Michael Hunter Schwartz is writing a book about law teaching, which is evergreen fashionable. He is only in Phase 1 of the Project (collecting nominations), but this looks like it could generate some interesting discussion.
Over this past year, I have been working with the BYU Center for Teaching and Learning on new teaching strategies. Our experiments have produced mixed results, from my perspective, but I am encouraged to continue studying and experimenting.
One keeper: student teams for in-class discussions and in-term assignments. I will write more about this after the semester is complete and I have graded the assignments and read the evaluations, but a substantial body of research supports the value of team-based learning and a number of my students have offered positive oral reports. I need to get more comfortable using teams, but I like the fact that students are actively engaged during class, rather than being (mostly) passive participants.
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1. Posted by Cliff on April 12, 2008 @ 12:02 | Permalink
Gordon,
Kudos on the exploration. A couple of thoughts on student team in-term assignments.
- I have personally found them an effective learning tool, and I heartily endorse well planned, well measured in-term assignments.
- If every class requires team based in term assignments, I probably wouldn't be able to keep up with my work, as it takes extra energy to schedule the time with a group and then coordinate the group follow through. I suppose that speaks somewhat to planning and measuring.
- Team based assignments present a significant free rider/accountability problem. If a professor is going to assign team based projects, that professor should really have an effective individual accountability mechanism. Relying on other team members to supply that mechanism will not produce effective accountability, but it will encourage free riders, and a professor who relies on such an accountability mechanism alone will likely have zero knowledge of the free riders who are skating through his class. Wish I could suggest some type of solution to this issue, rather than just identify it, but I am confident that the identification is accurate. No class is immune.
2. Posted by Cliff on April 12, 2008 @ 12:14 | Permalink
Gordon,
Another thought on in class team discussions.
I'm not trying to bring negativity here - I think that such discussions can be effective, but from the inside, I have also noticed a couple of potholes with them.
1.) Sometimes, all that chatter you hear in the classroom during in class group discussions is engagement in subjects that have nothing to do with the subject that you invited your students to engage in. Trust me.
2.) Often, even when the group discussion is on topic, it is horribly disorganized and produces minimal return for the time spent.
3.) If a school is going to encourage in class group discussion, having proper facilities are essential. Nothing worse than trying to participate in a group discussion in law school stadium seating that often places about 1/3 to 1/2 of the group on fringes where they can't hear or be heard above the din.
Don't get me wrong. I think such discussions can be very effective - but they need to be well planned, well guided, well faciliated, and probably well monitored.
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