Re: [Phys-l] Out-of-Class Work

["Jeffrey Schnick" <JSchnick@Anselm.Edu>]

At a time when I was still a lecturer, I looked at several of what you
refer to as the 'new pedagogy' methods and concluded that what they had
in common was that they all hinged on the students reading the textbook
before class.  (I don't recall which methods I looked at but Mazur's
Peer Instruction was definitely among them.)  I came to the conclusion
that most of what my students were doing in class, namely, experiencing
their initial exposure to the material (aside from all the exposure they
experienced prior to signing up for my course) was something that the
students should be doing outside of class instead of in class.  As far
as practicing applying the concepts, that was, in the lecture method,
happening almost exclusively outside of class.  To me the 'new pedagogy'
represented an inversion of the old.  In the new pedagogy, students
experience their initial exposure outside of class, by reading the
material, and begin practicing the application of it in class, where
they have me to help them.  Of course they still have to practice the
application of it outside of class as well, but I do think that what we
do in class is what we should be doing in class, despite the fact that
it should also be done outside of class

> -----Original Message-----
> From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-
> bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Tarara
> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 10:26 AM
> To: Forum for Physics Educators
> Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Out-of-Class Work (was Lecture vs Advocacy)
>
> I am basically in agreement with everything Michael says here.  My pet
> peeve
> about the 'new pedagogy' being touted by the PER reformers, is that it
> largely does IN CLASS what should be done OUT OF CLASS.