Cross-cultural active learning: Results from Americans teaching in China

Abstract

What are the experiences of Chinese students taking engineering courses taught in English by American professors using active learning techniques? Case studies of three such courses are explored in this work. Specifically, two American professors taught courses in English to about 90 students whose native language was Chinese. These courses included a required Electronics course for electrical engineering sophomores, a seminar on Medical Device Product Development within a required Biomedical Instrumentation course for juniors in biomedical engineering, and a lecture series on New Product Development for first year honors students. All courses included homework teams and active learning techniques in the classroom. Surveys were given to students throughout the courses. Statistical analyses of these surveys show that the Chinese students valued the homework team experience and believed that it helped them learn although some variation is seen among the courses. Peer evaluations of teamwork also showed that students responded well to homework teams. Despite considerable variation in their comfort with speaking English, the students did well in these courses taught in English with active learning techniques.