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Reading #1: The Promising Syllabus (Lang) (69 comments)
This is a nice way of thinking of the syllabus as “the beginning of a conversation” with students.
Teaching my first hybrid class last semester, I tried to design assignments that leave room for students to select which topics or articles they want to pursue. I found that students produce better work and are more engaged when they have some agency in directing their own learning based on their interests.
I agree that this is a boring part of the class, but I do like having a little downtime on the first day as a student where I’m not “on the spot.” Introductions stress me out! I feel like balance is key here. What do you all think?
This seems like an especially challenging prospect in an intro-level required class.
I agree, Tamara. I’ve found this to be a helpful motivator. I wonder to what extent this is possible for instructors across the disciplines. It would be interesting to hear about the possibility of doing this kind of thing when your assignments or exams are more prescribed by the department.
I think reviewing the Syllabus is important so the students know what to expect. I do not think you need to read all of it but just discuss the most important points.
Highly agree, the need to provide an in-depth preview of the course
I like that approach. It gives the students an “ownership” in the course results
You are now in your THIRD class and the syllabus is still being discussed. I think too much time is being lost on the course itself.
Highly agree
A good point, Dan. Doing things in this way will inevitably set back the progress you can make on course content (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but is definitely an important consideration). This is also true of other collaborative projects that we do with students: building grading rubrics together, for example. Are there also affordances to doing this kind of thing? If so, what are they?
Has anyone ever tried something like this? How did it go?
Yes, I think discussing the major policies, goals, overview are important. But that doesn’t necessarily mean “reading from the script” … students can read the syllabus (or not) on their own, so I think it’s important to verbalize certain things or at least put it in a different context.
Ditto. What students can’t get from the syllabus they’ve already been handed (and likely e-mailed or posted to Blackboard weeks before) is further clarification.
Same, this is very Paulo Freire and it’s empowering to students (and teachers, I think!)
Interesting. I actually would feel better about using this strategy for an upper-level course as opposed to an introductory one.
I’m familiar with Bain’s ideas here–I try to integrate this “promising” language into my own introduction to the course on the first day (orally), but would like to think about how my syllabus might also reflect this approach.
Interesting idea. I wonder how this might work for those teaching two sections of the same course as an adjunct–how to handle the added time necessary to have different sets of assignments?
I hear this concern–its particularly interesting to think about this just as we’ve finished the semester, and I’m left wondering whether I should have emphasized certain things more strongly (plagiarism policy, importance of participation, etc.). Of course, I could probably work on other ways to reinforce these throughout the semester–I’m sure most students can’t retain all of this on the first day when there’s so much to take in anyway!
I disagree. I view the syllabus as a contract between the instructor and the student. The student is eager to learn what is expected of them. The syllabus provides an opportunity for the instructor to communicate his/her expectations.
On the first day of class. I like to give the class another Woody Allen quote ” ninety percent of success is simply showing up”
I agree with the legalistic aspect. It is very important that the students know your grading policies and other policies such attendance and makeup exams.
It is an interesting idea to prepare a syllabus that is not boring. Some instructors think everything is an opportunity to teach the students something. The syllabus could be used as a learning experience.
I would like to learn more about Bain’s “promising sylllabus”
I am interested in seeing a sample of such a syllabus for an accounting/business course.
Meredith,
You bring up a good point. It seems that change often brings on more work for an already overworked instructor.
Dan,
I agree with you. I guess new approaches can involve a little risk-taking.
How can one incorporate these suggestions when the department provides a syllabus template? Should an additional cover sheet be used? Should a video introduction be used? Are you going to provide examples that have been used and have been effective in engaging students in previous courses?
This is a great idea. Students have many ideas and this would be a good platform for them to become more active on their own learning. What would ne the best way to incorporate this idea into business courses, particularly introductory or advanced courses?
I find levity emerges as we read this serious document and experience our shared nervousness on the first day.
If Hudd truly gives them “all the components necessary for creating a set of assignments for a course…” it doesn’t sound like it’s “floating.” Perhaps the author has not experienced alternative education methods. Or I’m not understanding him.
I am surprised by this paragraph as well. On the other hand, if we trust human engagement and ingenuity, age and level and experience shouldn’t particularly matter when it comes to creating a project on behalf of oneself. It should work, but democracy is hard!
I am guessing most teachers do create a list of potential assignments, or at least would hear a student out who has an alternative idea from the instructor’s. I regularly offer these options, and enjoy the students’ ideas very much. I am happy to read the other comments and sounds like we share this enthusiasm!
How about integrating the two sections into one group for this set of activities?
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the complete assignment prompt is developed by the students. We could have assignments are that are fairly open-ended that provide a considerable amount of control/leeway for students to bring out some level of variety in what they develop and submit. We can discuss some examples when we meet.
How do the students know in advance how to design a syllabus about a topic of which they know little or nothing? They don’t know the salient skills vocabulary, insights , etc. that they need to acquire. Sure it may be fun. They may be able to dumb down the assignments and make the course easier.
This does not seem like a good idea to me.
To what does she compare this. What is the objective she uses to benchmark this? How many observations does she have. What level of significance is she looking at? Unless the tests are identical, I question the validity of her statement. And the tests are unlikely to be identical, because the students designed and customized the syllabus, and therefore, the material on which they will be tested.
Perhaps for a small seminar; but what about a course with 300 students in an amphitheater?
That is sensible. It seems obvious that students learn better if they are allowed to select topics (as in a research paper) in which they are interested.
I use humor during class teaching; however, I like to set a tone of seriousness in the beginning. I find jokes at this point distracting. Otherwise, you can encounter behavior problems from the start if you make your class a joke.
There are requirements for introductory courses that do not involve student participation. We all must learn to follow instructions, and that is one of the goals of composition. Professors are not collaborators with students in designing a syllabus.
After teaching on the college level for over 35 years, I would hope that I know how to design a syllabus. I do not expect college Freshmen to have this skill.
Good luck to those who cede control to students! I for one prefer to remain in charge of my classes. I do give them freedom when choosing research topics, debate topics, and essay topics, but seriously, I think anyone who cedes control on the first day is in for a rude awakening.
I wonder if taking those two weeks or few class sessions to collaborate on a syllabus with the whole class wouldn’t be better if the syllabus was structured but the assignments themselves could be constructed in a group format.
I like students to always feel as though we can have a conversation about what is going to happen in class–but it is still important to set boundaries in the first few sessions. They expect us to be in the position of authority. And then the semester can evolve with more levity and freedom.
Strongly agree.
This is interesting point… defining a promising syllabus as ceding control / empowering students
This is important, as it asks us to define the criteria by which we evaluate our students.
O don’t read my entire syllabus. It IS boring; I agree with the author. What I do is go over the main requirements and grading policy, and then over the course of the term, I remind them of salient points or upcoming assignments, etc. Students, however, really need everything carefully read to them. I think I should do it, even though it’s boring.
I like that.
One question I want to ask students in the Fall: Looking back at your previous classes, what did you find intellectually challenging? I might ask this question in the form I ask students to fill out in the first day of class in which they write their name, their major, interest in marketing etc.
Faculty clearly have the disciplinary knowledge and experience teaching that students lack. Still, I feel we can sometimes get in our own way when it comes to evolving new approaches and ideas. We can let courses and our approaches to assignments get stale. This approach is one way to keep our teaching fresh. And to give students agency, which may increase their intrinsic motivation. A teacher can always tweak things and our students are quite informed when it comes to assignments; they’ve been getting them for years and they know which ones have afforded better learning experiences. I don’t think they would always necessarily go for the path of least resistance; they would, I believe, push toward assignments that engage them. And the professor could orchestrate the process to make sure it doesn’t dumb down the course. I would be interested in trying something like this in my own classes.
In thinking about the syllabus “as a conversation,” I’m interested in the ways in which the course syllabus can be a document that introduces the narrative/landscape of the course but also offers students a place to work in or make a particular type of annotation to that narrative as the semester progresses (this type of space might also have the advantage of returning students to the document and policies on it).
That’s a really great point.
I think this idea is interesting, but I wonder about the timing. Are students designing assignments halfway through the semester or from the outset. What is the impact of the timing of this activity on the classroom community? Does it leave room for modification as different interests arise over the course of the semester or does it necessarily lock-in the course structure?
I wonder about the disciplinary translatability of this model.
I don’t read the whole syllabus. I do think the notion of making the ideas discussed on the first day (especially regarding grades and plagiarism—taken in a broad sense) a regular feature of class discussions is a good one, and something I’d like to do more of.
I also agree that it is very important to read the syllabus out loud. More specifically, to provide a more in-depth preview of the course and also to facilitate open discussions and dialogues with the students.
I actually go over my syllabus with a PowerPoint presentation that leads into a light lecture about the course and topics that will be covered in the course. Therefore, bringing in the PowerPoint presentation allows me to turn the syllabus into a visual presentation, because I do agree with the idea that, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
I actually go over my syllabus with a PowerPoint presentation that leads into a light lecture about the course and topics that will be covered in the course. Therefore, bringing in the PowerPoint presentation allows me to turn the syllabus into a visual presentation, because I do agree with the idea that, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
My course offers ample opportunities for plagiarism. Consequently I endeavor to discourage them from submitting work that is not their own by giving my students unstructured assignments that tap their creativity as well as Excel proficiency.
When participants in my class meet for the first time it is important to make a good impression. I use VoiceThread and explain that students are expected to share thoughtful introductory statements in response to my remarks.
Could not agree more!
Dr. Millhiser has advocated Ken Bain’s book to me and his endorsement goes a long way. I have not read the whole book but the excerpts that he emphasized make total sense to me.
If there’s a question being discussed, we all know that there are totally engaged students who cannot wait to jump in and then there are students who for shyness or fear simply do not engage. I worry about them … one method I have used at the suggest of Dr. Pekurny, a veteran teacher at NWU, is to ask “Who has not added to the conversation and thinks they might have a comment?”. I will be honest though, it doesn’t always work!
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Activity #3: Peer Instruction for Active Learning (68 comments)
In college, I had a job at an AM radio station where I had to run a sound board. Literally everyone who worked there except for me had been running this board for more than 15 years. When they were training me up, there were so many things that they just completely forgot to explain to me. It was a rough learning curve because certain things had just become entirely automatic to my co-workers, so I had to learn a lot through trial and error. So, yes: I’m convinced by Pinker’s idea of “the curse of knowledge.”
I know everytime I teach something new, too, that there are things I fail to explain to my students because they’ve become fairly automatic to me and because it’s hard to anticipate what they’re not going to understand.
Very interesting video. I’m looking forward to the program on 6/17.
In my class “Selling and Sales Management”, it is more of an “applied” subject, and less on science. Students have to use critical thinking in real time. As part of their grade, I have the students do a Live Sales Role Play, with a fellow student, and we discuss after regarding pros/cons, what they did right, and where they could have done better.
I believe that this type of assignment, plays into what Prof Mazur is discussing within this video.
We can discuss further on 6/17. Thanks. DCS
I think this can sometimes (although not always) be true. One thing I sometimes find helpful in this respect is teaching a few texts I’m less familiar with (I teach Great Works of Literature). While I have already learned the strategies for analysis a long time ago, which the students may not have, my experience of engaging with the work itself can be a bit closer to theirs in this sense.
Group work is a big part of my classes, and works particularly well for texts like poems that students find challenging. Sometimes I’ll use a jigsaw method, where students are each assigned a different question, or a different section of the text, and then get together with students who have a different section or question, to bring together their answers, work out questions they might have, and answer a new question that ties their work together–having each come in as an “expert.”
Group-work is one place for critical thinking, as well as short in-class writing assignments (freewriting). My goal is for our class discussions to also be a space for critical thinking and/or “sense-making”–although I’m not sure this always succeeds. It seems that allowing time for some work beforehand (e.g. a short freewrite) does improve the level of critical thinking in discussions.
I definitely use group-work (see below), but I’ve been less successful with student presentations as a method of peer instruction.
Hey Meredith – just in case we forget to mention it on the day of the workshop, have you ever seen the Zicklin guide for group work and oral presentations? I’m an English instructor, too, and though not all of it is totally usable in my context, I’ve found it to be a really helpful resource for thinking through and structuring group presentations. We’ll post it to our resources page and give you the address with the post-workshop evaluation.
We’re also going to look at some Vocat applications (Baruch’s homegrown video annotation and sharing platform) at the workshop. In case you’ve never played around with that, it might open up some new options for group (or individual) presentations.
That’s such an interesting distinction: there are the analysis skills that we need to have to look at the text (and we might be experts in those), and then there’s the text itself (which may be new). So the text itself wouldn’t necessarily fall under “the curse of knowledge,” right?
I wonder if there are analogous circumstances in other people’s fields.
I personally am introverted and bored by small talk. Peer instruction sounds good, as the curse of knowledge is indeed a curse. I recall trying to learn from partners in CPA firms and not being able to relate to them. I hope we discuss this further during the workshop
Students explain things to each other from a beginner’s pov. Students also compare answers, which is an act of critical thinking.
When my students share papers, I hear them instructing each other on the rudiments of paper writing and asking questions about content. They also help each other with expectations of any particular assignment.
I also like the jigsaw method Meredith refers to, but not as elaborate. Thank you, Meredith!
I think a battle we all experience is how to balance critical thinking in peer collaboration settings, which takes time, with all of the reading we often assign. I hope we brainstorm on this together on Friday!
I like what Meredith writes about teaching new texts. It keeps us honest, doesn’t it?! I recently took Chinese 101 and I learned how hard learning something new is–and that quizzes really do get you to study, by the way! It increased my empathy for my students. Sometimes it is hard to know what they know though. The more knowledgeable ones speak more (often), and we instructors, breathless and ambitious, can let that bury the bewildered–something to watch out for (I remind myself.)
Does Mazur let low-paid adjuncts from NYC sit in on his physics course? 😉
Teaching themselves engages them more actively. Also avoids the “curse of knowledge”. Gives them an opportunity to have those “aha moments” in the classroom.
It is difficult- but probably not impossible- to build elements into my class which has 265 students and a large amount of survey material (survey of business) during the semester.
I think it depends on the individuals. Each person, as we all know, has his/her own way of integrating information. Peer learning is certainly a useful and powerful tool. In another course I teach at another university, I use peer learning from time to time. But that class is much smaller than the one I teach at Baruch.
Some of his videos are available on YouTube, if you’re interested. Here are two of my faves:
Mazur demonstrates peer instruction in a large lecture class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wont2v_LZ1E
Mazur discusses assessment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBzn9RAJG6Q
I never experienced peer instruction as a student; I, like Mazur, was lectured at throughout my undergraduate career. I do use peer workshops for the purpose of keeping up a kind of competition among students. They write better when they know their fellow students will be reading the work, and eventually they write paragraphs and collective essays together. This cannot be done immediately at the beginning of the term. Students are often shy and do not want to share their writing, especially if they are poor writers. Peer workshops help in overcoming timidity and also improves skills.
I have been doing peer review for first drafts of students papers for about the past three years. I wasn’t sure about it at the beginning–but about 90% of my students tell me (here at Baruch and at the other institutions I teach) that they gain more from that activity than most others.
Critical thinking can come in many forms. From journals to just free writing about a topic. Group work is great because it really can let the students help each other think critically.
Well–what do the students think has changed for them from the beginning of the semester to the end? What do we think it is? I look at their writing, their ability to discuss with more of a critical and focused scope, and how they process new information.
My BA is in Mathematics and many times as a student we learned more from working with each other versus the Chalkboard lecture.
So I agree with the success, however so far I have not used it in class.
I currently have a groups of students working together to do power point presentations on different business plans
I really need to focus on this to see how this will be implemented in my classes.
This idea of “curse of knowledge” is quite accurate in my opinion. Again I goo back to my Math courses. Many professors would start at Step 5 in an equation assuming everyone knew “step 1 thru step 4, when in reality no one correctly knew those steps.
Right now only by testing and presentations to see if they have the concepts correct.
I do the same in an accounting class. Do you use the Schwartz Institute consultants?
Dan, were there opportunities for learning from your peers in your class, or did you learn from each other in out-of-class (or adjacent-to-class) experiences (like study groups, for example)?
Really interesting, Suzanna. Have your students told you what they found specifically useful about peer review? Do you give them guidance or even explicit instruction in how to conduct their reviews?
In business courses, case studies are useful for critical thinking. I am guilty of not using them as often as I should.
I find that even graduate students can feel shy about sharing their writing! Is there something in particular that you do to foster a more comfortable classroom environment that allows students to feel more confident in sharing their work?
For sure, Carol. The content vs. peer instruction debate is one that we had a lot during our hybrid seminar last fall and spring. Mazur has written elsewhere that his department decided on a 10-15% reduction in content in order to make more space for peer collaboration. But the benefit is that they had more of a sense of what students were learning. In a class that prioritizes the transfer of information over sense-making, this can be less true.
I agree with Mazur that a student who has just learned the material may be in a better position to help another student.
I have heard quite frequently that the instructor lecturing is not as effective as student to student interaction. It is hard to let go of the lecture method.
Mazur has inspired me to give it shot. I want to learn more about the flipped classroom.
Don, you might be interested in watching a video of Mazur’s large lecture class at Harvard. I didn’t post it here to save time, but it offers a compelling model for how to apply some of the things that he’s advocating. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wont2v_LZ1E
Interesting, Suzanna. Do your students write self-reflections?
Lindsay
Thanks for sharing the Mazur Youtube Videos
It seems like the major affordance of peer instruction, in Mazur’s words, is to avoid “the curse of knowledge.” The other affordance is that this method can be applied to all aspects of university life, including, of course, other courses. That “a-ha” moment can be re-contextualized in any setting but especially, according to Mazur, outside the classroom. Switching the setting where that understanding occurs is the key. Unfortunately, “peer learning” wasn’t a thing, at least where I went to school during an undergraduate. But, like many of you have said in this thread, whenever I do a peer review based activity, students do rank it as one of the most productive (and fun) assignments at the end of the semester.
The “Jigsaw Method” sounds great, and I’ve never used it! I do love “fish bowls”–has anyone tried that? Where a group of students form the basis for discussion (situated in the middle of the room) and the rest of the class act as audience members who contribute their own questions, comments, and perhaps even criticisms or challenges, after the fishbowl group finishes conducting their discussion.
Meredith, I love your “sense-making” term! I too find it useful to often start class by freewriting some thoughts/questions, or even creative scenes and dialogue about “What I did yesterday” and it seems like, once students commit that sort of revelation on paper, they are also a lot more comfortable discussing things orally afterward. The basis of my class is actually critical thinking, we even spend a whole seminar discussing the value (and decline) of critical thinking vs. emotional reasoning in and outside of academia. The seminars are typically built BY the students; questions and points they raise together in a Google document prior to coming in to class twice a week.
I think the most basic way to “learn by doing” is by applying the subject matter of the course to something outside the course, perhaps by having students produce an object, image or some other multimedia based assignment (website, video, social media post) that illustrates a concept or idea.
Yeah, I think we can all agree as instructors that one of the reasons why there are so many great experts in academia but also more than a handful of “bad teachers” is that it’s often very hard to instruct people in ideas, concepts, subjects that you are already an “expert” in. It’s hard to step away from that knowledge and break it down. I love all this discussion about “the text” though … the text definitely does keep us honest and keep us learning as much as the students and from the students, if we are running our classrooms as facilitators.
Yeah, the big questions Suzanna pose are very useful on any sort of assessment, especially an “end-of-the-year” evaluation of learning.
The advantages of peer instruction includes having students participate in the DRAMA of learning. They are not passive recipients of learning.
I use something similar: I ask a question and have students discuss among themselves before I pool the responses. I do not give my point of view, but ask more clarifying questions. At the very end, during the debrief, I model the right way of thinking about the problem and the right response.
see my response to Q#1
Mazur is talking about transforming passive learners into instructors… as in students instructing each other.
role plays, group discussion, and also group work (though much of the latter occurs OUTSIDE of class)
It is true that some beginning learners really understand what is difficult about a problem. Nevertheless, experienced teachers do have the BIGGER picture and, if they take the time, can see the larger purpose that’s embedded in each assignment (what skill is at stake, what is the next assignment). Ideally, teachers really listen to students and by listening learn what are the roadblocks to learning.
The assessment part was not clear to me. The test that opened his eyes emphasizes real-world applications of physics. He realized that students did well on exams based on the textbook and the formulas which they memorized, but could not apply this learning to the real world. This realization led to the peer teaching breakthrough that he had. But does he now assess students with REAL WORLD scenarios? Does he rely on essay-format in his exams more than before?
I hope we focus Friday more on issues like those in this video than in the other two essays. This seems to get at the heart of what we’re all doing or should be trying to do.
I’ve had some success with this type of peer instruction — assigning problems from the textbook for students to discuss in groups of three for 10-15 minutes, with the caution that if they all quickly come to the same answer, they’re probably not analyzing the problem sufficiently. (Class is business law).
Unfortunately time is taken from this by recommendations that one can’t just rely on the students doing the reading assignments or understanding them if they have. As a result, have started reviewing the topic(s) with Power Point slides which, imo, is backsliding by putting the “transfer of information” format back into the classroom rather than before it.
I always really appreciate not only the questions that come up when students work on problems together, but the way they work together to begin to develop a problem-solving logic that they can implement on future questions
I also use group work frequently. This past semester, students were responsible for presenting course readings from various perspectives and generating a hand-out that both supplemented that presentation and gave the rest of the class a way to engage directly with it.
Thanks for the preparatory material! I look forward to our conversations tomorrow!
Mazur’s point about doing the reading in advance seems key to me. Students need something they can sink their teeth into. I’ve also found the process is more effective when students work together over time and get to know one another. When this works best, students teach me aspects of the texts we’re examining I had not noticed before.
One semester, I went over an enormous(at least to me it was) amount of in class activities or assignments with my students. I felt the amount of work we went over in class was overwhelming for the students but my goal was to have them practice, practice, and practice. At the end of the semester, one of my top performing student actually said that she would have preferred to go over more in class assignments. At the time, I was surprised at her statement but now as I reflect back to her statement, I can say that students learn best by actually doing the work.
For many of my classes, critical thinking occurs when the students are forced to think “outside the box.” For example, in my Principles of Accounting class I often talk about many theories and principles that are the foundation and backbone of accounting. However, when I introduce a concept not specifically stated in their textbook or a question that has not been answered by their textbook, many students are confused but also inquisitive. They want to know more about the practical application of accounting and instinctively they are also searching for a solution or answer to the question posed.
Do we think it would be wise to admit that we might night be the world’s best teacher! We do however know our subject matter and if there is a way that a student would like to learn that is not happening, don’t be shy! Say something … please.
Memorizing recipes happens in life … there’s no time for anything. So when Mazur stumbled upon the peer instruction concept, the lightbulb went on. I absolutely love paired sharings and have used it consistently in my classes and while I see the class ‘groups’ totally engaged, I can literally feel the energy level rise in the classroom. Very exciting stuff.
For example, if I am talking about services and bottlenecks, I have students make a note next time they go to Starbucks and literally capture in their minds’ eyes the process. Then I ask them to come together in small groups and map it out using process workflow.
Reading in advance is probably the right way … and then getting the students engaged in the conversation during the class .. but honestly it seems that students are overwhelmed with so much to reach and study.
In my opinion this is a problem and I do not know the answer. Hoping to get it from the Workshop:)
Although my opinion has not yet fully formulated, in general I do believe that the curse of knowledge has a lot to do with assuming that you know what you know and you know what you don’t know but not realizing that you do not know what you do not know.
Put differently, it is arrogance.
An interesting question. As teachers we have so many tests to grade and that seems to be the standard measurement technique. But “learning” is not the same as “passing the test”. Learning is really about understanding and applying what you’ve learned to real life. That is probably best ‘measured’ (tested) via essay responses but let’s be honest folks: can you really have enough time in the day to grade essay questions on hundreds of exams and by the way, what about the student who will complain after not getting an A that the standard of grading is not objectively set?
With time and ethical constraints, therefore, it does indeed seem to be easier to measure learning with a Scantron.
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Reading #2: Is It OK To Be a Luddite? (Stommel and Morris) (23 comments)
I believe you need both. Face to Face and digital.
Combining these two result in a better result than just using just one of them.
Digital makes it easier to research while Face to face can delve into the research.
The “chalkboard” re-in forces the research from the digital.
I’m not sure what the goal of this piece is, besides reminding us that it is not (and really never) a good idea to write off anything, in the classroom or otherwise. I would rather ask the specific questions Lang poses in “The Promising Syllabus” and explore the various possibilities of integrated tech, and how to best integrate it, in the classroom. I don’t think of videos and images and sound in our classroom as “attention-diverting”–maybe attention-enhancing but to assume that tech is inherently a distraction without exploring its benefits in the classroom seems kind of silly. Maybe I’ve missed the point here? But the tone seems really reductive, at least compared to the first reading.
Yes! I also don’t think it makes sense to lump together the various tools available to us (“tech”) in one category–we have to think critically about how and to what purpose we’re using them (just as we want our students to do–perhaps building that into the course, or at least explaining to students the rationale behind our choices). I actually remember being frustrated as an undergrad when certain professors seemed to be using tech simply for the sake of using tech–but use Blogs@Baruch, etc. in my own classroom.
That’s a really great point, Meredith. I also remember feeling frustrated about blogging for blogging’s sake as a student. Has anyone out there had a particularly positive experience of tech use either as a student or as an instructor? An instance where tech was used to enhance good pedagogy (rather than tech sort of being the “center” of the learning objective)?
[ Google may not be making us stupid, but it is changing our minds]
Our students inhabit a time where internet, mobile technology, and access to information seems almost unlimited. Google does change our mind if you consider the internet an extension of what we are able know.
When I consider my own educational experiences, it makes me wonder how these tools and access shape a student’s learning experience and environment. Is it possible that technologies and the access to information they provide changes our role as the professor and pushes us to question our teaching methods anew in light of the changed environments we now encounter?
Dan and Meredith, I agree with you both. Face-to-face (F2F) and digital components have different functions and can help create a successful course. And, like Meredith mentioned, it is important to consider the purpose of tech (and F2F) in the course.
Since the digital and F2F aspects serve different purposes, when thinking about how to incorporate tech into your course, taking a step back to reconsider the learning goals or objectives for the course may help illuminate the best options for tech in the course.
[To fear a technological future is to deny a technological past and present.]
I like this recasting of “technology”. We often think of “tech” as networked technologies such as the internet, smart phones, wifi, etc. but “technology” as a concept is much broader.
As Stommel and Morris mention, fear and criticism of technology is not new. It is helpful for me to remember that a critical but open-minded approach to these developments may be the best way to begin embracing the changes driven by technology.
Lecture based courses can definitely benefit from the use of technology. Keeping students engaged in the class longer will help them retain more information. Online courses definitely need to use mixed formats to captivate the students and engage them in their learning community.
The center of this essay is unclear. Is it about digital tech in general? Online education? It is hard to respond to or engage with given the lack of depth as each topic is raised.
I wish I appreciated this mini-essay more. I found myself resisting it and wanting to challenge it. For one, these questions have been asked for decades.
On the one hand, I want to tell the Luddites he refers to that they have to engage in social media for certain things or miss out entirely. For example, to get a book published, you have to have a social media presence.
On the other hand, I fear everyone’s “nature deficit disorder,” which seems to come, in part, from our easy entrancement with digital media. When I situate myself inside anti-digital tech, I want to disappear into the woods where I grew up.
He might throw climate change in there too.
Meta-commentary: I am as interested in the nature of short essays. Are they necessarily superficial? Annoying?
Sorry, everyone, but I also found the video so general as to be superficial. What’s the focus of the video? Misery?
Anything that helps to build up a “neural network” that facilitates learning and understanding is positive. We should use those tools in our technology toolkit that can facilitate that learnings.
Welcome to the 21st century! Those who do not want to be a part of it should backtrack to Medieval times! My daughter is a Computer Engineer and has worked for Google as an intern, and I can tell you firsthand that she is one of the smartest people I know.
First, let me say that at MIT, there are chalkboards that operate by remote control, and the Nobel Laureate scientists who use them obviously do not think they are obsolete, so why should we differ? The chalkboard is important when explaining ideas and information that students do not grasp or cannot spell.
I agree with Meredith also. I feel often that in writing classes, I really want us just to talk and write then talk more. I’m not always sure how productive tech can be if it’s simply another percentage in their overall grade, like, to make sure they are posting every week. I like for my students to keep an online journal, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t always have time to check them each week.
I have a feeling I’m not the only one in that boat.
It is true that for some purposes on-line classes FALL SHORT of face-to-face classes. This is specially true for students who could benefit from befriending and networking with fellow students.
Lovely last paragraph!
Lindsey, to answer your question about examples of good use of tech in our experience: Technology is working well in this instance, getting us to collaborate on reading these texts before a F2F meeting. This one example of a positive use, and one that’s fairly low impact on the organizers, who only have to read the comments and respond as desired. Plus, it gives us a format for airing our ideas and helps direct our discussion better when we meet in person (hopefully). I’ve used CommentPress in my classes and it’s such a great resource for crowd-sourcing responses to readings, getting students talking together (and not at or to me only), and having them do peer review. And I’m really enjoying reading people’s comments on these articles.
I’m very interested in tech platforms that enable students to collaborate outside the classroom environment so, for example, annotation software that allows students to mark up a text together while not sharing a physical location (as we’re doing here). I’ve also used Trello (not specifically designed as ed tech) where students can pose questions about a reading and work together on those questions: color coding key words, organizing them, drawing connections, doing background work, finding passages that would help address them, etc). I’ve enjoyed the ways in which these platforms push our conversation once we return to the classroom.
I definitely agree that finding middle ground works best. I’ve had students be extremely interested in crazy diagrams and arrows and flying concepts on the wipe board or blackboard. But I’ve also seen blogs or similar setups work well. After Hurricane Sandy, I asked students (this was in a high school setting) to write about their experiences. The students then worked together to choose the best work and that went up on a dedicated blog. Also, as mentioned in comments above, having students use the platform to annotate, comment, and go to and fro about a text has worked well and generated real enthusiasm.
The last paragraph is a wonderful summary, when do we as teachers decide that technology is impeding student development, making our students less efficient and knowledgeable? Yes, technology is here to stay but how do we find a balance between the use of technology and active student learning ? When do we decide to switch them over to leather shoes? These are some of the questions I am asking myself after reading this passage.
I believe that everyone, even the most techno phobic individuals engage in behaviors that are off-putting to others. In fact I have witnessed one person playing a radio so loud that it drowns conversation, and then complaining that other people are too wrapped up in their cell phones. Blaming this disconnect on technology ridiculous, the problem exists because people need to establish some kind of control over what is going on around them.
Welcome (3 comments)
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