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Fall 2019 Debriefing
Dec. 6th, 2019 08:59 amI’d like to say that the Fall 2019 semester was wonderful and that all my students were brilliant. It feels good when everything is going well, after all, and I like to brag about how smart my students are.
The truth is, however, that this semester was miserable, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. What was going on? What was I doing wrong? What could I do better?
Now that the semester is behind me, I’ve come to the conclusion that something wasn’t working with the students. I hate to shift blame onto someone who isn’t me, but I think that what happened with my classes this semester is indicative of a larger trend in higher education.
Students are no longer capable of engaging with course material that requires reading or watching something for more than a few minutes. This is fine in large lecture classes, but it makes smaller and more discussion-focused seminar classes very awkward and uncomfortable.
( Read more... )
I’ve been noticing a trend that’s become more pronounced with each passing year, and I think it’s finally time to acknowledge what’s going on – the undergraduates at my university are unable to read or watch more than a few uninterrupted minutes of video. Even when presented with short and accessible material, they cannot engage with it. I’ve always had a few students in every course who were capable of doing enough work to contribute to a productive classroom environment, but their numbers have been shrinking, and this semester I finally hit zero.
I have theories about how we got to this point, but that’s immaterial. What’s more important is figuring out where to go from here.
Specially, what sort of material can students engage with? Moreover, is the specific information gained through college classes what’s important, or should the emphasis of seminar classes be on the process of developing textual and media literacy and critical thinking skills? If the goal is the retention of information, is there a better way to deliver this information? Something like a podcast, perhaps? If the process is important – and I really think it is – what can be done to encourage it? What needs to change so that students can do the work they need to do?
And finally, is it worth it? Is it ethical to force students to pay so much money for classes that aren’t useful, beneficial, or even interesting to them? By remaining in an institution that exploits some of the most precarious members of American society without giving them anything in return, am I complicit in propagating an evil system?
Is there a better way to do this?
The truth is, however, that this semester was miserable, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. What was going on? What was I doing wrong? What could I do better?
Now that the semester is behind me, I’ve come to the conclusion that something wasn’t working with the students. I hate to shift blame onto someone who isn’t me, but I think that what happened with my classes this semester is indicative of a larger trend in higher education.
Students are no longer capable of engaging with course material that requires reading or watching something for more than a few minutes. This is fine in large lecture classes, but it makes smaller and more discussion-focused seminar classes very awkward and uncomfortable.
( Read more... )
I’ve been noticing a trend that’s become more pronounced with each passing year, and I think it’s finally time to acknowledge what’s going on – the undergraduates at my university are unable to read or watch more than a few uninterrupted minutes of video. Even when presented with short and accessible material, they cannot engage with it. I’ve always had a few students in every course who were capable of doing enough work to contribute to a productive classroom environment, but their numbers have been shrinking, and this semester I finally hit zero.
I have theories about how we got to this point, but that’s immaterial. What’s more important is figuring out where to go from here.
Specially, what sort of material can students engage with? Moreover, is the specific information gained through college classes what’s important, or should the emphasis of seminar classes be on the process of developing textual and media literacy and critical thinking skills? If the goal is the retention of information, is there a better way to deliver this information? Something like a podcast, perhaps? If the process is important – and I really think it is – what can be done to encourage it? What needs to change so that students can do the work they need to do?
And finally, is it worth it? Is it ethical to force students to pay so much money for classes that aren’t useful, beneficial, or even interesting to them? By remaining in an institution that exploits some of the most precarious members of American society without giving them anything in return, am I complicit in propagating an evil system?
Is there a better way to do this?
