“Lecture
format
is
simply the one which permits the greatest
amount of information to be disseminated in the limited
time.
That’s not
to say that classroom activities other than lecture aren’t
useful, they
are.
However, they always result in a reduction in
information
conveyed…"
The
two
ideas
discussed
above are connected by one fundamental and
traditional view of teaching that is common in college
science - covering a
concept is lecturing about it.
This view
holds that as long as the instructor
clearly
explains
the
material
(i.e.
gives “good” lectures, tells a compelling “story”,
sufficiently
covers and clearly organizes the material), and students are
paying
attention
and self-motivated, meaningful learning should happen.
Under this
view,
motivation, engagement, and independent and self-directed
learning are
preconditions of learning, rather than that which must be
fostered
throughout learning. So when students fail to learn
and appear
unmotivated and un-engaged, it is the result of a conscious
choice made
by the student. Moreover, lecture is simply the best
way to help
students learn given the time constraints of college
courses.
How can we incorporate
active and
collaborative learning activities in the classroom, and
still help
students deeply learn the essential concepts of the
course?
The
answer
lies
first in re-conceptualizing our roles as
college science teachers. This re-conceptualization
asks that we
begin to think of ourselves as facilitators of learning
rather than as
disseminators of knowledge. Under this view,
motivation,
engagement, the social contexts of learning and knowledge
construction (observation, questioning, exploring prior
conceptions,
seeking
and elaborating on knowledge, refining conceptions,
collaborating) are
inextricably bound to learning. Rather
than being prerequisite skills that students must bring to
the
classroom before
learning can happen, they are the very substance of
learning.
Therefore the
role of the teacher is to design a learning environment that
fosters
these activities
and relationships in the classroom. This is best done
by
employing pedagogies which promote
self-directed, independent and collaborative discovery, and
elaboration
on and
evaluation of knowledge.
One
simple/practical
way
to
begin to do this in the classroom is through
the Readiness Assurance Process. Larry Michaelson in
his
insightful article Building
Learning
Teams:
The
Key
to
Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in
Higher Education, discusses the theory and
practice behind using
RAPs (or RATs as I call them) to