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The Worldwide Reach of Wilmington University
Online course brings critical thinking to Chinese students
Distance learning takes on a whole new meaning when a Wilmington University instructor, working off-campus, can engage students in philosophical discussion even though they live more than 8,200 miles apart.
Dr. Lucia Nemeth recently taught the University's critical thinking course, Philosophy 310, to 23 students from China's Shenzhen University without any of the participants having to book a flight.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to show the world how accessible our online courses are," said Nemeth, an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences who currently lives in Virginia with her husband, a major in the U.S. Army, and her three children.
When Dr. Doreen Turnbo, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was looking for an instructor for the pilot course, Nemeth jumped at the chance to teach the class, which ran from November to mid-January. The class could help to lead to a WilmU partnership with Shenzhen University.
The 34,000-student school, which has been described as the "Chinese Stanford University," was seeking an online experience that was more than just watching recorded lectures. "This really gave them a sense of what a true online course could be," said Nemeth. "My hope is that we have a continued relationship with this university."
Bridging the culture gap
There wasn't much of a language barrier to the education. "The students had a good command of English, and some of the writing ability seen on our discussion board was very impressive," said Nemeth.
The course's success depended on the careful management of a few technical and cultural issues.
For example, Chinese citizens are blocked from seeing or using YouTube and have limited access to the internet in general. Nemeth and Dr. Matthew Davis, Wilmington University's director of online learning and educational technology, reviewed the course materials in advance and created downloadable video files to ensure that the Shenzhen students could call up the audiovisual resources referenced in the readings.
"Technical difficulties can cast a negative light on an online education experience," said Nemeth. Since class was in session throughout the University's holiday break, during which IT staffers would not be readily accessible, technical preparation was essential in avoiding glitches, she said.
In addition, teaching students to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments and opinions when their authorities don't encourage these skills required some academic adjustment.
"We had to be careful with the content," Nemeth said. "We were told to remove all political material. So, we made the course personal to them. We covered what it meant to be intellectually curious. We asked them to think about why they think what they do, in their families and their education. It was self-reflection on knowledge."
Making the distance disappear
Despite the distance between Nemeth and her class, the students' individual personalities shone through in the messages they were required to post to an online discussion board each week.
"In traditional Chinese classrooms, they listen to lectures without making eye contact or interacting with each other," said Nemeth. "With all the tools that Blackboard has, if instructors use them properly, it's more than likely that they will get the desired level of interaction.
"I was really trying to engage students, and I was surprised with their level of engagement," she added. "I had each student write an introduction for themselves. I remember one said, 'My name is Yi Ling, but you can call me Shirley.' Here I was, trying to acclimate to their culture, and they'd already acclimated to mine."
To Nemeth, who's been leading electronic classrooms for over a decade, online learning offers students an open door, whether they're in the mid-Atlantic region, Shenzhen, China, or anywhere else in the world.
"I think online courses are only going to grow in popularity," she said. "It allows access to higher education for people who wouldn't otherwise be able to enroll in it."
About Wilmington University
Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit institution committed to providing flexible, career-oriented, traditional and online associate, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs. Ranked as the second fastest growing nonprofit doctoral institution in America 2004 – 2014 by The Almanac of The Chronicle of Higher Education, affordable tuition, academic excellence and individualized attention are hallmarks of the University that enable greater student success in their chosen careers. For more information, contact Wilmington University at 302-356-INFO (4636), via email at infocenter@wilmu.edu, or visit our website: www.wilmu.edu.
