tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post3057701413047620319..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: Teaching Life and the LectureMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-72993434138477028442008-06-12T07:16:00.000-07:002008-06-12T07:16:00.000-07:00It's not quite a memoir, but I have found Ken Bain...It's not quite a memoir, but I have found Ken Bain's <I>What the Best College Teachers Do</I> to be an engaging and interesting look at teaching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-38975148606935077322008-06-11T09:55:00.000-07:002008-06-11T09:55:00.000-07:00I've definitely used variations on this technique....I've definitely used variations on this technique. In general, it seems to make total sense that students benefit from there being a sense of continuity, even 'suspense', between class meetings. <BR/><BR/>One variation I like is to take 3-5 minutes at the end of class and have students generate questions based on the meeting you've just completed. They put the questions on notecards that they hand in, and I promise to address the 2-3 most difficult or insightful questions during the next meeting. This has the benefit that since students generate the questions, they're likely to think the questions are important and are therefore motivated for the next meeting. It's also a form of indirect feedback to the instructor in that the questions are often revealing about what students understand/don't understand, find important/unimportant, etc.Michael Cholbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-53014347157590469862008-06-10T15:18:00.000-07:002008-06-10T15:18:00.000-07:00From what I've seen it does some good, but not bec...From what I've seen it does some good, but not because it keeps them on pins and needles for the next class (no matter how well you do it, it will at least sometimes be the case that half the class or more wouldn't even be able to recall it); rather, it gives you an anchor you can refer back to in the next class. Those who remember it clearly will get the point; those who don't remember it clearly will be reminded of it; and those who don't remember it at all (there are usually a few) will feel encouraged by the sense that the course is actually going somewhere rather than jumping around randomly!Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-31142327135843701432008-06-10T09:40:00.000-07:002008-06-10T09:40:00.000-07:00I second the request for the teaching memoir.As fo...I second the request for the teaching memoir.<BR/><BR/>As for the technique, I've something akin to it. It's harder than you think to execute, but reasonably effective. What I do is generate questions about the arguments we covered. Amazingly, most of those questions are addressed in the next reading. So, with a book, I can say something like 'Descartes has established X, but to be convincing, he's got to say something about Y and Z.' Or maybe I'll raise questions designed to show that a particular premise might need more support, and the next reading challenges that premise or offers support. <BR/><BR/>It requires that I know the structure of my readings very well, and when the discussion makes things messy, I abandon the strategy for that day, but it's not as important for classes where the students are already engaged. It works to engage an otherwise lackluster class. It also helps them think about their own papers and gives them idea of how I'll grade. I'll ask similar questions of them, so they should write to answer those questions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com