An interim report on the MIT-Haiti Initiative: Language, technology & pedagogy for a paradigm shift in Haitian education toward a better Haiti
Professor Michel DeGraff, MIT Linguistics & Philosophy
Professor Haynes Miller, MIT Department of Mathematics
Abstract:
The MIT-Haiti Initiative is a collaborative effort involving faculty in the U.S. and in Haiti toward improving Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) education in Haiti. The Initiative is based on three main pillars: (i) interactive pedagogy for deep learning; (ii) educational technology and other materials (via Open Education Resources); (iii) Haitian Creole (“Kreyòl”) as the native language of all Haitians—thus, an indispensable condition to generalize active learning to all students. This presentation is an interim report on the Initiative, reporting on its rationale, its results to date, and its ultimate objectives. By way of example, we’ll discuss our experience of working with Haitian mathematics faculty, and show some examples of the material produced by the MIT-Haiti team and also by Haitian participants at our workshops.
Yon rapò pwovizwa sou Inisyativ MIT-Ayiti a:
Lang, teknoloji ak pedagoji pou n mete lekòl Ayiti yo tèt an wo pou yon peyi tèt an wo
Inisyativ MIT-Ayiti se yon pwojè “men anpil, chay pa lou” kote edikatè oz Etazini ansanm ak edikatè ann Ayiti mete tèt yo ansanm pou pataje epi pwofonde espètiz nan ansèyman Syans, Teknoloji, Enjeniri ak Matematik (“S.T.En.M.”). Inisyativ sa a chita sou twa wòch dife: (i) pedagoji entèraktif; (ii) teknoloji edikatif ansanm, Resous Edikatif Lib ( “Open Education Resources”) ansanm ak lòt materyèl; (iii) lang nasyonal peyi a—ki vle di: kreyòl kòm zouti endispansab pou aprantisaj aktif nan tout lekòl. Objektif prensipal la se mete lekòl Ayiti yo tèt an wo pou yon jou nou ka rive gen yon peyi tèt an wo. Prezantasyon sa a pral pataje yon rapò pwovizwa sou Inisyativ la: kote li soti, ki sa li akonpli e kote li vle rive. Pou n rann diskisyon an pli konkrè, nou pral diskite eksperyans nou fè nan kolabore ak anseyan matematik ann Ayiti, epi nou pral pataje kèk egzanp nan materyèl ki soti nan travay ekip MIT-Ayiti ansanm ak patisipan nan atelye nou yo.
Bios:
Pwofesè Michel DeGraff fè 13 lane etid klasik li nan Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague, Pòtoprens, Ayiti. Epi li pran yon lisans (B.Sc.) nan enfòmatik ak matematik nan City College of New York an 1986. Se an 1986 tou, pandan li t ap travay kòm enfòmatisyen nan sant rechèch sou entelijans atifisyèl nan AT&T Bell Laboratories (Murray Hill, New Jersey), li vin aprann ki sa lengwistik ye. Apre sa, li kontinye fè rechèch sou enfòmatik ak lengwistik nan University of Pennsylvania kote li ekri yon tèz sou sentaks lang kreyòl pou diplòm doktora li (Ph.D.) an 1992. Li anseye epi l fè rechèch pandan 1 an (1992–1993) nan CUNY Graduate Center nan vil Nouyòk. Apre sa li fè 3 lane kòm pwofesè nan University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Depi 1996 li se pwofesè lengwistik nan Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). Rechèch li, kòm lengwis, prensipalman konsène devlòpman ak chapant lang kreyòl. Rechèch sa a demontre ki jan lang kreyòl se lang ki devlope selon menm prensip, e ki gen menm kalte jèvrin, ak lòt lang tankou franse, angle, panyòl, e latriye. Epi tou, li fè kou sou sentaks, sou lang kreyòl e sou istorik, kilti ansanm ak divès dosye ki konsène moun nwa nan lemonn (“Black Matters”)... Se nan kòmansman ane 1990 yo ke Pwòf DeGraff te kòmanse kolabore ak Pwòf Yves Dejean (“Papa Iv”) sou rechèch lengwistik ak pratik ansèyman ki sèvi ak kreyòl kòm zouti ki endispansab pou bon jan kalte aprantisaj. Se egzanp Yves Dejean ki te vin enspire DeGraff fonde Inisyativ MIT-Ayiti an 2010. Inisyativ la chita sou two “wòch dife”: lang kreyòl, teknoloji ak aprantisaj aktif. Twa wòch dife sa yo se pou n kore lekòl tèt an wo ann Ayiti, sitou nan domenn syans ak matematik. Inisyativ sa a antre nan yon kad ki pi laj kote lang matènèl dwe sèvi kòm fondasyon konesans, libète, dwa moun, devlòpman ak jistis—san fòs kote—pou tout moun ka moun tou patou nan lemonn... Pwòf. DeGraff se youn nan manm fondatè Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen... Pami pri ke Pwòf. DeGraff deja resevwa pou travay li, gen twa ladan yo ki ba li plis kè kontan: “Jean Appolon Expressions Award for Outstanding Contribution to Haitian Culture and Patrimony” (2015); “M.I.T. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award” (2016), “Haitian Studies Association Award for Excellence” (2016). N ap jwenn pi plis detay sou travay Michel DeGraff nan sit sa a: http://mit.edu/degraff
Prof. Haynes Miller received his PhD in 1974 from Princeton University. After postdoctoral positions at Harvard and Northwestern, he joined the faculty at the University of Washington, achieving tenure in 1981. After a brief appointment at the University of Notre Dame, he moved in 1986 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been since. Professor Miller's research is in algebraic topology, and has directed 25 PhD theses in the subject. He served as editor for eleven disciplinary journals, including a term as editor in chief of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, and is a Fellow of the AMS. Miller was named Margaret MacVicar Fellow, 2005–2014, the highest teaching honor at MIT, and was the 2006 recipient of the Graduate Student Council Teaching Award. He has served on the Faculty Advisory Committee for MIT OpenCourseWare since 2008, and on the Technical Advisory Committee for the AAU Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative since 2012. More details at: http://math.mit.edu/directory/profile.php?pid=186
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Date and time:
Saturday, December 1, 2018
12:45 PM—2:30 PM