US university shares expertise in innovative teaching methods

AMMAN — Six professors from the Bridgewater State University (BSU) recently visited Yarmouk and Tafileh universities, holding training workshops and delivering lectures on innovative teaching methods. 

"The visit is yet another indication of our productive collaboration in improving pedagogical methods for teaching and learning, curriculum assessment and research," Jabbar Al Obaidi, professor and director of the BSU Centre for Middle East Studies, told The Jordan Times in an e-mail interview.

The visiting professors focused on the concept of the "inclusive classroom" and ways to train teachers on how to integrate children with disabilities into the general education classroom, effective classroom management, raising students' motivation and second language acquisition, among other themes, Al Obaidi said.

The US university, a public liberal-arts college located in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, has been signatory to cooperation agreements at academic, cultural and scientific levels with Al Rai Centre for Studies, Irbid's Yarmouk University and Tafileh Technical University.

The agreements also entail exchanging academic visits for faculty members, students and journalists, and organising joint cultural and scientific conferences.

"The college faculty was engaged during the presentation, asking challenging questions and looking for ways to apply concepts and ideas in their situation," John Marvelle, a professor of Education at BSU, noted in an e-mail sent to The Jordan Times, commenting on his recent visit. 

As part of the cooperation between the US-based university and Al Rai Centre for Studies, a group of journalists visited BSU two years ago, during which they attended a specialised workshop that focused on professional journalism in the digital world, investigative journalism and the American foreign policy and media outlook to the Middle East. 

Later this year, Al Rai centre and the BSU, Tafileh and Yarmouk universities are scheduled to jointly host the eighth International Conference on Global Education, according to Al Obaidi.