Spoon feeding article
this is a really good article on Times Higher Education
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=402453
about 'spoon feeding' kids at university/before university
>in summary, those that got fed whatever/whenever they wanted ended up not able to survive independently. Author suggests that there should be a 'thinking for self' A-level class in highschool encouraging problem-solving wih the assessment being how creative/efficient/effective the student had been in devising solution.
>sounds great in principal - but would definitely be too hard to administer - subjective and labour-intensive.
(recent news, in NZ - highschools are 'revolting' against government's new scheme keeping 18yo in school - currently compulsory attendance til 16yo - because of lack of funding from govt)
This is an issue I am interested in.
As I been doing undergrad (biosci) lab teaching for 2.5 years now, it is always a constant balance between answering enquiries quickly without giving answers away, making sure they understand without just understand enough to fill out their assignment. I always try to ask them questions, starting from easier questions and build up the knowledge in succession of question so that they can actually answer their own questions.
3 hours of lab, is a pretty intense session most of the time. I remember I always made sure to read the lab at least before hand because the introduction the lecturer gives at the beginning is very useful, but only if you knew what they are on about. And with reading in advance, you can priorities all the tasks and make sure everything is finished in ample tim (in case of screw-ups!). Actually I ended up hardly asking any questions to the demonstrators in my undergrad year.
It can be quite annoying when students try to every demonstrator available each assignment questions, not actually sitting down to work things out. The lab itself is pretty easy, if they don't understand the basic theory beyond what the specific question the assignment asked for, they could run into real troubles when exams come up.
It feels like every year, as the number of the students increases - there's a slight 'dumbing down' of curriculum for easier administration and due to time constraint. Such as the shortening of curriculum - I know they are not doing it on purpose, and they do work very hard to present the best possible course for students but there really need to be serious money put into funding in science and technology area to be able to transform the economy.
Actually that is another issues I'm interested in personally:
the general scientific/health understanding of the nation - it is only through improvement of base-line knowledge nationwide (even if it is small increase) that a whole nation can reduce cost of sickness and move towards a positive feeling towards general science. At the moment- feels like that science and technology are seen as being geeky and boring etc etc and too specific/unimportant to daily life/layperson. That is NOT true. A general common sense towards science/health means people can make better decision and have a more conscientious mind towards their own health.
ok my thought start to get a bit muddled towards the end... partly cos I'm listening to music and feeling hungry (only had breakfast today), I'm still trying to evolve my own thinking and independence and self-reliance.
Sometimes it's hard to believe I'm 23 when I still feel like a kid.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=402453
about 'spoon feeding' kids at university/before university
>in summary, those that got fed whatever/whenever they wanted ended up not able to survive independently. Author suggests that there should be a 'thinking for self' A-level class in highschool encouraging problem-solving wih the assessment being how creative/efficient/effective the student had been in devising solution.
>sounds great in principal - but would definitely be too hard to administer - subjective and labour-intensive.
(recent news, in NZ - highschools are 'revolting' against government's new scheme keeping 18yo in school - currently compulsory attendance til 16yo - because of lack of funding from govt)
This is an issue I am interested in.
As I been doing undergrad (biosci) lab teaching for 2.5 years now, it is always a constant balance between answering enquiries quickly without giving answers away, making sure they understand without just understand enough to fill out their assignment. I always try to ask them questions, starting from easier questions and build up the knowledge in succession of question so that they can actually answer their own questions.
3 hours of lab, is a pretty intense session most of the time. I remember I always made sure to read the lab at least before hand because the introduction the lecturer gives at the beginning is very useful, but only if you knew what they are on about. And with reading in advance, you can priorities all the tasks and make sure everything is finished in ample tim (in case of screw-ups!). Actually I ended up hardly asking any questions to the demonstrators in my undergrad year.
It can be quite annoying when students try to every demonstrator available each assignment questions, not actually sitting down to work things out. The lab itself is pretty easy, if they don't understand the basic theory beyond what the specific question the assignment asked for, they could run into real troubles when exams come up.
It feels like every year, as the number of the students increases - there's a slight 'dumbing down' of curriculum for easier administration and due to time constraint. Such as the shortening of curriculum - I know they are not doing it on purpose, and they do work very hard to present the best possible course for students but there really need to be serious money put into funding in science and technology area to be able to transform the economy.
Actually that is another issues I'm interested in personally:
the general scientific/health understanding of the nation - it is only through improvement of base-line knowledge nationwide (even if it is small increase) that a whole nation can reduce cost of sickness and move towards a positive feeling towards general science. At the moment- feels like that science and technology are seen as being geeky and boring etc etc and too specific/unimportant to daily life/layperson. That is NOT true. A general common sense towards science/health means people can make better decision and have a more conscientious mind towards their own health.
ok my thought start to get a bit muddled towards the end... partly cos I'm listening to music and feeling hungry (only had breakfast today), I'm still trying to evolve my own thinking and independence and self-reliance.
Sometimes it's hard to believe I'm 23 when I still feel like a kid.