This little phrase means so much. Do we, as teachers, stand at the front of the class and lecture the material that students have just read for homework? While I want to shout, “no!” the honest truth is, “sometimes, yes!” In my experience teaching at MCC over the past 15 years, sometimes this is really helpful and the students benefit, and you can see the material “sink in,” the “aha moment.” And, sometimes, it is a terrible flop, boring, students look like they are trying for force their eyelids to stay open. I am pretty receptive to these kinds of bodily cues and try to switch things up if I am losing people in lecture. I have some great activities in my “tool box” of teaching, that have taken a lot of creative thought and time to come up with. I require my students to memorize certain things, which they are tested on (beginning psychology classes) and we also integrate theory into discussions. In essence, we create a foundation of knowledge and then apply that knowledge to the world around us, real situations.
There is not one right answer or one best way to teach or one best method to use, because there are so many different kinds of learners. Technology will be increasingly incorporated into mainstream education and we need to continue to find better ways to motivate students, and to get through to them – “the human touch – the magical connection.” Sometimes some things will work great for some students, while others just feel lost. I can think of so many of my own examples. Mostly, I have students who come to class ready to do activities based on the reading they did for homework, while others come to class not having read and really need the lecture so they have a basis from which to start the activity. I tell students, “make sure you do the reading and be ready to jump into our class activity” to encourage them to come to class ready to go.
Whether in an online class or f2f, what you put into it, is what you get out of it. You must put in the individual work first, to be able to benefit from the group/collaborative experience. If a student isn’t motivated or disciplined, they will struggle in both settings. In the best case scenario, students would benefit from collaborative work as it is engaging and requires them to apply what they have learned.
See below for an example of an assignment. Next semester, I will have students do the obesity theory paper in groups, allowing them time to discuss their thoughts.
Obesity Theory Assignment