Re: Pedagogy

["Fernanda Foertter [Advanced Physics Forums]" <admin@ADVANCEDPHYSICS.ORG>]

while I agree with you in some respect of "active learning", how much of the
material should I be forced to learn on my own and then be tested on it?

Afterall, if I can learn on my own Physics, then why am I here?  Cause if
I'm here to learn on my own, then I'm basically using the university for a
stamp of aproval...but am I not going to a learning institution?  If I
wanted a certificate, then why not just make a generic exam for that
certificate?

Fernie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl I. Trappe" <trappe@PHYSICS.UTEXAS.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 6:37 AM
Subject: Re: Pedagogy


> Fernanda Foertter writes:
>
> >  Basically, if you can't
> > learn on your own, you shouldn't be here.
>
>
> Fernanda:  While I sympathize with most of what you said (and even
> registered the same complaints when I was taking  physics), I would
> like you to consider your own responsibility for your education.
>
> In particular, passive learning is not to be confused with getting an
> education.  In a cliche:  'You never get out of something more than
> you put into it."
>
> There are studies which show the relative percent of learning from
> various teaching styles and student participation styles.  We hear a
> lot from PER about the demise of the lecture as an archaic and nearly
> worthless approach to student mastery.
>
> The information retention scale goes something like:  5-10% retention
> from passive listening (the lecture) all the way to as much as 90%
> retention when you know that you will have to present the material
> yourself.  These figures are recollected from a talk (from the
> business side of campus) about getting sales people to master their
> product information).  Its not totally unrelated.  If you are
> "learning it on your own", you probably are actually learning it!
>
> Another interesting tidbit I picked up along the way is "Pop quizzes
> *burn information* into the mind of the participant."  It seems that
> forced recognition that you *do not know* the material causes the
> student to strongly reinforce those bits of information...by *active*
> participation in that bit of information digestion.
>
> Karl
>
>
> --
> Dr. Karl I. Trappe, Physicist
> KIT Science