Participant: Clement Angkawidjaja
We arrived in Los Angeles International Airport on March 9, noon. The program started with a campus tour and welcome reception on that evening. The Dean of University Extended Education together with the program staffs and mentor professors attended the reception, and participants were introduced to them. The program started the following day, consisting of various classes, workshops and class observations. Each participant has different schedule because the availability of mentor professor differ from one with another.
I was very impressed by the interactive style of lectures that the professors teach in CSUF. The professors created a very engaging classroom environment and the students were very active in asking questions or answering the professor’s questions. We also had chances in observing the different styles of teaching that different professors employ and we think that many of them are very effective, especially in teaching chemistry and biological sciences.
The workshops that we had were very helpful, especially the ones Pronunciation Class and Presentation Skill. We learned to improve our English pronunciation and how to stress important keywords in the first workshop, and how to effectively and efficiently use media in class in the second. These two are probably the most significant workshops and I think that we need more hours on these. Other workshops were also very helpful, especially the Homeroom and Classroom Management class, in which we discussed various philosophical aspects in being a teacher in general, how to manage a classroom, how to engage students in the class, etc.
On the first week our schedule was very busy. On the second week, we had more free time because of the need to prepare our presentation in the mentor professor’s class. I did my presentation on Thursday, March 19 in the laboratory of Dr. Katherine Kantardjieff, which I enjoyed very much. The students were very active. They asked questions and answered my questions well.
Besides the classes, workshops and presentation, we also had a chance to enjoy a pub night with the dean and staffs. I also went to watch ice hockey and basketball games with other participants. Overall, it was a very enjoyable program. The staffs were very nice, helpful, and accommodating.