Teaching and Learning
By: Jaremia

Teaching and Learning
Abstract
The artilce will focus on the analysis of a teaching situation that resulted in difficulties experienced by students. It is assumed that the problems in the classroom resulted from lack of proficiency on the part of the professor. The situation is then analysed with the application of several teaching theories and approaches in the “Analysis” section of the paper. The needs for the individual approach to the student recounting the incident as well as more general principles are analyzed. Recommendations aimed at improving the teaching method of the particular professor featured in the situation under discussion are provided in the section on strategy development that offers some practical recommendations on what can be changed in the professor’s approach. The conclusion sums up the findings of the paper.
Situation Description
I remember having a practical session that was highly unsatisfactory. In one of my classes, I was offered an extremely boring assignment in writing aimed at recapitulating the theory from the course textbook. It was really easy, yet lacked challenge, and besides, I am the kind of student who finds writing tasks awfully gruelling. I never know how to start writing a coherent piece, and spend a lot of time deliberating on the proper outline, perhaps because I never took a writing class.
At the end of the writing time, the professor wanted us to discuss what we have just written, but her questions were basically directed at just retelling our writing, which was once again boring. The atmosphere was less than enthusiastic until one of the students started to argue with the teacher saying that one of the theories outlined in the book is obsolete and does not have to be included in the higher education curriculum. This sounded naughty, to be sure, but the teacher did not live up to the expectations of a good discussant either. Her retorts were to the effect that the student did not have a broad framework of knowledge she had and was merely trying to show off.
Analysis
In the first place, before structuring the class as a writing assignment, the teacher should have realized that students vary in their ability and learning capabilities. I have often encountered teachers who have trouble working with problem students, although they are able to stage a spectacular performance with only able students in the classroom. However, student needs are diverse and all need to be adequately addressed by the instructor. The likelihood of coming across a stellar student is almost as great as that of meeting an especially problematic one. In particular, I have always believed myself to be one of those writers whose problems are “compounded by the interdependent influence of ideas, actions, and interactions in the different classroom activity sites” (Glasswell et al. 2003).
Instead of being forced to write stuff they learned from the book down be memory, students could listen to the lecture prepared by the teacher. Lecturing, in spite of many drawbacks, has some clear advantages, such as access to non-published material, explanation of difficult content that is not possible in independent work, volatility and flexibility (Heward 2004).
The attention towards an individual student should be strengthened with realization of theoretical aspects of learning. One theory that will be helpful to the professor grappling with learners’ weaknesses and differences is that of the learning styles, in detail espoused in the 2004 article by Coffield and others “Should we be using learning styles? What Research has to say to Practice”. The student has to be approached with an individually tailored strategy that is by ‘custom-made to suit that particular student. In the case with a student suffering from writing problems, the teacher probably has to prepare assignments that are modified in complexity and focus to fit the student’s capabilities. Adjusting the teaching technique to the learner’s individual style will reduce “the negative impact of lower levels of contact between lecturers and students” and allow students to develop more effective learning strategies that will be best suited to their potential (Coffield et al., 2004, 5).
There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in ways that do not come so easily.
Individually tailored assignments have to respect diversity of talents in students and provide for receiving information in various ways. Thus, a student who is not keen on reading and then re-writing stuff should be given an opportunity to explore his or her learning possibilities in soliciting information from other students, obtaining it in an online research, listening to lectures, etc. The seventh principle of good practice outlined by James King in his article on seven principles of good practice calls for respect for diversity of talents and ways of learning that has to provide students with possibility to use multiple ways of learning, such as “visual, kinesthetic, auditory and so on” (King 2004). Students themselves have “decide on a strategy that best fits how they learn” (King 2004).
Besides, the teacher at the beginning of the class did not have the right amount of student attention. She should obviously try to engage the students more in her teaching, as otherwise they may find it difficult to concentrate on the topic. Student motivation has been the topic of numerous research papers. William E. Cashin in his IDEA paper has arrived at the interesting conclusion: “motivation should be thought of in optimal – not maximal terms” (Cashin 2001). That implies that either excess or lack of motivation can prove dangerous for the learning process. In this case, however, motivation was clearly not sufficient to overcome difficulties faced in performing the assignment.
One of the reasons the teacher was not able to motivate students was the lack of rapport with them. The teacher missed one of the most important factors in the set of an instructor’s must-haves – “empathy with students’ needs” (Fleming 2003). Building rapport relies on this most important quality that demonstrates students that a teacher is eager to deliver most efficient classes that will be in line with students’ aspirations and desires. In this case, the teacher seemed to care mostly about getting the job done, and conducted her classes in a dry and impersonal manner.
As for the nasty debate with the rebellious student, I believe the teacher did not do a very good job of reasoning with him. She seemed to rely on Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s theory of learning that “revolves around the view that people learn best by being rewarded for ‘right responses’ or by responses that show evidence of having the potential eventually to lead to ‘right responses’ (sometimes known as ‘operant conditioning’)” (Moore 2000, p. 4). As the student did not provide the ‘right’ response, she chose to punish him. Skinner advocated “structured, ‘scripted’ lessons, with teachers’ words pre-ordained and seldom significantly deviated from” (Moore 2000, p. 4) that would convince the student of his/her ability to proceed without mistakes. However, this procedure seems to be out of line with the requirements of modern teaching in the world where students are active participants of classroom activities.
In fighting with the student who tried to break the monotonous flow of the classroom activities, the professor and the students experienced something labelled by Lee Warren and Derek Bok Center “a hot moment”. In their description, these hot moments “occur when people’s feelings – often conflictual – rise to a point that threatens teaching and learning” (Warren, Center 2000). These moments are welcomed by some professors as they allow one to see the mechanics of discussion – when tempers get frayed, students come under pressure to use their best powers of persuasion to prove their point. It is important, however, to discipline oneself in order to remain calm and receptive to the other person’s feelings. This is also an opportunity for students to learn the skills of a polite debate, and will be appreciated in their future working environment.
Strategy Development
Teaching process cannot go along sufficiently well if teaching is organized in the traditional way where the teacher is the only viable source of information that disseminates this information, waiting for it to pollinate students’ passive minds. In this case students are reduced to the role of mere recipients of information that may not chime in with the student’s personal interests. Educators have long emphasized that “really effective learning is not accomplished through professorial discourse (not even that of Socrates!) but through mining the pure gold of "student-centered instruction” (Feaster 1992). This has clear implications for the teacher in the above-mentioned case. She should have arranged the situation in such a way that students act as investigators eager to find the necessary information, and not as passive onlookers, waiting for the debate to end. For instance, the professor could present a set of questions to the class at the beginning of the session, asking the students to find out answers to these questions at the end of the class. Questions do not have to be straightforward so that students have to dig in order to find out the responses.
Besides, a teacher can structure the lesson in such a way that students contribute to her knowledge of the subject. Even though “students come to school to increase their knowledge, and teachers presumably know more about their subject than do their students”, “learning is not exclusively a one-way downward flow of information” (Raney 2003). Students will have more belief in their knowledge if they feel that in their moments of discovery they reveal truths that were not previously known to their teacher. Benefiting from students’ revelations allows the professor to gain new insights into trite subjects and rejuvenate critical thinking skills, thus should be desirable for most professionals in the field. The teacher should therefore encourage, not suppress students’ intellectual activity even if it challenges the textbook material. Textbooks invariably get outdated, and students should be encouraged to turn to more recent information sources, such as reputable printed and online publications to update their knowledge. This will allow instructors to bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and real-life practice that is the scourge of higher education.
The teacher can update the routine assignments such as question-and-answer session by involving computer technology in the teaching process. Methods of using computers in learning are diverse. “Developing and using a spreadsheet to ask and answer "What if?" questions” is a viable solution along with the already traditional computer-assisted instruction (CAI) (Mousund 2001). This simple procedure can help the teacher to diversify the usual activity.
Besides, the professor has to define the roles of teacher and student in the teaching process to avoid misunderstandings in the future. The motto of every teacher has to be: 'Let's be clear about who does what in the classroom.' (Teaching and learning, 2004).
To keep the situation under control, as in the case with the student’s ‘uprising’, the teacher can utilize one of the many tactics of dealing with students’ tricky questions. Thus, the professor can turn to the technique suggested by Brian W. Joseph in his essay devoted specifically to working with questions: write the provocative question on board for everyone to see so that other students may take a chance at answering the question (Joseph 2004). By re-addressing the question to the student who asked it, another technique suggested by Brian W. Joseph, the professor could induce students to use their own thinking to cope with the tricky issue.
One way to harness the active stance of the ‘debater’ is to involve this student in mentored research project with the professor that will allow him to apply energy to explore new horizons. Proponents of mentored research have claimed that “collaborative efforts between students and faculty enable students to learn more efficiently” (Evans, Witkosky 2004, p.1). Indeed, the student’s zest for knowledge would be harnessed and directed into the right channel. Mentored research would also mean participation in joint projects which would allow the professor to establish a better relationship with the student and through this personal contact a closer link to the group.
This approach will enhance the student’s responsibility for the learning process and prompt the learner to behave more actively in the process of learning acquisition. Techniques associated with mentored research run along the lines described in a successful metaphor used by Belenky and others in their 1986 work: ‘midwife professors’ assisting students in “giving birth to their own ideas” (Millis 2002). True, some can fear that restriction of the professor’s role to ‘midwifery’ can seriously affect the professor’s authority. However, it should be remembered that learning efficiency, and not the teacher’s authority, is the main focus in the classroom. In fact, the intermediary’s role is no less challenging than the role of the universal source of knowledge, and as such will undoubtedly be appreciated by the students.
Conclusion
The unsatisfactory teaching session failed for several reasons. First, the teacher was unable to motivate students for the written assignment, which presented difficulty to some of them because of the lack of individual approach. Second, the professor did not use a proper tone in discussing the controversy that arose between her and one of the students who tried to challenge her opinion on the subject and the relevance of the material presented in the course book. The professor should address the deficiencies in her teaching style by using a more interactive approach, challenging students to find answers for themselves and establishing rapport with students. She should also try to update her classes using more innovative techniques such as computer assisted learning.

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