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Re: [Phys-L] Indicators of quality teaching




On 2013, Jun 22, , at 11:08, Richard Tarara <rtarara@saintmarys.edu> wrote:

I would also offer to this thread a plea to retain a healthy mix of lecture, readings, and 'watchings' into the pedagogical mix along with the more interactive methods. The reason--think of how we all learn today, on our own.

We are not the students and the majority of us when we were students were also not the same as the student about which we (you) speak.


We do so by reading (maybe even this list!), by listening (perhaps to actual lectures or similar audio media) and we watch TV programs (this list probably more Science, History, and Discovery channel content than most).

See my comment above.

We can't (immediately) play off of others in these endeavors, we don't have study/activity guides, our learning is not conveniently programmed to 'fit' within a given class period.


Yet, MOST learning is done OUTSIDE the classroom.


JC has writ that executive function is learned in (on) the playground. I think also when peer grouping.


To me, this means that the skills to learn from listening, from reading, and from watching our really the essential life-long learning skills.

Of course, and how many students do this? (are "taught" this?)


We have had many threads in the past bemoaning the reading skills of our current students, and I have commented on how dismal many students are in drawing information from any kind of extended video material (more than 3 minutes). We really all know that many do not pick up well on what we say in class. So is the solution to give up on reading, listening, and watching despite the importance of these skills for later learning, or should we be stressing all three more in our classrooms, understanding these as activities that are normally done alone.

Evidently this doesn't work, and the majority students get only that.

What REALLY serves the students best in the long run?

rwt

--
Richard Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College

free Physics educational software
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html

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