2008 september - BRAC University Institutional Repository

instruction and Extending Critical Thinking pedagogies into the Centre for Languages (CfL).
The 1st workshop held on 7th-8th September focused on "How Writing-across-the-Curriculum
Pedagogy in the United States Might Be Adapted to a Bangladeshi Context." The participants were
the department leaders from different public and private universities. Pro-Vice Chancellor of BRAC
University Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, the Director of CfL Mrs Sarwat Abed and lecturers from CfL, Governance
Studies and Department of English of BRAC University were also present. The second workshop held on the
9th - 10th was on a contemporary issue "How a Critical Thinking Pedagogy Might be Integrated into
English Language Instruction in Bangladesh." It was centered towards the English Language teachers
of different universities of the country. Both of the workshops were held at BRAC Centre.
Professor Bean, through an open discussion with all the participants of the workshop, highlighted the fact
that writing should not only be limited in English language classes, rather an interdisciplinary emphasis on
writing would lead students to proper success. The usage of exploratory writing and problem-based task for
the students in the American Context were discussed in the workshop. The participants shared their views
regarding the constraints they face or might face while introducing the writing-across-the-curriculum
method in Bangladeshi context; the following possible constraints were discussed:
� Conventional education system in the pre-university (school and collage) level that does not
encourage critical thinking.
� Students' inability to think critically as a result of the prevailing curriculum
� Large number of students in a class.
The last workshop was on "Extending Critical Thinking Pedagogies into the Centre for Languages' English
Curriculum." This workshop was held at BCDM, Rajendrapur, Gazipur for two days (12th -13th September).
The participants were the English language teachers of Centre for Languages (CfL). As CfL has already been
practicing Critical Thinking in its curriculum, this intensive workshop became an excellent opportunity for
the teachers to reinforce their knowledge about using pragmatic approaches
in the classroom. Through interaction, sharing different ideas and experiences, the participants focused on
different issues of promoting critical thinking. The success of promoting critical thinking and the problems of
introducing this new approach in the traditional environment of language teaching in Bangladesh were the
focal points of the discussion. Dr. Bean and Rosalie Kit Bean shared their ideas regarding some constraints
CfL teachers commonly faced, such as how to make students read critically, what is legitimate class time to
devote to critical thinking, how to prevent plagiarism and continue critical thinking even outside the
classroom. Dr. Bean successfully came up with some realistic solutions such as putting profound emphasis
on selecting and designing authentic materials and tasks according to the needs of the students, promoting
interaction by making the students work in a group, encouraging students to start from a common context
and exploring different perspectives for better learning. In the workshops, CfL teachers took part in the
real-classroom tasks designed by Dr. Bean and got some practical idea about the outcome of using those
materials in the classroom. CfL teachers are enthusiastic, love to take challenges and introduce new
methods in classroom teaching. The workshops on Critical Thinking rejuvenated their existed knowledge
and definitely encourage them to strive for further refinement.
In a nutshell, the participants of all workshops earned how to integrate a critical thinking approach into
their language learning pedagogy; thus the workshops were nothing but a success.
Computer Science and Engineering Update
CSE Faculty attended CIICT2008 conference
C. M Iftekhar Hussain attended a three day long China Ireland International Conference on Information and
Communications Technologies (CIICT2008) on September 26th - 28th in Beijing. He was invited to present
his paper "Performance of PID controller both in Soft and Hard RTOS" at the conference site in Beijing.
China Ireland International Conference on Information and Communications Technologies (CIICT2008)
organized by Beijing University of Post and Telecommunication (BUPT), one of the leading Universities in
China specialized in telecommunication. The conference was held in Beijing this year from September 26th
to 28th. System and Control Research Group (SCRG) of BRAC University had submitted one of our research