Prague Journal

Thursday, February 03, 2005.

Yesterday’s snow has turned to rain and the warmer weather has turned most of the snowy places on the ground to ice and slush. I met Eva at her house this afternoon, to talk about the cases and chapters we are writing for Martin’s book. We still have a lot of work to do, and little time to meet the publisher’s deadline. I’m glad I’m only a bit player here, and also that I am not teaching. Eva is much busier than I am because she’s involved in departmental meetings – they are going through a re-accreditation process this month – and preparing for the start of classes next week, in addition to the case study research we’re doing and Martin’s book project.
There are a lot of legal changes going on in higher education here. A new school law took effect on January 1, 2005, the intent of which is to eliminate the traditional “drill” method of teaching and adopt more modern and varied teaching methods that require the active participation of students in class. While this law is aimed at basic education, pressure is being put on universities to adopt more innovative teaching approaches as well. Few teachers have experimented with experiential learning methods and European students are not accustomed to responding in class, working in teams, or presenting in front of a group. Most classes are still traditional lecture, with no graded assignments during the term. Only a final exam (which is often oral, or a combination of written and oral) determines the grade for the class. (Students are usually allowed three chances to pass the exam. They are not allowed to retake a class.) Eva and Martin’s department (Managerial Psychology and Sociology) is quite innovative, but other departments in the School of Business Administration are not. I am scheduled to talk about interactive teaching and experiential learning as part of a faculty-wide colloquium on the 24th of February.
The bulk of my day was spent catching up on the pile of e-mails that are now sitting in my inbox, preparing my Fulbright presentation for next week, and working on revisions to three manuscripts (two are case studies). These always take longer than I think they should, but at least I can see progress. Martin said he is happy with my revision of the chapter for his book, and so am I. He has given Eva some suggestions for three of our cases, all of which are good, so I am grateful his comments before we send the English-language versions for journal review.

posted by JWinn @ 10:40 PM