tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post3968830378187138111..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: The Back Row BoysUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-25646449827225007772016-10-25T15:05:22.786-04:002016-10-25T15:05:22.786-04:00One of my professors in undergrad had students tak...One of my professors in undergrad had students take turns leading discussion in an upper-division class. At the time I thought it was a weasel technique for skipping lesson planning, but now I realize how much material I remember from that class. The discussions weren't free-form; each group of two or three students had to present a 10-minute summary of one of the textbook chapters and then Uggy from Uticanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-23870569893262373822016-10-25T08:56:59.281-04:002016-10-25T08:56:59.281-04:00Your Phillips Exeter example makes me wonder how m...Your Phillips Exeter example makes me wonder how much this is really the effect of shifting times, and how much of it is a class divide. I get the impression that a lot of my current students are flummoxed by class discussion, in part, because their K-12 education trained them to sit still, be respectful, and do well on standardized tests. (This was the complete opposite of my own public high Fretful Porpentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-40340441638441868552016-10-25T08:25:57.271-04:002016-10-25T08:25:57.271-04:00The question is almost, but not quite, a thing of ...The question is almost, but not quite, a thing of the past.<br /><br />My experience is that students are far more likely to ask questions by e-mail than face-to-face.introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10942477577791920942016-10-24T18:42:11.890-04:002016-10-24T18:42:11.890-04:00This mostly raises questions for me (as well as, y...This mostly raises questions for me (as well as, yes, sounding familiar -- which is why I'm almost glad I have few chances to teach classes is the predominant in-class activity): <br /><br />--Can you tell them apart? This is exactly the category of students for whom I have great trouble learning names (it doesn't help that mine don't remove their caps in class. Do students some Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-75055081230249220102016-10-24T15:38:23.506-04:002016-10-24T15:38:23.506-04:00None of us can reach all of them, no matter how ha...None of us can reach all of them, no matter how hard we try. At least they aren't disruptive and some of them are doing well. And they're there. It'd be easier for them to blow you off than show up (even if showing up is all they do). You're probably doing better with them than you're giving yourself credit for doing.Fulton Frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82435886553004874312016-10-24T15:32:39.219-04:002016-10-24T15:32:39.219-04:00What Compound Cal said--on crack. My early class ...What Compound Cal said--on crack. My early class is so like this. I've sometimes posed good, provocative questions and had to wait in TOTAL silence for minutes before anyone ventures a timid response. I just sit there and stare right back at 'em. What a fun bunch!The Gognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-7452697430033553782016-10-24T13:51:50.936-04:002016-10-24T13:51:50.936-04:00I have more of these placid and pleasant back row ...I have more of these placid and pleasant back row boys than at any time in the past three decades. Their midterm grades went in last week, all Ds and Fs, and they all were just as comfortable and quiet as before.<br /><br />I'm always reminded of the first principle.Compound Calicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059155949950433688noreply@blogger.com