Critical thinking via the internet to support a classroom-based course in human rights.
6
Issued Date
2006
Resource Type
Language
eng
Suggested Citation
Ferriman, Nicholas. (2006). Critical thinking via the internet to support a classroom-based course in human rights.. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/32864
Title
Critical thinking via the internet to support a classroom-based course in human rights.
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Mahidol University International College (MUIC) is Thailand’s
only liberal arts college. The medium of instruction at the college is
English and students must study at least four trimesters of general
education before going on to complete their majors. In the general
education component students must complete at least four courses of
English. One of these English courses is ‘Exploring Global Realities’, a
content course in human rights.
In Exploring Global Realities, students use the academic skills -
argumentation, public speaking, writing term papers etc - learned in
previous English courses to investigate the role of freedom and
democracy in defending basic human rights. Course content includes
short stories, films, and essays, which are used to investigate vital issues
such as torture and genocide. These are also used to explore critical
concepts, such as non-violent resistance and universal suffrage, and their
role in the democratic process. As part of their assessment, students
analyse key human rights documents, for example the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and use these to assess human rights
abuses around the world. The course concludes with a look at the
evolution of the Thai Constitution and compares this to the experience of
other countries around the world.
In my presentation I will describe how I use the on-line discussion
forum ‘Nicenet’ to promote critical thinking and reflection, using topics
that permit students to engage in the course content. I will give examples
of students’ contributions to Nicenet and show how I use their postings to
feed back into classroom discussions to personalize the issues. Other
features of the presentation will include the use of on-line ‘links’ from
Nicenet to widen the exposure to information beyond what is covered in
class, and the setting of related topics – e.g. The UN Security Council, the
Convention Against Torture, The Rule of Law - for individual 3-minute
speeches by students to inform their classmates.
Description
1st World Congress on the Power of Language: Theory, Practice and Development, May 22-25, 2006. Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok.