In the third article of a four-part weekly series, Sarah McGregor-Wood examines current initiatives to reform teaching methods
AMMAN -- Teaching methods at Jordanian universities are set to undergo sweeping changes over the next academic year, with the proposed introduction of a raft of new technologies and teaching methods. The Ministry of Higher Education wants the Kingdom's public universities to move away from "chalk and blackboard" teaching to "e-learning," which would make computers and the Internet an integral part of every study programme.
The idea has been under consideration for some time. In 1999, the ministry introduced a $65 million Higher Education Development Programme for the Kingdom's public universities, $35 million of which came from a World Bank loan. A large percentage of this budget has been spent on creating an IT infrastructure and providing universities with thousands of new computers. Jordan's eight state universities are now covered by an optical fibre network which connects students, faculty, administration, management and the universities themselves.
Each state university has also invested varying but significant amounts of their own funds in increasing the number of computers, computer labs and training programmes available to students and faculty members. Despite the financial difficulties experienced by some of the public universities, all agreed that these levels of spending on IT infrastructure and training are a necessary and worthwhile investment.
With a large part of the IT infrastructure now in place, the Ministry of Higher Education is currently pushing for uptake of "e-learning." In practical terms, it envisions this as students and teachers communicating through e-mail and websites, with videos of lectures available on faculty members' websites that students can review. Course information, assignments and links to further research and study material will also be available online. Students will be able to discuss topics in course chatrooms, e-mail assignments to teachers and receive grades and comments the same way. The majority of testing and exams will be done online, providing reliable and instantaneous grading. Students will be taught to use the electronic library currently being developed at Yarmouk University, as well as how to use application software relevant to their courses.
But with Internet use currently at around three per cent among the Jordanian population as a whole and electricity blackouts still common in parts of the country, there is understandable scepticism among university management and faculty members about the current scope for rapid introduction of "e-learning" in Jordan.
One of the main criticisms from universities is that the pace of change expected from them is out of step with the reality of their situation. "We still have power cuts," stated Ekhlief Tarawneh, dean of student affairs at Muta University.
"We have so many problems with funding and facilities that e-learning is just too far ahead for us. We're slowly working towards it, and once we get the infrastructure and training in place, I think we'll see a natural adaptation. But at the moment, for us, Maan University and, if it goes ahead, the new university that is planned, lack of electricity is a major problem," he said.
Class sizes are another issue. "We are accepting more students than we can really handle at the moment, due to growing demand from students, and political and financial pressure to accommodate them. There can be 60 to 70 students in a class meant for 20, which again is not compatible with the idea of a multimedia classroom," added Tarawneh.
As well as these practical problems, there are concerns that e-learning may simply not be the best way to teach. Shtaywy Abdalla, vice president for academic affairs at the University of Jordan, explained: "Many people, here and at some of the best universities abroad, are critical of IT-based learning. The trend in Western universities is still for students to have personal contact with professors. I made a point of talking to visiting academics from universities in the UK and US and even for them, a total switch to e-learning is some way off, if it comes at all. The Internet provides supporting material and is a good research tool but it can't replace core teaching. Where it does work for us, is in linking our students to another university for distance learning in the few courses where we don't have qualified teachers."
Another issue is the lack of explicit instructions coming from the Ministry of Higher Education. "We've had no clear directives," stated Abdalla. "We've learnt about the objectives from the minister's comments in newspapers."
The ministry has published an action plan for implementing the national strategy for ICT in higher education, which none of the universities referred to. A copy obtained by The Jordan Times shows that while there are eight detailed parts to the strategy, there are no specific mechanisms or timetables for implementing the reforms.
Despite the confusion, state universities accept that faculty members and students need to be taught to use computers to keep pace in an increasingly IT-dependent world.
Faculty members at all universities are being encouraged to either take the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL), a generic test to ensure basic computer literacy or a similar course designed by their own university. Universities realise that not all staff members are enthusiastic about the plans. As an additional incentive, any faculty member who does not have their ICDL or equivalent will be ineligible for promotion. Anyone looking to join the teaching staff at a state university will also have to be able to use IT in teaching, and course accreditation will depend on the inclusion of IT elements.
"It's really essential this happens," said Ibrahim Al Jazy, director of the University of Jordan's legal affairs department. "At the moment, a large number of our faculty members don't even have basic word processing skills. As well as that, knowing how to search the Internet properly has become essential for developing the content of many courses, especially newer ones such as environmental law."
University teaching staff may have reservations about changing tried and tested teaching methods and the added commitment of learning computer skills, but students across the board are enthusiastic about the changes, saying they prefer taking exams online, and like the fact they can check exam times and other course information through the Internet. "I have been surprised by students' uptake of IT, even amongst those in the humanities faculty," noted Hakam Alhadidi, president of the Hashemite University. The university expects its teaching staff to be IT literate by the end of 2004 and is currently updating its lecture rooms to include multimedia teaching materials.
While the introduction of e-learning may be the most visible sign of teaching changes, Minister of Higher Education Issam Zabalawi is also pushing for another significant shift. "We need to move away from students just memorising notes to making them use analysis and critical thinking." From next semester, he wants students to be introduced to the UK/US model of "student centred" learning. A significant majority of tertiary education teachers in Jordan are graduates of European and American universities and familiar with this method of teaching. Many also prefer it. "Students I taught in the UK were far more motivated than they are in Jordan. At the beginning of each semester they are handed a long reading list and left to get on with it. Students here complain if you give them 20 pages," commented one. But again, although the minister mentioned that faculty members would be offered workshops to help them move to student-centred learning within three years, none of the universities seem to have a clear programme in place for this.
While changes are undoubtedly needed, and the ministry has come up with some sound ideas to upgrade teaching at state universities, their efficacy seems likely to be hindered by a lack of clear-cut directives and practical implementation problems on the ground.
© Jordan Times 2004
