This weekend a group of the #IUThailand students went to Koh Samui, a little island just off the coast of Thailand. We were able to get affordable flights via Bangkok Air, and a great villa on Jettsetter.com.
We arrived mid-day on Friday. The Koh Samui airport is about the cutest darn airport I have ever seen. It's all outdoors, and there are rows of shopping that looked a bit like a "lifestyle center" in Indianapolis, Clay Terrace. We opted to take a shuttle from the airport to our resort, the Beach Republic.
Koh Samui is not very busy this time of year; in fact, one of the employees said that it was their second slowest month of the year. There were a few pop-up showers, but generally the weather was quite nice to hang out by the pool or sight-see. Friday night, we went out to dinner and took in the more "touristy" area of the island. Boy, it was touristy. Lots of souvenir shops, massage services, and restaurants selling burgers and fries. On Saturday, we slept in, and hung out at our resort. Saturday night, we made dinner as a group and had a blast chatting and swimming.
Sunday was a bit of a bummer. We planned to go snorkeling; however, the weather forecast called for rain, so we opted to cancel our trip. Then, of course, it was beautiful all day long! The group did try to see Grandmother and Grandfather rock. Unfortunately, since it was low tide, they didn't look nearly as interesting as the pictures.
Sunday night, we took a quick flight back to Bangkok. All in all, the trip was amazing! I don't think I had realized just how loud the city of Bangkok was, until I had the opportunity to just sit and listen to the water. Much needed rest and relaxation after a busy week. Here's a link to the rest of our photos.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Presenting for Faculty at Mahidol
Today, we gave our first presentation at Mahidol. My colleague and I were a bit nervous! Our topic was classroom assessment techniques. We arrived at the university early to review each of our parts. We had already seen our presentation room, and felt comfortable with the technology and set-up. Our bigggest concern was related to content. Would we present material that was familiar to our participants? Would there be challenges with language? Would attendees be comfortable with participating in our interactive activities?
As we prepared, we developed back up plans for each of our questions. We'd assess our learners' level of knowledge with an initial individual activity. We would allow participants to work on their own and in groups as a way to promote participation. Working with one of our administrative support contacts, we were able to get handouts made for each of our participants. We struggled between printing out the whole PowerPoint (considering that most of our participants may have trouble with English) and giving a simple handout that included activities for the classroom.
We arrived at our presentation room 15 minutes early, as the staff was setting up the AV equipment. Unfortunately, there was a little trouble with the LCD projector, but after a time, they were able to get it up and running. Our participants trickled in slowly. By the end of the presentation, we had about 15 faculty join us. They were very interested in incorporating active learning into their classrooms. At the same time, the group mentioned concerns about both time and effectiveness. My colleague and I shared data on both concerns, and encouraged the faculty to come to our presentations next week. Each attendee participated, and many stayed after to ask questions and discuss techniques. I hope next week proves to be just as productive!
Now, off to Koh Samui for some R&R.
As we prepared, we developed back up plans for each of our questions. We'd assess our learners' level of knowledge with an initial individual activity. We would allow participants to work on their own and in groups as a way to promote participation. Working with one of our administrative support contacts, we were able to get handouts made for each of our participants. We struggled between printing out the whole PowerPoint (considering that most of our participants may have trouble with English) and giving a simple handout that included activities for the classroom.
We arrived at our presentation room 15 minutes early, as the staff was setting up the AV equipment. Unfortunately, there was a little trouble with the LCD projector, but after a time, they were able to get it up and running. Our participants trickled in slowly. By the end of the presentation, we had about 15 faculty join us. They were very interested in incorporating active learning into their classrooms. At the same time, the group mentioned concerns about both time and effectiveness. My colleague and I shared data on both concerns, and encouraged the faculty to come to our presentations next week. Each attendee participated, and many stayed after to ask questions and discuss techniques. I hope next week proves to be just as productive!
Now, off to Koh Samui for some R&R.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Mahidol University: Planning and Observations
Today was our first work day at Mahidol University.
Everyone was very welcoming! We arrived at our offices to see our names on our doors, and our hosts met us to escort us to a conference room (just a few doors down).
Planning Meeting
Our first meeting included faculty from Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Immunology. Most were basic scientists, who worked together to explain some of the structure of Thai medical curriculum. Most students choose to go to medical school at age 16 or 17, right out of high school. Once they make this choice, it is hard to get off the path. There's no "changing your major." Instead, students who want to change, often have to start over from the beginning. As a result, they have very high completion rates. Students usually spend their first three years in basic science courses that meet five days a week for a period of 4-6 weeks. They will likely not take more than two classes at a time. The last three years of their program are clinical.
In terms of challenges, our faculty discussed concerns about students' retention of information, as well as their ability to integrate basic science concepts in their clinical years and keeping students engaged in large lecture courses. This all sounded very similar to our concerns at IU!
The faculty had many questions about the structure of curriculum at IU and in the US. Some were more general, while others were very specific. The group seemed well-informed about trends in education in the US.
After discussing their concerns, we offered some ideas for a few workshops we might be able to offer their faculty and post-docs. I was surprised at how amenable they were! It seemed that every suggestion we made was helpful. In the end, we decided upon seven, 90-minute workshops on a variety of topics including presentation styles in the classroom, leading small group discussion, and formative classroom assessment techniques. While this is a TON of work, my colleague and I have presented on a few of these topics before, so I'm hoping we won't be starting from scratch.
Classroom Observations
We ended the day with two classroom observations. First, we viewed a gross anatomy lab in Mahidol's cadaver lab. Over 100 students moved through about fifty stations, identifying tissues, bones, muscles, and nerves in the back. They had one minute to answer two questions, before a bell rang and they moved on to the next station. This is an example of all of the information the students would need to remember. Our faculty contact explained that this exam took five faculty and staff about two hours to set the exam up. He is hopeful they can incorporate some technological innovations in the future to reduce the amount of labor. Here's an example of an undergraduate virtual lab at IU.
In our last part of the day, we visited a pharmacology lecture that was using a Team-Based Learning (TBL) approach. For those unfamiliar with TBL, here's a video introduction. The class was large, with about 350 students. Each TBL team was made up of about a dozen students, almost double the size I am usually familiar with. The room was full of conversation, and our contact mentioned that not all of the discussion was on-topic. This is a concern that they would like to address. We also learned that they have masters-level TAs and a number of faculty in the room. The class meets for four hours at a time.
At the end of the first day, I have more questions than answers. Over the next couple of days, my colleague and I hope to talk to a few more students and faculty. I sense that the notion of hierarchy in Thai culture is very important in the way in which curriculum is structured and managed. I'm sure you'll hear me talk about this again in future posts.
Everyone was very welcoming! We arrived at our offices to see our names on our doors, and our hosts met us to escort us to a conference room (just a few doors down).
Planning Meeting
Our first meeting included faculty from Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Immunology. Most were basic scientists, who worked together to explain some of the structure of Thai medical curriculum. Most students choose to go to medical school at age 16 or 17, right out of high school. Once they make this choice, it is hard to get off the path. There's no "changing your major." Instead, students who want to change, often have to start over from the beginning. As a result, they have very high completion rates. Students usually spend their first three years in basic science courses that meet five days a week for a period of 4-6 weeks. They will likely not take more than two classes at a time. The last three years of their program are clinical.
In terms of challenges, our faculty discussed concerns about students' retention of information, as well as their ability to integrate basic science concepts in their clinical years and keeping students engaged in large lecture courses. This all sounded very similar to our concerns at IU!
The faculty had many questions about the structure of curriculum at IU and in the US. Some were more general, while others were very specific. The group seemed well-informed about trends in education in the US.
After discussing their concerns, we offered some ideas for a few workshops we might be able to offer their faculty and post-docs. I was surprised at how amenable they were! It seemed that every suggestion we made was helpful. In the end, we decided upon seven, 90-minute workshops on a variety of topics including presentation styles in the classroom, leading small group discussion, and formative classroom assessment techniques. While this is a TON of work, my colleague and I have presented on a few of these topics before, so I'm hoping we won't be starting from scratch.
Classroom Observations
We ended the day with two classroom observations. First, we viewed a gross anatomy lab in Mahidol's cadaver lab. Over 100 students moved through about fifty stations, identifying tissues, bones, muscles, and nerves in the back. They had one minute to answer two questions, before a bell rang and they moved on to the next station. This is an example of all of the information the students would need to remember. Our faculty contact explained that this exam took five faculty and staff about two hours to set the exam up. He is hopeful they can incorporate some technological innovations in the future to reduce the amount of labor. Here's an example of an undergraduate virtual lab at IU.
In our last part of the day, we visited a pharmacology lecture that was using a Team-Based Learning (TBL) approach. For those unfamiliar with TBL, here's a video introduction. The class was large, with about 350 students. Each TBL team was made up of about a dozen students, almost double the size I am usually familiar with. The room was full of conversation, and our contact mentioned that not all of the discussion was on-topic. This is a concern that they would like to address. We also learned that they have masters-level TAs and a number of faculty in the room. The class meets for four hours at a time.
At the end of the first day, I have more questions than answers. Over the next couple of days, my colleague and I hope to talk to a few more students and faculty. I sense that the notion of hierarchy in Thai culture is very important in the way in which curriculum is structured and managed. I'm sure you'll hear me talk about this again in future posts.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Jim Thompson and Hungry Thai Bugs
This week has been a whirlwind! Since my last update, I've seen so much. Where to start?
Thursday--The Jim Thompson House
On Thursday, we toured the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was an American GI in WWII who fell in love with Thai people and culture. After the war, he stayed here in Bangkok and helped to revive the silk industry. Thompson was an architect by training, so his home here is beautifully designed. I was struck by how “designed for Americans” this was in comparison to the Teak Palace. We arrived, paid our admission fee, and on our receipt was written a tour group number and time. We were told to wait in the gardens until our number was called, then make our way to the starting point (clearly labeled at the front desk). The gardens were breathtaking, with stone walkways and beautiful lotuses and koi in clay pots. When the number was called right a 10:45am, our tour guide introduced herself, and explained in detail where we would be going, and where photographs were allowed.
She spoke very good English; later, we found out that she was a recent grad of Bangkok University, where English was her major. She seemed very pleased when we all complimented her on her language skills. This tour guide’s style was very different than the Teak Palace. She made jokes about the group, showed us her “favorite things,” and asked us little quiz questions about the space. Funny, it was almost as if an adult education specialist designed the tour. She knew exactly how to get us to do what she wanted. While I’m sure the experience was very manufactured, I found it to be quite fun. Like Disney, Jim Thompson seems to know what works, that’s for sure.
Friday--The Student Health Center
Earlier this week, I got some bug bites. Nothing serious--or so I thought! By Friday morning, they were pretty creepy looking. I know that the Minute Clinic is not on every corner here in Bangkok as it is in the US, so I thought that I should get them looked at before the weekend began.
I went to the Student Health Center at Chulalongkorn University, the closest university to my hotel. Nancy is staying there. Her contact somehow roped some poor instructional technology guy into being my translator. He met me outside the student center at 1pm. At 2:30pm, I walked out having seen three different doctors and five nurses. One of them actually swabbed one of my blisters with a big q-tip, put it on a glass slide, and came back to tell the doctor "something something in Thai "staph" something something in Thai." The IT guy later told me that they tested it for staph, and it was negative. They are infected, though.
So, I have amoxicillin, loratadine (Claritin), and a tube of bacitracin. Cost: $365 Bhat or...$12 US dollars. So, I think I'm not going to submit it to insurance. A lot more affordable than the Minute Clinic!
Oh, and I can answer just about any question you want to know about the online course management system at Chula. Which is Blackboard, the same one that Purdue uses.
Thursday--The Jim Thompson House
On Thursday, we toured the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was an American GI in WWII who fell in love with Thai people and culture. After the war, he stayed here in Bangkok and helped to revive the silk industry. Thompson was an architect by training, so his home here is beautifully designed. I was struck by how “designed for Americans” this was in comparison to the Teak Palace. We arrived, paid our admission fee, and on our receipt was written a tour group number and time. We were told to wait in the gardens until our number was called, then make our way to the starting point (clearly labeled at the front desk). The gardens were breathtaking, with stone walkways and beautiful lotuses and koi in clay pots. When the number was called right a 10:45am, our tour guide introduced herself, and explained in detail where we would be going, and where photographs were allowed.
Friday--The Student Health Center
Earlier this week, I got some bug bites. Nothing serious--or so I thought! By Friday morning, they were pretty creepy looking. I know that the Minute Clinic is not on every corner here in Bangkok as it is in the US, so I thought that I should get them looked at before the weekend began.
I went to the Student Health Center at Chulalongkorn University, the closest university to my hotel. Nancy is staying there. Her contact somehow roped some poor instructional technology guy into being my translator. He met me outside the student center at 1pm. At 2:30pm, I walked out having seen three different doctors and five nurses. One of them actually swabbed one of my blisters with a big q-tip, put it on a glass slide, and came back to tell the doctor "something something in Thai "staph" something something in Thai." The IT guy later told me that they tested it for staph, and it was negative. They are infected, though.
So, I have amoxicillin, loratadine (Claritin), and a tube of bacitracin. Cost: $365 Bhat or...$12 US dollars. So, I think I'm not going to submit it to insurance. A lot more affordable than the Minute Clinic!
Oh, and I can answer just about any question you want to know about the online course management system at Chula. Which is Blackboard, the same one that Purdue uses.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Temples!
Yesterday we spent the day touring the two most visited temples in Thailand. First, we went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace. I was amazed at just how much there was to see. My photos aren't as fancy as those on the wiki, but here is the link.
My favorite part of the day was our trip to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It was huge and beautiful, and allowed us to get quite close to take photos.
We had a great lunch at S & P, a popular restaurant chain in Thailand that had a similar in feel to Panera in the US. I have fallen in love with Som Tam, a thai dish similar to coleslaw made of green papaya.
Today, we're visiting another temple in the Dusit district of Bangkok. I'm interested to get an idea of how long it will take us to get there. Mahidol University, the institution I'm assigned to work with, is in this area. So, I'll get a chance to see what my morning commute will be like.
Also, I learned that we are getting a bit of news coverage. One of our fellow doctoral students, Chuck Carney, is the Director of Communications and Media Relations for the IU School of Education. He wrote a news release about our trip that was picked up by Inside Indiana Business! So, we're pretty much big time now.
We had a great lunch at S & P, a popular restaurant chain in Thailand that had a similar in feel to Panera in the US. I have fallen in love with Som Tam, a thai dish similar to coleslaw made of green papaya.
Today, we're visiting another temple in the Dusit district of Bangkok. I'm interested to get an idea of how long it will take us to get there. Mahidol University, the institution I'm assigned to work with, is in this area. So, I'll get a chance to see what my morning commute will be like.
Also, I learned that we are getting a bit of news coverage. One of our fellow doctoral students, Chuck Carney, is the Director of Communications and Media Relations for the IU School of Education. He wrote a news release about our trip that was picked up by Inside Indiana Business! So, we're pretty much big time now.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fun, Flowers, and Feet: A Dispatch
Yesterday was a beautiful day in Bangkok! We began the day with a tour of Chulalongkorn University, one of our partner institutions. I enjoyed the opportunity to hear more from their staff about higher education in Thailand. Chula is big, similar in size to IUPUI. We happened to visit during the first day of welcome week, so it was fun to see all the students doing many of the same things that our students do during WOW, sporting their free, residence hall t-shirts and sitting in circles meeting new friends. We had some flexibility with the rest of the day, so a group of us took a water taxi to the flower and fruit market. I bought some green tangerines and wandered through aisles of fruit and flowers I'd never seen before. Photos are here.
We ended the day with dinner, and a trip to the MBK for groceries. While I'm having a lovely time, my feet are covered in blisters. Too hot, and too much walking, I guess! Note to home: buy stock in Band-Aids.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Safely to Bangkok
Our whole group has made it safely to Bangkok! There was a flight cancellation for one pair, but it was quickly resolved. While my traveling group was delayed by a few minutes, Mr. Siamchi, our cab driver was very nice and waited for us. He also should consider a job with UPS considering the number of people and bags he fit into his car! When we arrived, despite all the people who told me just HOW hot it was, I have to admit I was still surprised. It's not that I didn't believe them, it's just crazy to think that it was midnight and 90 degrees. The air is incredibly heavy with humidity. I'll be taking multiple showers a day, that's for sure!
We've settled into our rooms, and the accommodations are fine. Certainly not the JW, but I am quite happy! A warm shower, a (relatively) comfortable bed, and a place to be a bit more settled for a few weeks. The view is not quite what I had in Hong Kong!
Today, we are getting a tour of one of our partner universities and heading to the MBK, a massive, seven-story mall. They appear to have everything from a drug store to a Pizza Hut to a karaoke bar and a bowling alley.
We've settled into our rooms, and the accommodations are fine. Certainly not the JW, but I am quite happy! A warm shower, a (relatively) comfortable bed, and a place to be a bit more settled for a few weeks. The view is not quite what I had in Hong Kong!
Today, we are getting a tour of one of our partner universities and heading to the MBK, a massive, seven-story mall. They appear to have everything from a drug store to a Pizza Hut to a karaoke bar and a bowling alley.
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