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| Vol. 20, No. 17 | June 14, 2001 |
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| Vol. 20, No. 17 | June 14, 2001 |
A French connection was made via the web between UD and FORMASUP, a consortium
of educators and administrators from universities and schools and representatives
from trade unions and industry in northwest France. As a result, 27 representatives
from FORMASUP came to the University for a weeklong workshop on problem-based
learning from June 4-8. Currently, 1,100 students are enrolled in technology,
commerce and engineering, alternating between college teaching sessions and
company training periods through FORMASUP.
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| At a special session of the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education, a consortium of French educators and representatives from labor and industry, visited campus. UD faculty members and FORMASUP representatives (From left) are Hal White, Yves Emery, Susan Groh, Jacques Lesenne, and George Watson. |
Jacques Lesenne, director of FORMASUP and vice president of academic affairs at Artois University, learned about UD's Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (ITUE) on the web and contacted and visited George Watson, physics and astronomy, to arrange for the session.
The visitors learned about the interactive teaching method where small teams of students solve real-world problems by conducting research and learn to think critically, work cooperatively and communicate their findings. The group of educators also learned about using technology in teaching.
Lesenne said that the ITUE session was perfectly organized. Yves Emery, president of FORMASUP, said the program helped him to discover new methods of teaching, which were presented in a concrete way. Christelle Blas, who teaches sociology at the ITIAPE School of Landscape Engineering, said she already uses some problem-based learning in her teaching but got some new ideas on the topic and found the notebooks accompanying the class work very useful.
Jean Clenet, a professor of education with FORMASUP, said traditional methods of teaching are generally used in France. He found the workshops helpful in discovering new ways of teaching and using problem-based learning in training programs.
The special session of ITUE was led by Watson; Barbara Duch, Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center; Deborah Allen, biological sciences; and Susan Groh and Hal White, chemistry and biochemistry. Ruth Hurst, Division of Continuing Education, coordinated the logistics for the special session, and Leslie Posner and Robin Stewart were translators.
