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| Issue 9 | May 2003 |
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This issue focuses on Cultural Differences in Teaching and Learning Styles.
To introduce the section here is an article written by Tim Moore of Monash University,
which looks at the key to successful academic study - critical thinking. On
pages 4 and 5 you will find comments from students studying overseas. We hope
you will find the information in this section interesting and helpful.
One of the educational values that is thought to be integral to the Australian education system is critical thinking. But what does this involve? One view is that critical thinking involves a general belief that knowledge is always "provisional". By this we mean that there are never final and definitive answer to questions. To take a famous example from the history of science, the great twentieth century scientist, Albert Einstein, felt it was necessary to reject the mechanical model of nature originally proposed by Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century and accepted without question for nearly 300 years. In the face of strong criticism from his peers, Einstein proposed a revolutionary new theory - his now famous theory of relativity to explain the nature of matter and radiation. It may come as some relief to know that, as a student studying in Australia, you will not be expected to perform the same intellectual feats as an Einstein. But you should try to be just a bit 'Einsteinian' in your approach - that is, to feel that you do not necessarily have to accept as absolutely true all that you read or are told. In particular, you need to try to develop the skill of judgment - to decide whether a theory (or an explanation or a solution or a method or whatever) is a good one, whether it could be improved in some way, whether there might be an alternative theory etc. Well, not necessarily. We find when we look at different disciplines (like literature or engineering or education) that the bases by which we make judgments can be a bit different. For example, in literature, we will judge a literary work (novel or poem) according to certain literary criteria - the way that language is used, or how well the characters are drawn etc. In engineering, a particular solution or technique will be judged mainly in terms of certain practical considerations - for example, whether it works and whether it is cost effective. And in education, a teaching method will be judged mainly in terms of whether it leads to successful learning outcomes. But whilst these specific criteria may be different in each case, it is fair to say that the same critical habit of mind is needed in whichever field you are studying.
Do students from different countries have the same critical capacities? These are much-debated questions - and ones that lead to different answers. One view held by a number of writers, including the influential commentators, Ballard and Clanchy, is that some educational cultures place less emphasis on a critical approach than others. In these "less critical" cultures, according to Ballard and Clanchy, students are required mainly to just accept and reproduce the knowledge that is presented to them in their schooling, and thus their critical abilities may be a bit restricted.
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But my experience working at an Australian university with students from a range of countries, suggests to me that the issue is not really whether these students are critical thinkers or not - many demonstrate that they are, regardless of the country they have completed their education in. The issue is more whether they are critical communicators - that is whether they are able to express their judgments effectively in a new language - English. This, I think, is the main challenge.
And finally don't be put off by the judgments of others about your abilities. Remember that Einstein left school at the age of 15, with his teachers insisting that he would never be anything more than an average student! (Tim Moore, Monash University, Australia) B. Ballard & J. Clanchy (1988). Studying in Australia. Malaysia: Longman
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