Jackson on Jackson

["Rauber, Joel Phys" <RAUBERJ@mg.sdstate.edu>]

> Also, have any of you seen the Summer issue of the APS Forum on Education?
> The last article bears on this issue, too.  It's by Bruce Patton of Ohio
> State Univ., and it's entitled "Group Learning-Based Approach to the
> Graduate Electrodynamics Course: Jackson by Inquiry."  You can see it on
> the APS web page.

I haven't read the reference, so my comment is based on speculation on my 
part.  Personally, I've never seen a graduate level course that wasn't a 
"group learning-based" situation. Us grad students would form group learning 
situations in order to learn better and in some cases survive.  Also, as a 
student, I would feel cheated if valuable lecture time were taken up by 
group inquiry situations (and have experienced this feeling cheated aspect), 
I can do that out of class, in class I'd like to see the erudition of an 
expert faculty member expound upon the subject matter; that's why I'm paying 
him/her the tuition dollar.

> Patton says that "Positive results [with the inquiry method in this course]
> would also tend to dispel the notion that the inquiry approach is not
> suitable for covering either technical material (like calculus-based
> introductory physics) or an extensive amount of material."  Briefly,
> results WERE POSITIVE, as measured by grades and the scores on the
> qualifying exam. Read the article, and if you can, do your own experiment
> with his methods in an upper division or graduate course.  His e-mail
> address is patton@mps.ohio-state.edu.

Joel