I'm here today with Dr. Richard Bonnebeau, faculty member at the Empire State College International Programs for the last 20 years. Richard's been working in a variety of places including Greece, Czech Republic, Albania, Russia, Syria, Lebanon, and other countries. You're doing various modes of study, including online and blended. Welcome, Richard. >> Thank you. >> Based on your experience, Richard, I'm interested in hearing about the challenges that new students from these countries face. For example, how do they view their relationship with their professors? >> Well actually if I can characterize it, they are surprised and very pleased with that. And the reason being is that [COUGH] we we focus on informality. Rather than what you would find in a traditional university or college setting abroad where professors are held in high regard. And the reason why we do this is that through informality we have the ability to focus on these students as individuals, unique individuals. And they understand that. They begin to realize that because of that, they can break through the barriers that traditionally separate students from the professor. And this informality is very much a part of American cultural values. And of course, we find that elsewhere in the world. But for our students who we serve overseas, it's been, as I said, a surprise and, and very welcome. >> Hm, and why is that important? >> Well, as I, as I mentioned before in traditional universities overseas not in every case, but in many countries, the professor's held in very high regard. And there's a distance between the student and the professor. And we believe that that keeps them in a passive relationship in terms of how they approach their learning. >> Mm-hm. >> It's important that students know that they have access to us. That we're open to their questions, to their challenges. So that learning re, moves from being passive to being active. >> Hm, and what do you mean by that? >> Well, in order for students to develop their intellectual faculties, their, their cri, critical reasoning skills in the, in the context of a subject a college course. Whether it's a MOOC, or classroom-based, or blended they have to be able to engage in-dialog with their instructors, with other students. They have to be able to, and feel comfortable about challenging others. Not, not in a negative sense, but in a positive way. That all, all, all this, all these individuals, this triad of students, professors and and, and the course are a part of a, of a of a, of a dialogue. And it's in, within the dialog that students critical faculties are developed. They have to be engaged with the materials, with the other students, with their instructors. >> Well how else do you encourage the development of the students' critical faculties? >> Well we, we believe that students, to engage with materials in addition to let's say online discussions. Or discussions in during a faculty lecture, where students are responding to to the presentation actively. We believe that there are other ways to develop these critical faculties especially through writing papers. And by, by that, I mean that these are not descriptive papers. But their postured and and and analytical modes, so that students are engaged with the materials. They have to present their understanding of a question and provide evidence. And to show how that evidence and the conclusion inter, interrelate. >> Hm. >> And we go beyond that as courses become more advanced, students are writing research papers. And oftentimes, students, right before they graduate, will engage in a senior project. Which really is the culmination,of all, all the, all the learning that they have developed. The, these critical faculties, these research skills, these writing skills, the communication skills are coming to the fore. And being realized in a major project that has significance. Not only because of its culmination culminating importance, but because it gives them an opportunity to focus on something that they find intellectually engaging. Something that has perhaps relevance to their career goals. And also perhaps, graduate goals in terms of advanced study. Now, you might ask why is that important? Well, if you look at active learning as opposed to passive learning, the student takes ownership of their education. And in doing that, there's a sense of purposefulness in what they're doing, meaningfulness in what they're doing. And so we want to encourage that. At the end of this process of, of being our students, what we hope is to prepare them to, to, for the world of work in the 21st century. And more and more in this millennium, that means that students have to become lifelong learners. That's critical, more critical now than it ha, it ever has been. >> Mm-hm. Yeah, I'd say we're all lifelong learners at this point. >> [LAUGH] Yes. >> Well, thank you, Richard. This has been very informative. And is there anything else you'd like to mention? >> Yeah, I forgot to mention one thing. And that is that another aspect of developing a student's skills is that we engage them, whether it's in a classroom whether it's a residency, whether it's an online course, that they work with other students in a, in a team setting. So that they, they have to negotiate what the responsibilities are to to prepare a report. Who's presenting who's doing the research, what what segments of the research is being done by A or by, by B or by C. And then to do the actual presentation before a critical audience of their peers and, and their instructor. And if you think about how the world of work now is situated with the advent of communications, hi-tech communications, the internet and other, and other modes of that. And how the world of work is becoming more and more globalized. We see that it's not unusual for teams within corporations, corporations with a global reach, that they will work around the clock on projects according to the time zones. So that a project might begin in, let's say, Beijing, China. It'll be picked up in California. >> Mm-hm. >> Then prepared to go, go ahead to Europe. And then to India. Back to China. I mean, this is a continuous process. And we're seeing more and more of that. And so teamwork is really critical. And also, to develop those online skills. >> Mm-hm. >> Very important. >> That's amazing. And now, our students have the ability to practice for that world and, and get themselves ready for it. >> John, that's an excellent point. Because we feel that because of what we do for our students, especially with our online courses. That they're ready to step out in the world of work and do very well. Because they're comfortable with the technology, they're comfortable with working with other students online. And also they, they have developed those skills that have made them able to work independently, but also cooperatively. And you need, you need to do both. >> Amazing. Well, thank you, Richard. And thank you for watching. >> It's been a pleasure to be interviewed. Thank you, John.
