The College Classroom (Fa14) Session 7: They're not dumb, they're different

1 collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

The College Classroom Session 7:

They’re not dumb, they’re different

December 2 and 4, 2014

Unless otherwise noted, content is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Non Commercial 3.0 License.

Today, you are instructors, not students.

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 3

On each slide, Eric or Tobias[1] describe an issue or problem

that occurred in Eric’s physics class. In your discussions

1. try to identify the cause or origin of the problem, using

your knowledge of Assessment Expertise Development Fixed/Growth Mindset

How People Learn Learning Outcomes Co-op. Learning

2. What would you do about it? Start your response with

“When I’m the instructor…”

“If this was *my* class…”

Eric:

4

The lack of community, together with the lack of interchange

between the professor and the students combines to produce a

totally passive classroom experience. (p. 25)

To prevent this from happening, what would you consider first?

A) Expertise Development

B) How People Learn

C) Learning Outcomes

D) Cooperative Learning

E) Fixed/Growth Mindset

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

* *

“Talking stick” procedure


1. The person with the ball will give the first comment.

2. After that, everyone is welcome to comment.

3. When we advance to the next slide, pass the ball to

your right.

Eric’s professor:

6

One structural problem exists at the outset: the professor

is training physicists; the students, for a variety of reasons,

are taking physics.

Professor: I assume the students in [introductory physics] are

pre-professionals who have already decided on a career in science

and are in class to lean problem-solving techniques that will be

required of them in their careers. (p. 30)

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu *

Assessment, Expertise Development, How People Learn,

Learning Outcomes, Cooperative Learning, Fixed/Growth Mindset

Eric:

7

I still get the feeling that unlike a humanities course, here the

professor is the keeper of the information, the one who knows all

the answers. This does little to propagate discussion or dissent.

(p. 21)


* *



Eric:

8

There was a Hispanic woman who sits next to me who is already

having trouble with the material. She tells me she spends seven

hours a night on homework and needs to get an “A” to receive an

ROTC scholarship next year.

(p. 22)

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu * *



Eric:

9

[My classmates] will have had no training in working collectively.

In fact, their experience will have taught them to fear cooperation,

and that another person’s intellectual achievement will be

detrimental their own.

(p. 24)

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu * *



Eric:

10

[Eric] attributed his classmates’ inability to articulate their

subject matter directly to the fact that they got no practice

“talking physics” in class. (p. 30)

I wonder if this is because they lack communication skills or

because they haven’t yet had the time to reflect on what they have

learned, or perhaps because they don’t really know much about

their subject – if knowledge is defined to mean a deep, thoughtful

understanding, rather than a superficial ability to regurgitate

formulas. (p. 27)

* *



Eric:

11

The best classes I had were classes in which I was constantly

engaged, constantly questioning and pushing the limits of the

subject and myself. (p. 25)

To create this kind of class, what would you consider first?

A) Expertise Development

B) How People Learn

C) Learning Outcomes

D) Cooperative Learning

E) Assessment


Brainstorm: Issues and Actions


What issue are you most concerned about when you look

ahead to teaching a diverse group of students?

What action could you take

to address that issue?

Issue

Action

Tobias’ conclusions:


But as least as important as content…will be changes in the “classroom culture”

more attention to an intellectual overview

more context (even history) in the presentation of physical models

less condescending pedagogy

differently challenging examinations

more discussion, more “dissent” (even if artificially constructed)

more community in the classroom

(p. 31)

References


1. Tobias, S. (1990). They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different: Stalking the Second Tier.

Tuscon, AZ: Research Corporation.

Education

The College Classroom (Fa14) Session 7: They're not dumb, they're different