A colleague of mine is a former industrial physicist. He told me of =
a study in which a firm was trying to influence employee's productivi=
ty. For example, they found that playing music improved productivit=
y. Turning off the music a month later also improved productivity. =
They tried changing the color of the walls, and I don't know what els=
e. The final analysis: It was change itself that improved productivit=
y, not the specific nature of the changes. IMHO, teaching fads are s=
ort of like that. Teachers get bored, especially if they're cycling =
through the same material year after year. Students get bored, too. =
Change perks up everybody. =20
As for "miracle" cures in education, teaching syles are a personal as=
shoes. A good teacher adopts or adapts various methodologies accordi=
ng to what fits him or her, and tries new things from time to time to=
keep his or her teaching fresh. ANY technique might work well for on=
e instructor and not another. This is often forgotten by the purveyo=
rs of the "miracle" cures.
Vickie Frohne
-----Original Message-----
=46rom: Forum for Physics Educators on behalf of Herbert H Gottlieb
Sent: Mon 11/15/2004 9:00 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: "Effective" teaching methods
=20
High-school teacher Michael Horton (2004) asked:
" Does anybody have a source of lists of teaching methods
that research has shown to be effective?
Herb Gottlieb replies:
Having gone through a great deal of the "educational literature"
during the past 60 years I am convinced that every new (or rediscove=
red)
teaching method goes through a similar 15 year cycle.
During the first five years
The "new" or the "rediscovered" teaching method is shown to
significantly inprove learning when compared with other methods
currently in practice. As the word spreads and teachers try the
new method for the first time, they are astounded that it is so
much better than any of the "traditional" methods that they had been
using.
During the second five years
More and more teachers abandon their outworn "traditional"
methods of teaching, try the new method and fill the "education
journals" with their success stories and statistics showing
conclusively that the new method is really superior to anything
that they have ever tried before.
During the third five years
Less and less articles acclaiming the new method are published.
In fact, there are almost no articles at all are found during the la=
st
year
or two of this interval. Meanwhile another new or rediscovered teac=
hing
method is introduced and it starts its own 15 year cycle to oblivion=
.
Any comments ???
Herb Gottlieb from New York City
(Where we have been there, tried it, and are already starting on our
next 15 year cycle)
_______________________________________________
Phys-L mailing list
Phys-L@electron.physics.buffalo.edu https://www.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l