Occasionally I get a request from teachers or professors about how they can help their students learn more. I do have some rather, shall we say, strong feelings about this.
Teachers teach in different ways, students learn in different ways. I do believe there are ways to help more students succeed with just a bit more help from the professors.
The key to this? Putting notes up online or sending them out so the student can print them out before class. Now why is this so handy? Well, mainly, because a student who isn’t furiously writing down notes is going to (ideally) be paying attention more and making their own notes on the notes.
Now, how is this tricky? Well, some students really do learn better by writing out the notes - personally, in trying to get everything written I rarely have time to think about it much so the print out method is best for me. The good part about this technique, however, is students who do need to write out all the notes are still welcome, but those aural learners can focus more on the lecture and less on furiously writing.
The other drawback? Some students may use the notes as an excuse not to go to class. Well, first - I don’t believe that the lazy students should be setting the standards. Also, the point of a class is not to punish a student for attending or not attending, but to educate and if a student misses a class he or she should absolutely be able to benefit from the notes. Some professors forget this, unfortunately.
So what else can they do?
Clear goals, clear expectations. If a student is going to be expected to know something, let them know they are to know it. Playing hide and seek with what is expected is counterproductive. A student cannot learn every bit offered in a course and should have some good idea of what should be focused on. Generally, I feel this is best handled by some sort of review sheet given out at least a few days before any big exam, but also in the beginning of any new section. Going to need to know the dates of every slide? Fine, but let your students know ahead of time.
Now, all these things allow for a certain level of freeloader allowance. All I can say is, so what? Again, I don’t believe the lowest common denominator should be the basis. This will help the students learn, not just succeed - and I’m pretty sure that’s kind of the point. I can assure you, however, that some of the most challenging classes I’ve taken have provided these sorts of options - freeloaders won’t succeed here any better.
But, as I said - every professor and student is different and this is certainly not the only way to effectively teach; I think, like a student thinking about studying, a professor that spends some time thinking about teaching and learning is likely to do a much better job.
09/10/2007 at 3:55 pm Permalink
Is Pedagoguery even a word? If it is it’s a very odd word. Very odd.
09/10/2007 at 3:59 pm Permalink
Dictionary.com says it is, and I’ve heard it before… :)
But it’s certainly not a terribly common one. I tend to come up with titles more or less instantly, and as long as it doesn’t offend me somehow - it sticks. :grins:
I just don’t a chance to use five-syllable words all that often.
09/10/2007 at 4:03 pm Permalink
That’s what I get for checking wiktionary. (In my defense I was already on wikipedia and it was jut ONE click.) I would still have used “pedagogy” instead though. I’m not trying to shame you or anything. I just thought that it was a really odd word.
09/10/2007 at 4:24 pm Permalink
That probably would have been a better word, pedagoguery is a bit archaic.
10/10/2007 at 12:47 pm Permalink
I agree with some of what you say: Objectives and goals should be clear; printable notes can be useful. As you mentioned, part of the learning process for many (if not all) students is notetaking. It forces the student to not only listen but physically process the information. If this task was removed from classes, the result might be lazier, less disciplined minds as well as an inefficient absorption of information. So I agree notes should be put up online, as a supplement to the students’ own notes, rather than as a replacement. However, I believe attendance is important, if for no other reason than to teach responsibility and prepare students for the real world, where they will be expected to show up for their jobs on time, every day, without fail. If a student’s record shows perfect attendance, it says something about his/her character to potential employers.