the teacher designated. During the group work, they can use all of the previous PowerPoint lectures (available on the instructor's website), and consult with the professor, and refer to any other resources they have in the classroom. The marks: 0-59%->(1),60-69%->(2), 70-79%->(3),80-89%->(4), 90-100%->(5) 1 is too low; the semester has to repeated, the other marks allow the student to advance.

My observations:

I was a bit late; I had mixed up the rooms. The door locks so I had the experience of the only one other person late to the class in having to face the professor as he let me in (obviously, he was nice, but at least I know how to say I'm sorry for being late in Hungarian!).

One important cultural point for this blog posting is about the use of the term 'professor'. In Hungary that designation is reserved for those academics who have achieved a very high level of scholarship, and have been voted on by the entire academic community to be worthy of that designation. I use the more general term professor, as is common in the US, to indicate a teacher at the college level, whether an assistant, associate, or full professor (status granted by the employing institution or system). But I also don't mind elevating, or promoting my colleague to the professor level, in this posting. It may be unofficial, but it is sincere.

The classroom is a great contrast to the one I saw yesterday. This room also has many computers lined up on long tables in rows. But the room itself was obviously once used as a TV studio, and the remaining acoustic ceiling, hanging lights, and heavy dark curtains completely covering the windows were still in place. The instructor had given an opening description of what the students were to do today. It's near the end of the semester and the small projects done each week on various aspects of marketing communications were coming together. The instructor assigned the students into three groups, with each group having 3-4 people. He gave them a grid that included the various aspects of necessary communication for a company (e.g., sales, public relations, marketing). The groups then worked on an overall plan for one of two companies--a large fictional furniture company, or a small (existing) chocolate confectionary here in Eger. That was the first I'd heard of Stühmer Chocolates--I'll have to go look them up! (I did and greatly enjoyed my first Stühmer dark chocolate truffle!)

As the students worked together, they consulted earlier PowerPoint lectures available on the Web. Occasionally, students would ask the instructor for assistance or advice. He was very fluent in his lecture and replies, and the students were attentive. The room was not very conducive to group communications, since the students were sitting in rows behind computers, and there was no room to gather elsewhere. This is a common problem with 'networked' classrooms--only the computer function had been taken into consideration in the design process, forgetting the need for people to interact face to face. We have many classrooms like this at Valdosta State University, and I've seen many here in Hungary as well. This is a particularly interesting dilemma, since laptops are now so ubiquitous. Soon these high density computer labs will be quite obsolete, I believe.

During the group work, the professor discussed his methods with me. Because the topic of this course is business-related, he tries to build skills that have been designated as lacking in the Hungarian workforce--namely, computer skills, communications, and teamwork skills. Another workforce skill that is often mentioned is the ability to communicate in a language other than Hungarian, but that is beyond the scope of this class (however, he did introduce me in both English and Hungarian).

It was interesting to speak to him about the differences in the ways Hungarian students communicate in contrast to US students. While somewhat of a generalization, I had to agree that US education stresses much more student-student communication and gives opportunities for teamwork. Hungarian education is still very teacher-centered, and students often only speak in class in reply to direct questions from the teacher. He believes that this early training (or lack of opportunity for different strategies) contributes to the difficulties of effective communications in Hungarian workplaces and society. The problem can be credited to the long period of top-down rule during the socialist era, and the slow progress toward changes since then.

At the end of the class period, each group was required to stand up and deliver a summary of the strategies they had devised. The instructor called on individuals to contribute, so everyone had to know all parts of the strategy. I stayed for two groups, and could see some unease in the students. The professor said they were much more comfortable now than at the beginning of the course, so obviously his strategy is having benefits toward improving communication skills.

It's interesting that the recognition of the importance of group work and team-based projects is clear, but the obstacles to achievement of these strategies is based in the common problem of instructors--lack of time to design, prepare, and plan. In Hungary, this problem is even more acute. Professors, especially those junior faculty who do not hold the Ph.D. teach many courses, and many sections of courses in the week. They also hold tutorials with correspondence students, and weekend students, and some also teach at the secondary level. Many are enrolled in doctoral programs in other parts of the country, and must travel on a regular basis over the course of several years to complete the degrees. Post-secondary education is changing in Hungary, but under many stresses including financial ones, especially at this time.