Studying in the U.S. Universities

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=223004

經驗談／美大教學活 鼓勵「問題」學生

【聯合報╱記者陳智華／台北報導】2009/11/23

 台灣學生深造仍以美國為主，留美學生認為，國內教育太重視累積知識，美國大學則注重經驗，鼓勵學生問問題，提出想法，值得台灣學習。

 My comments: Before encouraging students to ask questions, we teachers should often ask questions to get them to think. I like listening to students talk about their opinions and ask questions in class. A silent class drives me crazy.

建中畢業的張耀文目前讀美國MIT（麻省理工學院）一年級，大二打算雙主修材料與生物，雙輔修歷史與應用國際研究。

My comments: Wow! To college students in Taiwan, this would seem a mission impossible. Like us, Mr. Chang has 24 hours; however, he makes the best of his time. Does he have time for friends or recreation?

 他說，美國頂尖大學給的獎助學金是依家庭收入，以台灣一般家庭收入而言，獎助學金可達九成以上，不分國籍，他申請到了。

 他指出，MIT教育紮實，每科很多作業，占成績比率不低，一學期三次期中考，加期末考共四次考試，能深入了解課程內容。

My comments: See? To ensure the students have really learned something, assignments and exams are a must.

 張耀文認為，美國大學好處在於可和世界最有名的跨國公司或研究團隊接觸，例如Google、Intel、Yahoo、Amazon等公司會到MIT來挖人。他強調，不論在國內或到國外念大學，視野要開闊，即使留在台灣，也要好好學習，當一個有宏觀視野的世界人。

My comments: Reading, watching films, talking to foreigners can help our students to be global-minded.

 北市麗山高中畢業的邢本元，在美國杜克大學念四年級，雙主修生物與環境科學，他說：「我覺得出國念書是最幸運的，接觸與國內截然不同的學術文化。」

 My comments: When I was studying at UOI, Champaign, I was amazed when professors spent almost the whole class period discussing a question a student posed.

他指出，出國前很多人跟他說，美國學生程度差，連基本課程如微積分都有困難，出國後，他發現多數美國學生的知識確實少於台灣學生。但杜克是世界排名前十五的大學，學校注重學習經驗，而不只是知識。

 他主修之一是生物，課程雖較台灣的大學簡單，卻獲無數研究經驗，去年與學校研究團隊到新幾內亞外海，在研究船上遙控潛水艇，打撈深海生物，做成八千多個標本。今年七月，更在國際會議上發表初步研究結果。邢本元強調，在美國求學讓他走出教室，大開眼界，非國內實驗課能比。

My comments: What an experience! Learning by doing is the soul of the empirical approach. I often ask myself, "How can I make students 'experience' English rather than simply 'study' English?" Using as much as English in class is one way and encouraging them to read authentic English materials, including books, newspapers, magazines, etc. is another.