S.Abdykarimova, G.Muradilova

Abai KazNPU, Sh.Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University

OUR NEWCASTLE EXPERIENCES

Our Newcastle University course on enhancing learning and teaching in higher education (ELTHE) began on the third of December. Our group consisted of 19 participants from different cities of Kazakhstan and our group leader Dana Jantemirova, the representative of the Republican Institute of Professional Development and Education Strategy. Among them there were two teachers from Shymkent, two teachers from Kustanai, three teachers from Kokshetay, two teachers from KazNPU named after Abai, Almaty, and all the rest participants were from Satpayev National Technical University. Before going to Great Britain we had a week on-line course at RIPD ES. Then we went to Great Britain, Newcastle. On the following day after our arrival our ELTHE Course leader Rosalind Beaumont took us from the hotel to the university by taxi at half past nine in the morning. And the first session began.

Our course lasted for a fortnight. Each day was dedicated to different aspects of professional development. They are personal professional development and action planning, introduction to student learning, emotional intelligence and developing one’s personal statement, principles and practice of teaching in groups, library induction, assessing and promoting learning, on-line learning and learning technology at Newcastle University, lecture, seminar or practical shadowing, preparing to lecture and interactive lecturing, project supervision, microteaching, writing skills for academics, module design and planning for the future – next steps.

At our first lesson at Newcastle University we met Dr. Jarka Glassey. She told us of her working experience. Her speech was very interesting. She told of her methods of drawing her students’ attention. It was very helpful for us. One of the sessions was dedicated to teaching in groups. We watched the video of a lecture in Medicine. And at that lecture a patient was questioned by a lecturer. The patient listed his complaints; the lecturer asked him different more detailed questions. Then he divided his students into small groups and asked them to discuss the case, try to diagnose the patient and, probably, to suggest some treatment. It was a kind of discovery for us, a possibility of applying teaching in groups to delivering a lecture, and even delivering it to such a large audience. It is new for us; it is new for our students. It means it could be interesting both for us and our students.

One of the sessions was library induction. We was very much impressed by the library of Newcastle University. The library has its own homepage. And one can access it at any time. It saves a lot of time when one searches for some sources from the library database. It is easy and does not require special knowledge. Also, we liked the system of questioning using a computer and handsets (or keypads). It was like an adventure for us. Besides, at that very session we spoke of plagiarism. We think it is a big problem not just for Newcastle University, it is a problem for the whole academic world, and even more, it is a big problem for the whole world. And having such huge library databases is helpful in this situation.

At the session of preparing to lecture and interactive learning we found out that lecturing has been used for several centuries. And it is still used as a teaching method. It is still helpful for students’ learning, because when designing a lecture a teacher filtrates all the information on an appropriate topic in order to make it clear, concise and cover all the appropriate items. In order to make a lecture interesting and visual a lecturer should use some interactive methods: they are graphs, schemes, charts, etc. When presenting the session Dr. Exley suggested dividing a lecture into some parts. It is helpful for students. After considering one part and getting down to another one students try to concentrate again. It helps to keep them interested. A very important point here is getting a feedback.

One of the most interesting sessions was microteaching. All our colleagues were excited and a little bit nervous. It seems to be strange that the teachers most of whom have been teaching for many years feel as if they were students going to take an examination. Everybody prepared for this session properly. It was a kind of cross-disciplinary observation. At first it seemed strange to us. But at the session when we were observing teachers from different schools, we realized that it was even better, because we could focus just on teaching, not on contents. It was a very useful session for us. We had an opportunity to practice our own skills in giving and receiving a feedback in an appreciative content, on the subject we have been teaching for several years.

Our facilitators arranged not just learning activities for us, but some entertainments. Once they invited all of us to dinner to the students’ canteen. Together with us they invited some teachers from other countries: Angola, Spain and others, who came to Newcastle University to take some other courses. It was very interesting to talk to them exchanging our experiences and impressions. Last Wednesday Rosalind and Jacqueline, our Course leader and administrator, who came to Almaty before the UK course, took all of us to the seaside. We saw the North Sea, the famous Newcastle lighthouse, we walked along the shore and took a lot of photos. Then we had traditional English lunch at a restaurant on the sea shore. It was a fascinating adventure. Moreover, we have seen two men surfing though it was cold and windy, and the water was surely very cold.

On Sunday we went to visit Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city is very beautiful. There are different places of interest there. As we learnt the creator of outstanding Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle graduated from Edinburgh Medical University; Alexander Bell, the creator of the telephone, was born and studied in Edinburgh. The city is old, picturesque, it has an old and rich for events history. There are many old buildings, chapels, cathedrals, palaces there. “It is to Edinburgh that we must look for our intellectual tastes”, as Voltaire said.

Newcastle itself is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically it had been a part of the county town of Northumberland until 1974. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne around nine miles from the North Sea. The city grew up in the area that was the location of the Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, though it owes its name to the castle built in 1080, by Robert II, Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror’s eldest son. The city grew as an important center for the wool trade and it later became a major coal mining area. The port developed in the sixteenth century and, along with the shipyards lower down the river, was amongst the world's largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centers. These industries have since experienced severe decline and closure, and the city today is largely a business and cultural center, with a particular reputation for nightlife. Among its main icons are Newcastle Brown Ale, a leading brand of beer, Newcastle United F.C., a Premier League team, and the Tyne Bridge. It is called Millennium Bridge. It is a big bridge across the Tyne River. Its peculiarity is that once a week, on Sunday, at eleven in the morning it turns over in order to make it possible for ships to sail under it. In the evening and at night it changes its color several times, once it turns red, then green, then blue, then orange and purple. It looks very beautiful.

We would like to say a few words about Newcastle University. It can trace its origins to a School of Medicine and Surgery (later the College of Medicine), established in 1834, and to Armstrong College, founded in 1871 for the teaching of physical sciences. These two colleges formed one division of the federal University of Durham, the Durham Colleges forming the other division. The Newcastle Colleges merged to form King's College in 1937. In 1963, when the federal University was dissolved, King's College became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and latterly, Newcastle University. Now it is a big university which has over 20,000 students and employs over 5,000 people. With a world-class reputation for high quality teaching and cutting edge research, it rates highly in many of the University rankings. Most of the University buildings are old, grandiose, even pompous. There are many big lecture theatres, laboratories, seminar rooms there. Each teacher has his or her own office, which for us, was a pleasant surprise, and caused a slight bit of jealousy.

The whole course in Newcastle University was very useful and helpful for us. We shared our opinions and impressions after each session. We tried to help each other. We could rely on each other. We were really a team.

Now, on coming back home, we are full of new ideas and enthusiasm about our teaching. We do hope the course will help us develop our teaching skills and apply all the knowledge and skills we gained here to our teaching in Kazakhstan.