Don Rudawsky wrote:
> Dr. Hal Fisbein, who some
> of you may recognize as the first winner of the Maccoby book Award from APA
> for his book on the development of prejudice. I asked him if he would be
> interested in guest teaching my class for a day. ...So, Hal ... says
> that he would like to field questions and that he would be prepared to
> discuss his work based on student interest and response....
>
> Well, as you could guess from my subject heading Hal's visit was a big
> disaster. No student was willing to ask any questions. Then Hal tried a
> different tac, polling the class on how good the chapter was (only about a
> third of the class raised their hand at all when he asked for how many
> people thought the chapter was a 7 out of 7, 6 out of 7, etc.). Finally,
> he asked them for the definition of prejudice. The few students who were
> willing to give it a shot, failed miserably. I was mortified....
I know that others have responded with some great suggestions, but there is
one thing I would like to add. Don Rudawsky was not teaching, Hal Fishbein
was. And, assuming that Don's description is correct, well, if I had wanted a
vignette of what one should NOT do as a guest speaker, this would be it. All
the students knew about him was that he was an expert in the area being
discussed. They had never interacted with him before, so they didn't know how
he would respond to their questions. "Will he think my question is stupid?"
would have been the first thing I would have thought if I had been in that
class (and I am a 42-year-old psychologist with a Ph.D. who is used to giving
talks at scientific meetings and has written research papers in my specialty
area, not a neophyte as Don's students are). Most of them were nervous and
uncertain. HE was the one who needed to prime the pump a little. He put them
on the spot, which is alright if there is a history with the students and they
know they can trust you. Don, my bet is that Hal is worried that YOU are a
little disappointed in him. I don't believe that this reflects on your
teaching at all. Perhaps, though, it will help Hal to learn how to be a better
guest speaker. If this were my class, I probably would let the incident pass
without comment, or perhaps try to sum up what Hal was trying to say to the
students.
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
"If you want to learn new things, you should try reading old books."
Richard Cytowic
