Meredith - Reading Notes #4

I appreciated Lang’s discussion about teaching with small groups. He emphasized how the goal of teaching is to not only impart knowledge, but also make sure students are able to communicate that knowledge (p. 106). As a class, we have discussed the issue of participation and whether or not it should be required. I feel Lang made a good case for the necessity of participation in group work in order to prepare students to effectively communicate and interact with people after graduation (p. 106). Both Lang (p. 107) and Davis (p. 191) highlighted research regarding the benefits of collaboration and group work for students. I feel preparing students to be able to successfully interact in the world is an important goal for any instructor.

Lang offered some relevant and helpful information about informal and formal learning groups and how to form, assign tasks, and manage the groups (p. 109-123). Davis also presented several suggestions for activities for both formal and informal group settings. I was overwhelmed by the number of different activities that can be used. While some, such as turn to your neighbor, debates, and inquiry-based instruction (p. 208-218) were familiar, other activities mentioned were new to me. I learned I probably will refrain from incorporating problem-based learning activities into my courses, at least initially, because they require a great deal of expertise and flexibility on the part of the instructor (p. 218). In my opinion, these are traits of a more experienced instructor. I am curious about how successful these activities are in different types of courses. Davis provided examples but I would like to hear about experiences classmates have had with learning activities in courses they have taken or taught. I think a discussion would be beneficial in order to gain a better understanding of which activities might be best suited for the courses we are developing. I also still question how best to ensure that all students are contributing equally. Davis provides suggestions for this in terms of checking in and assigning grades but I feel a class discussion would help clarify this issue.

I enjoyed reading the section about service learning and civic engagement (Davis, ch. 26). I feel that service learning can be beneficial in allowing students to apply what they have learned. However, I wonder how to ensure that students are connecting what they are learning to what they are doing in the service learning activity. I liked the suggestion Davis offered about “double-journal entry”. This involves having students write down their thoughts on one side and then issues and concepts from the course on the other (p. 238). The students then draw arrows to indicate relationships, thus helping them understand how what they are learning is related to the service learning experience. One thing I would like to discuss is how best to balance service learning with class lecture and assignments. How much time should be devoted to each and is it inappropriate to expect students to engage in serving learning in addition to attending class regularly?