Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Style



Certainly Kyle's comments below fit my experience. In my first year
of university, I was placed in a Physics tutorial (what's American
for that - practice class, recitation class?) with those who had the
top marks in the final year school Physics exam, and I found this
very intimidating (even though my marks qualified me to be there).
The tutor, whom I liked, used occasionally to ask questions of
individual members of the tutorial class. I lived in dread of him
choosing me, to the extent that it interfered with my learning
anything in the class, and I'm sure that I would have frozen up
completely if he did.

He didn't as it happens - I wonder if I would
have gone on with Physics if he had? I was not abnormally shy or
timid, but as a broad generalisation, female students (and faculty!)
do have different reactions to what Kyle correctly refers to as
the traditionally confrontational style of discussion in Physics.

Incidentally, my tutorial-style teaching always involves students
working in small groups, and I NEVER ask a question of an individual
student in front of a whole class - I ask the question of a
particular group, and let them sort out instinctively who is to speak
out. I do get them to give talks on topics, but, again, with first
year students, I get them to prepare the talks in groups and share
equally in the presentation.
Australian students may be more diffident than American ones, but
they all seem to appreciate this approach, including the guys.

And even at a professional level, some of the interaction style in this newsgroup
occasionally gets a bit confrontational for me, even as a crusty
middle aged (female) academic! I've noticed particularly, when
working on projects with school teachers, that their environment
particulary favours cooperative work techniques, and they can be
quite uneasy with good old-fashioned academic "debates" like these,
so don't unnecessarily intimidate your school teacher colleagues on
this list!

Cheers
Margaret

Subject: Re: Style

I have been told by women friends that academia in general and physics in
particular is intinsically an inhospitable atmosphere for people who's
style of interaction is consensus building rather than confrontational.

I think there are a couple of points here:

1) This extends not only to this list but also to the classroom where (my
friend claims) some people would rather drop the class than be called on to
defend ideas using a confrontational style in public.

2) It is curious that in physics, research groups are often engaged in
consensus building processes but independent groups (and often independent
individuals) often compete very vociferously. Seems to me both styles
should be encouraged in the classroom as well.

3) We should all make an effort to remember that a person's style of
interaction (or other personal aspects) does not refect on the value of
their observations. (One of the amazing things to me about physics, still,
is the extent to which personallity does NOT count; but rather the quality
of the ideas does count. This isn't always true but seems to be more true
in physics than in many other areas.)

kyle

! forinas@indiana.edu !
! Natural Science Division !
! Indiana University Southeast !
! New Albany, IN 47150 !
! http://Physics.ius.indiana.edu/Physics.html !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Dr. Margaret Mazzolini
School of Biophysical Sciences and Electrical Engineering
Swinburne University of Technology
P.O. Box 218,
Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia
email: mmazzolini@swin.edu.au
phone: (61 3) 9214 8084 fax: (61 3) 9819 0856