Reflections on teaching and learning in higher education by an award-winning teacher and trainer.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Learning vs. Performing
In my previous weblog entry I expressed my frustration with my attempts to tap into the intrinsic motivation of students. It is relatively easy to get students to perform. Students tend to be adept at jumping through whatever hoops we put before them. Students are familiar with the game of education and what is required to get the grade for which they are willing to settle. They can stuff their short-term memories with information, regurgitate the information back on an exam, and immediately empty their brains of the information to make room for the next cycle of memorization—what I call Cram/Vomit/Erase. We then dole out grades and everyone convinces themselves that learning has occurred. Learning initiates change--change in assumptions, behaviors, and outcomes. I talk with students and faculty. I read the educational literature. I consult with employers. There is general agreement that the current educational system is flawed. There are numerous proposals of how to change it. Yet we continue to do what we agree doesn’t work. We have imprisoned ourselves in a self-perpetuating system. As frustrating as I find this situation, I am also energized by the challenge to find a better way. I will continue to share in this weblog what I discover along my journey. I encourage others to share their experiences. In this way each of us can move beyond simply performing in our role as teacher to become a role model to our students of what it is to be a lifelong learner.
I recently had an informative and discouraging conversation with two senior students, both of whom I have had in previous courses. Both did well in those courses. I asked them what would get students intrinsically motivated about the courses they take. The discouraging part of the conversation was that neither student could think of an answer. From their perspective, grades are the motivating force for students. Grades lead to a diploma.
At the start of each course I teach I ask students why they are taking the course, what they want to learn, how they prefer to learn, what would make the course energizing and productive for them, what would make the course boring. It isn’t long into the course before I realize that the answers the students gave to my questions were what the students thought were the politically correct replies to give. My courses are highly participatory. I strive to keep students engaged with the subject of the course. I relate the material to their current lives. Yet I find it difficult to tap into the intrinsic motivation of students. I have done numerous experiments in my courses around motivation. Each experiment confirms that students are primarily extrinsically motivated by grades. Nontraditional students are the exception. They are usually clear about why they are in college, what they want to learn from their courses, and how they can apply what they learn in their lives.
I can usually keep students involved and entertained and hopefully they learn something. Most student feedback I receive on course evaluations is positive. What eludes me is how to have students intrinsically motivated to learn the course material. I attend the seminars, read the studies, apply the methods, but I still have not found a satisfactory approach. All motivation is self-motivation. It cannot be imposed from outside. How, though, do I tap into the students’ intrinsic motivation?
One reason I may find it difficult to find an answer to my question is that many students are not intrinsically motivated to learn what they are offered in college. Both the students I talked to are unsure what they want to do after graduation. They are in college to get a degree. They are not earning a degree in order to further a particular goal. This is where nontraditional students tend to differ from many traditional students. Older students have chosen to resume their formal education as a means to achieving a larger goal. Unless a student has a reason for learning a particular subject, that student will rely on extrinsic motivators to get them through a course.
For the past three summers I have attended the Summer Institute sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning Resources at the University at Buffalo. One of the presentations this summer was entitled “Developing Autonomous Learners” presented by Dr. Kelly Ahuna and Dr. Christine Tinnesz of UB’s Methods of Inquiry Program. They described how faculty may use questions to facilitate the learning process for students. Ahuna and Tinnesz identified four levels of questions. Level 1 addresses data. These are questions which point to facts. Level 2 includes conceptual questions which use data in analysis. These questions involve students in identifying patterns and connections. Students describe, discuss, compare, contrast, solve, structure, and relate. Level 3 is hypotheses. These questions speculate about changes in data or concepts. These include questions of what if, suppose, predict. Level 4 is judgment. These questions call for critical judgment, conclusions, or choice. Students might rank or value. Each level of questioning prompts students to dig deeper into a subject and exercise critical thinking.
It is common for students to ask why they need to bother to study history. In my reading I came across a statement from the past that I found chilling when considering the present circumstances in America. The following quote is from a statement made by Hermann Gőring at his trial at Nuremberg: “The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.” Awareness of the past can help us to be more discerning citizens in the present so that we may create a better future.
In his classic “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” Paulo Freire identifies the educational practices and attitudes which mirror oppressive societies. Below is his list. How many of these practices is our own educational system guilty of practicing? · Teacher teaches, students are taught · Teacher knows everything, students know nothing · Teacher thinks, students are thought about · Teacher talks, students listen meekly · Teacher disciplines, students are disciplined · Teacher chooses and enforces his choice, students comply · Teacher acts, students have illusion of acting through action of teacher · Teacher chooses program content, students adapt to it · Teacher confuses authority of knowledge with her own professional authority, which she sets in opposition to freedom of students · Teacher is the Subject of the learning process, students are mere objects.
Learning begins with a question. I want to know something in order to solve a problem, achieve a goal, or satisfy my curiosity. I seek answers to my question. I decide on one to act upon. I test its viability. I then assess my answer’s effectiveness. I reflect upon whether it worked or not. My reflection usually then leads me to ask a new question and the cycle begins anew.
If we want students to learn, we must create opportunities for them to go through the learning cycle. I strive to find out at the beginning of a course what questions the students have about the subject of the course. What do they want to learn? In the course we explore answers to the questions. Through experiential exercises, students have an opportunity to test some of the answers. They can then reflect upon what has been learned and raise new questions for exploration.
One of my ongoing questions is, “How can I better incorporate the learning cycle in the courses I teach.” Each class becomes an experiment in applying the learning cycle. Some experiments are more effective than others. But each new attempt increases my own learning and experience.
Learning implies behavior change. It is not enough to simply know something. We all know more than we practice. It is said knowledge is power. It isn’t. The application of knowledge is power. It does no good to know something and not use it. We are to give our students more than information. We need to give them opportunities to put the information to use. I design my class time to include exercises that will allow students to experience and practice the concepts we are studying. This experiential approach helps students to move from the conceptual to the practical.
MITCHELL R. ALEGRE has been a consultant and trainer in personal and organizational effectiveness since 1974. He is president of his own consulting company and is Coordinator of Special Projects for Niagara University. He has served as Senior Consultant for the Healthcare Careers Center of the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, as Training Associate for the Institute for Work/Family Balance at the University at Buffalo, and as an adjunct faculty member for other colleges in Western New York. He has authored numerous articles and two books. He has been a recipient of the Trainer of the Year Award from the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. He has been recognized for Outstanding Teaching and Dedication by Niagara University’s College of Business Administration. He was the first to receive the Leadership Award presented by the Buffalo Chapter of the International Management Network and was similarly honored by the Buffalo Chapter of the International Management Council. The New York Leadership Educators Consortium has recognized him with both their Innovative Program Award and Visionary Award.
