Musings of an Overworked Educator
After submitting my midterm grades and teaching my classes this morning, I had a moment to reflect on a bit of educational philosophy. This musing actually began as a result of a question posed to me by one of my students. This student, who we shall refer to as George, wondered why another one of his professors would provide George a list of things to memorize and then only test George on just a few of those things on the list. George's complaint was that the professor was not completely fulfilling his role, because the professor did not identify the salient items on the list for George. Because of the fact that George is an exceptionally talented and, I believe, gifted student, I took his query seriously, and a rather lengthy discussion ensued. I include a summary of that discussion below as well as some "after-thoughts".
The fact that an instructor would require his or her students to memorize facts is certainly not a bad thing in and of itself (although from the perspective of many a student, it sure seems that way). The very act and process of memorizing facts, I believe helps to build faster recall and develop greater cranial storage capacity. On the other hand, there are many professors who rely on rote memorization as a measure of the student's understanding of concepts. This is unfortunate because memorization is only a good measure of a student's knowledge of the facts. I define understanding as the realization of how certain facts are inter-related and/or how those facts can be used to solve a particular problem; essentially, understanding is the application of knowledge. By its very nature, memorization cannot hope to measure the application of knowledge; nevertheless, it is still needed to capture the level of knowledge that a student has attained.
So, why not provide students with a list of items that are priortized, and then inform the students that they will be tested on only a few of the items? I think the answer is relatively obvious, but given the nature of human flesh and the level of maturity of most students these days, the answer is that most students would only study a few items at the top of the list. While it may seem overly pragmatic, I believe that most professors introduce a sense of ambiguity about test contents, because that is the only way they know how to motivate students to study.
My earlier statement regarding the maturity level of students actually sparked another discussion relating to how sad it is that many students have never been taught the value of learning. As I was contemplating this fact, I reflected back on my own past and felt regret for the many wasted years that I spent in college. I do not regret actually going to college, but I do regret how I wasted those years while I was there. My primary focus for those (seemingly many) years was to attain a degree; that was my goal. Unfortunately, my perspective of goal setting was inherently flawed. I viewed goals as something that I wanted; it was almost a sense of greed for me to get a degree. Without me even realizing it, I was actually living a life of discontent; I was not happy with my current situation, and I wanted to be in a better situation. I even spiritualized it claiming Philipians 4:13, "I press toward the mark...", meanwhile forgetting Hebrews 13:5, "...be content with such things as ye have...". The result of this greed and dissatisfaction with my current situation led me to neglect the process of education but reach for the product of education. In other words I did not bother to really internalize the material as it was taught to me. I read very few of the textbooks, and the few that I did read were primarily so that I could honestly answer the inevitable question on the final exam, "Did you read the entire textbook this semester?". In spite of my disregard for the learning process, I still managed to come through with a high B average in my undergraduate degree and a 4.0 in my masters degree. I do not say that to boast, but I say that to my shame. To those of you who wish you had the ability to not study and get an A, I say that you should stop being discontent with the way God made you, and realize that this ability feels more like a curse than a blessing. As I look back now, I only wish that I had been forced to struggle through school. Perhaps then, I might actually still remember what I learned back then.
As I work toward my Ph.D., I once again find myself back in school, but I have a renewed vision of my goal and I have determined that I will maximize the value that I gain from the learning process by finding satisfaction in learning. Then, when I have finished my courses and the last period is typed in my dissertation, I will be able to more fully enjoy the product of the many years of hard work. Of course, the biggest difference this time will be that I will have no regrets.
If only my students could catch this vision now, and not have to look back with regret in ten or fifteen years.
The fact that an instructor would require his or her students to memorize facts is certainly not a bad thing in and of itself (although from the perspective of many a student, it sure seems that way). The very act and process of memorizing facts, I believe helps to build faster recall and develop greater cranial storage capacity. On the other hand, there are many professors who rely on rote memorization as a measure of the student's understanding of concepts. This is unfortunate because memorization is only a good measure of a student's knowledge of the facts. I define understanding as the realization of how certain facts are inter-related and/or how those facts can be used to solve a particular problem; essentially, understanding is the application of knowledge. By its very nature, memorization cannot hope to measure the application of knowledge; nevertheless, it is still needed to capture the level of knowledge that a student has attained.
So, why not provide students with a list of items that are priortized, and then inform the students that they will be tested on only a few of the items? I think the answer is relatively obvious, but given the nature of human flesh and the level of maturity of most students these days, the answer is that most students would only study a few items at the top of the list. While it may seem overly pragmatic, I believe that most professors introduce a sense of ambiguity about test contents, because that is the only way they know how to motivate students to study.
My earlier statement regarding the maturity level of students actually sparked another discussion relating to how sad it is that many students have never been taught the value of learning. As I was contemplating this fact, I reflected back on my own past and felt regret for the many wasted years that I spent in college. I do not regret actually going to college, but I do regret how I wasted those years while I was there. My primary focus for those (seemingly many) years was to attain a degree; that was my goal. Unfortunately, my perspective of goal setting was inherently flawed. I viewed goals as something that I wanted; it was almost a sense of greed for me to get a degree. Without me even realizing it, I was actually living a life of discontent; I was not happy with my current situation, and I wanted to be in a better situation. I even spiritualized it claiming Philipians 4:13, "I press toward the mark...", meanwhile forgetting Hebrews 13:5, "...be content with such things as ye have...". The result of this greed and dissatisfaction with my current situation led me to neglect the process of education but reach for the product of education. In other words I did not bother to really internalize the material as it was taught to me. I read very few of the textbooks, and the few that I did read were primarily so that I could honestly answer the inevitable question on the final exam, "Did you read the entire textbook this semester?". In spite of my disregard for the learning process, I still managed to come through with a high B average in my undergraduate degree and a 4.0 in my masters degree. I do not say that to boast, but I say that to my shame. To those of you who wish you had the ability to not study and get an A, I say that you should stop being discontent with the way God made you, and realize that this ability feels more like a curse than a blessing. As I look back now, I only wish that I had been forced to struggle through school. Perhaps then, I might actually still remember what I learned back then.
As I work toward my Ph.D., I once again find myself back in school, but I have a renewed vision of my goal and I have determined that I will maximize the value that I gain from the learning process by finding satisfaction in learning. Then, when I have finished my courses and the last period is typed in my dissertation, I will be able to more fully enjoy the product of the many years of hard work. Of course, the biggest difference this time will be that I will have no regrets.
If only my students could catch this vision now, and not have to look back with regret in ten or fifteen years.
posted by John at
9:07 PM
2 Comments:
If I could audibly applaud on your blog, I would. As a fellow educator (albeit one who teaches at the elementary/middle school level) I find myself thinking similar thoughts. When I first wanted to teach, I assumed all kids shared my love of learning for its own sake. When I expressed interest in teaching, a mentor put it to me like this: children are not vessels to be filled. I never fully understood that until I realized my students didn't soak up my teaching like little sponges. It called attention to my arrogance that I believed I could teach to the students on their level, with their interests in mind, and they'd be active and self-motivated learners.
With regard to studying only those things that they need for the next exam, I think this calls attention to a bigger problem in our society. The need to focus on the here and now and instant gratification rather than focusing on the long term. The term "fast food society" comes to mind. Hey, you might not get tested on this concept tomorrow, but do you think you MIGHT need to know it and your teacher MAY have had a reason for you to learn it? Hey, tests can only be so long you know...the real test is life.
OK, I've babbled on long enough. I like your thoughts on this topic anyway. Thanks for blogging on this. Nice to hear from someone else with similar thoughts.
By
Snowflake, at 12:03 AM
Yes, yes, I regret wasting my college years to some extent too. I studied and applied myself to the topics that interested me. The others I 'had to' take I did enough to get by. Never tried to actually get interested in them or wonder what their real life application was. Now I'm ready to go back to school! :-) Just a little late though. :-0
By
Shanti, at 11:41 AM
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