I have now completed 1/3 of my teaching assignment at KIMEP (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research) in Almaty. Although it was a somewhat grueling 15 hours split over two days, I find myself excited and energized by the experience. I am teaching Computer Information Systems in an Executive MBA program. For most students in the class, this is not a topic with which they are currently familiar, or which they would like to pursue. Yet I was very pleased to find the students interested in the class and very willing to engage in discussion. Some of the students even read all of the assigned pre-reading and wrote multi-page summaries of what they read. So, a couple of observations. First off, I had expected that the students would be relatively reserved for a number of reasons: cultural differences, lack of interest in IT, nervousness over my status as PhD - and an American, distractions from the students' "day jobs," etc. What I found instead was a great willingness to participate in class activities and a desire to understand the topics we discussed. The students did not seem afraid to challenge me (in a very respectful way) or push me to provide further explanation. I particularly appreciated the "simultaneous translation" as students used dictionaries to try and translate CIS vocabulary into Russian so they could understand the concepts. One thing is clear; they have learned "English" and not "American." So, it's a shopping trolley, not a shopping cart. (Does that mean that websites leave "biscuits" on your hard drive?) Another striking observation is that while much internet activity is based on trust, these students are more inclined to distrust others. They wanted to know if their companies "could spy on them." They wanted to know why a buyer would ever trust a seller on eBay. Again, some important cultural differences. Tomorrow I move into the apartment which Joyce and I will share for 4 weeks (she arrives on July 4.) I hope to see more of the town and venture into the nearby mountains for a hike or two. I also hope to get the bulk of my prep work done for the next class session two weeks from now.
I have now completed 1/3 of my teaching assignment at KIMEP (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research) in Almaty. Although it was a somewhat grueling 15 hours split over two days, I find myself excited and energized by the experience. I am teaching Computer Information Systems in an Executive MBA program. For most students in the class, this is not a topic with which they are currently familiar, or which they would like to pursue. Yet I was very pleased to find the students interested in the class and very willing to engage in discussion. Some of the students even read all of the assigned pre-reading and wrote multi-page summaries of what they read. So, a couple of observations. First off, I had expected that the students would be relatively reserved for a number of reasons: cultural differences, lack of interest in IT, nervousness over my status as PhD - and an American, distractions from the students' "day jobs," etc. What I found instead was a great willingness to participate in class activities and a desire to understand the topics we discussed. The students did not seem afraid to challenge me (in a very respectful way) or push me to provide further explanation. I particularly appreciated the "simultaneous translation" as students used dictionaries to try and translate CIS vocabulary into Russian so they could understand the concepts. One thing is clear; they have learned "English" and not "American." So, it's a shopping trolley, not a shopping cart. (Does that mean that websites leave "biscuits" on your hard drive?) Another striking observation is that while much internet activity is based on trust, these students are more inclined to distrust others. They wanted to know if their companies "could spy on them." They wanted to know why a buyer would ever trust a seller on eBay. Again, some important cultural differences. Tomorrow I move into the apartment which Joyce and I will share for 4 weeks (she arrives on July 4.) I hope to see more of the town and venture into the nearby mountains for a hike or two. I also hope to get the bulk of my prep work done for the next class session two weeks from now.
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