I've been wondering why this class has been going so well. I am doing a couple of things differently, or more accurately I've changed my emphasis slightly. Could such subtle changes really make a significant difference?
Three small differences stand out to me. 1) I am consciously trying to emphasize the relevance of Plato and Aristotle to our lives today. I want the students to see that we are not studying Plato and Aristotle. We are reading them to study the topics they were interested in. 2) I am not trying to control the pacing of the lectures but rather allowing it to flow with the student discussion. If I don't get to something that I have in my notes which I had planned to talk about I don't make an effort to squeeze it in. I just drop it or leave it until later. 3) I am putting myself into the discussion more. After going through what can be said for and against a position, I tell them what I think. I also reveal little facts about me as a person--that I'm married, have grown kids, two dogs, etc. I just drop these facts into the lecture. I think they help them to see me as a three-dimensional person and not just a teaching machine.
In discussing distributive justice I did a quick compare and contrast of Aristotle's view with Nozick's and Rawls' theories. I ran this by them earlier but I sensed that they didn't fully see its relevance. So today I went through distributive justice again and tied it specifically to the million dollar bonuses being paid to the investment gurus who brought the world economy to its knees and had to be bailed out by Joe Taxpayer. It turned out to be another very successful class. I haven't covered as much material as I normally do by this point in the semester but the quality of the classroom discussion is much better than it normally is.
I give the first test next week and that will tell me more objectively how I am doing. If the tests are good, then I will be positively ecstatic about how the class is going. But if they do awful, it will really disappoint me. If anyone out there is following this, I'll keep you posted.
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6 comments:
I am having my best semester yet this time as well. In my own way, I have been practicing the three differences you outline. I definitely let them know who I am, without getting too personal of course. That does seem to make a real difference in my classes too. Plus, I try to focus on two or three main ideas that I want them to take away from each session, instead of cramming a whole bunch of stuff in.
One thing I have found particularly effective for helping them retain and apply each day's lectures and activities is this: at the end of class, with five minutes to go, I have them scan through their notes for the session. They are to star three things that were especially enlightening, intriguing, or meaningful for them, and then make brief notes in the margins that explain why.
This requires me giving them a little more time throughout each session to take more careful notes; I pause every once in a while, and say, "I'm going to give you a minute to write in your notebook, whatever you need to put down, to help yourself understand and remember that point...draw a picture, whatever you need to do..."
Then, if there are a couple minutes left in the session, I say "turn to someone next to you and tell them about the three items you starred, and explain why each one is meaningful to you, and/or how you will apply it in your everyday life."
If we don't get to this at the end, I'll have them discuss this with one another at the start of the next class. I open each and every class with a "turn to someone and discuss _______" activity anyway. This helps them become more familiar with one another, which encourages their class participation. The better they know each other, and me, the more eager they are to come to class and see everyone at the very least. I always make this beginning five-minute activity related to the subject or topic at hand.
I'm enjoying your blog. Thanks!
I'm going to try your activity to start class sometime. I probably won't do it this semester since we are already in a routine, but I think I'll experiment with it in Summer School.
I am following your postings, Richard, and will be interested to see how the tests go. I mean to contribute to this blog, but am finding about myself that I'm not the right kind of person for blogging. I have a very hard time expressing myself a paragraph at a time. Some people do it wonderfully; not me. But I am reading, and following. I too teach intro to philosophy every term, and have never found a way of doing it that is quite satisfying to me, although I've tried a number of things, and students have generally liked what I've done. My expectations for my courses usually exceed those of my students, however. So, I'm learning from reading about your experiences.
With respect to your upcoming exam, I'm wondering if a different kind of learning isn't going on here, and perhaps a different kind of testing isn't therefore also required. I'm not sure how one would do that, but ...
@Jeff. Maybe your self-expectations are too high concerning blogging. Just treat it as casual conversation. we were able to have good conversations in person. Just treat it as a long distance conversation.
I wrote the exam and it is an essay test with very open-ended questions. So they should be able to use it as an opportunity to show me what they have learned.
At this point I've read through all the essays once and have started putting grades on them. I can honestly say that I am pleased by how much the students have learned. Of course, some didn't come to class very regularly and tried to BS their way through the exam, but there are very few like that. Also some of them seem to have missed the major points and instead remembered only the minor points. But on the whole I am very satisfied by what this tells me about how much they are learning.
I am really appreciating this discussion! Great to hear things are going so well, and great to hear your thoughts on the reasons why! And I appreciate PurpleBikeCafe's class activities that deepen learning and deepen a sense of community in the classroom! Inspiring!
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