Linda Walsh asked a question about 'what worked well in intro psych for you
this semester?' In other words (I am inferring), what did you do that seemed to
get a reaction in your class? This question asks for a whole-class response
that was apparent to us. But I have a very strong suspicion that what "really
works" is often not visible to us. I say this because I have sometimes found
that the students most moved, inspired, or awestruck by a class, as well as the
students who have had something important come together for them, gave little
or no clue that the class was having that effect on them. It was only later
that they may have indicated their strong reaction to me or someone else.
So, I guess the question being asked by Linda is, 'what seemed to get most
students to sit up and get excited during a class period?' This is an important
occurrence, but I always have a fear that, for many of them, all we have done
is give them a little entertainment--that they may not have learned what we had
hoped they would learn. I say this because I have sometimes found that students
have taken unintended messages out of such class periods: what struck them
about the class involved an incorrect interpretation of what was going on. When
they have really understood, when the class material has really "gotten to
them," I have often seen no reaction at all (and only found out later). Thus, I
strive during class just to make certain that they are still calmly paying
attention to the class proceedings: if they start to look at their desks, or if
they get those glazed "zombified" eyes, I know that I am doing something wrong.
Although recently I have talked a great deal about student motivation, what I
am concerned about in those posts is the minimal effort they exert (on average)
to understand the course material in toto. Because of this lack of effort, they
are unable to perform well on tests. But there is another unmeasurable
dimension which involves the importance to them of an isolated topic or two.
Although they still may not exert much effort at learning this personally
meaningful material, it still is true that something you explained in class,
or something they read in their text, has engaged them on a deeper level. For
many of our students, this may be all we can expect. And the frustrating thing
is that we may never know it.
Jeff Ricker
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale AZ
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
