Utilizar un mensaje de voz (Mensaje de voz integrado [MVI])

6.2.1 Background and experience

Hoa has over 10 years’ teaching experience in the mathematics field at EU. She was born into a family of teachers in suburban Hanoi, and was an excellent student in both learning achievement and social activities from primary to high school. Hoa followed her mother’s footsteps to become a student in the FMI. She was selected to study in an advanced class sponsored by the French government. Students studied this class using French as the medium for learning in specialised subjects. She successfully defended her undergraduate thesis in both Vietnamese and French and was invited to become a lecturer at the FMI. She obtained her doctoral degree in Vietnam within the past decade, and has conducted research projects at institutional level. She also published many articles in national scientific journals, and compiled mathematics course-books for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Apart from teaching at the FMI, Hoa has applied her knowledge of innovative practice in private ventures that support student learning.

Due to her social and business roles and her passion for educational research, Hoa has won high admiration from her students. Her students value these qualities which add to her power and reputation as a credible expert.

6.2.2 Professional development

Hoa has taken many short training courses taught by foreign experts in pedagogical skills. In 2005, she participated in a curriculum development course with Dutch experts. In 2006, she was trained to effectively integrate technology in classrooms by Intel and Microsoft experts. During 2007, she studied teaching theories

in higher education taught by German experts. Hoa studied the Lesson Study approach with Japanese experts in 2010. She worked with Danish experts on learning how to develop an integrated curriculum during 2012. Hoa valued these training courses as she has had opportunities to “constantly update advanced knowledge and skills in pedagogy” (DTH, post L2). This inspired her to implement new teaching approaches in her practices; however, she had no specific training course in assessment.

6.2.3 Teaching philosophy

6.2.3.1 Beliefs about learning

As a reflective university student, Hoa recognised that a great deal of research on teaching mathematics for Vietnamese children focused only on high achievers. This caused her to question whether or not a teacher could inspire students by attending to students’ different learning needs, abilities, and attitudes to mathematics. Hoa valued Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory (1993) as this intensified her belief that “each student has her/his own potential. The teacher participates in guiding the students to optimise their potential” (DTH, prior L1). This belief has led her to pursue and adopt the differentiated teaching approach. In the Research Methodology class, Hoa attempted to identify her students’ learning needs using questioning at the outset, to understand their motivations for studying in the FMI and what they thought about the subject. Further, Hoa often observed and conversed with her students to review their learning needs and then adjusted her teaching accordingly.

Hoa stated that she was impressed by Piaget’s cognitive theory premise that students act as constructors in their own learning through interactions with the environment. This confirmed her belief that “learning is performed and done by individuals” (NTH, post L4). According to Hoa, students learn best when they are autonomous learners. Students’ autonomy is characterised by their capability to determine their own goals, and flexibility to adjust their learning process to achieve these goals. As such, Hoa did not check attendance as she believed that “the most important thing is that students achieve their own goals in studying the subject, not their turning up or just studying for exams” (DTH, post L4).

Hoa valued not only students’ autonomy, but also social interactions in the classroom to enhance learning. She believes that to maximise students’ learning, students need to cooperate and interact with other people from whom they can learn,

as she stated: “everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses. When they cooperate in learning, they can learn from each other” (DTH, prior L1). This belief has led Hoa to adopt interactive teaching strategies such as questioning, oral presentation and group discussion in her class, so her students had more opportunities to work together in the co-construction of knowledge. Apart from encouraging students in peer learning, she provided guidance to scaffold learning. Her students were required to conduct their own projects, applying steps of research. They could make an appointment via email to have a meeting with her and receive her suggestions during their project. Hoa’s feedback usually included further explanation or advice to help students understand their topics and research experiences.

Hoa claimed that students’ beliefs and learning habits, and the institutional and classroom learning environment, significantly impacted on their learning approaches. The institutional environment, including facilities, training organisation and policies, curriculum, lecturers’ teaching and assessment methods, are paramount in supporting effective learning. Hoa realised that “although five years ago, EU moved from annual to a credit-based training, there has been little change in practice” (DTH, post L4). Hoa had thought that with the introduction of credit-based training, the University might introduce courses of a generic nature such as essay writing and independent learning skills. She felt disappointed as students are not taught generic learning skills. According to Hoa, teaching these skills should be required to orientate entering students.

Hoa believed that the classroom environment that occurs through interactions and the relationships established by the lecturer and students should be democratic and interactive to support learning. She acknowledged that John Dewey’s Democracy and

Education (2007) had significantly impacted on her view on the interactions between

the teaching environment and effective learning.

Hoa developed trust through her enthusiasm and genuine sharing of her own research experiences, adopting narrative manner to convey her message. She explained her motivations and how she developed her research ideas while a student at the FMI. Hoa was interested in finding out how students who struggled in learning mathematics studied and how to help these students enjoy studying the subject. She pursued this idea over ten years despite difficulties. Hoa explained the research process and its

findings with her students, and how she and her colleagues have applied these findings to improve learning mathematics at schools.

Students in the focus groups highly appreciated Hoa’s personal experience, as one student said: “we were students and had no experience in doing research. The lecturer’s transmission of her experiences was very helpful” (Thu, FG, post L1). The student’s statement highlights the importance of understanding and catering for students’ preferences in learning support. Hoa’s enthusiasm, personal narrative and authentic experiences made research an exciting process with theoretical, practical, and commercial implications. These factors engaged and motivated her students. They emphasised that hearing the lecturer’s own research experiences not only assisted them in “recalling theoretical knowledge on the subject” (Thu, Thong, Hang, FG, post L1), but also “inspired them to self-assess their learning goals” (Nam, Hang, FG, post L1). Moreover, open and genuine sharing created a “rapport between the lecturer and students” (all students, FG, post L1). Sociocultural theorists have argued that a trusting relationship is a supportive factor for learning in a community of practice (Contu & Willmott, 2003; Lave & Wenger, 1991). This benefit was clearly displayed in the experiences of the interviewed students.

Further, Hoa encouraged students to question and discuss topics related to the subject. She rarely commented immediately on students’ responses or work. Instead, she encouraged them to think deeply with her guiding questions. She also waited for peer discussion to complete her comments on both the presenting group and class contributions. Hoa seemed to limit her own remarks on students’ work as she did not want to impose her ideas on her students. The interviewed students appreciated her efforts to engage them in co-construction of knowledge. Giang claimed: “The way she taught was different from other lecturers in my faculty. She was always open for discussions” (Giang, FG, post L1).

6.2.3.2 Belief about assessment

Hoa values the importance of assessment in the support of learning, as she said:

Assessment is like a tail of a fish to help the fish move. Assessment acts as the direction for learners to understand expected learning outcomes and

Hoa shared assessment criteria in written form with her students and recorded their progress through the entire subject. Instead of using a written final exam, similar to other colleagues, Hoa chose an oral exam, as she believed that this required students to learn more thoroughly and also help them to practise speaking skills, which are critical for teachers.

6.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CLASS