Adam - Reading Notes #4

TT

“Don’t worry if you can’t keep up.” (181) This is the most important statement in chapter 20. The wonderful thing about learning is that it can be accomplished in such a variety of ways. Technology offers many tools, but there are equally effective low-tech alternatives.

“Students who are less skillful tend to work better in smaller groups.” (196) Interesting factoid, I suppose this applies to 100-level courses then.

“If you choose to assign the same grade to all members in a group, the grade should not account for more than a small part of a student’s grade in the class,” (201) Interesting observation, this advice gets violated in many courses. Of course, evaluating group members individually (yet fairly) is much more difficult. Of the choices on page 200, I think I like averaging the students’ and instructor’s grades. It’s simple and won’t result in extra credit inflation like the first two models.

There are so many group learning activities in chapter 22; it occurred to me that a class could vote to choose one from a selection provided by the instructor. Voting might result in more student buy-in to the group activity.

“A circular or U-shaped arrangement of chairs is more conducive to discussion than long rows.” (224) That seems familiar.

I think case studies should generally be preceded by an individual assignment on the case before the class discussion, to ensure that everyone is familiar with the case. There are usually a few interested and engaged students to keep the instructor busy, so class periods with case study discussions are one of the easiest in which to slack off. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.

I’m glad to see validation for virtual learning environments in chapter 25. It’s a major area of research in NDSU’s CSci department, and related to my own thesis research.

An important point to make regarding chapters 26 and 27 is that students who work in their field of study, whether in industry or research, have a huge advantage when it comes to getting jobs. They have experiences to draw on when answering interview questions, so the benefit of these programs is more than just academic.

OC

“Many writers on collaborative learning argue that we should [explicitly teach students how to work in groups].” (107) I agree. Working in groups is often touted as a goal in and of itself, so instructors should teach students how to effectively work in groups, even though it may seem like common sense.

“We construct knowledge together.” (109) I’ve never liked this idea as a student, because ‘knowledge’ in this case seems so murky. I prefer the argument in TT 201: I paid to learn from an expert, not the slacker sitting next to me. Constructing knowledge is all well and good; but there’s knowledge and then there’s knowledge.

It’s interesting that both TT and OC (123) agree that disbanding an underperforming group mid-semester is a bad idea. Obviously there are larger goals here than just retaining the project information.