If you’re on a semester calendar, this academic year is winding down. As courses come to a close, it’s time for those end-of-course ratings which many of us administer with some cynicism.
Archive for April, 2010
Working Alone and Together
Posted Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerThey’re those independent learners who participate in group activities reluctantly and almost always prefer to do it alone. Should we excuse them from group work when they want to go it alone? There were points made on both sides. If they don’t learn well in social contexts, then why should we place them in situations that compromise what they’re going to learn? But group work is expected in so many professional contexts. Aren’t we doing students a disservice if we don’t help them develop the skills they’ll need to function effectively in groups?
A Journal Feature Worth Noting
Posted Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerRecently, I was reading the journal Cell Biology Education (sometimes referred to as CBE Life Sciences Education). It’s a fairly new pedagogical periodical but it’s consistently excellent—made so in part by a regular feature called Current Insights. Edited by Erin Dolan, a biochemist who works at Virginia Tech, the column summarizes educational research relevant to those teaching in the sciences. Or, in the editor’s words, “This feature is designed to point … readers to current articles of interest in life sciences education as well as more general and noteworthy publications in education research.”
Joining the Conversation
Posted Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerIn a previous blog entry, we revisited the market metaphor and its applicability to higher education. Robert Knapp pointed out some of the comparisons that stimulate thought, analysis and hopefully response. But he concluded, as most in higher education have, that overall, a business model does not capture what higher education aspires to be about. He suggests an interesting alteration—a slogan that captures what Knapp considers an appropriate guiding metaphor for higher education. “Joining the conversation.”
Good Courses and Good Papers
Posted Monday, April 19th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerI’m always on the lookout for new teaching metaphors and I found a good one this weekend.
“What magic is it that removes the barrier—that allows teachers to converse with, rather than to talk at, our students? It’s my private theory that the solution is analogous to writing itself: that good classes, like good papers need a thesis, a plan, a problem, and, finally, a sense of larger significance.” (p. 38)
The Market Metaphor
Posted Thursday, April 15th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerI remember the first time something in the newsletter generated all kinds of reader response … well, the very first time was when I used “criteria” when I should have written “criterion”, but the first response to substance involved an article suggesting that higher education ought to be run more like a business. The response was overwhelmingly negative—some of it thoughtful, a lot of it visceral. It is a metaphor that still rankles and does not do justice, given the aims and purposes of higher education. But as Robert H. Knapp, Jr. points out, the metaphor does highlight some comparisons to which educators should attend.
Inflated Self-Assessment
Posted Thursday, April 8th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerI wonder about the long-term effects of grades on the ability to self-assess. I got to thinking about this after I read the study referenced below. In it, 97 students assessed the participation of their peers and their own participation. Professors in the study also assessed students’ participation. The researchers looked at the correlations between [...]
The Truly Heroic
Posted Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerA lot of books in my teaching library are now old; I’ve been collecting them for many years now. But I’m discovering there’s a timelessness to a lot of material on teaching—so much research has a really short shelf life but an instructional insight, or an approach (new if you haven’t tried it) can be just what you need. Its value is not compromised by the fact that somebody recommended it 25 years ago.
Changing Attitudes about Learning
Posted Thursday, April 1st, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerFollowing up on the previous post, I wanted to write a bit about how teachers might intervene with those students who don’t believe they can learn something, whether it’s math, writing, French, economics, or whatever it is you teach.
