College teacher dilemma

[Reba]

It's true. I've seen veteran teachers burn out and tend to ramble on, but my experience has been the opposite with regard to age. Many less seasoned teachers know the material, but lack the experience to "stand and deliver" with any degree of confidence. Others are making their ways through unfamiliar territory. Sadly, both tend to fall back on lecture that's little more than paraphrase of the text.

Very true. Of course, that makes it easy for the students to highlight the text in their books as they follow along. But if a student asks a "why" or "how" question in relation to the text, whoa! Too many times the teacher says, "I don't know." Or they have no real life experiences to draw upon. Everything is "by the book (or study guide)". Ugh.

...To me, the number one rule for an instructor is to strive to know the material forward, backward, and sideways--know it so thoroughly that his or her so-called lecture is really an engaging Socratic give and take involving every member of the class.

I especially enjoy the instructors in technical fields who have spent many years working in those fields before becoming college instructors. They focus more on subject content and application than on teacher-school methodology.

I know, some people are wizards in their fields but lousy teachers. But when you get someone who knows his stuff and can pass it on to the students, watch out. :P

The public school classes are the worst. Follow strict guidelines, don't stray from the curriculum, and teach to the test. Just make sure the kids get good grades, learn how to work in teams, don't stress competition, and that they graduate "happy". So what if they don't have a clue about what's happening in the world, and no curiosity about it. Anything important they want to know can be found on Youtube, FaceBook, MyFace, or Wikipedia (oooo, that's deep). If it's on a blog, it's gotta be true.

Sorry, I'm getting :topic:

... For the most part, that's how I remember it being done forty years back when I rode my dinosaur to school.

At least you had a dinosaur to ride; I had to walk 50 miles thru waist-deep snow, and stoke the coals in the one-room school house stove.

 

[jillio]

It's true. I've seen veteran teachers burn out and tend to ramble on, but my experience has been the opposite with regard to age. Many less seasoned teachers know the material, but lack the experience to "stand and deliver" with any degree of confidence. Others are making their ways through unfamiliar territory. Sadly, both tend to fall back on lecture that's little more than paraphrase of the text. Few of those call on all students, often ignoring hands of those who ask hard questions, or welcoming being drawn off on tangents having little to do with the subject at hand.

To me, the number one rule for an instructor is to strive to know the material forward, backward, and sideways--know it so thoroughly that his or her so-called lecture is really an engaging Socratic give and take involving every member of the class. If the teacher is doing a fair to middling job, students are hardly aware when lecture becomes practice or when study develops ideas of a student's own. For the most part, that's how I remember it being done forty years back when I rode my dinosaur to school.

It is unfortunate that many of our students want the professors that simply lecture straight from the book, and do not value the professors that relate real life experience and teach application. I have noticed that incoming students have the attitude of "Tell me what I need toemorize for the test." If they are given a test that requires application of material, they are incensed.

One of the best profesors we have on campus is an anthroplogy professor that has years of field work experience. He expects his students to do the required readings outside of class, and his lectures do not follow the text to the letter. He provides information and application to supplement and clarify what students are supposed to be reading in the text. Students consistently complain that his lectures are difficult to follow, that his tests are too difficult, and that allthey want is for him to lecture from the book. They don';t want to have to make the effort to read the material and then synthesize it.....they want to bring a book and a highlighter to class, follow along and mark what he tells them is important, and drop it there. That is what wa required of them in high school, and that is what they expect from a collge education. The same situation occurs with a specific sociology professor who practiced his discipline in the field for several years prior to becoming a college professor, and to a clinical psych prof who is still a practicing clinical psychologist.

I would seem that we are failing to teach our students hw to synthesize and use new information at the earlier educational levels, and they thus arrive at the college level witht he belief that learning is simply rote memorization of facts and the regurgitation of those facts on a test. Sad, isn't it?

And I see correlations between that attitude toward learning and education parralled in parents of deaf children who believe that learning to speak well is the equivilent of linguistic competence. "If they can hear it and repeat it, they have developed language." Again, a sad situation.

 

[J'explique]

Very true. Of course, that makes it easy for the students to highlight the text in their books as they follow along. But if a student asks a "why" or "how" question in relation to the text, whoa! Too many times the teacher says, "I don't know." Or they have no real life experiences to draw upon. Everything is "by the book (or study guide)". Ugh.



I especially enjoy the instructors in technical fields who have spent many years working in those fields before becoming college instructors. They focus more on subject content and application than on teacher-school methodology.

I concur. I had several teachers who had the experience in their careers prior to teaching college courses. It was beneficial because the students get to know what the instructor's real point of view of this and that and their experience with this and that, IMO. That is another way for the instructors to elaborate their knowledge other than the textbooks (ugh!), and I always seemed to be enjoying their real-time stories.

Anyway, this teacher whom I was greatly concerned about in this thread, I am not sure where she was coming from. She claimed that she was teaching German language at Texas State before teaching here. German language or some else down the path, I'm not sure either. It's a gray area here.

I had her for humanities (which was required for my major, and blah blah), she seemed to be enjoying this subject and knows pretty well about humanities. Did I mention that she had Asperger syndrome? She's a very intelligent lady without any social skills. I think teaching was not the best choice for her to use her use of intelligence and knowledge. She should write a book or whatever other than teaching. She can use her ability in other ways than having to be socially acceptable. She can find other ways to explain it without offending people.

Simply said, she used the knowledge extremely well, sure, but she probably used it wrong.

 

[Chase]

Been to that school.

Reba: At least you had a dinosaur to ride; I had to walk 50 miles thru waist-deep snow, and stoke the coals in the one-room school house stove.

I think I attended that school, Reba. The long walk was uphill both ways, wasn't it?

 

[Reba]

Reba: At least you had a dinosaur to ride; I had to walk 50 miles thru waist-deep snow, and stoke the coals in the one-room school house stove.

I think I attended that school, Reba. The long walk was uphill both ways, wasn't it?

 

[Reba]

It is unfortunate that many of our students want the professors that simply lecture straight from the book, and do not value the professors that relate real life experience and teach application. I have noticed that incoming students have the attitude of "Tell me what I need toemorize for the test." If they are given a test that requires application of material, they are incensed.

Right-o.

... They don't want to have to make the effort to read the material and then synthesize it.....they want to bring a book and a highlighter to class, follow along and mark what he tells them is important, and drop it there.

Yep. They want to major in Highlighted Notes, with a minor in Downloaded Power Point Slides.

Half their tests are open book or take home, their lowest test grade is dropped, and they still complain!

I would seem that we are failing to teach our students hw to synthesize and use new information at the earlier educational levels, and they thus arrive at the college level witht he belief that learning is simply rote memorization of facts and the regurgitation of those facts on a test. Sad, isn't it?

I don't know what they would do if they had to take the exams I took in college. Very few multiple choice Scantrons; mostly essay (citations, correct grammar and spelling required, written long hand within the time limit). When we wrote our exams, we couldn't just spit back facts; we had to prove our points.

 

[jillio]

Right-o.


Yep. They want to major in Highlighted Notes, with a minor in Downloaded Power Point Slides.Half their tests are open book or take home, their lowest test grade is dropped, and they still complain!


I don't know what they would do if they had to take the exams I took in college. Very few multiple choice Scantrons; mostly essay (citations, correct grammar and spelling required, written long hand within the time limit). When we wrote our exams, we couldn't just spit back facts; we had to prove our points.

LOL! Bolded statement is very well put. When I returned to grad school after several years, I was amazed at the number of students fresh from undergraduate that complained about the amount of work required, and the length of required papers, etc. Then I started working with the undergrad population, and it all became much clearer.

 

[shel90]

It is unfortunate that many of our students want the professors that simply lecture straight from the book, and do not value the professors that relate real life experience and teach application. I have noticed that incoming students have the attitude of "Tell me what I need toemorize for the test." If they are given a test that requires application of material, they are incensed.

One of the best profesors we have on campus is an anthroplogy professor that has years of field work experience. He expects his students to do the required readings outside of class, and his lectures do not follow the text to the letter. He provides information and application to supplement and clarify what students are supposed to be reading in the text. Students consistently complain that his lectures are difficult to follow, that his tests are too difficult, and that allthey want is for him to lecture from the book. They don';t want to have to make the effort to read the material and then synthesize it.....they want to bring a book and a highlighter to class, follow along and mark what he tells them is important, and drop it there. That is what wa required of them in high school, and that is what they expect from a collge education. The same situation occurs with a specific sociology professor who practiced his discipline in the field for several years prior to becoming a college professor, and to a clinical psych prof who is still a practicing clinical psychologist.

I would seem that we are failing to teach our students hw to synthesize and use new information at the earlier educational levels, and they thus arrive at the college level witht he belief that learning is simply rote memorization of facts and the regurgitation of those facts on a test. Sad, isn't it?

And I see correlations between that attitude toward learning and education parralled in parents of deaf children who believe that learning to speak well is the equivilent of linguistic competence. "If they can hear it and repeat it, they have developed language." Again, a sad situation.

Do you think it is from how education is veiwed since NCLB...that children today are being taught how to pass tests instead of being taught how to use their critical thinking skills and applying them?

 

[deafskeptic]

Right-o.


Yep. They want to major in Highlighted Notes, with a minor in Downloaded Power Point Slides.

LOL! Bolded statement is very well put. When I returned to grad school after several years, I was amazed at the number of students fresh from undergraduate that complained about the amount of work required, and the length of required papers, etc. Then I started working with the undergrad population, and it all became much clearer.

For some reason this reminds me of one of my graphic design assignments. We were supposed to do a satire of common products. I chose Cliff Notes because one of my pet peeves is that people rely on them instead of actually reading the assigned book. I did a book cover design that looked very much like Cliff Notes except that I renamed it Cheat Notes.

 

[jillio]

Do you think it is from how education is veiwed since NCLB...that children today are being taught how to pass tests instead of being taught how to use their critical thinking skills and applying them?

Absolutely that has something to do with it. Teachers and students are uinder severe pressure to bring those test results up because the already underfunded schools are threatened with further loss of funding. I absolutely disagree with the way that NCLB has been put into practice.

 

[jillio]

For some reason this reminds me of one of my graphic design assignments. We were supposed to do a satire of common products. I chose Cliff Notes because one of my pet peeves is that people rely on them instead of actually reading the assigned book. I did a book cover design that looked very much like Cliff Notes except that I renamed it Cheat Notes.

Very witty. I, too, have always seen Cliff Notes as the lazy student's way. Have never used them, and will never use them. If I want a synopsis, I'll read the dust jacket, lol! But its a statement of society as a whole that one expects maximum benefit with minimal effort.(-:

 

[deafskeptic]

Very witty. I, too, have always seen Cliff Notes as the lazy student's way. Have never used them, and will never use them. If I want a synopsis, I'll read the dust jacket, lol! But its a statement of society as a whole that one expects maximum benefit with minimal effort.(-:

LOL. The only time I've ever bought Cliff Notes was so I could get the details right for my design.

 

[J'explique]

Very witty. I, too, have always seen Cliff Notes as the lazy student's way. Have never used them, and will never use them. If I want a synopsis, I'll read the dust jacket, lol! But its a statement of society as a whole that one expects maximum benefit with minimal effort.(-:

Thanks for the heads up. Until now, I didn't even know what a cliff note is. I never used them, obviously. I'd rather do the hard way learning. That is how most people learned, I assume.

 

[jillio]

Thanks for the heads up. Until now, I didn't even know what a cliff note is. I never used them, obviously. I'd rather do the hard way learning. That is how most people learned, I assume.

And, as a consequence, you will be much better educated. Good for you!