I think that this is an issue that we all face. Given that you are supposed to be teaching a course on, say, Herpetology, is it valid to also place emphasis on the students' ability to construct an informative PowerPoint, analyze data, or construct a Google site? I try to emphasize the development of these skills, but sometimes it comes at the expense of some of the course material, whether through splitting the attention of the students, or taking up time that I would have spent covering course material in class. Personally, I think that this is totally worth the expense, but I know that many professors are not of that mindset. They feel that exposure to statistics should occur in a statistics course and, presumably, exposure to useful technologies should be given within the context of some sort of technology course. The problem with this approach is that students, constrained by their schedules and course requirements, are unlikely to take classes specific to these topics. Should departments therefore develop integrated strategies to ensure that their students are exposed to relevant external material in a piecemeal fashion? A "I'll take on statistics in Limnology if you take on presentation skills in Animal Behavior" approach? This would obviously require a coordinated effort, the like of which seems unlikely to occur within my department, at least. So, I suppose that for the time being I will stick to taking the time to expose students to external subjects where I can, knowing full well that I can't do them justice to the topics within the constraints of the course in question, but also in the knowledge that if no one takes the time to expose them to these various skills, they may make in through their college experience full of knowledge but lacking in their ability to convey it.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Skill development vs course material
Our use of Google sites in class last time made me reflect on how nice it would have been to have a website when I was applying to graduate schools where I could have directed potential advisors to look for more information. That way I wouldn't have had to overload my initial e-mail with everything they might want to know. As this reflection makes me think that this would be a valuable tool for students during their job/graduate school searches, it would be nice to incorporate it into a class. However, given that I have no activities that would lend themselves well to publication via Google sites, the question becomes, "to what extent do I shape my class around the material I want to deliver vs. the techniques/technologies that I would like my students to know".
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I think this is a very relevant topic - particularly as universities and colleges are trying to find ways to cut the number of classes they offer. I think it is very important to expose students to different skills and programs. Even if you can't do justice to a topic such as presentation skills, providing even a little bit of information will often put students ahead of others that haven't experienced any instruction. Similarly, with respect to technologies or resources that may be available to students, by covering those topics even briefly, you have a venue to direct students to more information about how to improve their presentation skills, how you could use different programs, or where they could find more information on statistics. Obviously classes have material that they need to cover, but as an instructor you can guide the course such that time can be taken away from the material. By providing students another skill, you may also be able to use this skill later in the course to help students explore topics in a novel way.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a pertinent discussion of how the content of a course impacts the implementation of skills deemed necessary by society. I think it is important to stay true to the course content and try to work in relevant skills and technology where appropriate...but not forced. I think it is noticeable when instructors simply try to 'stick something in' because it may be relevant later on, albeit not relevant to the course. I beleive it is most beneficial to both the instructor and student when the course content enables a technology or skill relevant for life to be applied and utilized; connecting theory and practice or content and skills is so valuable for all.
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