Mine - Proceeding1

2010
Reform in Higher Education: Challenges and Prospects

Proceedings of MINE 1st Conference
Casablanca, 23-25 April 2010
MINE: Moroccan Inter-university Network of English

[Pick the date]

Proceedings of MINE 1st Conference
Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief Mohamed Yeou Associate Editors Abdelaziz Boudlal Mohamed Boulahwane Abdelmajid Bouziane Taoufik Jaafari Fouzia Lamkhanter Abdeljebbar Mediouni Abdelkader Sabil Mohamed Sghir Syad
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Contents
List of contributors
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Preface Paulo Freires Educational Project or a Plea for Critical Thinking

Abdelkader Sabil
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Incorporating intercultural knowledge into the English curriculum

Chakib Bnini
A project-based learning approach to teaching language classes in Moroccan Higher Education: Benefits, promises and constraints
Reddad Erguig
The integration of E-learning Technology in Two Moroccan Faculties: Insights from Experience 19
Samir Diouny & Mohamed Bennani Othmani
The EFL student and the pedagogical reform at Mohamed V University, Agdal, Rabat 25
Samia Belyazid
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Contributors
Samia Belyazid, Department of English, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Mohamed V University, Rabat. Mohamed Bennani Othmani, Medical Informatics Laboratory, Medical School of Casablanca Chakib Bnini, Department of English, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Ben Msik, Casablanca. Samir Diouny, Department of English, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El-Jadida. Reddad Erguig, Department of English, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El-Jadida. Abdelkader Sabil, Department of English, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El-Jadida.
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Preface
Like elsewhere, higher education in Morocco has been undergoing important reforms but the outcomes need more revisions to reach stakeholders aspirations. The reports issued by both national organisations such as the Superior Council of Education, the COSEF, R&D Maroc etc. and international ones such as the World Bank have all called for more drastic measures in the hope of improving education practices. The emergency plan (plan durgence) has been introduced hoping to retool the reform and, as a result, many projects are being put in place. Recently, new curricula have been suggested and are gradually being implemented. Structurally, many changes have taken place: filire and master new formats, system of accreditation, research labs, and doctoral colleges. It is the intent of MINE first annual conference to look into these matters and evaluate them in light of careful evaluation, with a view to suggesting conceptions and ways for better performance within the department of English Studies. Given the importance of these issues that are of common concern to all those involved with graduate and postgraduate studies in English, MINE association has brought its contribution to the on-going debate on English studies by organising this conference. The papers present in this volume try to negotiate the need for reform, each from its own perspective. MINE association has cherished the hope to include all the papers presented during the conference, but unfortunately MINE received only the five papers published in this volume. Their concern bespeaks the authors own view-points and are their own responsibility.
Paulo Freires Educational Project or a Plea for Critical Thinking
Abdelkader SABIL
This paper is an intervention in the on-going debate on the role of education and the teaching of critical thinking in Moroccan university educational system. The paper departs from the seminal work of Paulo Freire (1970&1993), Pedagogy of the Oppressed. It also raises questions as to the possibility of setting up classes for students to develop some sort of critical thinking and the possible ways of integrating such thinking in the curricula. Introduction: Paulo Freires Educational Project Freires project starts with argument that educations immediate telos is to develop some sort of individual awareness of the reality one is living; otherwise, it becomes oppressive. To Freire, everyday reality experience is the only source of knowledge. Reality, then, is somehow hermeneutic. In that, the individuals reality is subjective. It is, in other terms, a continuous construct wherein the individual is a part and parcel. To this effect, the act of learning turns out to be a means of emancipation from the oppressor. Learning is twofold: developing consciousness and liberating. In this process, learning is constructive. It cannot be limited to awareness of reality alone, but a condition for the individuals freedom from the long engrained oppression residuals of fear; hence, the necessity for critical thinking as the one way for social improvement. 1. Who Needs Educational Reform? Reform in education has been one of the main concerns of the successive Moroccan governments since the independence. Every time the educational question is raised, the state makes resort to technocrat experts far from the field of education to find remedies to the so called educational systems. For long, this system has been subject to changes, but to no avail. The immediate remedy proposed has been to relate learning to work. This has emptied the role of education from its primordial function: to develop social awareness and civism in individuals. Education simply grows to be some kind of training for the job market. The outcome of this has been a series of failures wherein the victims are both teachers and students. The university is reduced to a mere vocational center; anything that has to do with critical thinking has been hyphened off. Students, too, take to learning by heart and parroting whatever information teachers have imparted to them, believing that undertaking personal research will simply reduce their chances of success. Personal
effort, in all this process, is neglected. Perhaps this boils down to the nature of the educational reform system itself, which apparently purports not to warrant some sort of intellectual independence, but rather the creation of a Panurjan herd. Students concerns are to get a degree in a very short lapse of time regardless of the quality of their learning. This, of course, has resulted into the creation of a whole generation with devaluated degrees, and with no sense of social belonging. To borrow from, Mohammed Guessous, a Moroccan sociologist, the educational system has created a whole generation of hyenas. The question that poses itself is who needs reform. A possible answer would be, to use Freires terms, the oppressor, here, the political elite. This elite has it that the populace should never rise. Another question persists: to whom this situation will benefit. One needs to understand that reforms are more political than educational in their concerns. In that, the political prevails over the social, which is educational par excellence. In other words, education is primordial in any social development as it purports to develop some sense of self-affirmation and identity. To borrow from Martin Heidegger, the university becomes a tool whereby one confirms ones subjectivity. In this respect, both the student and the teacher will have to work towards some sort of intellectual independence because, following Heidegger, knowledge is the highest form of praxis. The universitys role is not to provide vocational training, but rather to help in promoting self-consciousness and independence to be constructive. Once this objective is denigrated, society merges into darkness and social crisis. 2. Reform and Economic Dependence That is the case of Moroccan educational project. It has now and then been subject to ups and downs simply because those in charge do not answer the call of the populace to be enlightened, but to the orders of foreign institutions like the World Bank or the IMF. The financial dependence of Morocco on those institutions has forced the way for this abysmal situation. The educational system, as a result, becomes the field of a series of experimentations, but the immediate outcome has been all the time failure and emptying the university of its basic function: to be the stronghold of knowledge. History has it that change should come from within not form the outside. To this effect, teachers unions, particularly University teachers union, have proposed their own insights of reform, but were marginalized (1985). A little bit of history is to provide us with some insight into this situation. Up to the early 70s, universities have been the strongholds of enlightenment. Teachers and students alike merge in the concerns of society, be them economic or political. Students were part of the process of political change and sometimes force that change. Students debates and challenge of the authority of their teachers as knowledge custodians have made it possible for a large number of students, each in his/her field, to become themselves social critics. They even devised their own philosophy of life as knowledge, for them, was the highest form of existence without which they would be faces of horror, bodies without souls. In a Heideggerian sense, the university and peoples existence conjoin in the quest for knowledge. This Heideggerian concern meets that of Freire, of course with certain variations. Freires starting point is literacy in its general sense: to know how to read and write. This concern has developed to become a source
of consciousness. In this respect, knowledge, for either Freire or Heidegger, is concomitant with existence. Freires philosophy of education was somehow unconsciously implemented, particularly, his notions of dialogue and praxis. Some would be critics would argue that Freires educational treatise was meant for informal education. My answer to those is that the Moroccan student is in no better situation than that of the peasants in either Chile or Brazil, of course, with special and temporal and spatial differences to be taken into account. Freires objective, in short, is to empower the peasant via access to knowledge. To his belief, a member of any society who fails to read and write loses the sense of existence and identity. Dialogue and praxis become the only means whereby the peasant can overcome his/her limitations. They can grant him/her the capacity to fashion her/his social being. The same is true for the Moroccan student. He/she is to be given some sort of leeway to set up his/her own identity. This brings to the role of the teacher in this enterprise. 3. The Role of the Teacher I do believe that the role of the teacher is of paramount importance. He or she is responsible for developing critical thinking in students. His/her approach should allow students to act as independent and discriminating entities. Here one would agree with Antonin Gramsci (1970) concerning the role of the intellectual. The teacher is supposed to be intellectual. In this respect, his role is that of the Organic Intellectual, to borrow from Gramsci. For Gramsci, the Organic Intellectual is in charge of illuminating his people and bringing them to consciousness. Being always situated in history, the teacher/intellectual should operate within the same cultural context. Her/his act is cultural and culture cannot be separated from politics. Teaching, in this, should not be separated from the historical actuality of socio-economic and cultural forces. Without teachers/intellectuals, society will remain fragmented and voiceless. Praxis, again, here critical thinking, brings together the teacher/intellectual and the simple/ student to raise an intellectual moral bloc that can smooth intellectual progress. 4. Concluding Statement So far the argument has been to grant students some sort of power with a view to developing critical thinking. My stand is that critical thinking is not to be taught, but encouraged in students via allowing them freedom to voice their opinions. In this way, students education will be more productive. I can but concur with Philip Coombe (1968) when he argues that what is needed is not an educated person, but an educable person who can acclimatize to any changing context. What one needs to understand is that education is cultural and cannot work outside this framework. As such it is a prerequisite to whatsoever progress as it immediate concern is the individual social development. Freires argument, in fine, becomes more than legitimate.
Incorporating intercultural knowledge into the English curriculum
Chakib BNINI
Our students learn English as a foreign language (EFL); that is they learn the language while living in their own country. They also learn English as an international language (EIL) so as to be able to communicate with non-native speakers. In both situations, however, they have little or no access to the target culture and consequently, no possibility to develop their intercultural competence. In this paper, I will argue that the intercultural approach is necessary for helping students to engage in successful communication with representatives of other cultures and to respect and tolerate different world cultures.
I will argue in this paper, following Corbett (2003) and Chlopek (2008), that it is high time we displaced our focus and changed our goals from teaching English in order to achieve native speaker proficiency, which is often unattainable, to teaching English in order to achieve intercultural communicative competence, without forsaking our aim to improve and develop our students linguistic skills. I will also try to elaborate on the reasons which would justify the incorporation of intercultural knowledge in our English curriculum. But, to start with, I would like first to shed some light on the concepts of culture and interculture. I will conclude by putting forward a few suggestions regarding some ways of implementing the intercultural approach. 1. Definition of culture Defining culture, according to David Katan (1999:16) is not just an academic exercise; the definition is necessary to determine how culture is perceived and how it is to be taught. One of the most frequently cited definitions of culture was given by the English anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in 1871. This definition is found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. It says: Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Another equally illuminating definition is formulated by Loveday (1981: 34): (Culture) involves the implicit norms and conventions of a society, its methods of going about things, its historically transmitted but also adaptive and creative ethos, its symbols and its organisation of experience.
From the different definitions of culture proposed, an interesting distinction was made between two types of culture: big-C culture and small-c culture. The big-C culture is concerned with literature and factual knowledge about history and certain national and political institutions. The small-c culture consists of a wide variety of aspects which may be grouped into two classes: 1) the class of unspoken rules of behaviour, which includes assumptions, beliefs and values, and 2) the class of norms and perceptions which subsumes social relationships, customs, celebrations and rituals. Many of the elements within these classes are interrelated. According to Chlopek (2008), these unspoken rules are given to us from birth, and are therefore hidden, deeply internalized and subconscious. We become aware of their existence only when we encounter another culture. These hidden rules have a tremendous influence on the way people think, their linguistic behaviour and their nonlinguistic behaviour. They also influence our interpretations and expectations of other peoples linguistic and non-linguistic behaviour. The type of culture which is of relevance to the topic of this paper is the second one; that is, it is the culture which is invisible, internal shared by a cultural community. Moreover, it is a culture that is acquired naturally and unconsciously through informal watching and hearing (Katan 1999: 32) and which usually takes place before the formal and conscious learning of culture at school. The term informal, which is used to refer to this second level of culture, points out the fact that there are no rules to follow, that in fact this level of culture is learnt unconsciously or out-of-awareness , to use the term employed by Halle (1982). According to Halle, it is this out-of-awareness level that we respond to emotionally and identify with. To back up this point, he raises the case of connotative meaning, which is, as is commonly known, culturally and socially determined; that is, it is acquired out-ofawareness. In other words, our response to the connotative meaning of an expression is a response to the out-of-awareness cultural meaning attached to it. To illustrate this point, some examples from Arabic can be given, and then contrasted with their equivalents in English. Example 1 below is translated into English as She is divorced. Example 2 is translated as He is a dog. Whereas example 1 has a number of connotations in Moroccan society, some of which are mentioned below, its English translation does not evoke any of these, according to the feedback which I tried to elicit from a colleague, a British native speaker. Similarly, example 2, according to my informant, has none of the cited connotations except that it would be impolite to talk about somebody using the word dog. 1 Connotations - She is to blame for the divorce, not the husband . - She has a low social status.
- She knows other men. 2 Connotations He is unclean He has no self-respect He does not allow angels to come into a house
In short a person who encounters an unfamiliar culture will lack knowledge of certain behaviours (verbal and non-verbal), which may lead to amusing situations and even miscommunication (Chlopek 2008). This happens because he / she are unaware of the unspoken rules behind these behaviours. Even worse, this lack of knowledge may lead to the formation of a distorted picture of a particular society and its culture. 2. Definition of interculture Intercultural communicative competence refers to the ability to understand the language and behaviour (informal culture) of the target community and then explain it to members of the home community and vice-versa (Corbett 2003). The main goal of this approach is not achieving native speaker competence. According to Byram (1997 b), intercultural communicative competence includes five sub-types of knowledge: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Knowledge of self and other Knowing how to interpret and relate information Knowing how to be critically aware of cultural behaviour Knowing how to discover cultural information Knowing how to be; how to relativise oneself and value the attitudes and beliefs of the other.
3. The need for the intercultural communicative approach Our students learn English as a foreign language in EFL classes in their own country; they have little access to the culture of the target language and more particularity the informal culture. The incorporation of the intercultural approach will surely help our students function more successfully with representatives of the target language culture by making them alert to cultural differences and thereby helping them to deal with situations that may otherwise lead to humorous incidents, or even worse, communication breakdown and misunderstanding.
Given the fact that English is now used internationally (English as an international language (EIL)), extending the intercultural approach to deal with users of English from non-English-speaking countries would also most certainly help our students appreciate, tolerate and respect the different world cultures (Chlopek 2008). 4. Suggestions for intercultural activities According to Chlopek (2000), the implementation of the intercultural approach in an EFL class will consist of activities that will target three different stages. In stage 1, the stress will be put on the students own culture. Stage 2 will deal with the British and American cultures. Stage 3 will be about cultures from other parts of the world. The purpose of the activities in Stage 1 is to encourage students to observe their cultures objectively. Activity 1: The concept of culture is discussed in class and then the students work in groups to classify the different aspects of culture. For homework, students are asked to observe their own culture and then note down some of its aspects. Activity 2: Students work in groups, compare their observations and look at them critically. A class discussion about the findings then follows. Activity 3: In groups, students read and listen to descriptions of their own culture given by representatives of other cultures. Among the activities that can be used in Stage 2, I will concentrate on those related to interactional conversations and genre analysis. Interactional conversations pose many problems for the learner; these have to do first with differences in the conversation patterns between languages ( more particularly, the periods of silence, and the paralinguistic features of body language and personal space); second, interpreting conventional implicatures ( irony, understated criticism and indirect affirmation/ denial such as : Is the Pope Catholic? and Do dogs have fleas?).(Examples given by Hassan Ghazala 1995). Analysing genres (i.e. the conventionalized forms of texts) can also be used in intercultural activities, especially with regard to writing. Thus, a genre-based approach to teaching writing will assist students in writing according to the cultural norms of the target language. References Byram, M. (1997a) Cultural Studies and Foreign Language Teaching. In Bassnett (ed.) Studying British Cultures (pp. 53-64). London: Routledge.
Chlopek, Z. (2008) The Intercultural Approach to EFL Teaching and Learning. English Teaching Forum 46 (4): 10-19. Corbett, J. (2003) An Intercultural Approach to English Language Teaching. Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto, Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Ghazala, H. (1995) Translation as Problems and Solutions. Beirut: Dar wa Maktabat Al-Hilal. Hall, Edward T. (1982) The Hidden Dimension. New York: Doubleday. Katan, D. (1999) Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing. Loveday, C. (1981) The Sociolinguistics of Learning and Using a Non-native Language. Oxford: Pergamon.
A PROJECT-BASED learning approach to teaching language classes in Moroccan Higher Education: Benefits, promises and constraints
Reddad ERGUIG
This paper is based on an online course I have completed on Project-Based Learning (PBL). It raises the issue of the extent to which a PBL approach can be implemented in the teaching of English language classes in Moroccan Higher Education. Recent academic debates in Morocco have been dominated by a strong emphasis on issues of infrastructure, and the goal of the present paper is to redress the lack of balance within such debates by stressing the benefits of PBL as a pedagogical tool that should form part of the "funds of knowledge" of ELT professionals. While the aim of this paper is to offer a definition of PBL and to review its characteristics, benefits and potential outcomes, strong emphasis is laid on the extent to which such an approach to language teaching/learning can be successfully implemented within the Moroccan socio-cultural context. The paper concludes with a call to ELT professionals in tertiary education to try this approach and to assess the outcomes in future meetings. 1. Introduction The aim of this paper is to discuss Project-Based Learning (henceforth PBL) as an approach to English language teaching and learning that could enhance teaching instruction and promote students learning. First, I will provide a concise background about the education sector in Morocco. Then I will define PBL and discuss its characteristics and benefits for both teachers and learners. Particular emphasis is laid on the discussion of the potential outcomes of the implementation of such an approach. I will then highlight the situational constraints specific to the Moroccan context that challenge the effective implementation of PBL. Finally, I will argue that, given its potential benefits and despite the existing constraints, PBL is worth trying out in our tertiary education English language classes. 2. Background The public education sector in Morocco has undergone several reforms since Independence in 1956 (see Merrouni, 1996, for a review). However, the recent Reform launched at the turn of the century is considered the most comprehensive. The National charter of education and training marked an important change in the Moroccan education policy. When it was launched in 2000, education was made a national priority and a social duty of the State based on the conception that it is crucial for socioeconomic development (Charte Nationale, 2001. Education was given second
priority after the territorial question related to the Moroccan Sahara, and all the parties and resources have been mobilized to partake of this "national campaign". The Reform in Higher Education started to be implemented in the 2003-4 academic year. New filires were created, and faculty from different departments of English started to meet and share feedback and concerns relating to a variety of Higher Education matters. One of the first academic meetings took place in Mohamedia in February 2006 and it addressed issues related to "English Studies: Issues and Perspectives". It was followed by another one in El Jadida in April 2006, and it focused on "English Language Teaching and the Reform of University Studies: The Current State and Future Perspectives". A third one was organized in Agadir in November 2006, and it was again concerned with "The Educational Reform: Pedagogical and Practical Considerations and Recommendations". The academics who took part in these conferences addressed issues pertaining to the New Reform in Higher Education and its impact on both instruction and learning. However, although the participants in these events provided different types of evaluations of the Reform, they mostly focused on issues related to infrastructure. In the opinion of many, the New Reform was not a complete success due to factors such as the lack of the basic equipments and pedagogical tools, insufficiency of teachers, and large classes (among others). Although it is undeniable that the availability of the necessary infrastructure is crucial for a successful implementation of such a large-scale reform as the one in which we are currently involved in Morocco, I believe that there is a strong need for a balance in the academic discourse produced around such a Reform. In addition to raising issues related to infrastructure, we should equally be concerned with questions of quality teaching and learning. Within this framework, the present paper is intended to offer a discussion of PBL as a pedagogical tool that should form part of the funds of knowledge of ELT professionals in order to enhance teachers instruction and promote students learning. 3. What is PBL? PBL is a teaching approach in which learning is organized around projects in addition to textbook reading, lectures and a variety of other activities leading to an end result such as presentation or publication of the outcomes of such projects. Students are engaged in complex, real-life issues and they are expected to develop and apply skills and knowledge in a variety of contexts. They are expected to draw on all the resources available to them so as to successfully engage in purposeful and real-life tasks. As defined by the Buck Institute for Education (2010), "PBL is a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks". Subscription to a PBL approach implies that emphasis is laid on the students themselves and on the learning process. Of paramount importance is whether learning has taken place, not whether the teacher has taught well. The major concern is the development of the students not just as a learner of the language but also as a person and life-long learner. S/he is fully engaged in the learning process which takes place over a number of sessions. When planning and implementing their projects, students suggest, clarify,
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organize, reshuffle, interpret and reflect on ideas. Their completion of their projects is a point when they demonstrate what they have learned by presenting products to members of their school and possibly the community. The ultimate goal of PBL is to enhance students teamwork spirit and to involve them in the construction of knowledge. The learners become members of a learning community or a community of practice who learn collaboratively and share resources and goals (Wenger, 1998). 4. Characteristics, benefits and potential outcomes of PBL PBL is a holistic approach to language teaching. Unlike traditional approaches which view language teaching as a set of discrete stages and in which stress is laid on one language item at a time, PBL is based on the idea that students are involved in the whole project of language learning. This approach creates a "constructivist" learning environment in which students construct their own knowledge. Whereas in the "old school" model the teacher was the task master, in the "new school" model the teacher becomes the facilitator. The teachers role becomes that of a coach, a supervisor and facilitator rather than a lecturer and an information provider. Research has also shown that PBL has the following characteristics. The classroom has an atmosphere that tolerates error and change, and students engage in a project where they make decisions within a prescribed framework and design the process for reaching solutions. They choose the object of their projects and plan the different stages of such projects. With the help of their instructor and his/her guidance, the students carry out all the stages of the project from planning the project to presenting their results or findings in the form of presentations, reports, essays, etc. This also entails that they solve any problem they encounter while working on their projects. Working within such an atmosphere, students self-dependently gain access to the information they need, and they are responsible for managing it for purposes related to their project (Global SchoolNet, 2000). Interestingly, within PBL students are continuously evaluated as they complete their projects, and they also participate in defining the criteria and rubrics by which their work will be evaluated. Thus, they learn more effectively compared with the traditional (teacher-centered) instruction because assessment becomes an impetus for them to learn and they constantly reflect on what they are doing (Global SchoolNet, 2000; Buck Institute for Education, 2010). The use of PBL as a teaching approach has the potential to enhance students learning and develop their mastery of English. As they engage in their own projects, students are offered a golden opportunity to develop a sense of autonomy. As they form groups and cooperate to complete a project, they can choose their own partners and select the pace at which they can complete their projects, for they are involved in the learning process rather than rely on the teacher to spoon-feed them. They also develop the sense of responsibility as they carry out the different tasks that relate to their own projects. While doing this, they compete with other students and strive to make the best achievement. Given the nature of the task at hand, students also develop their research skills whether these relate to the use of print resources in the school or community library or the online resources available on the Web. Moreover, when students are actively involved in a project, their motivation to learn develops and academic achievement
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increases (Buck Institute for Education, 2010). Indeed, there is strong evidence that "the instructional strategies and procedures that make up standards-focused Project Based Learning are effective in building deep content understanding, raising academic achievement and encouraging student motivation to learn" (Buck Institute for Education, 2010). Furthermore, beyond the level of the individual, the implementation of PBL brings about a substantial increase in student-student communication and development of the spirit of teamwork within them. The fact that students carry out a task as a group over a period of time requires that they share the work among themselves and assign tasks to each member of the group; hence different-level students partake of the learning task. As a flexible teaching and learning approach, PBL also has potential outcomes for teachers as well. PBL is a particularly enabling pedagogical tool for teachers in that it also allows them to take account of the variety of students learning styles and habits of mind. When designing the overall project, teachers are highly encouraged to find out and take account of - the students preferred learning style; one may even be so overt as to try to negotiate with students the issue of learning style. Teachers awareness of their students learning styles is instrumental in helping them to anticipate the difficulties that they may face and suggest relevant solutions. Because a group of students may have a wide range of learning styles - ranging from the active to the reflective and from the auditory to the visual (see Soloman & Felder, undated) it is recommended that a teacher should teach in a manner that can cater for the learning styles and needs of the majority of students because one cannot possibly teach each student according to his/her own learning style. Interestingly, Felder (2007) argues that in the same way that learners have different learning styles (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, etc.), teachers also have different teaching styles (lecturing, involving students, etc.), and it is crucial that students and teachers should have somewhat similar learning/teaching styles for learning to take place.
5. Evaluation within PBL Within the PBL evaluation system, assessment is favored over testing. Testing or summative assessment takes place at the end of a course or a program and is intended to measure the learning outcomes; whereas assessment or formative assessment takes place throughout the course or program and aims to check the progress students make while they are engaged in the learning process. The goal of assessment within a PBL approach is to inform teaching and also enhance learning. It allows students to obtain feedback in due time so that they can learn from and make up for their mistakes. Assessment is therefore not simply a tool used to rank students and judge their performance but rather it is a way of engaging them in the learning process, and as such it is an essential component of learning rather than a separate issue. Indeed, research has also shown that there is a strong link between assessment, students motivation and learning (McMillan, 2000). Besides engaging students in the learning process and enhancing their motivation to learn, assessment can also inform instruction: continuous or formative assessment of students performance allows teachers to reflect on the course they teach and make changes that can boost students learning. On the basis of the feedback that teachers obtain about the way they teach a course, they can improve
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their teaching practices reorder the sections in their course, provide more supplementary material in another or delete a section altogether. In short, assessment within PBL is part and parcel of the teaching and learning processes (see Hancock, 1994; McMillan, 2000). PBL is also based on the premise that no assessment tool can be absolutely reliable (McMillan, 2000). The triangulation of evaluation methods and tools is a fundamental feature of the assessment system of such an approach. Thus, to avoid the hit and miss strategy which consists in administering one test, it is advisable to use different tools and to assess students at different points in the course. When implementing PBL, I personally try to combine both testing and assessment. Formative and summative assessment can be complementary, and their combination is very useful for students, teachers and decision makers (Spolskys, 1992, as cited in Hancock, 1994). In addition to the midterm test and the final exam that my university students have to take in each one of the 16-week semesters, I also administer quizzes and occasionally have open discussions with them about the progression of the course and the obstacles they face. On the basis of their commentary, I often make changes in my teaching instruction. The rationale behind this is that since students are involved in a project, they need feedback throughout its completion, so there is need for both continuous and terminal assessment. That is, in the same way that students are rewarded for the completed tasks, they also need to be rewarded for the process of its completion. Students also need to have a say in the way they can be assessed because different learners have different learning styles and competencies. Students may be asked to keep a reflective journal in which they record their feedback about the course, and this in turn can be used by the teacher to evaluate the extent to which students have assimilated the course and developed the target skills and competencies.
6. A Sample project Each project that a group of students are asked to carry out is unique, yet most projects include a number of components. First, background information about the course, number, age, language level of the students, and the prerequisites as well as the number of contact hours must be clearly defined. Second, a clear and concise description of the content and the objectives of the project as well as its rationale and ultimate goals should be provided. Third, the benefits that the students will draw from the project together with the challenges that they may face while completing the project and the strategies that could be used to handle them should be identified. Finally, a step-by-step description of the project as well as its assessment plan must be clearly defined and explained to the students (for more details, review the sample project in the appendix at the end of this paper)
7. PBL implementation in Morocco Having defined PBL and reviewed its characteristics and potential outcomes, I would like now to turn to the issue of the extent to which such an approach to English language teaching and learning can be successfully implemented in the Morocco context. First, generally speaking, despite its great benefits, the actual implementation of PBL in any classroom raises several questions. First, different students may have
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different attitudes towards collaborative learning; one may have been educated in a way which does not favor its adequate implementation. If implemented inappropriately or if the context is unfavorable, it could just become a failure and a waste of time. The second issue relates to learning styles: different students may have different study habits, which could affect the project they carry out as a group. The third issue is that of time: for students to form groups and to start performing a give task effectively the teacher should invest some time and energy to bring the students to the stage where they can make real accomplishments. Finally, PBL raises issues of reliability since group and individual performance is a very controversial issue. Some members of a group may learn much more than the others because they are willing and motivated to learn; whereas others who may be less motivated can easily make it without contributing to the completion of the project. Although a teacher can take measures such as asking each member of the group to evaluate the others (as an additional evaluation method), students can still make it without making a satisfactory performance (O'Donnell, 2002). To ensure that all members of the group are actively involved in the project, researchers have put forward suggestions to boost the use of such an approach; namely "assigning specific roles, alternating roles and activities, or requiring that consensus among group members be reached" (O'Donnell, 2002). With specific reference to the Moroccan context, informal discussions with many Moroccan Higher Education ELT professionals have led me to suggest that, although they are not totally opposed to the adoption of such an approach in their classes, they are reluctant to do so because of the numerous situational constraints on its implementation. Most ELT professionals point out that students need a great deal of help with motivation. It is also highlighted that students need pedagogical assistance particularly with the acquisition of the prerequisites; namely languages proficiency, background knowledge and the adequate learning strategies and study habits so that they can satisfy both the current and subsequent academic and professional requirements. Most importantly, teachers agree that students need to develop the sense of autonomy which is an essential feature of any college student. In addition, it is argued there are teacher-related obstacles that face the successful implementation of PBL. For instance, some teachers do not have favorable attitudes towards a pedagogical innovation such as PBL. They consider such an approach a luxury given the overcrowded classrooms and time constraints, etc. Further, an approach such as PBL is viewed by some as threatening their traditional roles as the dominant figure in the classroom and the source of information and knowledge. However, given the benefits of PBL reviewed in the previous sections and despite factors that can obstacle PBL implementation, I would like to argue against such a claim and stress the fact that PBL is a valuable and rewarding teaching and learning approach. PBL implementation cannot happen overnight; it is a long-term pedagogical investment and a way of teaching and learning that should be cultivated among both teachers and students. Efforts should be made to encourage the use of PBL starting from primary school. To this end, PBL should be part of teachers pre-service and in-service training, and emphasis should be laid not only on how to implement or make optimal use of PBL but first and foremost on how to develop positive attitudes towards it as a pedagogical tool. Indeed, it is essential that teachers should be willing to invest time and energy into such an approach so that its implementation can become a reality. Moreover, for these
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efforts to be fruitful, a strong conviction among parents is also needed. Parents awareness of the value of PBL and their knowledge that it is a valuable pedagogical tool are basic requirements so that they can take part in the endeavor to introduce it in the Moroccan Higher Education classes. Finally, curriculum developers and syllabus designers should take into account this approach when designing curricular and syllabi.
Conclusion The aim of this paper has been to define PBL as an approach to language teaching and learning and to discuss its characteristics and the potential outcomes of its implementation. I have highlighted some of the constraints that face the implementation of PBL in the Moroccan Higher Education language classes. I have also tried to argue that given its characteristics, benefits and potential outcomes, PBL is a valuable approach. I would like to conclude with a call to all ELT professional in Morocco to try out PBL. The outcomes of using such an approach can then be assessed in future academic meetings.
References Buck Institute for Education. (2010). What is project-based learning? Retrieved March 20, 2010, from http://pbl-online.org/About/whatisPBL.htm Charte nationale de lducation et de formation, La. (2001). Rabat : Publication du Centre Marocain de lInformation. Felder, R. M. (2007). An Introduction to learning styles: How students learn, how teachers teach, and what usually goes wrong with the process. Transcript. Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://ctl.csudh.edu/SpeakerSeries/Felder.htm Gaer, S. (1998). Less teaching and more learning. Focus on Basics: Connecting Research and Practice, 2, (D). [Electronic version]. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=385 Global SchoolNet. (2000). Harnessing the power of the Web: A tutorial for collaborative project-based learning. Retrieved January 15, 2010, from http://www.globalschoolnet.org/web/index.html Hancock, C. R. (1994). Alternative assessment and second language study. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1995-2/language.htm McMillan, James H. (2000). Fundamental assessment principles for teachers and school administrators. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(8). Retrieved February 2, 2010, from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=8 Merrouni, M. (1996). Al-islah at-taalimi bi Al Maghrib: 1956 1994 [The educational reform in Morocco: 1956-1994]. Rabat: Facult des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines. 15
O'Donnell, A. M. (2002). Cooperative and collaborative learning - theoretical perspectives on collaboration, collaborative learning in dyads and groups, group and individual performance. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1885/Cooperative-CollaborativeLearning.html Soloman, B. A. & Felder, R. M. (undated). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Appendix A sample project 1) Course description: Name of course: Number of students: Age of students: Language level of students: Contact hours: Other information: Writing II 30 19-21 upper-intermediate 1.5 hour (once a week) As a prerequisite to this project, students have been exposed to writing different genres (different types of letters, reports, diaries, and essays, etc) and writing for different purposes (description, argumentation, etc).
2) Project description: This project spans 12 weeks and aims to engage students in writing activities the outcome of which will be a variety of contributions to the school magazine. The ultimate goal is for each group to build on the writing skills they developed in a previous course (Writing I) in order to contribute to this school project through (i) addressing a community issue and (ii) suggesting adequate strategies that can help improve the town in the area that each group chooses to focus on. To this end, students work in groups of three to: choose a topic related to their town (e.g. the environment and garbage, schooling and education, local agriculture, the media, traffic jam, employment, the Internet, or foreign investments, etc); choose a genre (a report, a letter to the city council, a poem, a short story, an article, a caricature, an article or book review, etc); assign tasks for each member of the group; and conduct research (do readings, interview local people, search the web, etc).
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Reform in Higher Education: Challenges and Prospects 3) Rationale: This project is intended to achieve the following objectives: In terms of content skills, this project aims to make students reflect on issues relevant to their community. They are encouraged to (i) identify a specific problem and then (ii) suggest adequate solutions. In terms of standards skills, and drawing on the writing skills that students have already developed in a previous course (Writing I), this project aims to give students the opportunity to acquire more writing skills through carrying out meaningful and authentic writing tasks. Writing in this project is viewed not just as a decontextualized skill of meaning-making but rather a means through which students reflect on issues inextricably linked to their vicinity and then share their ideas with the community at large. 4) Benefits to be drawn from the project: As they engage in this project, students will draw the following benefits: Learn how to work in groups and collaborate with other students to complete a task; Draw on and develop their writing tasks; Carry out writing tasks that satisfy academic requirements and more importantly serve the community by engaging in real-life issues and authentic writing activities; Make a contribution to the school magazine; and thus Reflect on and suggest solutions to problems and issues strongly linked to their community. 5) Possible challenges to be faced: Students may face some or most of the following challenges (among others that may appear in the course of their completion of the project): Difficulty and/or delay in finding partners and thus forming a group; Difficulty and/or delay in carrying out the task which forms the object of the project because of lack of harmony between the members of the group (which may be due to the variety of their learning styles); Difficulty and/or delay in completing the task in due time because of the lack of clarity of the project for the students or their disagreement on which community issue to address; Difficulty in keeping in touch with the other members of the group possibly because some may not be have good research skills (including ICT skills); Failure of the groups to interact among each other and thus to benefit from their feedback; and Failure of some groups to complete and/or submit their project in due time. 6) How the challenges described in Question 5 could be addressed? While allowing room for students to (i) select their partners, (ii) agree on the community issue they are interested in addressing, (iii) choose a genre, and (iv) set up an appropriate time line, the teachers task as a facilitator-coach-counselor should be to observe the progress of the miniprojects at all stages. S/he should particularly attend to the following points and ensure that: The groups are formed and in due time; Each member of the group is assigned a role within the group (leader, researcher, coordinator; time manager) while allowing for some accommodations to be made subsequently); Each group has selected a specific community issue and a genre and also suggested a timeline; There is communication flow between the members of each group and with the teacher (preferably using e-mail as a means of communication);
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Interaction among the different groups is facilitated; Each group is provided with timely and useful feedback; and The mini-projects are completed in due time.
7) Description of the steps and timeline of the project:

Table 1: A week-by-week plan for the implementation of the project Week number 1-2 3-4 task Introduction of the project (its object, objective and goal); and Groups are formed and roles are tentatively assigned. Group formations and role assignment revisited; Agreement on a way of communicating and timesslots when the members would meet outside class; and Groups would think of the community issue to address and the genre (brainstorming). Facilitator and each group agree on the community issue to be addressed and the genre to be selected; Groups suggest the preliminary objectives of their mini-projects; and Groups suggest a timeline. Groups start work on their projects; Groups suggest a sketch or a first draft of their projects; Facilitator supervises the progress students make and provides feedback; Facilitator provides feedback to each group and then to all the groups; and Facilitator ensures that the different groups interact among each other. Groups submit the final version of their projects; Facilitator provides formal feedback to all the groups - each about their mini-projects; Final evaluation of the overall project: facilitator and students exchange feedback about the whole project; emphasis should also be laid on how students assess the project as a learning experience.
5-6
7 and 10
11-12
8) Assessment of the project: The assessment plan for this project will be based on the following rubrics with three level of performance for each rubric (unsatisfactory, satisfactory, and very satisfactory): How effectively students have organized their work and assigned roles; The extent to which students have respected the timeline; The kinds of research that students have carried out and the kinds of data that they have collected (the interviews conducted, information collected readings, reflections, etc); The importance, relevance and clarity of the community issue that the students have chosen; How adequate and realistic are the strategies that students have suggested to handle the community issues they have addressed; How students have presented their final product that is the final shape or the quality of the final product of the project; The feedback that each group offers other groups about their projects; and The feedback that each group provides about the overall project. Therefore, the assessment plan outlined above will be informed by the following: (i) the feedback that each member of the group would be asked to offer about their respective groups, (ii) the evaluation that the whole group would be asked to provide about their own project, and (iii) a class-level evaluation of the OVERALL project.
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The integration of E-learning Technology in Two Moroccan Faculties: Insights from Experience
Samir DIOUNY & Mohamed BENNANI OTHMANI
In recent years there has seen a dramatic increase in the use of e-learning within higher education in different parts of the world. The integration of e-learning in higher education offers a number of advantages compared to classical methods of distance learning. In fact, this new way has changed both teaching and learning through its potential as a source of knowledge, a medium to transmit content, a means of interaction and dialogue. The development of Learning Management System (LMS) methods has generated a much better interactivity (Teachers-students; students-teachers) which is central to the development of communicative language skills. The present paper reviews the experience of e-learning in two Moroccan Faculties: The Faculty of Medicine in Casablanca the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in El Jadida with a view to evaluating both experiences. Introduction Economic, social and technological forces have changed the global economy, and the way of life in the world. Specifically, these forces have revolutionized teaching and learning. Technology, the rapid obsolescence of knowledge and training, the need for just-in-time training delivery, and the search for cost-effective ways have redefined the processes that underlie design, development and delivery of training and education. E-learning is defined as the acquisition and use of knowledge distributed and facilitated primarily by electronic means (Jansen, Hooven, Jgers & Steenbakkers, 2002). It may incorporate synchronous or asynchronous access and may be distributed geographically with varied limits of time. In recent years, e-learning has captured the interest of professionals from different disciplines. North American and Europe have seen real advances in the understanding of different types of e-learning applications. However, if these advances have helped to take care of the special needs of the universities to which they belong, they have not, on the other hand, begun to make an impact in developing countries. For example, in Morocco, little progress has been registered in the field of elearning whether in the area of academic studies, or research. It is with the hope to promote this area of research that the Faculty of Medicine in Casablanca the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in El Jadida used e-learning as teaching and learning tool in 2006. For ease of exposition, the article consists of three sections: Section I discusses the context within which such projects were implemented; section II is devoted to the relative merits of e-learning as a means of teaching and learning. Section III outlines the
experience of two Moroccan Schools, namely the School of Medicine in Casablanca and the School of Letters and Human Sciences in El Jadida. 1. University reform and the integration of E-learning in higher education The reform in the overall Moroccan educational system was elaborated in a national Charter, whose main characteristics were drafted in 1999, then translated in a regular bill in the year 2000. An issue that received the most attention in the new reform was strengthening the link between university studies and the needs of the job market. Degree transparency, the pooling of resources and collaboration instead of stark competition were ingredients of the new educational reform. Changes have affected goals-linking university studies to the needs of the job market, structure- granting universities academic & financial autonomy and content-diversify programs to increase the quality and to attack the problem of waste and repetition. However, the implementation of Higher Education reform experienced a lot of problems and strong resistance from cynics (Diouny, 2006). The designers did not put enough elements and directions to prepare it for an eventual implementation. It was up to different schools to come up with their programs that would translate those directions. Such a situation resulted in improvisation, confusion and chaos. Course objectives were not clearly defined in terms of learners expectations; most programs were characterized by a lot of overlapping which could have been avoided, had coordination taken place. Other obstacles included teachers and students negative attitudes towards the reform and the slow administrative procedures. Updating teachers disciplinary knowledge and expertise, coordinating and widening channels of communication to provide better coordination all needed due attention. The lack of infrastructure and understaffed departments were in the way of teaching students in small groups. It was against this background that the e-learning projects were undertaken. Both e-learning projects offered both teachers and students a golden opportunity to solve a number of problems related with related to the reform in Higher Education. E-learning was a golden opportunity for students who are often absent, who drop out because of social constrains, and who are slow learners. Using this technology would allow them to study at their own pace. For teachers, e-learning gave them the chance to cover a huge program, which could not have been covered, had traditional methods of teaching been implemented. E-learning offers learners a number of advantages (Ruiz, Michael, Mintzer & Leipzig (2006): Control over content, learning sequence, learning pace, and time allowing them to tailor their experiences to meet their personal learning objectives (2006:207. In our context, e-learning appears to be at least as effective as traditional instructor-led methods such as lectures. Students do not see e-learning as replacing traditional instructor-led training but as a complement to it, forming part of a blended-learning strategy. Such a strategy has allowed the shift from a teacher-centered approach to a learners centered approach, where teachers are involved as facilitators of learning. E-learning plays two main roles (Jansen et al. 2002). First, it is seen as a learning environment. E-learning offers students more opportunity to engage in learning activities independently Furthermore, e-learning makes it possible to offer the same
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learning content in various forms. Students themselves can then choose the form which suits them best. Through e-learning the content can be tailored to personal needs (Jansen et al. 2002). Second, e-learning is viewed as a management environment; it can monitor, stimulate, and adjust the learning process by means of various testing, registration, administration and communication possibilities (Jansen et al. 2002). In short, e-learning has a positive impact on the experience of learning (Laurillard, 2004); there is a cultural impact; students are comfortable with e-learning methods, because they are not different from the communications methods they use in their everyday lives; there is an intellectual impact, there is a technological interactivity that offers an online mode of involvement. There is a social impact; students take greater responsibility for their own learning. Lastly, there is a practical impact, e-learning offers the ability to manage quality at scale, and share resources across networks; its greater flexibility of provision in time and place makes it good for widening participation (Laurillard, 2004). 2. E-learning: 2 case studies Before outlining the implementation of e-learning technology at the Faculty of Medicine-Casablanca and the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences-El Jadida, it is very important to say a few words about the participants involved. Both projects involved relatively small groups: 15 students in each group. These students take Master courses (Master in Neuroscience and Master in translation) at both faculties. The platform used is Moodle an open source platform. Before the launching of both projects, a number of training sessions were set up. About 10 teachers and 30 students took part in those sessions. The purpose of the sessions was to train teachers how to devise courses, exercises, and tests. Students were trained how to get online and how to get the maximum out of this technological tool. Let us now examine Case Study 1 below: Master Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine-Casablanca.
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Figure 1: Master Neuroscience (Medical Faculty of Casablanca)
An examination of the platform above reveals the following advantages of e-learning: Using the above platform allowed Master Students in Neurosciences to have access to the lectures, references and web sites; by a simple click, students are directed to these. In addition to this, the platform allowed them to chat with their classmates, ask their teachers/tutors questions they did not understand, and above all, they could record their reaction to the lectures and the assignments given. Such a technique, however, helped teachers to track their students progress; how often they accessed the platform, how many assignments they submitted and the content of their conversation with their classmates. Isnt that amazing? In traditional settings theses advantages would be impossible to achieve. One more advantage of using e-learning technology is time management. Students know ahead of time when assignments are due, when they have exams; this is possible due to the calendar on the right side of the platform. Let us now turn to Case Study 2: Master in translation- Faculty of Letters- El Jadida below.
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Figure 2: Case Study 2: Master in Translation (Faculty of Letters- El Jadida)
In addition to the benefits mentioned above, there are other advantages that e-learning technology offers both teachers and students. You can compose a web page, add a resource, display a dictionary and add an activity as the platform below shows. In the context of Faculty of Letters, the courses were organised differently. At the beginning of each week, students could get on the platform and download the reading material for the chapter to be studied. The class is a kind of forum, where students present their readings and discuss ideas, hence the notion of interactivity. In addition to this students have to post at least two reactions to their classmates comments. Lastly, they have to submit a short paper based on the readings the made. What a wonderful way to involve all the students? By the end of course, the 15 students wrote about 10 short papers each and commented 20 times. There was a cyber cafe, too, where students and teachers interacted; it was a sort of platform, where students raised questions, sought help from a classmate or a teacher. In short, e-learning was used very effectively in both faculties for improving the traditional forms of teaching. Students had web access to the lecture notes and selected digital resources in support of their study, the personalized web environments in which they can join discussion forums with their class or group, and this new kind of access gives them much greater flexibility of study (Laurillard). E-learning could do more if
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universities are to rethink their methods of teaching; they need a management structure that is capable of supporting innovation (Elton, 1999: 215): The process of change must be initiated from both bottom up and top down, with the bottom having the knowledge and the top the power The top must use its power, not overtly and directly, but to facilitate the work from the bottom and to provide conditions under which it can prosper Conclusion The integration of e-learning requires a perfect organization in terms of sequencing and the structuring of courses; we should keep in mind the pedagogical norms and the mastery of technology tools dedicated to this effect (e.g. e-learning platform). Thus, before the launching of an e-learning project, a number of training courses are necessary for teachers and tutors involved. The development of e-learning is a strategy that institutions should adhere to. The success of e-learning projects depends on the degree of involvement of all parties involved (management, faculty, tutors, students, etc) (Bennani. References Bennani M., Diouny, S., Balar, K., (2007). Medical informatics in Morocco: Casablanca medical informatics laboratory. IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics. Diouny, S. (2006). Key issues in reforming university studies: The case of El Jadida. A paper given at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities-Mohammedia. Elton, L., (1999). New ways of learning in higher education: Managing the change, tertiary education and management 5; pp: 207 225. Laurillard, D., (2002). Rethinking university teaching: A conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies (2nd edition) London: Routledge Falmer. Laurillard, D., (2004). E-Learning in higher education in Ashwin, P. (Ed.), Changing higher education. London: Routledge Falmer. Ruiz, J. G., Michael J., Mintzer, MD, and Leipzig, R. M. (2006). The impact of eLearning in medical education. Academic Medicine, Vol. 81, No. 3; pp: 207212. Jansen, W., Hooven, H.M v.d. , Jgers, M. & Steenbakkers, J. (2002). The added value of e-learning
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The EFL student and the pedagogical reform at Mohamed V University, Agdal, Rabat.
Samia BELYAZID
Whereas banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative power, problem posing education involves a constant unveiling of reality. Paolo Freire.
The aim of this paper is to report, analyze and update the findings of a research that was done with the students of the English Studies Track at Mohamed V University in 2006. This study has a twofold objective: not only to undertake an evaluation of the pedagogical reform, but also to let the students take an active part in the research. Thus, the paper proposes a shift away from traditional educational matters such as curricula and teaching materials, to the student who should take the role of an active partner in the teaching learning operation, and the academic context. For so doing, two groups of students in the present survey: one in 2006 (271 students) and the other in 2010 (80 students). These students were all provided with the opportunity to state their views and perceptions of the University Reform through a questionnaire which included closed and open questions. Surprisingly, beyond answering the questions asked, the students also raised issues that were of particular concern to them, and expressed their hopes for more a effective change at the university. This problem-posing approach to evaluation allowed the students to become the main actors in the study as they suggested practical solutions to their specific needs. Finally, a conclusion and some pedagogical implications were drawn.
Introduction Since in the late 90s the traditional system of higher education had become obsolete, there was an urgent need to introduce change both at the level of organisation and curricula. With these challenges in mind, officials and specialists in our country established the University Pedagogical Reform in 2003. This is a new system of higher education based on three major components namely; Semesters, Modules and Continual Assessment. In addition, the main objectives of the reform are meant to be modernity and flexibility; two basic principles which pave the way for a better integration of our graduates into various socio-economic fields and academic disciplines. Furthermore, another important aim of the reform is to place the students at the heart of the new academic context. In other words, students are no longer passive recipients, as the case
in the old system; rather, they are supposed to have become potential members of the academic community in the new university system. They have responsibilities to assume and contributions to make. It is this new concept of the student which gave the first impetus for the present study. For the purpose of this paper, this updated version will contain the same parts as the original paper with one major modification; the analysis will include the results from both the initial study and the recent one. Besides, attention will be especially given to the students role in the new system. It is important to mention that great efforts have been made both by the administration and the English Studies Track to sort out several pedagogical problems in the last four years. Among the obvious achievements that were made, a new administration building was set up in the Annex of the Faculty namely Suissi II with the aim to allow for proximity of the administration. Indeed, since the offices of the Vice-Dean and the different Studies Tracks were made more available to both students and teachers alike, communication between the different parts concerned has often become easier. Furthermore, the English Studies Track has made remarkable progress in sorting out some issues like the system of grade compensation which is made much more effective. Besides, differently from before, the students no longer have to repeat the whole module but only the courses they have failed within the same module. So, for this reason, some parts of the original paper will be omitted here since the issues that were raised have been practically solved in the last few years. In this version of the study, there will be an attempt to highlight some major comparisons or contrasts between the two sets of data findings. So, the following are the two main parts of this paper: the Research Context, and Data Analysis. 1. The Research Context 1.1. Motivation for the Study
As the first generation of students who had experienced the reform was about to graduate in the spring of 2006, that year seemed the ideal time to undertake an evaluation of the University Reform (UR). Since the students are supposed to be the major component of the new system, the goal of this study was to provide them with the opportunity to take an active part in the evaluation process. The idea to involve them directly had occurred to me long before as I was reading my students writings about their life at the university. I had discovered then that many students had found themselves immersed in the new system with almost no knowledge about it. This lack of information justifies their prolific essays on the matter which led to the initial data that allowed for a preliminary analysis of the students problems in the context of the infant reform. The same data triggered the idea for a questionnaire which is used in the present study. Another source of information was the strong relationship that had developed between the students and me; I acted as a teacher / counsellor, which encouraged them to vent out their feelings and impressions on different aspects of their life at the university. Finally, the students written and oral contributions both motivated the research and laid the groundwork for the present study. 1.2. The Research Method
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As a result, I developed a questionnaire especially for the students in the English Studies Track at Mohamed V University. The purpose of the questionnaire was to highlight their perceptions of the Pedagogical Reform. For the sake of data analysis, the original closed questions were turned into Items (pp.7-9). On the whole, two sets of questions were designed: twenty eight closed questions (C.Qs:1-28, pp.7-8), and five open questions (O.Qs.4, 6, 9, 14 & 15, p.9). The C.Qs. consisted of multiple choice and yes / no questions, and yielded quantitative data, whereas the O.Qs. yielded qualitative data. Actually, the OQs. were added in order to give the students more freedom to express themselves on issues that were of particular interest to them. During the analysis, the findings provided evidence to show that the responses to the two sets of questions were rather complementary and the combined answers provided exhaustive information. Indeed, the O.Qs. actually allowed the students to express themselves more freely. They not only responded, but they also raised other issues that had not been predicted in the initial hypothesis but which seemed quite important for them. Eventually, the questionnaire was given to 271 students in Semesters 2 and 4 in 2006. Then four years later, in 2010, it was given to 80 students in Semester II. During the analysis, it was noticed that there were recurring issues and ideas in the answers to the two sets of questions. Therefore, it seemed more convenient not to present the findings in a linear manner, but rather, to make a synthesis; which led to the development of the second part of this paper entitled; Data Analysis which includes three subsections 2.1 The Students Perceptions of the University Reform, 2.2. The Major Pedagogical Issues raised by the Students, and 2.3. The Students Own Suggestions for Change in our University. Furthermore, for the sake of convenience, the answers to items 5, 8, 10 and 11 are not discussed in this paper. In fact, these items include C.Qs. 7 & 12 to 17. Besides, for the purpose of clarity in this analysis, all the quotes taken from the students answers to the O Qs are printed in italics. Finally, a Conclusion and Pedagogical Implications were drawn. 2. Data Analysis 2.1. The Students Perception of the University Reform (C. Qs. 1-5 & O.Q. 6) Concerning the students perception of the U.R., there is a slight difference between the responses of the two generations of students; 2006 and 2010. As for group1 of the students, the responses to Item1 (C.Q:1-5) provide evidence to show that 105 thought that the reform was a negative change while 150 considered it either a positive change or an enigma, which means that the reform was still not clear to most of them. Conversely, more than 80% of group 1 checked . In other words, the latter group considers the reform a positive change while 20% only stated that they still do not understand some important features of the university system including modules, and grade compensation. Interestingly, almost the same results came out in the replies to O.Q.4 to which 172 students from group 1 responded by making comments / questions which revealed either vague or negative perceptions of the reform. They describe it as a mysterious, complex and confusing phenomenon. Most of them express their anger in sentences like: we hate it all students hate it. Whats more, they believe that this new system ignores
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them; they even suspect that it does not encourage them to study. As for group 2, the responses are somehow contradictory. Indeed, although in the CQs. about 90% of the students considered the Reform a positive change, some of them asked the following questions in the OCs.: why dont we have audio-visuals in the classroom, why is it that all tests and exams are written and not oral? What is the purpose of this reform if there are no modern means of communication? Why dont we have electives? Others made recommendations such as the following Some courses need to be better organized and taught etc Furthermore, it is worth noting that the early group of students expressed doubts and negative feelings which show that most of them actually lacked basic information about the university reform. Indeed, a majority of 179 students (Items 2 & 3 p.7) stated that they had very little information about the reform. Yet, only 72 students were quite informed about it. However, this data should be handled with caution since a striking majority in both groups of students was informed only by their friends. Actually, this unexpected response was written in the slot named (d) other; which was an alternative choice in Item 2, Q. 5 (p.7). It may be interesting to note that neither the administration, nor the teachers, nor the media proved to be sources of information for our students. Besides, the above findings were reinforced by the following answers to OQ.4 (p.9): we need to understand more, to get more information, we are studying and still do not know what this reform is about; What is the ultimate goal of the reform? What opportunities does the new reform offer, other than developing educational skills? Is the purpose of the reform to help us succeed or to destroy us? These comments clearly demonstrate that both teachers and administration could have devoted more time and effort to conveying a clearer picture of the university reform to the students from the outset. In contrast, the present generation of students who are mostly in Semester II seem to be satisfied with the system since most of them have passed the semester I modules. 2.2. Major Pedagogical Issues Raised by the Students (O.Qs.7-11+22-28) Considering the complexity of our educational context, this questionnaire did not address one specific issue, but instead, touched upon several inter-related variables as parts of a whole. Besides, the C.Qs. somehow brainstormed the students which encouraged them to write exhaustively in their answers to the O.Qs. This way, they did not only write answers, but they also described their immediate needs and concerns as well. The major source of the students problems concerns the following interrelated variables, which for the sake of analysis, were grouped under the following headings: Continual Assessment (C.A.) or class attendance (C.A.) and exam requirements (E.R.), failure and grade correction (E.F. & G.C.), course requirements and the prerequisite course (C.R. & P.C.), and finally, the students lists (S. Ls.). It is noted that most students expressed their views and frustrations about each of the above variables either by making comments or raising significant questions based on their personal feelings and experiences concerning the university reform and context. This section is divided into the four paragraphs below. First, it is worth noting that the responses to Items 7 (on E.R.) and 10 (on C.A.) were rather positive and revealed many students understanding of the two principles of the
28
reform. Indeed, the data from the answers to C.Qs. 22, 23 and 24 reveal that most students surveyed in the two groups both have understood and approved of the C.A. principle. 173 of them thought that it means to be active in class, 133 assumed that they had to take all the quizzes, and still another 115 students believed that they had to take the midterm exam. On the whole, more than half of the students were aware that the CA involves the three major components of the new system of evaluation. Basically the same results came out in group 2s answers. The same results were drawn from (Item 7) C.Qs 8 to11 on E.R. to which 148 students answered that, in order to succeed, they should be able to analyze information and use their intelligence. Out of the 271 students surveyed, 69 students used memory, while only 23 admitted that they copy and plagiarize. These results were positive since we noticed that both generations of students checked the first three alternative choices in their answer at the same time which reveals that they were quite aware that in order to pass their exams, they need to use both memory and intelligence so as to analyze the information given in their tests. Second, and paradoxically E.F. & G.C. proved to be interconnected issues that were raised in the answers of group 1 to O.Qs. 4 & 6. Indeed, the findings clearly showed that failure had become significant for the first generation of the university reform. They complained about three kinds of E.F.. For them it was either unfair, or the result of the new reform. Indeed, the students wondered why they failed: why are there so many mistakes when teachers enter the grades in the computer? One student wrote the following anecdote: When I found out about a mistake in my grade, I was told to look for the teacher who had already left on holiday, but since he / she came late in the following semester, I had to register and repeat the module simply because of one single grade error. Eventually, the third kind of failure mentioned by many is due to what they considered as the failing grade on which they actually put the blame. In other words, in our English Studies Track, it was agreed then that students who got a grade average below 5 / 20 in a module would fail the whole module. And, concerning the modules, a large number of the students surveyed, wondered why is this system of module so hard to implement. These are some remarks written by the students: it is both unfair and boring to repeat a whole module because I failed one single course Q: why dont we repeat only the course we fail instead of the whole module? If we repeat the same module three times, what should we do? Are we going to get our degree or stay in this university until we die? How many years do we really need in order to get a licence? These comments and questions actually reflected the state of mind of many students who were beginning to loose hope to succeed within the first three years of the university reform. Maybe the reason why this group of students does not raise the above issue is because they are still in semester 2 which means they are in still dealing with basic language skills. The third issue raised was about C.R. It was deduced from the responses to O.Q.9 (p. 9). The replies were almost evenly divided between yes, no and blank space. Group 1 who checked the answer yes knew about the C.R. more from Other students (who had already taken the course) than from their teachers. In contrast, group 2 who checked no, stated that it all depends on the teaching style or method of the professor. Furthermore, many students felt confused, in a big dilemma, still puzzled for each class. Still do not have any idea about it. We should have a blank test to train and know what to expect for the exam. These statements mean that some students actually
29
confused between course and exam requirements. The following two comments were particularly interesting: there is no connection between courses and exams, and the assignments we get are not always clearly explained. Many students mentioned class presentations. One may understand that sometimes students were assigned the task of making a presentation while instructions were not necessarily made clear to them. And the fourth issue raised concerned the prerequisite course (P.C) in O.Q.6. Although the principle of the P.C. is clearly mentioned in our English Studies Track, many students were registered in an advanced course despite their failure in the prerequisite one. 80 students responded yes and felt angry, frustrated, disturbed and even troubled. For instance, one of the students surveyed wrote: it is not logical because we feel nervous and frustrated. More than that 50 responses contained clear descriptions which revealed that 5 courses were concerned namely Study Skills, Poetry, Linguistics, Composition and Culture. Here is a comment and question: It is not logical to skip the basic course, yes, I have failed the module of poetry and I am now studying in the advanced one which I find difficult to follow. Although I did not take Semester 5 courses in Linguistics, I am registered in Semester 6. Does this make any sense to you?. It seems clear and logical that the students who fail the prerequisite course have difficulty following the corresponding advanced course. Not surprisingly, group 2 does not complain about the above problem which is probably due to the following two reasons: first, they are still taking Semester II courses, and they have all passed Semester I. However, it is worth mentioning that although these students are attending Composition 1, their paragraph writings still lack structure, coherence and unity. And surprisingly, they have serious problems with sentence structure. Finally, the fifth issue raised by our students concerns the following three interrelated variables namely; Semesters, Students Lists and Timetables. Three interrelated issues that were raised in the responses to O.Qs 4 & 6 (p. 9). To start with, every semester, the students feel totally confused because the lists change several times, so they have to change groups without understanding the reason. Besides, as they have to constantly commute between the central Faculty where the Department Office was located and the Annexe Suissi II where the classes actually took place, they complained that they wasted a lot of time, energy and money. No doubt, the frequent changing of studentsgroups and timetables ultimately caused too long holidays. Consequently, the time devoted to study, revise or do research has become too short which made the students stressed and focused only on exams rather than on learning. A few direct questions raised were: How can we succeed if we have no time to study or do research? Two main comments can be made; first, those students tended to confuse C.R. and E.R., second and more importantly, they started focusing on exams and grades more than on their language learning. Similarly, todays group of students tends to be also still confused even if it is already mid-semester because they wasted a month holiday, and the official lists which have just come out contain very few names of the students who are actually attending the classes this semester. Finally, although the above mentioned issues seem minor, when they add up to large classes, they provoke stress and confusion in the actual classrooms for both teacher and students alike. 2.3. The Students Own Suggestions for Change in the University (Open Qs: 14 & 15)
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Finally, the results from O.Q.14 show that the student is actively interacting with the teachers, the Department and, the Administration. This state of affairs explains why most suggestions revolve around these three main academic poles. Indeed, most students surveyed claimed their need for more help and better communication from both administration and teachers alike. Although either group 1 or 2 seemed to be quite aware of the shortcomings of the university reform, each one made different suggestions for change. Goup 1 of the students wished to see the following changes made in the English Studies Track. In other words they hoped to be able to: 1) To validate the prerequisite course before registering in the advanced one. 2) To repeat only the course with a low grade, and not the entire module. 3) To see the failing grade banished. On the other hand, group 2 of students (of 2010) made other suggestions. They would like: 1) Some courses to be better organized. 2) The administration to be severe in watching grade corrections so as to make them faster. It should set official dates for exams and supervise the latter. It should give the SS time to prepare for their exams too. 3) To have electives so as to allow students to choose between course and modules 4) The English Studies Track to organize placement tests so as to form different level groups. 5) To be able to use high-tech audio-visual equipments for better communication in the EFL classrooms Actually, the suggestions below were actually made by both groups of students. Many students wished to take new courses which REALLY prepare us for the job market, They wanted to see in their university a library with books that suit their English proficiency levels and Language labs that help improve our pronunciation skills, and modern teaching methods that could allow for the use of language learning equipment such as libraries, computers, CD and DVD players. Furthermore, many students would like the opportunity to play sport, and to have cultural activities, such as listening to songs, reading and writing novels, stories, plays and poems. They want to act out famous English plays. What is more, some other students who live far away in Sal or Skhirat express their desire for a university student transport. It is important to stress the fact that a great majority of our students actually belong to low social classes which makes them sometimes unable to afford to pay their transportation fee to the university. 3. Conclusion and Pedagogical Implications: Two main conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the above data; on the one hand, the university reform presents many advantages, and, on the other, most issues raised are the clear expression of two types of needs: structural needs and academic needs. It is important to recognize that it is the new university system which has allowed for this research to take place. Actually, this modern system which is divided into
31
Semesters, and based on Modules and C.A. which has not only swept away the weaknesses of the old system, but marked a revolution in the history of higher education in our country. It is this university reform which has also allowed for the freedom to make the present study possible. Furthermore, despite the complaints of the students surveyed, the motivation of the latter to learn English in our Track has greatly increased since the early days of the reform (Item 5, Q.7 p.7). This fact justifies the students expressed need to be better informed on the three major components of the pedagogical reform namely the C.A., the C.R. and the E.R. In this concern, a permanent structure needs to be established to provide both senior and junior students with accurate orientation sessions each beginning of semester so as to inform about all the details of the Pedagogical Reform. A third advantage of the latter system is that by placing the students at the heart of the system, it provides them at least officially, with the wonderful opportunity to have a voice, and eventually to assume new responsibilities like their counterparts in American universities. The previously mentioned structural needs (pp.3 & 4), simply refer to problems due to the computer program established in the initial years of the university reform. That computer system had produced serious errors both in the students lists, and grades that were often incorrect at both the beginning and end of the semester and caused a lot of stress and waste of time and energy for both students and teachers in our university. Furthermore, a general climate of instability was provoked in such a way that instead of concentrating on their learning, most students were disoriented and constantly searched for their names on the new lists. They wasted a lot of time either looking for the new group they belonged to, or for the correction of their grade (s). On the other hand, the teachers had trouble keeping track of classroom attendance. All obstacles prevented effective C.A. and learning to take place. By the time the students found their names on the third or fourth list, they already started to stress for the forthcoming exams. By the way, today this is still a great problem in our track. Often times, this situation made the students focus actually shift towards exams and grades instead of learning which has often become a minor concern. These structural problems should be solved immediately so that the students would be able to focus more on developing their communication and language learning competences and skills.
Furthermore, the students academic needs fall into two categories, first, the need to clear up some misconceptions they still have about the C.A., and second, the need to make some improvements within our English Studies Track. Today, as mentioned earlier in the introduction that the problem of repetitive failures and grade compensation has been solved While, in reality, in the English Studies Track, a student fails a module only if he / she gets an overall grade of 5 / 20, or below, in the whole module regardless of any low grade in any of the elements within the module. The problem, however, should be tackled seriously in case a student repeats the module more than once because of a low grade in the same element. Another point, that is not clear, is the principle of the prerequisite course that is neither made clear to the students, nor applied by the
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administration since it is the latter who decides for registration each semester. So far, even if students fail in a prerequisite course, they find themselves registered in the following advanced one which is simply not pedagogical. Normally, they should first pass the lower level course, then, take the higher course. At this point, the people responsible for the registration themselves need to be made aware of this issue. Or else, the principle of the prerequisite course needs to be revisited Finally, it is important to mention the great efforts that have been made in the English studies track in the last three years, in terms of course descriptions, syllabus calendars, and the students orientation and advising. In addition, our track has restored systematic course coordination all along the semester. These efforts have been made with a view to making the teaching and learning objectives clearer and better focused. Paradoxically, the results of this study have shown that the students are not always aware of the requirements of each course, which explains their confusion between course and exam requirements. In this respect, I would like to make the two following suggestions: all the students must be provided with the course description and syllabus calendar for each and every single course they will take. Second, an official and anonymous system of course evaluation needs to be established and applied systematically to all courses by the end of every semester. If these measures are taken, the students will no longer put the blame on the reform, or the teachers but , instead, they will have to assume their responsibilities with more maturity, and concentrate on learning and developing their skills and competences. One ultimate suggestion is to create a department especially for the students pedagogical affairs which could provide anyone of them with information, orientation, and counselling or advising on any pedagogical issue that concerns them particularly. Finally, the success of the pedagogical reform will depend exclusively on the active participation of everyone in our university including the administration, the teachers, and the students. And finally, as mentioned officially in the recent publications of our university, it has become necessary today to effectively let our students become real partners rather than mere recipients in our university.
References Crooks, G. & Shmidt, R.W. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the research agenda, Language learning. Kennedy, C. (1988). Evaluation of the management of change in ELT projects, Applied Linguistics 9 (4). Markee, N. (1986). The role of socio-political factors to communicative course design, The ESP Journal 5 (1). Mohan, D. & Smith, S.M. & D. Nunan (1992). Context and cooperation in academic tasks. Collaborative language learning and teaching. CUP.
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Freire, P. (1994). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New revised 20th Century edition. Continuum, New York. Tarone E. and G. Yule (1983). Focus on the language learner. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Universit Mohamed V, Agdal (2003) La Rforme pdagogique, en quarante questions. Royaume du Maroc Premire dition. Athena Communications Widdowson, H.G. (1987). The Roles of Teacher and Learner, ELT Journal. Appendix
QUESTIONNAIRE Important Note: For the sake of statistical analysis, the questionnaire was divided into Items which include closed questions, and open questions. Closed Questions
Item 1. Q1: What does the University Reform represent for you? (a=1). A negative change (b=2). An enigma (c=3). A positive change 105 64 86
Item 2. Have you been informed about the University Reform by Rep=1/10 Q2: Previous teachers 52 Q3: The News 27 Q4: The Administration 37 Q5: Other 152
Item 3
Q6: To what degree have you been informed about the reform? (a=1) Very little 103 (b=2) Quite a little 76 (c=3). Quite well 58 (d=4). very well 14
Item 5. Q7 : Since you same to University, do you feel your motivation to
34
Learn English has (a=1). Decreased (b=2). Remained the same (c=3). Increased
45 58 148
Item 7. In order to pass your exams, do you have to Rep= 1/0 Q8: Use your memory only 69 Q9: Be able to analyse information 148 Q10:Use your intelligence 122 Q11:Copy / Plagiarize 23
Item 8:
Do the Courses at University make you do 33 59 141 23
Q12: (a=1) Too little reading (b=2) Enough reading (c=3) Too much reading Q13: (rep= 1/0) Other
Item10: What does Class Attendance mean to you? Q14: Be always present in class Q15: Answer the teachers questions Q16:Take notes of the lessons Q17: Ask and answer questions 112 28 136 98
Item 11: When you miss a class, what do you do to be able to follow in the next class? Q18: Q19: Q20: Q21: Expect the teacher to inform you Ask a classmate to help you catch up Do the work of the class missed Be embarrassed and do nothing 16 184 89 15
Item12: What does Continual Assessment mean to you? Rep= 1/0 Q22: Take all the Quizzes 133 Q23: Take the Midterm Exam 115 Q24: Be active in class 173 Special treatment for Q (d) = do a, c and more.
Item 13: Do you think the English Studies at University will allow you to 35
Rep= 1/0 Q25: Q26: Q27: Q28: get a job easily be proficient in English get a degree but not a job Other (please specify) 31 105 117 29
Open Questions
Open Q4: Do you still have any questions about the University Reform? (please write them and do not worry about your mistakes)
Open Q6: Are you registered in an Advanced Course while you have failed the pre-requisite Course? Please specify and describe your feelings.
Open Q9: Do you always know what exactly you are expected to do for each class session? Please specify.
Open Q 14: What changes would you like to see made in this Reform?
Open Q15: Do you still have any observations about the University Reform or this questionnaire? Please make them and do not worry about your mistakes.
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