Dr. Adrian Rodgers is a 2020 Fulbright Specialist at the Language Development Office in UIN Prof. KH Saifuddin Zuhri (UIN-SAIZU).

In collaboration with Universitas Islam Negeri Saifuddin Zuhri Purwokerto (UIN-SAIZU), Central Java, Dr. Adrian Rodgers, who is a faculty member in the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University (OSU) recently completed a two-week Fulbright Specialist project focusing on three outcomes:

1. Integrating technology into instruction at the undergraduate level.
2. Using a backwards design model, aligning and improving planning, teaching, and assessing across multiple academic disciplines.
3. Supporting the development of global perspectives by Undergraduate students across multiple disciplines.

The Fulbright Specialist Project resulted in excellent outcomes.

In working with faculty, a backwards design model based on the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe was used. First, desired outcomes were considered. Then, assessments were constructed. Finally, instruction and curriculum were designed.

Dr. Rodgers noted, “The teaching loads of Indonesian faculty are very high, so we grounded all our work with the view as to how we could make that high teaching loads sustainable over time. Our sessions featured keynote presentations, individual and small group work time, individual consultations, independent work, and a sharing fair.

Sharing Fair

Dr. Rodgers explained, “To assess the success of the Fulbright Specialist Project, I used a reflection strategy created by Wiggins and McTigue. For the first two goals, I asked faculty participants to reflect on their learning in the sessions, and I collected multiple reflections.” Rodgers explained that with regard to the first goal, some participants said that some online applications, such as Quizlet and Newslea, that they learned in the sessions were worth trying. They could use them to support their learning activities, where they must combine the online and offline classrooms at the same time. Another participant said that the wave pad editor they learned in the sessions would be very helpful in teaching listening skills. Another new knowledge this participant gained from the sessions was the use of rubrics for giving feedback to students.

Dr. Rodgers also focused on the second goal and explained that faculty participants offered reflections such as ‘I will use a jigsaw, case study, observation, group discussion, presentation, and peer teaching on Mathematical learning strategy.’ In addition to it, other participants also said that they get new knowledge and insights on how to conduct authentic assessments based on real-life situations when teaching a particular skill to students from the sessions facilitated by Dr. Rodgers. Some others learned that assessments could be done collaboratively with students by giving feedback to each other.

Dr. Rodgers explained that another focus of the Fulbright Specialist Project was to support the development of undergraduate students’ global perspectives. To accomplish this, students first shared their interests and second, after a scavenger hunt, shared how they learned what online communities could support and foster their interests.

With both faculty and undergraduate students, goals were accomplished through multi-day workshops.

Dr. Rodgers explained that an important legacy of this Fulbright Specialist Project is the creation of a signed memo of understanding between partner universities. The MOU focused on future collaboration between UIN-SAIZU and OSU, with plans to begin a reciprocal exchange next year.