Xref: utzoo comp.edu:1677 sci.math:5238 sci.physics:5309 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!njin!princeton!njsmu!mccc!pjh From: pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.physics Subject: Re: Student preparedness (you know...) Message-ID: <520@mccc.UUCP> Date: 22 Dec 88 19:04:33 GMT References: <15895@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> <5186@pdn.UUCP> Reply-To: pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) Organization: The College On The Other Side of U. S. Route 1 Lines: 66 In article <5186@pdn.UUCP> reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) writes: =In article <15895@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> bobmon@iuvax.UUCP (RAMontante) writes: =>>>The way I see it, a teacher simply cannot conduct a course when =>>>there are both "geniuses" and "dead weight" in the same classroom. = =>Without getting too deeply into the current discussion, I think I must =>object to the label "dead weight". They AREN'T "dead weight", they're =>the ones who learn the most slowly. They're the ones who need the =>*best* teaching. = [some stuff omitted] =But it is the not so bright students who are the real challenge of teaching. =If you can reach them and show them the path to improvement, then and only =then are you *really* a teacher. Forgive me for injecting my favorite personal anecdote about teaching and learning, but having been a practitioner for 30 years and a seeker for even more, I have a view on teaching and learning that I want to share with you. When I was a graduate student at (large eastern state university), I was required to pass a reading exam in each of two foreign languages. French was a snap (after all, I had a year of French in high school!), but when it came to German, I decided to sign up for the grad student reading course. After about 6 weeks, I was so confused that I could no longer identify nouns! So I dropped it. About a year later, my dissertation adviser started to make noises about the German exam, so I signed up for the same course with the same instructor, fearing a repeat of the previous year's debacle. Well, I was finished after 6 weeks but this time it was with a paper that said "distinguished translation!!". I have no idea ho wthe transistion from "dummy" to "genius" took place, but it did. Since that time, I've discussed this with a number of psychologists, and the concensus is "readiness": if Johnny is "ready" to learn, Johnny will learn. And the converse is true. The first course I ever taught (I was a GTA at the time) was called "Holsberg's mystery hour" by the students. Ten years later, my course ratings were so high as to embarrass me. A fellow from an exclusive provate school called me "the best he's ever seen". But, I have always wondered if my students actually learned any better with me than with someone else. I doubt if I ruined the careers of those sophs who took EM Theory with me, and I doubt if the guy with the praise knows a lot more about analog computers than someone in another instructor's course. So, here's my philosophy of teaching: 1. Don't get in the way. Let learners learn; don't turn them off; don't put obstacles -- physical or psychological -- in their way. 2. Help those who want help, but don't get discouraged if it doesn't take. 3. Try to get those who are having trouble but who don't want help to get motivated. But remember that they are probably just not ready. Sorry to take up so much space. I hope someone gets something from this posting. Happy holidays, Pete -- Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334 1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800