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Re: [Phys-l] Mary Burgan's Defense of Lecturing

I've used both lecturing and more active teaching methods. The active methods produced slightly better results, but the major problem these days is not the teachers, it's the learners. They no longer seem to be willing to expend any time studying.

I've just retired after 36 years of teaching. This past semester I taught two sections of an introductory physics sequence with calculus along with two active learning type labs.

Most of my students were taking 9 or more semester units of science and math classes. I emphasized that they needed to put in at least 3 hours of study for every hour in class. However, when I surveyed the classes during the semester I found that no student was spending more than 10 hours a week TOTAL studying for ALL their classes.

Unless students are willing to expend a reasonable amount of effort on learning, nothing we do with regard to teaching techniques will help much.

Mark

Dr. Mark H. Shapiro
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
California State University, Fullerton
Phone: 714 278-3884
FAX: 714 278-5810
email: mshapiro@fullerton.edu
web: http://physics.fullerton.edu/~mshapiro
travel and family pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/mhshapiro
 CSU-ERFA Website: http://csuerfa.org


-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Brian Whatcott
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 11:18 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Mary Burgan's Defense of Lecturing


I sometimes think that hyperbole is in the eye of the beholder.
For example: "more excess energy production has been demonstrated
by cold fusion enthusiasts in the last half century than from
the combined efforts of all hot fusion researchers in a similar period
and at one ten thousandth the cost."
This certainly sounds hyperbolic to a casual browser of scientific
results. But is it?

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

At 12:12 AM 2/19/2007, Jack, you wrote:
The question, "What is Science?", given the context, is a good one.
Hyperbole, however, does not assist in finding an answer.
Regards,
Jack


On Sun, 18 Feb 2007, Brian Whatcott wrote:

...just what DOES qualify as science: someone
who weaves elaborate theories of the unobservable? - as it might
be strings or the events at the first millisecond of creation?
It is a puzzle.


Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!


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