Subject: Large lecture classes
Date: 10/94; 7/95
from chuck curry at the University of Calgary
Does anyone have any ideas for how to keep the attention span of
the students large lecture theatres (say 400 persons)? What
kinds of interactions do you suggest to maintain interest? does
anyone use buzz groups or other forms of group work within the
lecture?
In my 450 group, I ask for questions and/or ask questions fairly often and
wait (at least 7 seconds) for a student to answer and then always reward
(good answer, good question, etc.) the student who speaks up. Hearing other
students
speak breaks the monotony and elicits interest. I tell funny stories and
speak to students who are being disruptive. I also tell them that if
they cant't pay attention, don't come to class! (Gosh I sound mean!)
Jean DeSaix Univ of NC
While my General Biology classes are not huge (about 100), I am concerned
about
keeping my student's attention. I also ask a lot of questions in class and
wait
for replies. In addition, I like to give small problems/questions related
to
lecture in the middle of class and ask the students to discuss the answer(s)
with their neighbors. We then discuss them as a class. This may only take
a
couple minutes but it does break up the class. I will also stop in the middle
of class and tell the students to stretch for a half minute or so. A lot
of
students appreciate this, especially if it is an early morning class ( my
class
is in a 70 minute module).
Weldon Jones
Bethel College, MN
Well, this is my first contribution to this network. I enjoy the
comments and topics - breaks up an otherwise dull computing session!
I teach Zoology 155 Human Anatomy and Physiology at Iowa State to 570
students. In order to maintain student interest, I have a "question
box" that I put in the back of the class. I tell the students the
first day that it is there because it is intimidating to stand up in
front of 500 students and say you don't understand something, or you
want more information. I encourage them to write anything that comes
to mind during the class, or as they are studying. I start each
class with 5 minutes of answers to the previous lectures questions. If the
questions are too
long or involved, I post the question and response outside my office.
The questions are usually great - and very informative from a
teaching standpoint. I get immediate feedback on topics that I have
not explained well (sometimes completely botched!), and also can see where
I have sparked an interest
beyond class material. I have done this for 4 semesters, and have
quite a collection of interesting "asides" that I now incorporate
into the lectures (what are you doing when you crack your knuckles,
why do your lips crack in winter, why does your nose run in the
cold, etc.). I got this idea from the Teaching Professor
newsletter - an interesting collection of thoughts with many helpful
hints from others in the field.
Kathleen A. Tatum
ISU - Zoology and Genetics
Ames IA 50011
(515) 294-8453
To All: I could not stay out of the large class discussion any longer.
Please understand these comments are coming from someone who has not taught
a class larger than 60 in almost ten years; however, I have had 200+ classes
in the distant pass.
I think all of us feel guilt when budgets and circumstances cause us to
teach
very large sections. A large section class does not allow that one on one
situation that almost all of us assume to be the best for promoting learning.
What most of us consider important in teaching is being able to promote
a
dialogue with the class: either between the students or between the instructor
and students. The rationale is that through dialogue the student has a better
chance of exploring the knowledge associated with the course. We also know
as
instructors that dialogue maintains attention; it is hard to sleep if you
are
talking or getting ready to respond to someone talking. What we seek from
our
students is mutual expression of the subject. Having stated the obvious,
please return to the classroom with me.
In a very large section dialogue usually occurs at only one time: exam time.
Here, the dialogue is usually muted in that multiple choice tests are given
and
often machine graded. If short answer questions appear then the TA's will
likely do the grading. So quite frankly just show them videotaped lectures
on
closed circuit TV and be done with the ruse that is being perpetrated on
the
learning process.
Well most of us can't accept that so perhaps out of a sense of guilt we
ask
how to teach a large section class. In this case go watch Craig Nelson at
Indiana and see how he does it. The process gives the student (and instructor)
the illusion of dialogue taking place. Walking around to be near,
random questions, quick quizes, discuss with your neighbor, and because
you
are working with a large group be dramatic, that is, the sense of performance
becomes very important.
Now to the point... we are looking at the wrong end of the process. I think
it
is more important to ask the following: what is the student to know, how
will
she go about knowing it, and how will I found out that she knows it? Quite
frankly what students want from the instructor is enthusiasm, infectious
enthusiasm. What does the instructor want from this classroom dialogue?
A paycheck, more time for research, or for a student to feel the same passion
for the discipline that attracted the instructor to this field of endeavour.
So how can you teach a large section? First demonstrate enthusiasm, maximize
dialogue, and consider how you will measure student performance.
Remember if you give each student 12 minutes of one on one in a class of
500
you just gave up 100 hours for the semester or two full work weeks out of
a 16
week semester. Obviously that is ludricrous, because you don't get merit
raises for that and what magic can you work in 12 minutes?
So the bottom line is, how do I work with large section classes and I can't
go
watch Craig Nelson??? My response is watch Jay Leno or Oprah and you will
see
how to handle large groups and maintain their attention and maybe just maybe
make $5,000,000 a year doing it.
Blystone in Texas
**********************
ROBERT V. BLYSTONE PHONE:(210)736-7243
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY FAX:(210)736-7229
Trinity University E-Mail:RBlyston@Trinity.edu
715 Stadium Drive
San Antonio, TX, 78212
I think you are being too kind! Large lectures mostly consist of teachers
pretending to teach to students pretending to learn! Even worse, they
give the wrong impression about science. The teacher becomes the "sage
on
the stage". A lecture about the experimental foundations of a concept
becomes, in most students minds, another set of facts to memorize.
Many years ago lectures may have been necessary because the knowledge in
the teacher's mind could not be found anywhere else. Today, with many
excellent textbooks, desk-top publishing, video tapes, computer programs
and
other learning materials, the justification for lectures in introductory
courses no longer exists.
I view lecturing is a kind of prostitution. You don't need a prostitute
for sex, or a teacher to learn. The prostitute takes the money, and gives
the trick the illusion thay are loved while the lecturer gives the student
the illusion that they are learning. While real love is freely available,
it requires a commitment and effort that the prostitute does not demand
(this is the reason, I believe, that prostitution still thrives). When we
lecture, we are saying to the student "I will stimulate and excite
you,
and you will believe you have learned." The student (trick) is happy
because they have not had to make the effort and commitment required
for real learning (love). Large lectures exist because administrators
(pimps???) are more concerned with the bottom line, than in providing an
environment where true learning can take place.
Here are some (radical?) suggestions to eliminate the large lecture, while
still giving the teacher an important role to play in the student's learning:
An hour of directed reading with the teacher available for help with the
hard parts.
An hour of students working in small groups on problems. The teacher is
available to help groups that get hung up, and will go over the problem
with the class after each one has been done.
A half hour of exam, followed by a half hour going over the answers.
An hour of the teacher responding to class questions. When there are no
more questions about the day's topic the teacher gives an exam.
While I have no data to back me up, I believe that any of the above
approaches will result in improved student learning.
R Weisenberg
rcw@astro.ocis.temple.edu
Do you know the book "Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the
Classroom" by Charles Bornwell and James Eison? It's a review of the
literature on the subject of active learning in higher education, across
all disciplines. I liked the suggestion to have students listen only (no
note-taking) for 25-30 minutes of lecture and then to work in small
groups to create lecture notes from immediate memory. I've not had the
chance to try it, but thought it sounded good. Many other variations and
alternatives to straight lecture are discussed. The book was published
in 1991 and is available from ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, The
George Washington University, One DuPont Circle, Suite 630, Washington DC
20036-1183. Phone: (202) 296-2597.
Robert B. Ketcham rketcham@strauss.udel.edu
Department of Biology (302) 831-2377
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716-2590
Discussion 7/95
Hi labbers:
It looks like I'll be teaching a large lecture section (300+) of a
non-majors biology course in the fall. It's been 10 years since I've taught
large lectures, and I know lots of work has been done on how to make those
kinds of courses much better than they used to be. Unfortunately, my files
are a shambles since my recent relocation. So I'd very much appreciate
hearing about (1) any especially helpful tips you might have to offer for
managing/designing/running such a coruse, and (2) references that might
offer similar kinds of suggestions.
I haven't had time yet to consult with the lead instructor for the course
yet, so I don't have a lot of information about it. I believe the text will
be Brum, McKane, and Karp (sp?), and the course includes a modular, somewhat
self-paced lab component taught by TA's.
Thanks in advance for the help! I'll try to keep a list of suggestions for
reposting.
Kerry Kilburn
Dept. Biological Sciences
Old Dominion University
I also am called upon to teach a similar course at FIU. I have found that
visual aids help a great deal. I try to mix up films, overheads, computer
graphics, and even quest lecturers. I try to relate the topics to their
everyday lives and join them in brief discussions when ever applicable.
I
hope this helps. : - )>-|-<
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Pitzer Phone: (305) 348-1224
Instructor/Coordinator Undergraduate teaching Fax: (305) 348-1986
Florida International University Internet: pitzert@servms.fiu.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kerry,
I have taught large lectures to a mixed majors/non-majors course of
freshmen (most majors) and upperclassmen (mostly non-majors) and most
recently to all majors. The non-majors course ran about 150 (botany)
while the majors course had 100 (second quarter freshmen in organismal
biology). The strategies I found comfortable and the responses for these
two groups were very different. Some of my strategies may not work for
your larger group.
The most important thing I have found is to make an effort to learn
their names, even though I can't learn all of them (I did with my 100).
The students really appreciate this and feel more like you care; as a
result, they are more willing to try and more willing to come to you for
help. I have used several strategies to learn their names. The lab TA's
all keep seating charts and give me a copy, so I drop into labs and mingle
with my seating chart in my hand. When I give a test, I ask the students
to hang a sheet of paper with their names in large letters in front of
them and I wander around the room learning names. (I tried doing this
during lecture, but found I never had time to pay attention to them.) When
I hand back the tests, I go to the labs with the papers and hand each back
individually with my appointment book in my hand. Depending on my
available time and size of class, I invite students with scores of C or
less to make an appointment, and any others who look disappointed or
concerned. Very few refuse me, and I have few no-shows. Of course the
appointment has to be set up in a friendly mode - an offer to look at how
they study and see what may be going wrong - they don't want to come in
and get scolded for not studying or paying attention or cutting class.
For some students, this is a real turning point in their college career.
Many have never learned any study skills or note-taking skills. Others
simply feel the faculty don't care. A number of students have commented
to me as seniors that no one ever offered to help before and they had
never learned how to study effectively.
I worried before I began setting up these appointments that I would
embarrass the students and get them angry. I had tried invitations on the
test papers, but it was rare that anyone ever took me up on it. In the 6
or so years I have been giving invitations in lab, no one has ever
complained to me or on the anonymous evaluations about this. In fact,
they consider it one of my strengths, and many students come into the
course knowing this will happen.
During the appointments, one of the things I do is ask students to tell
me what they remember from the last lecture. This is another topic, but
it gains a wealth of information for both you and the student.
Another large group strategy is that if you want class participation,
you must plan something the very first day of lecture that makes
participation easy - questions that can be answered from experience. Of
course, no one must be chastized for any answer, no matter how wrong or
unreasonable.
A word on the chatterers - If you go to them outside of class, perhaps
in lab, and ask them to help you out - tell them you are distracted, as
are some of the students around them. Ask how you can make lecture more
exciting so they won't need to talk. Let them know that they are
bothering people, but in a non-confrontational and non-embarrassing way.
Do demos that involve the class. Get students to help you before or
during class. Pose thought questions and have students work for 5 minutes
in small groups.
I found that using undergrad teaching assistants along with GTA's in
labs helped more than I imagined. These were students who had the course
the previous year, in most cases, and who got to know me fairly well.
They knew my philosophy, were on a first name basis, and conveyed their
trust, enthusiasm, and respect to the new students. This made a real
difference in helping to break down walls with my new students because
they felt more like they knew me. My UTA's for this fall have also
confessed to me that they liked having the UTA's because the UTA's made
them do everything, whereas they would have ignored some things otherwise.
Perhaps the greatest barrier in a large lecture is the lack of personal
interaction that makes students feel like numbers. Any strategy you can
devise to personalize instruction will improve the large lecture. When I
had just passed my Ph. D. comps, one of my students (I was a GTA) told me
I wouldn't be as good a teacher any more. When I asked why, she told me
I
would be called doctor and that would build a wall. I have never
introduced myself to my class as Dr. Glime to this day - I always ask my
students to call me Janice and explain why. Every little bit helps.
If you are teaching freshmen, you may want to set up group study groups
with a specific time and place for them to meet. We have learning centers
on campus, sponsored by the various departments, that facilitate this.
The centers have been very successful.
Good luck!
Janice
***********************************
Janice M. Glime
Department of Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
jmglime@mtu.edu
906-487-2546
FAX 906-487-3167
I agree with T. Pitzer as to using as multi-media as you can, and here's
one that's worked very well for me when teaching about plankton/marine
bio/inverts/insects, etc.: I put critters (live insects, plankton tow
with small medusae, copepods, etc) right onto the overhead projector, the
aquatic stuff in a small petri dish, others in dish or right on glass;
the students see, projected onto the screen, alive, enlarged, living
animals of the sort we're talking about. They love it.
Also see MANY great suggestions from Janice Glime and would add these
comments: My first class ever was, some 22 years ago, a 600-student
lecture in The Human Environment (think at the time it was actually
called Man and Environment!). Fresh out of grad school, I was terrified,
but found that large classes can be very good in many ways, often more
forgiving, more responsive (there's *always* someone who will repond to
your quetions, humor, etc.) than a very small class.
Some of my colleagues approach our large-ish (75-150) non-majors biology
class as drudgery, even beginning class with "I know you're all here
because you have to be and not because you WANT to be, and just try to
tough it out and get through it" or some such, rather than trying to
inspire them on first day with enthusiasm and examples of how this can be
so deeply related to their everyday lives. On that theme, I try -- each
lecture if possible -- to bring in something from current news (PCR/DNA
testing, environmental, ebola virus, etc.) related to that day's lecture.
I also think that moderate use of humor can be very effective in making
it all easier to absorb -- I often put on the overhead projector a Larson
(or other) cartoon related to that day's or previous day's material.
Re learning names: Agree it's a very good way to show students you care
and respect them, though I find it harder and harder with age. Had a
colleague some years ago, one John Walzer in our history department, who
made it a point to learn all the names in his 40-60-student lecture on
FIRST DAY of class! They were VERY impressed. Also re names, interested
in how others handle the Dr. Galt vs. Charles/Chuck issue. Janice Glime
introduces herself as Janice and it seems to work. I've shifted on this
issue from being very formal (first class I was very proud of that
brand-new PhD, Dr. Galt, please, until I had a student ask to be called
MISTER Wepler!) to being perhaps a bit too lax or informal/chummy with
students. Led to some problems. Now I introduce myself as
Charles Galt and take what I get, encouraging whatever they're
comfortable with (some are very uneasy to use first names, and I have one
who does it pointedly and even too chummily).
Also making the lecture a real two-way, interactive event helps
immensely. From day one, as Janice suggested, encouraging, even insisting
on participation from them, I ask LOTS of questions of them during
lecture and try to involve students from all parts of the room, not just
first row.
Main thing, I think, is to somehow make it clear by your behavior and
words that you respect these students, care for them (loved the
consultation appointments made as they receive their exams), enjoy this
class, and want them to learn material that will really stand them in
good stead in their daily lives (I'm referring mainly to non-majors
classes here, additional goals for majors).
Ok, enough rambling... good topic and good posts...
charles
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Charles Galt, Professor Tel: 310-985-4808 |
| Department of Biological Sciences Fax: 310-985-2315 |
| California State University Internet: galt@csulb.edu |
| 1250 Bellflower Boulevard Finger: galt@tern.csulb.edu |
| Long Beach, CA 90840-3702, USA |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great topic! Great ideas!
I teach two non-majors courses, Intro Bio and Environmental
Science, with lecture sections of 200-300 students. The most important
thing that I have learned is to lessen the distance between you and the
students both physically and mentally. I started off in front of the room,
writing on an overhead. Now I move through the room, use videa disk clips,
bring in toys to illustrate concepts, do whole class demonstrations, and
ask for individual participants. I also have students interact with each
other in 5-15 minute discussions in groups of 5-6 or in two minute
convince-your-neighbor problem solving sessions.
For group discussions, I try to set a goal ie. "list 10 ways to
feed the people of the world". While they talk, I move through the
room
drawing loners into groups, answering quesions, providing suggestions. I
wear a remote mike, so everyone can hear what I am saying. After the
discussion time, I call on each group, write down their best idea, and
elaborate on them. Sometimes, I ask for individual 1 paragraph summaries
for bonus points.
The two minute convince-your-neighbor sessions are used to model
problem solving. It varies the pace of the lecture, alerts students to
interesting questions or topics, and helps them learn how to answer
questions. SInce my exams must be multiple choice, the problems are
multiple choice. I go through each answer with them explaining why you
accpept or reject it. The students really like this. They complain if the
questions are too easy. On one occasion, I left the answer for a mitosis
question until the next lecture, and had students stopping me in the halls
to see if they were correct!
One other thing that I have always done, is to encourage students
to play "stump the professor". They ask questions. Sometimes I
know the
answer. Sometimes I know what they are talking about. Sometimes, I
haven't a clue. They learn that I am willing to pay attention to their
concerns. They also learn that you don't have to have all of the answers
if
you know how to use the available resources. They only got me completely
stumped once.
If you are going to have interaction, start the first day!!!!
Students accept it as a normal part of the course and participation is
usally around 95%. In any non-majors class you get the "attitude"
students. Don't focus on them thereby letting them ruin the course for
everyone else.
Most importantly, have fun. If you enjoy the subject your students
will sense that and respect it. You don't have to cover everything in a
non-majors course. They probably won't take the next course and so they
won't be at a disadvantage if a discussion of genetic engineering that has
everyone captivated means that you don't have time to cover the last
chapter.
I hope to hear more about this from others. I'm just begining to
learn and experiment.
Good luck --cmw
Dr. Charlene Waggoner cwaggon@andy.bgsu.edu
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
In addition to the excellent suggestions by Janice Glimes and Charles Galt,
I would like to add a few ideas that have worked for me. Firstly, I
agree that the most important thing is to establish an atmosphere of
mutual respect between yourself and the class. Accessability is a key here.
I have been experimenting with the use of a local newsgroup set up by our
computer folks specifically for the class. This allows students to reach
me at any time, and to share their observations with others in the class.
The major problem we have had with this is that not all of our students
are
comfortable with the e-world. I suspect that this will be less of a problem
as time goes by.
Next, I have found that it is a good -sometimes remarkably revealing exercise
to go to the back of the lecture hall and see what the students have been
seeing. Many years ago, I switched from blackboard to Overhead because
I realized how difficult it was to see chalk on a freshly erased (smudged)
board, expecially with the lighting we had. In addition, the size of the
text that I could comfortably write was too small to be easily read.--I
teach a Cell Biology course, and discuss microscopes and resolution, so
sometimes I can turn this into an advantage by drawing two dots that can
be seen as distinct only if you are in the front of the room--. At any
rate, an overhead allowed me to get the text up there clearly.
I have also made it a principle to draw as many diagrams as possible from
scratch in front of the class. Since most of the students are spending more
time taking dictation than listening, I don't want to frustrate them by
throwing up a complex diagram that they can't possibly copy. My only
exceptions are things that they can find duplicated in their text, or
images where the gestalt is critical.
A question for you all: It has been my impression, as I suggested, that
many
students see class time as the time to take notes which are to be studied
later. That is, that a great deal of learning occurs outside the lecture.
At the same time, I would like to make the lecture a time to generate
understanding. I have thought, for instance, of asking the students to
generate a "one minute summary" of the lecture before they leave
the room.
What do you feel about this? What is the purpose of a lecture? I am
looking forward to a discussion.
Joel
Joel B. Sheffield
Biology Department
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
jbs@sgibio.chem.temple.edu or
v5415e@TEMPLEVM.bitnet
(215) 204 8854
Hi everyone.
I already left some suggestions about this topic but I wanted to address
some excellent comments made by J. Sheffield.
I also use email in my course. I set up distribution lists and then put
many activities on the net. Additionally students can get me with comments
and questions at any time. In addition to email, I also have them do
assignment utilizing Gopher space, WWW, and other Internet components.
Sometimes you have to drag them kicking and screaming into the information
age but almost all of them are appreciative at the end of the course. I
get
email and jokes from my former students all the time.
With regard to the use of tactics to increase learning during the lecture
itself, I have found that using the concepts of "Active Learning"
aspoused
by Dr. Thomas Angelo (directed paraphrasing, etc.) to be a great service
in
this regard. I require my student to write a one sentence explanation of
what that day's lecture was about plus a question that was not sufficiently
explained to them during the class. This is just one idea in active
learning. Another great tactic to overtly express your objectives at the
beginning of each lecture--give them a map of where you plan to go.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Pitzer Phone: (305) 348-1224
Instructor/Coordinator Undergraduate teaching Fax: (305) 348-1986
Florida International University Internet: pitzert@servms.fiu.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Kerry,
My condolensces upon re-entry to the world of large lecture courses! I
teach two, 300-student sections of intro biol. for majors. Last year at
this time, Richard Weisenberg of Temple University lamented about the
existence of classes like these. If I recall correctly, he wondered aloud
whether what goes on in such courses can rightly be called "teaching."
Then he went on to compare large lecture classes to prostitution wherein
the students are "johns," the teachers prostitutes, and the administrators
who set up these monstrosities are "pimps." There was no response
to his
submission from biolabbers. I think the reason for our silence was that
many of us might have worried that his comments are all too true.
There can be no doubt but that large lecture size is, in most cases, a
necessary evil. Necessary for reasons of financial expediency (I would
love to hear about any success stories any of us might have had in
wrestling with the Powers That Be on this issue). Evil because the
instructor's flexibility is greatly reduced as numbers of students
increase, say above 80. The computer-graded, multiple-choice test becomes
the only feasible way to evaluate students' understanding. Oh, you can
have students write, but there is no way you will be able to provide
meaningful feedback on a regular-enough basis to improve their thinking
or
writing skills. It becomes exceedingly difficult to transmit to students
your personal concern for them. While it may be possible to learn the
names of 100 students a semester, 300 names/faces is beyond the grasp of
most of us. So let me be more honest here: it is extremely difficult to
have personal concern for 300 students! Certainly one can devise
strategies to convey that perception, but if you can really be personally
concerned about each of 300 people whose names you don't even know, then
my
hat's off to you.
My only suggestion for you, and all of the rest of us poor creatures, is
to do whatever you can to increase the flexibility available to your
students. In courses like these, students easily get to feeling as though
they are just "a number," and when they feel like this, their
motivation
and morale tend to sag. One solution, then, is to modify course structures
so as to give students voice and that give them choice. Unfortunately,
most such modifications take a lot of time, usually more time than an
assistant professor on a tenure track can spare. If you would like to hear
about some of the modifications I've made to our course here at Tech, I'll
be happy to share, but you must know ahead of time that none of them have
won me any points with our T&P committee.
There is hope if you are able to supervise, or even teach, laboratory
sections along with the lecture sections; that is, if there are not more
than 20-24 students in your lab sections and if you don't teach more than
two such sections. The laboratory is a venue where one can meaningfully
interact with individual students and also actually improve their thinking
and writing skills.
As far as references go, Jossey-Bass Publishers produces a series called
"New Directions For Teaching and Learning." It is a quarterly
publication;
a subscription costs $45 annually, individual copies are $14.95. Anyway,
one of these issues is called "Teaching the Large Class Well."
I think it
was published in 1987, and I think its editor is Kenneth Eble. I've only
just ordered it myself, so I can't recommend it. Maybe you can get it on
interlibrary loan. If you want your own copy, you need to write to:
Jossey-Bass Publishers
350 Sansome St.
San Francisco, CA 94104
I hope I haven't been too wet a blanket. You have undertaken a very tough
task, but it sounds as if you are already aware of this. Isn't it great
that you have all of us at your fingertips? Good luck in your new
position.
Yours,
Michael Dini
Texas Tech Univ.
y3mld@ttacs.ttu.edu
Lots of good ideas here on this topic. In addition, these might help:
My non-majors classes contain 200 students.
1. I use a lot of handouts -- diagrams which they can label (rather than
draw) as I talk -- I may draw the same diagram on the board as I'm talking,
but then they are able to follow along without having to accurately copy
what I'm trying to draw...this saves them a lot of time and energy. I find
that turning out lights is deadly, my classes often take "lights out"
as an
excuse to go "brains off," so I don't use slides.
2. I've used a number of techniques suggested by Cross and Angelo in their
Classroom Assessment Book. For example:
One minute papers (whoops, looks like Thomas Pitzer just emailed this
in -- but here's an expanded version of his contribution). At the end of
class ask students to write two things: the most important point they
learned from class that day and the one question/concern/uncertainty they
have about the material covered.
I skim through the responses (even in a large class, this takes very little
time - 10 minutes perhaps) and this gives me a starting point for the next
lecture (e.g., "I could see from your papers that most of you understood
that adhesion and cohesion are important properties of water...but it seems
that a number of you are still confused by...etc.). This gives folks the
opportunity to ask questions without fear of embarassing themselves.
Students get the sense that you do care about their learning and are willing
to respond to their concerns. It also gives me a chance to take the class
"temperature" - are they "getting" the point of the
lecture.
Another version of this: Have students write "the muddiest point"
of the
lecture. Read their responses and respond to the top two or three in the
next lecture. (Clearly, you can't answer everyone's concerns - but you can
address some of the most common responses).
3. One of the disadvantages of a large class is student anonymity -- on
the
other hand, the anonymity provides an opportunity to do some interesting
things. I sometimes use surveys to promote class interest. For example,
when I discuss human reproduction and STD's, I hand out a questionaire on
sexual behavior and use of codoms. All answers can be checked or circled
so
that students can't be identified by handwriting. Students are not required
to participate (in fact, the first response a student makes is to circle
"yes" or "no" in response to the statement "I wish
to participate in this
survey" -- if they circle "no," they stop there). The surveys
are quickly
collected and redistributed at random. I then read the questions aloud and
students respond according to the sheet that they received (i.e., they're
expressing another students response). There is nothing like the visual
impact of having 70% of your students (at least) admitting to 2 or more
sexual partners over the past year and then seeing 90% of those students
admitting to having unprotected sex with one or more of those partners.
This makes more of an impact than all the preaching I could do from "the
podium." (By the way - out of 200 students, typically only 1-5 choose
not
to participate in the survey -- and I'm careful to affirm that choosing
not
to participate is a perfectly acceptable/legitimate response...I've never
had a complaint from a student when I've done surveys in this way).
4. We've found that group-work in large classes can be facilitated (at
least in the beginning of the semester) by labeling seats -- a group of
seats (4 or 5) in the same vicinity are given the same number. The first
time we form groups, we tell the students to look at the back of their seats
and talk to others whose seats have the same number. This helps prevent
some of the "wait time" while students form their own groups --
and prevents
students from becoming "strays" who aren't in a group.
5. We encourage people to form study groups by asking those interested in
being in a study group to submit their name, the times they're available,
and a phone number. We then distribute a list (first names only, no
addresses) so that people can call each other and set up the groups.
Students who don't wish to participate (or have their phone numbers
distributed) don't have to submit the information.
6. We also encourage people to form study groups by assigning a 5 point
critical thinking question (usually a multiple choice question a la Robert
Allen - students choose the right answer and explain why it is right; they
have to explain why the other choices are wrong) which will appear on the
exam. The students can work together (or alone) on the question. They can
write their answers in advance and submit them at the time of the exam -
or
they can write the answers on the exam sheet. The point is to get them
thinking about issues which are more complex -- without time constraints.
The answers are not necessarily long (and therefore, not THAT time consuming
to grade) and we feel good that we've gotten them to move beyond the typical
regurgitate questions.
Sorry that this is so long -- hope it's helpful.
Best: Debbie Langsam
Deborah M. Langsam
Department of Biology
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC 28223
dmlangsa@email.uncc.edu
(704) 547-4054
I concur with the suggestion to learn names and offer a
suggestion to facilitate the process: photos taken with a
QuickCam from Connectix and pasted into a Macintosh word
processing document. The resulting images will not challenge
the aesthetic ascendancy of even the DMV, but are adequate
to the task of speeding name/face association...and
available faster than Polaroid shots. The initial
investment--assuming you have a Mac already--is under $100
and there is no film to buy or process. Connection is to
printer or modem port. Also makes QuickTime movies and
frame by frame animations. Color and Windows version soon?
From: Michael Bucher 574-6516 <BUCHER@SMCCCD.CC.CA.US>
While I am involved in the laboratory instruction end of a medium sized
bio
course (ca. 300), we do some things that can be implemented in a lecture
course. Much like
T. Pitzer, we utilize the electronic side of instruction quite heavily.
Each semester, we have
our computing center provide each student with his/her own e-mail address,
as well as the TAs
and course instructors. We then provide all students with a listing of e-mail
addresses for TAs, instructors as well as other students in the course.
To encourage use of this technology, we have our TAs e-mail a personal note
to each student during the first week, to personalize things and to encourage
students to reply. This also sets the stage for future use of e-mail to
"talk" with TAs, instructors and with other students, the latter
which they find both useful and quite fun! As well, each semester we set
up a course newsgroup (bulletin
board) to promote an ongoing dialog between students about anything remotely
involved in the course. Since this is a public forum, quite often we get
"conversations" on a variety of topics, and at times students
from outside the coursewill join in!
Since many students wait until a few days before an exam to study, often
times they have questions at moments when there are few available sages.
We see a tremendous amount of question asking and answering on the newsgroup
during test time, most of it student-generated.
To insure that all students utilize these services, we will regularly post
such things as sample exam questions, answers to homework problem sets,
listings of upcoming seminars and presentations (some of which they are
required to attend as an assignment) and notices about articles, TV shows
and the like of general interest. We also give a few online quizzes whereby
students must access the
newsgroup to read the questions, answer them and e-mail their replies directly
to the TAs who then grade them "electronically" and sendthem back
to the students.
This year we propose to have them do a few online search assignments using
WWW via Netscape. One thought is to have them access the NSF homepage and
download the most recent version of their publication, "On Becoming
a Scientist" and then doing some form of writtenreport on their work?
I also agree with T. Pitzer's comment: "Sometimes you have to drag
them kicking and screaming into the information age but almost all of them
are appreciative at the end of the
course. I get email and jokes from my former students all the time."
There are some humorous alt-type newsgroups out there that can supply a
great deal of entertaining information! As well, this aspect of the course
is one of the most positive and highly-rated course component at year's
end.
I feel that this is one of the most vastly underused tools we can offer
our students. Even though the material is not directly "biology related,"
I believe that it is important enough in the way of teaching communication
skills to include it in courses such as ours.
Hope to see more discussion on this topic.
Todd Bennethum, Instructional Coordinator
Purdue University
Department of Biological Sciences
Lilly Hall of Life Science
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1392
tbenneth@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu
(317) 494-8194
FAX: (317) 494-0876
Now here's a topic I'd really like to see discussed! I firmly believe
that any talking done should help the student to understand the material
and should not just be a rehash of what the textbook says, and should
have as its purpose, getting the students to think during the lecture. I've
been impressed
by all the good ideas sent out on how to involve the students--thank
you. No one so far has mentioned the approach I've been developing, so
I'll toss it into the ring.
I teach the botany section in the Introductory Biology course and it is
not a section in which the students have much background. Very early on,
I saw that they were spending all their energy taking notes ( as others
have mentioned) and paying very little attention to the sense of what I
was saying. I also have terrible handwriting and dislike writing during
lecture. So I started typing up my notes and handing them out,
complete with diagrams, at the beginning of the hour. I make overheads
of the notes, too, and refer to them. I leave room on the handouts for
the students to add their own comments. Of course, I always add stuff
not in the notes, but the semi-fleshed bones are there.
I also hand out at the beginning a list of most of the possible questions
and vocabulary that will appear on the exam so they are in no doubt about
what I expect them to know.
Finally, I don't feel you can communicate plant biology adequately simply
through words so I have been accumulating a collection of slides that I
show during the lecture. I have quite a few now and it helps
understanding tremendously to see a picture of vascular tissue in situ
rather than to see some labelled lines (I also have a lot of fun taking
the pictures!) I show these on a separate screen and don't need to lower
the lights much. The students seem to enjoy the slides and I certainly
enjoy being able to show real structures and behaviors.
The response of the students to these efforts has been very positive.
I look forward to more discussion on this topic.
Susan Schenk
The Claremont Colleges
Claremont, CA
sschenk@jsd.claremont.edu
On Wed, 5 Jul 1995, Joel B. Sheffield wrote:
> A question for you all: It has been my impression, as I suggested,
that many
> students see class time as the time to take notes which are to be studied
> later. That is, that a great deal of learning occurs outside the lecture.
> At the same time, I would like to make the lecture a time to generate
> understanding. I have thought, for instance, of asking the students
to
> generate a "one minute summary" of the lecture before they
leave the room.
> What do you feel about this? What is the purpose of a lecture? I am
> looking forward to a discussion.
Good question. Though I never had the pleasure of such teaching
techniques when I was a student, several friends have told me how useful
they found just such a "one-minute paper" at the end of lecture
in a
graduate experimental design course. One anecdotal vote in favor of the
idea.
Your mention of students' dedication to taking notes during lecture time
jogged my memory on another technique I had read about. This is from
Active Learning by Bonwell and Eison (p 13):
"After students are given the objectives of the lecture, they are asked
to put their pencils down and to LISTEN carefully to a lecture
approximately half of the class period in length, attempting to
determine the major concepts presented and to remember as much supporting
data as possible. At the end of the lecture, students are instructed to
to spend five minutes recording in their notes all that thay can
recall. The next step involves students in small discussion groups
reconstructing the lecture conceptually with supporting data. At this
juncture, students prepare their own complete lecture notes, using the
instructor to resolve questions as they arise. Students are encouraged
to reflect on the lecture later that same day and to write in narrative
form, without reference to the lecture notes, the major concepts and most
pertinant information presented."
The complete reference for this book is:
Bonwell, Charles C., and James A. Eison. 1991. Active Learning: Creating
Excitement in the Classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1.
Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education
and Human Development.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Robert B. Ketcham Biology (302) 831-2377
Laboratory Coordinator Univ of Delaware rketcham@strauss.udel.edu
Newark, DE 19716-2590
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The method for in-class learning that Robert Ketcham suggested (Based on
the work of Bonwell and Eison) is an exciting prospect. I will certainly
try this
during the next semester.
The issue that concerns me, however, is whether such approaches reduce the
amount of material that you can present to a class. I certainly feel that
there is not enough time to present the important material in the subject
as is. My old fashioned assumption about education was that the lecture
is,
in a sense, a guidepost to the field and that the bulk of learning actually
goes on outside of class. The text that I am currently using in my Cell
Biology course is over 1300 pages. In one topic alone, the cell cycle, the
number of pages has gone from 3 to 50 in the five years between two editions.
I can't possibly present all of the material. If I select a small subset,
I
still want to concentrate on the general aspects, and leave the details
for
the students to pick up on their own.
As a pedagogue, I feel that it is necessary for students to learn
how to learn. That is, they need to develop skills in extracting
materials from books, CD-Roms, Databases, etc. They also need to
know when they do understand something -but that's another topic.
Joel B. Sheffield
Biology Department
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
jbs@sgibio.chem.temple.edu or
v5415e@TEMPLEVM.bitnet
(215) 204 8854
Hi again:
After some welcome commiseration, Mike Dimi wrote:
> My only suggestion for you, and all of the rest of us poor creatures,
is
>to do whatever you can to increase the flexibility available to your
>students. In courses like these, students easily get to feeling as though
>they are just "a number," and when they feel like this, their
motivation
>and morale tend to sag. One solution, then, is to modify course structures
>so as to give students voice and that give them choice. Unfortunately,
>most such modifications take a lot of time, usually more time than an
>assistant professor on a tenure track can spare. If you would like to
hear
>about some of the modifications I've made to our course here at Tech,
I'll
>be happy to share, but you must know ahead of time that none of them
have
>won me any points with our T&P committee.
I'd very much like to hear the specifics. I don't know yet the extent to
which I'll be involved in labs, except that I'm not teaching any lab
sections. I've already decided to try Janice's advice and try to visit a
couple of sections each week. We'll see how long that resolution lasts,
though. And as for time -- well, for better or for worse (right now, I'm
thinking it's actually better), I'm not on a tenure track, so I have a bit
more flexibility than I might otherwise. So, by all means, send the
specifics along.
And yes -- I don't know what I'd do without y'all!
Kerry Kilburn
Old Dominion University
I tried the one minute summary of specific lecture topics several years
ago.
I found that unless I collected the summaries, read them, CORRECTED THE
MISCONCEPTIONS ETC, and returned them, students lost interested in doing
them! The summaries were not part of their grade so that contributed to
a
lack of interest. As always, the better students were the ones who took
the
time while the poor ones left as quickly as possible.
Now I do 8 to 10 "in-class- writing" assigments per term. I collect,
correct
and give a grade. The papers count as 3% of the lecture grade. Sometimes
the
topic deals with summaries of lecture concepts.
Many thanks for all of the wonderful ideas all of you have been contributing.
The issue of "content" vs. "flexibility in approaches"
is still a difficult
one to solve. Each of my little writing exercises probaly take 10 to 15
minutes out of the lecture and it took me years to give up those few
minutes!! Decreasing content of the freshman course is a hot issue here
and
we are planning on tackling it...one of these days!
Emily Rock
University of Akron-Wayne College
Orrville, Ohio
Debbie has lots of good suggestions. I plan to try the numbered seats and
the explanation of why right and why others are wrong on multiple choice
questions. This thread has inspired me to try something and I wonder if
anyone has experience with it. I would like to try one test, perhaps the
second in a first term course, in which a board of students grades the
test. If I divide the students into teams, I could have one "test"
question per week and students could grade it. I would of course be
available for consultation, probably by phone at a pre-arranged time, and
students could assign points on a 5-point scale. We could have weekly or
even daily quizes this way. I could construct some of them and the
students construct most of them. Teams could share their questions in
advance and the winning teams get bonus points, with questions submitted
by the teams weekly and selected by me. Any thoughts on this idea? If I
don't run into any red flags, I would at least like to try it. I have an
advisory team from last year's class who can give me their opinions on it.
Janice
***********************************
Janice M. Glime
Department of Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
jmglime@mtu.edu
906-487-2546
FAX 906-487-3167
***********************************
There have been some wonderful responses on this topic. Many suggestions
that I will incorporate. I teach a lecture section of about 260 students
iin introductory cell biology. The lecture theatre I use is a
nightmare..fixed seats, no air, too hot, nothing available except an
overhead. I have experimented with a totally participatory classroom and
found that it worked eventually, but only after initial resistance to
actually having to think during class. The turning-point came for me when
I realized that I actually hadn't sought my students' consent for these
teaching methods. I was just imposing them.After I told them that I was
a
very good lecturer.I spoke english loudly and clearly. I had taught the
course many times and had a complete set of notes that I was willing to
read to them if that was what they wanted, they seemed to realize that
the point was not that I understood the material, but that they did. They
voted overwhelmingly, in writing, to continue the active classroom. The
comments were things like "At least I'm not bored in this class"
or "At
least I don't fall asleep in this class". I also found that I covered
as
much or more material as my three colleagues who were lecturing. I did
rely more on the students reading the relevant pages in the textbook
before they came - or at least one student out of four who was willing to
explain the material to his small group.
I also found that the most important aspect was to set the right
atmosphere for learning. I told my students that I couldn't learn their
names in the lecture theatre but that I wanted to know who they were.
Whenever they saw me on campus, walking through the halls etc, they
should just stop me and introduce themselves.That seemed to help. The
other thing they liked was that, in the first lecture, I had them get the
names and phone numbers of two other people in the course so that they
had someone to call for notes etc.And I also talked about note-taking
methods and other topics, like concept maps, that might help them in all
their courses. Anything to set a tone of me helping them to learn
something they want to know, rather than an authoritaran set-up.
From: Ellen Rosenberg <ellenr@unixg.ubc.ca>
Dear Kerry,
All right. You asked for it. The following is a description of the
modifications I've made to the lecture portion of our one-year intro
biology course for majors. Again, these modifications have been made with
the aim of increasing the flexibility of the course for students, and in
making students more responsible for the course, i.e. increasing their
voice. I wish I could say that I came up with a lot of these ideas, but
it
would be a lie. I owe some of these changes to a Chautauqua course offered
by Dr. Craig Nelson of I.U. Bloomington (a mind-opening experience), some
of them to a great little periodical called "The Teaching Professor"*
and
some of them to articles I've come across in The Journal of College Science
Teaching.
1. Any student who wishes may take an essay version of any test (except
the
final exam), rather than the standard multiple-choice version. This
provides students who do not perform well on one type of exam or the other
to demonstrate mastery with the test format of their choice.
2. Because students really do have "bad days," and because I am
more
interested in using tests to allow students to demonstrate mastery than
I
am in categorizing them, all students have the option to take a re-test
on
any and all tests except the final exam. If a student takes both the
original test and the re-test, the student chooses which test is to be
counted at the time the re-test answer sheet is turned in (students do not
yet know their score on the re-test). Thus, students do not automatically
receive the higher score; they receive the score they think better reflects
their understanding of the material. About 20% of the students who take
the re-test make the wrong choice, and they are not pleased. I argue that
while it may be their goal to receive the best score, it is my goal that
they receive the most accurate score. They may still not be happy with
this, but most can understand my position. If they wish, students may take
only the re-test but, of course, it must be counted. Students used to be
able to drop their lowest test score. This shift in "safety nets"
places
the emphasis on mastery of content and removes the implicit message that
it's not important to master all of biology, that students' responsibility
for 1/4 of the course content can be chucked with no ill consequences at
the instructor's discretion. This has been a tough policy to institute.
Well-constructed multiple-choice tests are the hardest type of test to
create. It takes me several days to create original multiple-choice
questions for test and re-test because I need to create 100, rather than
only 50, at a time. I try and compose a few questions each day.
3. For more and more of our students, English is not their first language.
To even the odds, the evening test periods have been lengthened from 60
to
90 minutes. You can do this if you administer tests during an after-hours
test period rather than during a normal class period. This also frees up
several class periods over the course of a semester that can be used to
teach more, or to give review sessions.
4. A Biology Advisory Committee (BAC) of elected representatives (one from
each lab section) has been created to advise the instructor on the
suitability of test items. The BAC meets, without the instructor present,
after every test and re-test to consider written input from students about
test items and then meets with the instructor when it believes that
adjustments in scoring are advisable. Used to be that I would have to face
a group of disgruntled students after every test and defend test items.
Now, I meet with a delegation from the BAC and the process is much more
civil. I like it; students like it. Students feel it gives them more say
in this important matter, rather than it being the result of my own
judgment. [see JCST 21(4):214-216]
5. Students are encouraged to create and submit candidate questions for
inclusion into the multiple-choice tests. Early in the semester, I hold
a
special session on how to take, and construct, multiple-choice tests.
6. The evening test period is regularly used on evenings when there is no
test or re-test to provide sessions on study skills (concept-mapping,
test-making and test-taking, note-taking, etc.) and to give optional
lectures on relevant topics.
7. Office hours have been extended and, once a week, they move to a more
informal location off-campus (a nearby watering-hole) to provide a less
intimidating, neutral place to meet with the instructor.
8. Students are able to keep all test booklets in order to assist in their
preparations for cumulative final exams and to "even the playing field,"
i.e. to lessen the advantage offered by fraternity/sorority test files or
pirated test copies. In fact, copies of former tests make up an appendix
of their lab manual. All tests are newly created and usually do not
incorporate any formerly used test items.
9. Question boxes are placed at entrances to the lecture hall before the
start of each lecture to accommodate students are who intimidated by asking
questions in front of their peers or directly of the professor. I answer
these at the start of the next lecture.
*"The Teaching Professor" is published monthly (except July/August)
by
Magna Publications, Inc. One-year subscription is $41.00. E-mail address
is: magnapubs@wisplan.uwex.edu
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of course structures that serve
to
increase students' voice and choice in large-enrollment lecture courses.
I
hope others will be able to add to this list; I know I can use all the help
I can get!
Yours,
Michael Dini
Texas Tech Univ.
y3mld@ttacs.ttu.edu
Hi Michael,
I like and have followed many of your ideas -- we clearly have a
similar philosophy with respect to students. Just a quick addition to
points 1 and 2. I combine your approach of offering more than one style
of
test and offering a second-chance make-up by using multiple-choice for the
first test and essay for the make-up. This saves the effort of making a
second multiple-choice, although it usually means I spend it grading essay
tests.
I am interested in your idea of teaching students about constructing
multiple-choice questions. I have discussed taking such tests, but never
construction. What guidelines do you give them?
Thanks for taking the time to share your strategies.
********************************************************************
Gail Schiffer gschiffe@kscmail.Kennesaw.Edu
Biology, Kennesaw State College 404-423-6167
P.O. Box 444, Marietta GA 30061 Fax: 404-423-6625
Essay tests have always presented a problem for me (not just the time involved
in reading them). I find it difficult to evaluate them objectively. Students
with good writing skills can write a nice paragraph that contains NO
information. Is it fair to lower the grade of a student who has difficulty
with
English or is not so eloquent? I do put a few essay questions on each exam
and
find some students don't even try them. Are we trying to test whether a
student
can make a well-thought out paragraph using new information - in a 50-minute
time slot?
Lab reports require prose/narrative. I do read and grade these. Students
have
more time to develop their thoughts and grammar so this is less intimidating.
I believe that a test should be a learning experience and not just a method
to
assign a grade. The learning is (1) the studying; (2) practice with new
information while taking the test; and (3) talking to classmates about the
test.
I try to develop multiple choice questions that require students
to analyze data and draw conclusion. A good multiple-choice question requires
that students know definition, characteristics, etc. I try to make questions
that have 80% correct information. So a student walks away from the test
remembering good information - and not a wrong answer. M/C questions can
require
analysis and problem-solving; they don't have to ask definitions only. I
tell my
students that I assume they know the definitions-anyone can memorize a list
of
terms. I want them to put their information to use.
I have some quidelines that I follow in developing questions.
1. Fill-ins can be ambiguous:
A cell is _____.
Asks students to memorize specific terms. They could have memorized "the
building block," the smallest unit," or "invisible to the
naked
eye." All might be correct but not necessarily the desirble answer.
2. True/false don't provide the student with new information.
All cells have a plasma membrane.
3. True/false. If false, write the correct statement have the same drawback
as
Qu. #2
All cells have a cell wall.
A student can insert "don't" and be correct. This is not the most
creative/analytical way to get students to differentiate between plant/animal
cells or eubact/animal, etc.
4. Which of the following is true about all cells?
a-They have a selectively permeable barrier.
b-They store energy in enzymes.
c-They have organelles.
d-They store genetic information in RNA.
e-None of the above.
This requires students to know the characteristics of a cell. It requires
students to differentiate between two "close" choices.
5. Which of the following is not true about all cells?
a-They have a selectively permeable barrier.
b-They metabolize food using enzymes.
c-They have organelles
d-They store genetic information in DNA
e-None of the above.
Students must know the characteristics of cells and they are more likely
to
remember a correct statement from the test.
6. A plant cell is different from an animal cells because an animal cell
a-Has a plasma membrane.
b-Produces energy by respiration.
c-Has organelles.
d-Can use phagocytosis.
e-None of the above.
Requires students to know the characteristics of eukaryotic cells.
7. Which of the following is not correctly matched?
a-Mitochondria-produce ATP
b-Ribosomes-store protein
c-Lysosomes-digestion
d-Mitochondria-respiration
e-None of the above
Qu. #7 requires analysis and has 60% correct information so a stu.is more
likely
to walk away with a correct bit of information.
8. Which do you expect to happen if a human cell is put in an isotonic solutioon
with amphotericin that destroys phospholipids?
a-The cell will lyse
b-The cell will plasmolyse
c-The cell will form protoplasts
d-Nothing, the solution is isotonic
e-None of the above
This question requires students to sort out extraneous information and analyze
data. They must know the effects of osmotic pressure on a cell. They must
also
know definitions (isotonic, lyse, plasmolyse, protoplast). Moreover, they
are
solving a problem they have not seen before. Amphotericin was not discussed
in
class.
9. I know some people are very good at including a joke wrong answer such
as the
"Actin happens on Broadway" example. I have found that the jokes
(a) can be a
throw-away (i.e., no thought required); (b) require needless anxiety in
a
student who doesn't get the joke; and (3) are likely to be read straight
by
non-native English speakers. The jokes require knowledge (e.g., what is
Broadway) and a high desgree of fluency/comfort with English (e.g., actin
v.
acting).
10. And lastly, I know my exams aren't perfect. I do, however, believe students
respond to the challenge of difficult questions and their analytical skills
are
enhanced during the practice of taking and studying for these tests.
Christine Case
Skyline College
case@smcccd.cc.ca.us