Greetings everyone (notice that Travis, in the previous posting, has invited some reflective/evaluative responses to To the Lighthouse, now that we've finished the novel (or nearly finished it, since I still want to devote another 10-15 minutes to it tomorrow)). Additionally, I wanted to let you know that I've posted three examples of effective responses from previous iterations of this "literary awards" paper; you can find them on the announcements section of the course website, along with some questions and contextual/biographical information for the Auden and Smith poems for Monday's discussion.
Now, a question for you ... or a kind of informal survey, I guess. Part of our departmental discussions about these survey classes involves wondering whether we might experiment by making it more of a large lecture class: i.e., opening it up to more students (e.g, 50 or more), which (unless we could arrange it so that there are small break-out discussion groups, the equivalent of labs in science courses perhaps) would involve reducing its current status as a pseudo-discussion course. There are economic reasons for such a consideration, of course, but part of the pedagogical rationale would be that the course only unsteadily works as a discussion class at the moment anyway -- given that it typically is populated with 30 students and has to cover such a wide swath of material. I, myself, do the best I can to make it a discussion class, but as you know there are times when the relentless demands of the schedule cause me to have to take control more than I might otherwise wish. At its worst, the lecture-based model would be based on a faulty principle of education: i.e., that the teacher dispenses knowledge and the students receive it (the so-called "banking method"). On the other hand, at its best, I suppose the survey class governed by this model might be a tighter, more efficient ship of state, with fewer chances for getting behind, and might allow those who are still getting used to poetry (and the like) to feel less pressured by the oral participation expectations and thereby get more comfortable before the upper division electives. Then again, one could argue (and one of my colleagues does, very persuasively) that students would be more inclined to benefit from a large lecture class later in the curriculum rather than earlier. Ah, what to think ...
Nevertheless, I know how I grateful I am for all of your comments and responses to these texts in class, and every class period finds me learning more about the texts as a result of our discussions -- so I'd be loath to give up the course's current orientation as a kind of discussion/lecture hybrid. But I suppose I could also imagine the course still being effective and desirable as a large lecture class if it could be conducted in a really nice, theater-like media room, and if the technology aspects (PowerPoint, music, video clips, etc.) could be made even more regular and dramatic. What do you all think? You are important stakeholders in this issue, of course, so your voices should be heard!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I prefer this style of class that we have in ENLT 219. My other class is lecture based, even though the professor wants more discussion, but I don't find myself getting as much out of it when he spends most of the time talking. I get much more out of it when the students are aloud to participate and bounce ideas off each other. It does get a real discussion going with differing opinions, which you don't get from a lecture based class.
ReplyDeleteNo,no,no! No more lecture based lit classes! I have taken my fair share of these type of courses and can remember almost nothing of what we learned. I was not invested in the literature because I wasn't really required to think about what it really meant to me, I was just getting the professor's version of what was significant about the text. To change this class into a lecture style class (even with good multi-media technology etc.) would be certain death to meaningful learning.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that Chelsea. That is the exact problem I face in my other class. The only time I remember what I learn is when the class is discussion based instead of the professor lecturing for fifty minutes. Literature means something to us when we can internalize it. That is what makes Eric's class so amazing. It is personal.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the reasoning to want to switch to a lecture style class, but I think the smaller groups allow students to be more comfortable in putting forth their ideas, versus in a larger, more intimidating arena.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the middle ground could be to still offer the smaller 30-student classes while also introducing the larger lecture halls? If that is a workable possibility...
I really think the discussion aspect of the course imperative. A certain amount of lecture is an important part of the course, but I am very fond of how the current setup weaves the lecture in with discussion. It would be a pity to separate the two from one another, because (in my opinion, anyway) they are interdependent.
ReplyDelete