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Comment on Debates on Student-Centered Teaching by uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:48:28 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by APSU_CETL: New blog post: “Debates on Student-Centered Teaching” http://bit.ly/FnZW...

Comment on Debates on Student-Centered Teaching by Twitter Trackbacks for Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning » Blog Archive » Debates on Student-Centered Teaching [apsublogs.com] on Topsy.com

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:01:39 +0000

[...] Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning » Blog Archive » Debates on Student-Centered Teachi… cetl.apsublogs.com/2009/10/27/debates-on-student-centered-teaching – view page – cached What is a student-centered approach to designing and teaching a course? From a student-centered perspective, how does a teacher determine learning outcomes? How can she build assignments that… (Read more)What is a student-centered approach to designing and teaching a course? From a student-centered perspective, how does a teacher determine learning outcomes? How can she build assignments that facilitate the students’ achievement of those outcomes? How might a teacher write lectures and other supplemental materials that keep the students productively engaged with those assignments — that is, how does a teacher do this from a student-centered perspective? Obviously these questions are open to debate. (Read less) — From the page [...]

Comment on Lecture as Active Learning: Classroom-Assessment Techniques by Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning » Blog Archive » Classroom Assessment Techniques (videos of a workshop)

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:54:45 +0000

[...] following two videos are of a workshop on classroom-assessment techniques (CATs) from Austin Peay’s 2009 Summer Teaching Academy. CATs are not merely different techniques for [...]

Comment on Lecture as Active Learning: Classroom-Assessment Techniques by black hattitude

black hattitude — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:29:33 +0000

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Comment on Dumbing down a Course or Student Retention? by kanej

kanej — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:47:19 +0000

Hi Perry,

Thank you for your comment. You made some great points, and I hope you’ll share them at tomorrow’s faculty roundtable discussion on “Media-Based Learning Styles: Should Higher Education Yield to Them?”

I agree that teachers shouldn’t surprise students by giving off the false impression that a course is easier than it is. But there are ways of providing assignments of varying complexity without misleading students about the complexity of the course. Also, I would argue that a teacher’s varying the complexity of assignments does not in itself enable more students to pass a course. On the first day of class, many teachers provide some sort of self-introduction activity. That activity is tangential at best to the course material, but it facilitates the students’ sense of community. Students get to know each other well enough that they might talk to each other about the course outside of class, at least to get notes when they miss a day. All I’m asking is, Why don’t we create more of those community-building opportunities — especially when the internet, text-messaging services, and other technologies enable us to offer those opportunities without wasting valuable class time?

I’m trying to answer the following question: How do we get students to talk about the course material with each other, even beyond the confines of an assignment? As far as I can tell, the only way to achieve that is if the students befriend each other and develop a strong bond as APSU Fall 2009 Section 3 Biology Class — and that doesn’t happen over the more rigorous assignments. Of course, that doesn’t mean the more rigorous assignments shouldn’t determine who passes the course. It just means that woven between those more rigorous assignments are some community-building activities.

By the way, you made a very astute observation about students as young as 12yrs old having a structurally different relationship with authority. Coincidentally, I was just reading that same argument in Bob Pletka’s _Educating the Net Generation_. According to Pletka, because of the communal nature of wikis, YouTube, and the internet in general, many millennial students have problems elevating one voice as an authority over others. Pletka describes this characteristic as “empowering” and “democratic,” but you’re right: many millennial students too readily assume the role of information’s judge without knowing how to assume responsibility for that judgment.

Great observations, Perry. Thank you for contributing!

Comment on Dumbing down a Course or Student Retention? by Perry

Perry — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:31:51 +0000

I think the real issue at hand is sustained concentration over a period of time. Additionally, its about developing a career skill set for jobs employers are willing to pay people to fill. My thinking is simply that in many fields (Not all), people are required to sustain concentration and maintain focus for 8+ hours a day or at least 3-4hr blocks. Social structures have changed, most students 12 yrs old and older have little “fear” (not sure this is the right word), of their parents or teachers authority. Many simply feel they can make their own decisions which by itself isn’t bad, but many lack the wisdom to make productive decisions. Many students gravitate to classes precieved as “easy”. So this type of assignment may encourage students to enroll, and I agree this is a good thing. However, how does it benefit the student if they learn after the first 3 weeks that the class is going to be much more difficult than they anticipated. At some level this does not help the student. If they knew the class was difficult they could have made an informed decision about staying in the class when they may have been able to take a different course or saved tuition. Instead they invest 100% tuition in a course they find out they cannot handle. This leads to one of two outcomes: They drop and pay for something they get no credits for or they stay in a class they cannot handle and fail the course. Perhaps they will attempt the course again at a later date but does this help the student, I’m not so sure it does. So lets compare the benefits/risks. The hidden hypothesis is if I improve retention I will aid the student, and if I make the difficulty to hard I will hurt the student because they will not be retained and then not graduate. To err is human, we all make mistakes. However some students take classes repeatedly and either never pass or they pass with a C or a D. This type of accomodation is not for the student who ocassionally struggles in a single class or drops a class or two. This is for the student who either has decifiences (writing, concentration etc.) or who does not have the attention span required for college level work. So let’s say students retake several of these classes and eventually pass with marginal grades (this is typical, rarely those who fail get A’s or B’s in repeat courses). Let’s say these students even progress to graduating with a diploma in their respective field. John or Jane Doe employer takes a look at the resume and transcript of the individual who has failed and repeated several courses. They decide not to hire the individual. They interview with another employer and another, still no job. In the competitive job market, marginal performers do not get the jobs. This means the student has a very expensive piece of paper with a degree that does not impact their quality of life (especially if they have loans). Lets say courses are made easier and student have better grades with less knowledge. This student interviews and gets a job. Upon their first few weeks of work the employee (APSU grad) takes far longer to accomplish tasks, generally is less focused on their work, and has a weaker understanding of their field and their concepts. Employee B (APSU grad without these accomodations) developed stress coping mechanisms, the ability to focus for 3-4 hours at a time, can read detailed literature, and still has the abillity to use social networking etc. Employee B has a greater likelihood of being promoted, retaining their job, and contributing to the organization compared to Employee A. In summary if our goal is to look good on retention rates and paper diplomas then lets graduate everyone. If the goal is to produce a quality student capable of working effectively with prospective employers and positively reflecting on our educational quality then I don’t believe these types of assignment are effective for long term goals. They may temporarily solve enrollment issues or justifications in staff/faculty but long term I am not sure this is helpful. I believe its not about passing a course its about an outcome and thats employability.