EMI Microteaching and Peer Mentoring Joint Project: Session 3

【NSYSU X AIT】English Language Specialist Program─EMI Microteaching and Peer Mentoring Joint Project

Session: Third
Time: Friday, November 4, 2022, 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.
Specialist: Dr. Eniko Csomay
Mentor: Dr. Yi-Peng Lai
Microteaching presenters/Topic:
1. Dr. Guan-Rong Huang/Lattice Geometry and Symmetry
2. Dr. Shang-Nan Tsai/Analysis of Lamina Hygrothermal Behavior
In the Microteaching and Peer Mentor Joint Project Meeting on November 4, we had  Professor Yi–Peng Lai and Specialist Eniko Csomay, as always, to comment on two EMI microteaching presentations.
After the evaluation session participants also had discussions on techniques for conducting instruction.

The presenters Guan-Rong Huang and Shang-Nan Tsai, both of whom were from engineering backgrounds, lectured respectively on Lattice Geometry and Symmetry and the behavior of Lamina Hygrothermal. The peer mentor Yi-Peng Lai, who taught a wholly dissimilar discipline, that is, Irish literature, managed to give constructive and insightful feedback on the 2 presenters’ performance despite the abstruse scientific concepts. Dr. Huang’s virtues included clear delivery, use of graphs, provision of motivation, and insertion of quizzes, while Dr. Tsai’s were informational slides, moderate pace of delivery, and anticipating content of the lesson. In regard to the use of Mandarin, both Dr. Lai and Dr. Eniko suggested that it should be better to resist direct translation and use it only as support, such as paraphrase.   

Asked about the secret of his fluent English delivery, Dr. Huang said that he simply tried to be empathetic with students and that not being afraid of making mistakes is vitally important.
His extensive experiences as a tutor required him to stand in students’ shoes to make them understand.

Dr. Eniko shared a couple of very useful discoveries and tips. There were researches showing that the number of 3 was ideal for grouping students, and the optimal frequency of checking student comprehension was about 20 minutes. She suggested making slides more dynamic so that students can follow, by letting information appear sequentially through functions like bullet points. Providing definition of keywords can also be helpful. Dr. Eniko led discussions for professors to exchange their classroom experiences, tendencies, and management. Throughout this session, participants had such vivacious discussions and wonderful interactions. Immense gratitude is given to all participants endeavoring to become better educators!