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ROFESSOR

 

Volume 1, Number 7

September, 1987

 

Professors and
the Participation Blues

Could this be your classroom?

e It's your favorite lecture. You antici-
pate class and launch into the material,
eager to share. Ideas build on each other and
reach a point where important relationships
emerge. You ask students if they see, do
they understand? Nobody says yes. Nobody
Says no. In fact, nobody even moves. You
wonder if they've all died.

@ You're presenting new material. It
relates to something presented previously --
something you saw most students record in
their notes, something you know appears in
the book. You ask how this new content con-
nects to the old. Silence answers. You ask
again, this time encouraging them. More
silence, this time uncomfortably long. You
search the room, looking, but not finding,
even a single pair of eyes. Well, damn
them. If they don't care, why should you?

e@ You're making a point. It's more about
life than course content. It's something you
learned the hard way. You share a bit of
personal experience. It leads you to make a
point emphatically. You've put yourself on
the line. Some of the students respond. You
can see mental wheels begin to turn, but
they quickly stop when a student asks, "Do
we have to know this for the exain?"

e You value student participation, make a
point of regularly reminding students of its
role in class -- but some days getting them
to comment or question takes so much time.
It's such hard work. And so, on some other
days, with a lot to cover, you don't bother.
If somebody asks a question, fine, and if
they don't, for this day, that's fine too.

The chances are that situations like
these have occurred in your teaching exper-
lence. They do in many other classrooms.

ER ENE ETS AL YO NE og TE

 

Students are passive. They come to class
with a strong "do it unto me prof and make
it as pleasant and painless as possible"
attitude. You see it in the imaginative ways
they recline with listless indolence in desks
designed for sitting up straight. After
awhile, it's hard not to be cynical, hard to
keep trying. But the effort to get students
involved must be made.

When students participate, they learn
more, Student response provides valuable
feedback to the instructor: "Oh, they haven't
got this yet." "They're beginning to under-
stand that." Interaction encourages cooper-
ative learning. Students learn to listen and
respect the ideas of others. And on some
memorable days, student questions or in-
sights take the professor to a new and deeper
understanding of the subject matter. These
are the reasons for trying.

IS