Student complaints & repercussions (was: unexpected obstacles)

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

I think that everyone on this list is probably in favor of methods that
force students to think.  Also most of us would agree that such a course of
action might alienate a number of students.  However, it might be useful to
examine where the problems come from.

30 years ago students never complained that they failed because the teacher
could not teach.  They might say that they were accidentally at the bottom
of the curve, or that they simply couldn't understand, but they never blamed
either the teacher or the teaching method.  Now the opposite is usually
true.  Part of this stems from the various tests such as TIMMS which shows
the US behind other countries.  Whether or not this is a valid comparison is
another questions, but the scores have been touted as evidence that out
educational system is behind other countries.  The statistics that reveal
our large number of illiterate adults, and many adults who do not know
simple facts like Austria is in Europe and Australia in the Southern
hemisphere.  Along with these statistics our country has had a change in
attitudes.  People now tend to blame others for their troubles rather than
looking at their own actions.  The result has been that teachers have been
devalued.

While the truism that "Those who can do, and those who can't teach." has
been around for a long time, the ability of teachers to teach was
unquestioned.  Now the ability to teach is questioned.  Notice that this
will not be confined to the public primary and secondary schools, but it is
now happening at the university level.  Along with this has come the idea
that managers can manage any industry.  Such managers tend to look at the
bottom line rather than the real product.  In other words rather than
educators we are tending to have industrial managers in charge of
universities.  Student evaluations become one of the only means they can
judge the quality (popularity) or the instruction and insure that the
university will keep it's good reputation and tuition money.

This problem does not spring from nowhere.  We have all experienced our
share of bad teachers.  The research shows that it is possible to vastly
improve instruction in physics and the sciences in general.  This certainly
does not mean that we collectively are bad teachers, but that we have been
traditionally operating under a decidedly non-optimal paradigm.  There is
absolutely no evidence that teaching or learning was better in the 50's,
60's, or 70's than it is now.  There is also no evidence that it was worse.
Indeed, the evidence from testimonies by people like Karplus, Arons, and
Feynman are that students had the same difficulties back then that they have
now.  However, by using research it is possible to improve teaching
markedly.

Looking at the public pre-college schools there is a great deal of evidence
that teaching has not changed all that much.  Many schools still have 30
year veterans that are still teaching the same way.  In these schools the
public no longer accepts the idea that students can just leave at age 16 and
that many students can get out without a HS degree.  In other words the
teachers are being expected to now do a job which they didn't do before.
This is expected despite the increase in social problems such as drugs and
crime.  Because of this expectation politicians and the public have decided
that the only way to achieve better results is to whip the teachers with
high stakes tests, and "more rigorous curricula".

This is another root of the problem.  The increased curricular demands has
put a premium on covering the maximum amount in the shortest time.  This can
only be done by having the students memorize more facts without any
understanding.  The high stakes testing is used to determine principals
raises.  The principals then mandate review books and review rather than
teaching for understanding.  This further undermines the educational
process.  You are now seeing the first wave of students who grew up under
this system.  As the penalties are ratcheted up, the students will become
even more incapable of thought.

This same mentality can spill over into the universities, with even more
disastrous effects.

I just proctored an exam in Algebra 1.  I looked it over and was struck by a
very important question.  In among all of the abstract questions about
intercepts and slopes... there was a question asking students to graph the
postal charges vs the weight of a package for 1,2,3,4,5 oz.  Then students
were asked to predict what the charges would be for 8 oz.  The majority of
students could not do it, and would give answers like bigger.  Essentially
they did not understand ratios and could not answer a simple real life
question.  Aside from the fact that this was the only "real life" problem I
spotted on the exam, this problem is far more important than the other stuff
that was being tested.  When I bring up the idea that algebra is useless
unless students have the basic measurement skills and understanding of
ratios, I get the reply "that is 6th grade stuff, and we do not have time to
cover it".

Where does the responsibility for changing the system lie?  Obviously, with
all of us.  At the college level physics and science teaching needs to make
sure that students leave courses with improved thinking ability.  If that
requires concentration on lower level skills such as proportional reasoning,
then it must be done.  Elementary and middle school teachers should be
raised to the formal operational level of thinking.  Teachers need to be
taught how to use inquiry methods with their students, rather than just
being told about them.  If this were done at the lower levels of education,
then students will understand that they are expected to do their own
thinking rather than being noodled.

A note with regard to using inquiry methods and fading in physics classes:
One way of handling complaints is to be extremely up front with students and
tell them your strategy at the beginning.  For example if you expect them to
generate more structure in their labs without you giving it to them, then
tell them that this will happen on the first day.  Then as it happens remind
them that they need to include the missing pieces, with each successive lab.
It may not get rid of complaints, but it will help.  Also put this in the
syllabus, and make sure the dean has the description of this strategy.  Then
point out to the dean that the students complain, but that this is a
necessary strategy.  In other words CYA.  Oh yes, and for a really good
product use the results of PER and other science education research.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> My only advice is to 'stick to your guns.'  Changing your course to be
> popular, to avoid complaints, to attract more students will only
> weaken and
> cheapen the 'product.'  I'm personally searching for ways to
> force students
> to read the book, to come to class, to do the assigned work, to DO THE
> THINKING.  One way is the 'punitive' approach--part of the grade is
> attendance or turning in outlines of chapters etc. where their
> grades suffer
> if they fail to do these minimal requirements.  If that drives students
> away--so be it.  [We do have a somewhat captive audience--every
> student must
> take two semesters of a laboratory science, so they must choose from
> Biology, Chemistry, or Physics.]
>
> I realize it is difficult to tell untenured faculty (both HS and
> College) to
> be hard-nosed and don't worry about popularity--just provide a
> good product,
> but in the end that is what must happen!
>
> Rick
>
> *********************************************************
> Richard W. Tarara
> Professor of Physics
> Saint Mary's College
> Notre Dame, Indiana
> rtarara@saintmarys.edu