Published: February 02, 2008 09:12 pm         

What determines how much we learn in class?

Enhancing learning

Having taught for decades, a key question comes to me when I write my course guide: How can my students learn as much as they can in my classes? By learning, I don’t mean rote memorization of laws, principles, dates, names or numbers such as physical constants. Real Learning means a building a mental framework of the key concepts, how they relate and which ones are applicable to a given situation. Of course, this framework relies on a foundation of vocabulary, remembering how a given principle may be applied to one’s life, using the concepts to understand key events and having a rough knowledge of key quantities used in the subject area.

This learning question is important for despite large amounts of funding, the earnest efforts of teachers, many technological devices and well designed school buildings, learning in America is far from optimal. Consider our athletic teams and competitions where young men and women at a variety of levels compete in such a way that they approach the limits of their physical and thinking capacities (in running, kicking, throwing, catching, hitting baseballs, getting basketballs into hoops, etc.). Most of our students are far from these levels in learning math, science, history, English composition and other key areas. Why?

I feel the quantity of learning depends on three things for most students: First, the level of basic skills that they bring into a class; Second, whether they feel a class is relevant to their lives or a future job; Third, the quality and quantity of time they spend on a class. By a class, I don’t necessarily mean a class at college or high school. My comments refer also to courses given over the Internet or a course taken using Audio tapes, VHS tapes, CD-ROM’s or DVD’s.

To gauge learning in most classes, there has to be a standard test where the student has to manipulate or apply the basic concepts of a class in a way they couldn’t prior to the class. This may not apply to courses which primarily focus on new experiences or acquiring a new perspective in a familiar area.

Basic skills refers to the ability to extract meaning or at least follow key ideas from reading an article or chapter of a text, the equivalent in listening or watching audio/video material, to be able to understand connections between key quantities (ex. follow an example where a formula is used), and to be able to explain the key ideas to another person or write them down in a way so that the other person could follow. Often ignored is that basic skills must be accompanied by patience and willingness to read/view/listen to a chapter or module several times until the meaning comes through. The other two areas of basic skills also rely on persistence and not quitting at the first difficulty. Basic skills and patience are essential for a great variety of courses ranging from anthropology to zoology. A big problem with many students is that they avoid courses where their weak skills would hinder them; they instead seek courses where recognition is the main requirement (machine graded multiple choice tests).

A key theme of our time is captured in the phrase, “What’s In It For Me?” Few students these days seem to care for learning for learning’s sake. In introductory courses I have found it’s essential to present material in such a way that students can see the relevance to their lives. In the interdisciplinary energy course that I teach each term, I tell my students this course can give them an edge in getting a job working for a power company or marketing renewable energy devices.

National student polls reveal that students are spending less time after classes on their courses.

The old rule of two hours of study for every hour in class is regarded as laughable by most students.

The problem with focusing on hours spent out of class is that so many students are playing their iPods or listening to television while doing their classwork. While a student may spend enough time to do their coursework, his/her attention may be diluted by electronic distractions or music/noise from others. Many students have outside jobs; when they come home after working, they may be so tired that they can’t study effectively.

Calendar show and early Ash Wednesday

Our February Planetarium presentation is “Calendars Around the World” with free presentations each February Sunday at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Our programs begin with an informal tour of the current evening sky. The Planetarium is in Tawes 302, just off the front lobby of Tawes Hall, a building near the FSU Clock Tower, the Lane Student Center and the Performing Arts Center. Following our Planetarium programs are tours of the Compton Exploratorium, displaying a magnificent collection of Mammals by Dr. J. Cavallaro of West Virginia, who hunted across 5 continents over 5 decades.

This Wednesday, we have a very early Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for many Christians.

The moon will be full on March 21. So the following Sunday will be Easter, March 23. By going backwards 40 days (not counting the Sundays), we come to Ash Wednesday. This Ash Wednesday is the earliest start to Lent since 1913, when Ash Wednesday fell on Feb. 5.

Bob Doyle invites any readers for comments or questions by emailing him at rdoyle@frostburg.edu .