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Re: [Phys-l] Time Outside of Class



I just had a parent call me to explain why her son did not come to the
first exam in my General Physics course here at Providence College. She
said that he always had anxiety attacks on the day of his Physics exams
in high school. She wanted me to give him a makeup because of his
disability.

My first thought: Why is a student who is deathly afraid of physics
trying to become an engineering major? The Mom insists that he LOVES
physics and technical courses, he just has a strong dislike for math :-(

I am awaiting the call from Students Services telling me that I have to
accommodate the make-up.

Bob at PC

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-
bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of White, Pat
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2007 10:18 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Time Outside of Class

Hi
I agree that we do get our joy's with the ones that change their
lives.
This year I have come across an extraordinary thing. At my school the
students are not allowed to drop classes after they have begun. Three
of
my students have found that if they get their parents to bring them to
the
doctor and he writes a note that my class is to stressful for their
mental
well being they can drop it. Can you believe parents will stoop to
this
level. By the way all three where passing my class at the time of the
drop, they just where not getting "A's".

Patricia L. White
Physics/Chemistry Teacher
Manchester Twp. High School
101 S. Colonial Dr.
Manchester, NJ 08759
pwhite@manchestertwp.org
732-657-2121

________________________________

From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of Rauber,
Joel
Sent: Wed 2/21/2007 12:09 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Time Outside of Class




Rick T. Wrote in part:
|
| OK--we now see ALL that you do (have downloaded your quizzes
| and will have a look). Here is the next question--one for
| all (I think). Does anyone else worry that this much formal
| structure may actually hurt students later on in their
| studies, or even later on in life, when they have courses or
| work that requires significant new learning and they have to
| do it on their own?

Yes, Me.

|Is all this structure we are seeing in
| PER courses, all the inside of class work that used to be
| outside of class work, preparing students to be life-long
| learners?

A colleague of mine, a music professor expressed similar reservations,
he used to refer to this as the baby-bird feeding method of
instruction.
Going over the material in little pre-digested bits and pieces.
Despite
all the rhetoric about developing problem solving skills, independent
thinking, life-long learning skills; the actual praxis appears often
to
do the opposite.

|I honestly don't know, but my instincts give me serious
| doubts. Is the 'need' for all this structure a reflection
| on student
| preparation or on students' lack of taking responsibility for
| their own learning, or both, or neither?

IMHO, both!

I'd add an important also, it's a lack of our collective
responsibility
as the educators in our society. I try not to blame the students for
not taking responsibility and trying to get away with "stuff" in their
studies, students have always tried to do that since pre-history. Its
more the fault of the education establishment for not holding them to
the standards of taking that responsibility for learning.

I believe one teaches responsibility by giving responsibility; and
allowing the people given the responsibility to screw up. That is,
you
have to be willing to let people fail and make mistakes. And there
has
to be real consequences . . . E.g. lowered grades without extra credit
to make it up as if it didn't happen, etc etc etc

One nice things about high school and college is that it is a place
where you can make screw-up and not have it permanently ruin your
existence (in general); unlike screwing up responsibility given in
the
workplace. One can retake that physics course you got an F or D in.
At
our school the most recent instance of a course replaces the
transcript
grade of previous instances in GPA calculations; for example. You can
usually get into some sort of college or vo-tech program after messing
up your academics in high school and thereby improve your situation
with
sincere effort.

One of my favorite examples early in my career was a non-trad student,
about 28, who was coming back to college after flunking out as a
sophomore and having a career for about 6-8 years as a guitarist in
regional band. Marriage and children were a major cause in coming
back
and deciding to become a physics major.

This guy wasn't the brightest student in my introductory classes, but
he
consistently gave the best performance on my tests; back before they
had
become watered down. The student put in the work to learn the
material.

I'm sure most of you have your own favorite examples. They are part
of
the "joy" one gets as an educator.

Joel R.

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