Re: [Phys-L] book versus video versus lecture

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

The more important question is whether either of these scenarieos are
optimum for learning.
1.  Is the act of takin notes important to the learning process of any
students at all??  What evidence is there for this?  Evidence should be of
the form of a study, and not just anecdotal, because people often ascribe
cause and effect where there is none.
2.  While certainly thinking about what is being said, is valuable, does
this work better than alternate strategies.  How much is actually learned
when listening to a conventional lecture and just taking occasional notes?

Of course I think there is persuasive evidence that both of these strategies
are inferior to a good learning cycle approach.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> 1) For some students, the act of taking notes during class is 
> part  of their learning process.
>
>  Reportedly, the /process/ of taking notes is more important 
> than the  final product.  Giving these students prefabricated 
> handouts would  yield a better product, but would defeat the 
> pedagogical purpose,  since the /process/ is what counts.
>
> 2) There are some students who find that there is a choice:  
> either  take notes *OR* pay close attention and think about 
> what is going on.
>
>  For these students, handouts are welcome.  Handouts with 
> generous  margins are ideal for taking the kind of notes that 
> need to be  taken, i.e. notes on the notes, e.g. questions 
> that require follow-  up and/or insights that were 
> inadvertently omitted from the handout.