Saratoga News

Style

West Valley entertains Singapore visitors

By Michele Tjin

West Valley College, already the home of a polyglot population, got an added international flavor recently when the college played host to students and teachers from Singapore who were interested in learning from the American way.

Two lecturers and 24 students from Singapore Polytechnic, a media and information technology school, arrived on campus, eager to observe classes and mingle with their American counterparts to compare teaching styles.

"We hope to provide training for how to conduct classes, and we hope to make use of our knowledge," said Kah Wong Ho, a lecturer in digital media at Singapore Polytechnic.

The Singapore students broke into small groups and visited a number of classes in computer information systems, including web design, animation and introduction to business. They regrouped and compared notes at lunchtime over a meal of burgers and fries. Their goals were to experience a cross-cultural exchange with American students and to understand better how technology plays a role in the classrooms. Most of the content given in the lectures seemed pretty routine and similar to what they get at home, they said. But the most striking difference they noticed was the relationship between teachers and students.

"The students are more interactive, but Singapore teachers are more strict," said Mark Hoe, 19, who is studying information technology in Singapore.

The back-and-forth conversations between students and teachers are absent in Singapore classrooms, and Mabel Leong said she wouldn't mind seeing a bit of that approach at home.

"Students are bolder here," said the 18-year-old music technology student. "I would prefer that. I [would] get engaged in learning."

The physical layout of the campus was also a wow factor for the students.

"This campus is too huge," Leong said. "There are patches of grass everywhere. We don't have that. We have concrete blocks and parking lots."

The administrators from Singapore Polytechnic were amazed at the concept of a community college, a two-year institution that accepts all students who apply and charges substantially lower tuition fees than a traditional four-year school.

"There is no such thing in Singapore," instructor Ho said. "[Community colleges] provide the opportunity to anybody who wants to learn."

Wei Wang, an information technology lecturer who organized the trip, said she chose West Valley because of its location in Silicon Valley and because the courses that it offers are relevant to her students. The morning she spent observing classrooms left a positive impact on her, she said, and the visit has similarly excited her students.

"For most of them, it's their first time in the U.S., and it's an eye-opener," she said.

After their visit at West Valley, the group also made a stop at the Apple Computer headquarters in Cupertino, the Intel Museum and such schools as the University of San Francisco and Stanford University.

Phil Hartley, president of West Valley, receives frequent requests from schools abroad who want to visit the college to compare teaching methods, and he welcomes the opportunities to show off what West Valley has to offer.

"We have an international community, and we always say yes when people want to visit," Hartley said. "We're looking for opportunities to build partnerships for students. We want to be seen as a college of international educational opportunities and economic development."