Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
FORUM
Volume 8
CONTENTS
Keeping The Discussion
Leaders Voice In Balance,
Stephen Brookfield and Stephen
Preskill, p. 1. The author of The
Skillful Teacher and his longtime
friend, colleague and coauthor
preview the wisdom of their new
book Discussion As A Way Of
Teaching.
VIEWPOINT: On The TimeHonored Practice Of Student
Bashing, John H. Gottcent,
University of Southern Indiana,
p. 5. Are they really worse than
we were or worse than we are?
LEARNING DIARY: Lets Do It
My Way, Ted Rachofsky, Austin
Community College, p. 7. Ours
isnt always the most elegant
way to skin a cat.
TECHPED: Confessions Of
An Early Adopter, Tom Creed,
St. Johns University, p. 7. Psychology prof and technology
champion takes a comic but
probing look at the pathology of
the pioneer.
ERIC TRACKS: Focusing
Theory On Learning In College
Classrooms, Frances K. Stage,
Indiana University, p. 10. Highlights in the new literature on
learning theory.
Twenty Impertinent Questions About Pertinent Matters,
Paul Berghoff, et al., p. 12. A
group of colleagues nettle their
consciences and invite you to
join them.
EDITORS NOTE: Balance,
p. 3.
1999
Number 3
THREE SCENARIOS
OF BALANCE AND
IMBALANCE
What follows are three short
discussion scenarios which focus
on how the discussion leaders
role affects what happens. They
show a teacher who exerts too
much control over the discussion,
Scenario On
eToo Much
OneToo
Teacher Control
Teacher: The assignment for the
day was to read the conclusion of
Mike Roses remarkable autobiography of teaching, Lives on the
Boundary (1989). Rose not only
concludes his story with
some very concrete
examples of how to cross
cultural and class boundaries, he shows us as well
the implications of these
examples for shaping
educational policy. One of
the strengths of the book is
Roses ability to move back and
forth between the worlds of classroom practice and of national
policy making. What do you think
of the way Rose handles this?
Student 1: I guess I didnt notice
what youre talking about, but I was
really impressed with what he says
on page 222 about being hopeful
and assuming that good teaching
can make a big difference for
students.
Teacher: Yeah, thats important,
but almost the whole chapter that
includes the quote you cite shows
Rose going back and forth between
practice and policy. Let me show
you what I mean. (Reads about a
page of material.) Isnt that impressive? One of the things that makes
this book great is that the implications for reform emerge from the
particulars of everyday teaching.
Anybody want to comment on
that?
Student 2: I think Rose is a great
teacher, but does he really think
that every student can learn?
Where did he get that faith in
everybody?
Student 3: I have the same
question and Im also disturbed by
the fact that this is a story, that it
necessarily has a plot. Doesnt the
need to have a plot affect the
incidents Rose relates and how
they get resolved? How much does
this really help us understand the
messy world of day in, day out
teaching?
Teacher: I think you all are
missing the point. This is a great
story about one persons successes
and failures in teaching. It has a
plot, sure, but that plot can still be
translated into proposals for
reform. I mean what do you think
Roses reform proposals would
look like?
Student 4: I dont know about
school reform, but could we talk
about the episode when Rose
helps that student to make sense
of the standardized test she took?
With just a little help shes able to
figure most of it out. How often
do you think that happens with
our students who regularly do
poorly on achievement tests?
Teacher: Lets take a look at that
a little later. I still want to know
what you think Rose can teach us
about school reform? (A very long
silence ensues.)
Scenario TwoThe
Teacher as Too Distant
Teacher: What do you think of
the last section of Roses Lives on
the Boundary?
Student 1: I liked it, especially
what he says on page 222 about
remaining hopeful and using good
teaching practices to help even the
most poorly prepared students.
Student 2: Im not sure why hes
so hopeful. Where does that faith
come from? Ive been in lots of
situations where even the best and
most dedicated teachers couldnt
help their most difficult students.
Student 3: I have too. Also, even
though I liked the way Rose tells
his story, Im not sure theres
much to learn from it. Stories are
not like day-to-day teaching.
Theres no plot or climax in real
life teaching. Just plugging away
and trying to make the best of it.
Student 4: But arent some of the
incidents revealing? What about
the example of the student who at
first does poorly on the achievement test and then does much
better with a little coaching from
Rose?
Student 5: I think Rose knows
about underachieving students
because he was there once himself.
Student 6: But he also became a
scholarship student. I dont think
he does know what its like to
struggle with poor preparation,
limited skills, and especially
against racial discrimination.
Student 7: Does he still teach
writing to students at UCLA or is
he doing something else now?
Teacher: He still teaches writing
but he also has an appointment in
the School of Education.
Editors Note:
In all things moderation, the Delphic Oracle is supposed to have said.
As a youth, I regarded such advice merely as restraint. Older now, it
seems more like a means of not getting lost. Balance doesnt mean
stasis, as I once thought; it means staying awake to the newness of the
moment and finding a way to live it out in ways that make sense with
whats already known. Balance is the theme that underlies most of the
contributions to this edition of the Forum.
In their new book, Discussion As A Way of Teaching, Stephen
Brookfield and Stephen Preskill have chapters on keeping both the
students and the teachers voice in balance, but as the book is subtitled
Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms, balance underlies
the whole discussion there as well. Here they offer an excerpt on the
teachers voice. Specific advice and techniques are discussed in a
further excerpt subscribers will find posted on our Web site
(www.ntlf.com).
Balance sometimes depends on perspective, something John
Gottcent offers in his essay on student bashing. We were all once
young and, like as not, seen as the latest evidence of civilizations
decline, Gottcent says. Moreover, while we were judging and being
judged, we were (and are) largely practicing the same faults. (Some day
well get it right.) And complementing Gottcents essay, Ted Rachofsky
offers another of his quiet epiphanies on what students have to teach us
by reminding us of our common humanity and often similar histories.
On the lighter side, the Forums Technology Editor Tom Creed
surveys the dark side, the painful side, of being an Early Adopter. As a
psychologist, Creed understands his addiction, but cant escape its grip.
Whod want him to? Its energetic pioneers like Tom who are
revolutionizing teaching by embracing technology with Delphic
wisdomat least in their classes if not on their home computers.
ERIC TRACKS returns with a column by Frances Sage reviewing the
highlights of research into learning theory and how it is (and might be)
applied in the classroom. Again, additional material expanding on whats
covered here is posted for subscribers at www.ntlf.com.
Finally, Paul Berghoff and a group of faculty friends created a kind of
examination of conscience about their teaching. They offer their twenty
overlapping questions and invite you to create your own as you ponder
answers to theirs.
Remember that the scholarship of teaching embraces a wide range
of thoughtful writing. Your experience, your reflections on more effective
teaching have a place in the conversation. Faculty of all kinds have
begun to feel the importance of thinking more concretely about their
teaching and writing about it. Insights from one discipline often have
cross-disciplinary implications. I encourage subscribers to consider
drafting a manuscript for the Forum.
Submissions should not exceed 1500 words (six ordinary typed
pages), except in extremely unusual circumstances, and should be
shorter whenever possible. Submissions in electronic form are highly
encouraged. Indeed, submissions through E-mail are welcome.
Remember, too, that now with the synergy we have between the
printed newsletter and its Web site, we have room for more elaborate
presentations, a repository for detailed supplementary material to
expand the compact presentations printed here.
Share what youve learned in teaching. Send your manuscripts to the
Forum.
James Rhem
VIEWPOINT
ON THE
TIME-HONORED
PRACTICE OF
STUDENT
BASHING
John H. Gottcent
University of Southern Indiana
Hypocritical
The first point is one Ive
already made, but it bears repeating: student bashing is hypocritical. There really are few charges
we can level against students which
cannot be made, with justification,
against faculty.
I already hear the cries of Not
me! I prepare everyday, never miss
class, and grade all my assignments
thoroughly and quickly. That is
certainly true of many individual
faculty membersjust as the
corresponding points are true of
many individual studentsbut
collectively, were guilty as hell.
Look around at your next faculty
meeting. Note how many arrive
LEARNING
DIARY
LETS DO IT
MY WAY
Ted Rachofsky
Austin Community College
TECHPED
Confessions of
an Early
Adopter
Tom Creed
Saint Johns University
Development of the
Syndrome
At a recent meeting of my local
chapter of Early Adopters Anonymous (EAA), I introduced myself
Out of Control
Before this newest Nirvana
could be realized, I had to install
the software, naturally not at
school, since my machine there is
too slow. But for home, I had just
bought a new superfast computer
(Symptom #6your obsession
comes to be a financial burden).
Normally, a program requiring a
fast processor should be a warning
sign, but Im in denial, remember?
The basic installation was straightforward, but then I had to spend a
half hour training the software
to recognize my voice. Well, Ive
trained more rats in the lab than I
care to admit, so training something makes sense to me. I had a
choice between reading three
passages as my training text. I
chose Dave Barry on computers,
since I like his writing. About ten
minutes into it, I got a bad case of
the giggles. That the program got
the wrong idea became abundantly clear when I started speaking my first article. One of the
cool things about this technology
is that the words show up on the
screen whenever you add punctuation (Symptom #7you are more
enthralled with the workings of
the technology than with what it
actually accomplishes). The first
couple of sentences were a laughable collection of English words
that probably had a phonetic
resemblance to what I had said,
Coming Down
Its days later. I feel more in
control again. Im writing this
article with my old word processor
rather than either my Slick New
Toy or my new word processor
that my Slick New Toy ate. Im
done bingeing on my Slick New
Toy for the moment, and feel the
inner peace that comes from
letting go. I may never be totally
free of my thirst for voice recognition, but Im living with it one day
at a time.
Resolution
Perhaps EAS doesnt really exist,
but we all do have a tendency to
continue to engage in activities
long past the point that makes any
sense. Widely applicable principles
from both behavioral and cognitive psychology can help us
understand why this is so.
THE ENVIRONMENT MADE
ME DO IT. As part of the process
of mastering a new technology,
you have little victories along the
way. These little victories, while
unimportant in and of themselves,
provide us with a sense of satisfaction. These little victories are
called generalized conditioned
reinforcement, and generalized
conditioned reinforcement turns
out to be a very potent controller
of our lives. Its why people spend
hours working crossword puzzles.
Furthermore, you never know
ERIC TRACKS
Enhancing Achievement
Motivation and Performance in
College Students: An Attributional
Retraining Perspective. Perry,
Raymond P., Hechter, Frank J.,
Menec, Verena H., and Weinberg,
Leah E. Research in Higher Education, 34:687-723, 1993, ERIC
Document Number: EJ476095
Perry and his colleagues reviewed recent studies conducted
within the higher education
context that focused on changing
students attributions. These
studies typically sought to modify
negative causal ascriptions that can
be related to impaired academic
performance. Research suggests
that attributional retraining may
have both short- and long-term
consequences, increasing performance one week after the intervention and up to several months
later (p. 715). ...[B]oth
attributional retraining and study
strategies may be equally important for increasing academic
achievement (p. 720).
The Social Context for Learning
Research tells us, for example, that counselors working with students can
help them develop realistic attributions regarding success and failure that
lead to positive study behaviors. Additionally, researchers have demonstrated that constructs related to self-efficacy are positively related to
achievement. In more than a few instances, classes for low achieving
students that focused on developing self-efficacy along with academic
learning, experienced dramatic successes.
Summary
Theories and models of learning emphasize different aspects of the
learning process, but each takes a learning centered approach to education by regarding college classrooms from the students vantage point, a
perspective that has only recently gained the legitimacy it deserves (Barr
and Tagg 1995). The research demonstrates the ways learning is impacted
by students interpretations of their academic experienceshow they
process information, make sense of it, and situate it in the wider context of
their lives. What students believe about their personal competence for
academic tasks and how they interpret their academic successes and
failures affect their subsequent engagement in similar tasks and their
actual learning.
Faculty can use the theory-based practical examples presented here to
structure their classrooms, their behaviors, and their commentary to
enhance students attitudes toward learning and build both students
learning skills and their confidence in using them. Various curricular
approaches can encourage and develop students abilities to reflect critically upon real-life problems and issues from multiple perspectives. Finally,
by examining areas where extant theory leaves unanswered questions
about the learning process, we can contribute to the move toward learning
centered campuses and classrooms.
TWENTY
IMPERTINENT
QUESTIONS
ABOUT
PERTINENT
MATTERS
elf-examination is an essential,
and often neglected, part of
teacher growth. Constructing and
responding to a series of impertinent questions about ones own
teaching can restimulate ones
own unique and powerful teaching philosophy. We generated the
following list to encourage selfexamination among ourselves.
Weve learned a lot by creating
these questions and challenge
readers to generate their own
lists relevant to their particular
teaching practices and philosophies.
1. Am I open to students
questioning my choices in teaching?
2. Do I believe in my students
i.e., believe they can learn what I
have to teach them?
3. Do I believe I can learn from
my students and how do I show it?
4. Do I allow myself to try a
wide variety of methods, thereby
risking (and acknowledging)
failure but promoting versatility in
students?
debate
information/
ideas presented by the text or
myself?
10. Do I hold high ethical
standards for my own behavior, my
students, and the organizations I
work with?
11. Do I offer alternative
assignments or class structures and
activities to best meet my students
needs or to increase their involvement in the learning process?
12. Am I able to sense my
students struggles so that I can
support them yet leave them free
to find their own solutions?
Contact: bergh@foto.infi.net
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