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Re: [Phys-l] Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #2



In his response to my post about students not spending the necessary out-of-class time on their coursework, John Clement questioned whether working problems out of class is effective. I would say it is effective for some students and not for others. I want to make it clear that when I stated students should spend three hours on task each week for each hour of course credit (counting class time) I was not suggesting that this whole out-of-class time would be spent working problems.

Major point: Each student should spend whatever out-of-class time it takes... using whatever learning method works for each student... to assure that he or she gains a reasonable grasp of the course material.

We know some students can learn from reading the textbook. Others can learn from working problems by themselves while others learn better from solving problems in a group. Some students can make good use of office hours to ask specific questions to the professor. Some are bold enough to ask questions in class. Some learn a lot from the labs. Other than academic dishonesty I don't care what method works for each student, but I certainly expect each student to discover and utilize whatever works for him or her.

Even though some don't learn well from problems, I do assign problems because students need at least some experience trying to solve problems. I also require that students keep a lab notebook and analyze lab data and write a lab report because scientists need experience doing these things. But problems and lab reports should not take the whole out-of-class on-task time allotted by the adage of 3-hours work for each hour of credit. Once the assigned work is completed, its' up to the student to figure out what study method works best during the rest of the time.

Rick Tarara mentioned "life-long-learning." We have had several university-wide discussions about life-long-learning and instilling this in students is one of my goals. This goal is not inconsistent with what I have said above; that is, all students have to figure out how they learn best, and they also need to realize they are capable of learning, and that learning things is is rewarding. If they can get to that point, they are on the road to life-long-learning. This is not likely to happen if the only thing they do is attend classes because that is more likely to instill the belief that their learning is dependent on the professor.

I also agree with what Rick said about straight lecture being rare. I have observed very few profs at my institution giving 50-minute "speeches." All kinds of techniques are used. Even so, the students aren't going to learn enough from those class periods only. They need more on-task time out of class than they need in-class time. I still believe 2-hours out of class for each hour in class is in the right ballpark.

Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Chair, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences
Bluffton University
1 University Drive
Bluffton, OH 45817
419.358.3270 (office)