Professor: Becker Course format: Seminar Number of respondents: 8 Total Enrollment: 9 Class Composition: Froshs: 0 Sophs: 3 Jrs: 1 Srs: 3 Concs: 2 Non-Concs: 5 Don't Know: 0

Instructor Average: 1.29 Course Average: 1.30

'Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Education: Education and the Portugese­Speaking World' is meant to give students an in-depth understanding of educational issues facing Portugal and her former colonies. As such, the course looks at both the present challenges and the history of education in these areas. There were no official prereq uisites for the class, and the class was conducted entirely in English. However, some students reported some knowledge of Portugal and colonial history would have been helpful.

Professor Becker received rave reviews from survey respondents. People praised her for her effective direction of the class discussion, not dominating the class with her opinions, but at the same time making sure that the class stayed on topic. Additionally, many students felt her questions caused them to examine the class material in more detail and added additional depth above and beyond the reading. Respondents found Professor Becker to be laid-back and easy to aproach when they needed help.

Although many students felt that they learned a lot from this class, it did not take an exorbinant amount of their time. On average, students spent between three and five hours per week on this course, with more being devoted when there were papers due. In addition to between 150 and 200 pages of reading every week, there were two required school visits, one four page paper, one 20 page paper, and two oral presentations. Survey respondents felt as though the papers were both interesting and lead them to a better understanding of the material.

Most students were very happy they had taken this course. Overall, they described it as both enlightening and interesting. Professor Becker's reviews were uniformly positive. If you have an interest in Portugese education, don't miss this class.

View PB/0160 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.