Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!uflorida!haven!rutgers!bellcore!geppetto!duncan
From: duncan@geppetto.ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Student Preparedness
Message-ID: <13432@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 13 Jan 89 20:02:40 GMT
Sender: news@bellcore.bellcore.com
Reply-To: duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Organization: Computer Technology Transfer, Bellcore
Lines: 62

In article <13160@bellcore.bellcore.com> I commented on the teacher-student
relationship and the sense that instructors *ought* to have the *right* answers
for questions.  In this connection I asked "What techniques do people use to
produce an atmosphere where questions that do not have immediate answers get
asked and pursued?"  I haven't received much that really addresses practical
techniques, i.e., things to try in a classroom, as opposed to talk on aspects
of teacher pomposity, etc.  But...

In <6771@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>, elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green) says:
>
>What needs to be gotten across to students is that professors [are]... just
>ordinary folks who put a helluva lot of time into research and study. Any Joe
>Student after the first few semesters ought to have enough background so that

I was sort of predicating my request on the experiences I had of first year
students who would NOT have had much, if any, college background.

>he can begin making sense of the books and papers on a topic... but how many
>students do >you think actually go out of their way? How many students taking,
>say, a Compiler course, will do more than just scan the book? Short of folks
>going for an advanced degree specializing in compilers, I can't think of many
>who'd buy every compiler book they came across, and

Should very many be expected to commit to such an expense -- they have many
courses and buying "every" book on the subject is a tremendous commitment!  I
would expect people at the very least in their Senior year to have at least
looked at or read "every" book in a specific area of interest.

>check out the referenced papers.

I think that's a good idea, only many introductory books (first year) don't
reference many "papers" that students might easily find available.  I think an
enterprising instructor might want to try to make such things available as an
extension of source materials -- so thanks for that idea.

>I don't know how to impart upon students the self-confidence needed to
>participate in class and pursue outside questions.
[Eric goes on to note how some of the problem starts very early when answers
to questions are limited to "because".]

I would like some suggestions about how folks have addressed this.  I always
felt a bit more responsible for students than just to teach the material (even
well) since I dealt with first year students (or some second year in a commun-
ity college setting).

In article <387@cwjcc.CWRU.Edu>, hunt@kevin.CES.CWRU.Edu (Francie Hunt) says:
>
>True, this is a hard thing to do, in most cases.  This is where nurturing
>qualities come in handy, to draw out the student participation in a
>supportive environment.  I try to make my classes "interactive" by asking
>them questions and giving them enough time to come up with an answer before
>hopping in myself.  It's usually easy to tell if they know the answer and
>are just shy or if they haven't a clue.  Eye contact and a non-threatening
>manner go a long way toward increasing the participation in class.

This is some of what I was getting at -- along with ideas of a content nature
like Eric mentions above.

Speaking only for myself, of course, I am...
Scott P. Duncan (duncan@ctt.bellcore.com OR ...!bellcore!ctt!duncan)
                (Bellcore, 444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1H-210, Piscataway, NJ  08854)
                (201-699-3910 (w)   201-463-3683 (h))