Posted on 08/20/2021 8:42:25 AM PDT by karpov
Each generation returns the same complaints: college teachers drone, college teachers lack creativity and spark, nay, they often lack even rudimentary pedagogical awareness. And since the ascendance of what William James coined the “PhD Octopus” of credentialism and narrowed specialization, far too many see their work with students as an impediment to their research. Look at the very idioms used to describe professorial work. Professors routinely refer to scholarship as “my work,” and teaching as “my load,” a burden to be endured. Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of history of education at the University of Pennsylvania, makes these and other observations in his book The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America.
Unfortunately, due to incentives that favor research over instruction, the problems Zimmerman highlights aren’t likely to change.
Zimmerman’s study is the product of extensive primary-source research, including college and university archives, special collections, and personal papers. He has also read the reports, white papers and “what-is-to-be-done?” books about the supposedly dreadful state of college teaching. There are histories of the university aplenty, but as far as I am aware this is the only comprehensive history of college teaching.
Zimmerman organizes the book chronologically, designating six eras, beginning with the nineteenth century, when colleges were still closely tied to churches and a large proportion of teachers were men of the cloth. Recitation was the chief mode of instruction. It required students to repeat texts verbatim, or at least to provide literal-minded summaries.
Unsurprisingly, students expressed anxiety and boredom, a combination of emotions bound to lead to resentment, if not cynicism, over the long haul. After students finished parroting the assigned readings, professors sometimes concluded the class by reading straight from the text.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
Applying their efforts on guiding the most capable students.
One who finally retired before all the stupidity in colleges manifested itself.
Probably somebody that spent 30 years working in a manufacturing environment optimizing and solving problems on any level from accounting, engineering, to mechanics or operators to keep the facility afloat, while simultaneously being married and raising a family and guiding them forward to successful lives. But what do I know?
“...19th Century ... Recitation was the chief mode of instruction.”
When in school last century, I heard/learned the maxim - “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” The best teachers I had in retrospect used “repetition” until it became second nature. Added big bonus was when the teacher really loved their subject matter. Passing time teaching was the worst.
Come to think about it, repetition principle applies to sports. Did the greatest athletes become great because they bounced the ball, swung the club, kicked the ball, only a few times, then went pro? One can’t become good at most things with a one and done approach.... except maybe marriage and divorce. LOL
I saw very effective teachers use different techniques. One time, but only once, I taught using Socratic method. Didn’t do well with it.
Some were very good discussion leaders that could coax out the facts. Most had bias, but hid it.
I always believed in lecture, and had some amount of memory). First US History test question after we reached 1800 was to list the presidents of the US in order. You’d be surprised at the end how this helped the students put all sorts of other issues in their correct chronological place.
Repetition is the mother of all learning.”
Another learning principle is saying it out loud. Remember that?
In the words of one anonymous professor, teaching remains “a famously idiosyncratic activity that is not famously rewarded.”
I was lucky to go to a university that focused on teaching instead of research. Sure, the profs did some research and wrote papers, and many of my engineering professors had contracts with the local Air Force Base. But I had maybe a half dozen classes that were taught by people without PhDs. They didn’t push the classwork to grad students and adjuncts (and even the adjuncts were often industry experts on the topic or professors at the Air Force’s college ).
“Another learning principle is saying it out loud. Remember that?”
Sure do. And when saying it out loud, pretend you are teaching a group of people who know nothing about the subject. Active learning.
Ping; may be of interest.
And you’re already here! I should have looked.
Many are offended by my continual post script:
Read it slowly and let your lips move.
Now read it again.
And then delivers it.
They are able to show by their actions that they LOVE what they are doing. They can "engage" their students, make the student feel like like the class matters to THEM.
He or she knows where and when the students attention or interest will lag, and does something to minimize it. Maybe they change the routine, maybe they add in-class group projects, maybe they add class discussions, pop quizzes, or just crazy stories that illustrate a point.
A good college teacher is not only an educator, he or she is a PERFORMER.
Yeah, I said it. A PERFORMER. I'm talking the old "Turn up the lights, turn on the mics, and open the curtain its showtime!" performer.
They KNOW how to get the students' attention, make a point, make an (appropriate) joke or an aside, bring the student back when they are "drifting", control the class, and yes, ENTERTAIN.
The old fashioned "read the power point lecture" (or projected syllabus) and give the tests just doesn't cut anymore with today's students.
Good college teachers make the student WANT to come to class, sometimes just to see what he or she is going to do next.
BTW, did you have a good college teacher? Give him or her a call, or an e-mail. One of the best ways to "make their day" is to tell them that maybe an experience they had or maybe something THEY did in their own classroom reminded them of that teacher.
Class dismissed.
Let’s see.... here’s a list of a few things I came up with:
- They use the students’ preferred pronouns.
- They plan their classes around CRT.
- They make sure that the students feel “safe”.
- They generally promote socialism and/or communism.
- They teach that it is okay for social media to censor any comments or themes that are divergent from the Democrat goals and agendas.
How am I doing? (/s)
Not too long ago when I was in college for engineering, our best professors were all men who had multiple decades of real world experience. Most of them were doing it for fun in their retirement years. My junior year they were all cut loose. I was told by the guy who ran the machine shop who I was familiar with, and also cut loose, it was because they lacked a PHD. Nearly all of them were replaced with Chinese professors who went strait to teaching with no actual experience. We were basically paying people to read textbooks to us in a Chinese accent after that. Additionally the machine shop never re-opened, must be hard to find a PHD machinist.
True that with my computer science degree (late 80’s early 90’s). My best instructors were ones who had years of experience and was doing college teaching as a post retirement profession. I had no SJW junk in my CS or math courses — all of that was in my liberal arts courses. And whenever a student in a math or CS course try to show their SJW bonafides it’d get shot down immediately by the instructor because we didn’t have time for that malarkey.
I was a good college teacher (adjunct professor of law). I loved the teaching and interaction, but quit after 3 years because of all the administrative and babysitting crap they piled on. If I have to follow up with, email, text, cajole and otherwise hand-hold college students - adults - including to my consternation a handful of military veterans, to get their HOMEWORK done and take the tests, it’s not worth it. I know some had PTSD and I allowed for that.
Colonel, USAF TJAGCR (ret)
One who publishes “scholarly” articles practically no one ever hears about outside of academia. Kinda like the Oscars and other award shows.
A non-union, untenured individual with life experience in the subject taught, regardless of higher-ed degrees.
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