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Re: Jackson on Jackson



as a student, I would feel cheated if valuable lecture time were taken up by

group inquiry situations (and have experienced this feeling cheated aspect),

I can do that out of class, in class I'd like to see the erudition of an

expert faculty member expound upon the subject matter; that's why I'm paying

him/her the tuition dollar.

To which Dave Hamilton replied ironically,
If the instructor is merely an information source ...........

The statement that Dave Hamilton commented on is an interesting example of the
assumptions that students bring to class. It is their job to sit and take notes and our job to
orally communicat the words. Where student evaluations are very important we should
expect a 'resonance of expectations' to develop that makes innovation in teaching difficult
to implement.

A possible way out is to change the roll of lecturer to that of 'education manager' whose job
it is to ensure that the student learns using whatever methods that work. This change
requires the development of an objective measure of learning success. OK, I'm not
hopeful either but the attempt would break up the 'resonance of expectations' and allow a
change.

Michael McInerney

Rose-Hulman, Terre Haute, IN 47803