Williamson-like Critique
Let me first start out by saying that in these past four years as a college student, I've learned a lot about my learning habits and what works for me. College is the first opportunity where you're given more lee-way as a student on your agency of how to conduct yourself and learn. It is also a constant battle between focusing on the "learning" aspect of absorbing and understanding information properly, and simply making the grade because as college students say nowadays... "GPA is forever".
I've taken many courses over the years with different formats and have seen what works for me and what doesn't, versus what I like and what is good for me in the long run. Personally, I'm the type of student that, in order to truly grasp the information being taught, I can't be focusing on making sure I've written down what has been written on the board. I also can't be distracted by my phone or the internet. I also have to truly be interested in the material being taught or it is very difficult to pay attention and my mind wanders. I don't always come out with this, but I have ADHD-inattentive type (previously known as ADD - attention deficit disorder, without the hyperactivity). So all of this plays into how successful I am as a student. Unfortunately, most of the time, the courses are fast paced enough that I can't focus on truly learning because assignments and exams pile up and it becomes about making the points rather than actually learning.
Getting into the two main discussion points of this prompt- attendance and the use of electronics in class, I have conflicting feelings with both sides of each issue and they both mainly stem from deciding what I like and what's comfortable versus what is good for me in the long run.
When the semester started out, because you took attendance for each class session, I thought that attendance was required and that completing the survey was just optional for extra credit, but attendance was still required. If you look back on the attendance records in the beginning of the semester, you'll see that I was really good with coming to class and attending the lecture. However, once I found out that attendance wasn't actually required, my record started to falter a little, but I still came because I wanted the extra credit from completing the surveys. Once the extra credit from the surveys stopped, I lost some motivation to attend class since I got busy with other grind work that comes in the middle of the semester.
I wish I was the type of student where I felt I had to diligently attend each and every class session, but I'm not because I usually weigh my options when it comes to attending class. In many other classes (not this one), I weigh the opportunity cost of going to a class where I most probably won't pay attention with using that same time to stay in. Staying in usually wins if I'm not penalized for missing class. The difference with this class was the fact that there was a discussion component. Before, I had always pictured upper-level classes being mainly discussion oriented with conversations between students and the instructor going back and forth. I learn best in this manner because I can actually apply the concepts taught in class and challenge ideas that I don't understand. I really wish most of my other classes had a discussion aspect rather than just sitting down and watching the instructor go through powerpoints. My only personal problem in regards to my attendance in this class was that I am not a morning person AT ALL and it is VERY hard for me to wake up and get out of bed, and yes even for an 11am class. If this class were at 1:00pm and onwards, I guarantee my attendance would be much better.
In the end, attendance policy should really be what's best for the student. Yes, we're adults and so it should be ultimately up to our responsibilities as students to come and attend class, same way as how we shouldn't need to ask for permission to use the restroom like we had to do as children. But for me as a student, requiring attendance with the added bonus of extra credit is the best incentive I could have to come to class, along with interesting discussion and an interactive exchange of ideas. It could also be noted that discussion was more lively when more people attend class, but I also like the idea of a small class size because it makes the learning environment more intimate.
As for the use of electronics in class policy, I'm the type of person who needs a strict enforcement of no using phones or laptops in class or I will get distracted. Of course, taking 30 seconds to answer a message or something wouldn't be an issue, but I will pay attention much better if there was a strict policy. The only issue I have with no laptops is that it is much harder to take notes because taking notes by hand for me takes time and I can type faster on a laptop, and I don't have to worry about making sure I copy everything down; I can just focus on absorbing information. What best worked for me was taking Econ 490 Economics of Coordination taught by Ali Toosi. It wasn't an easy class, but he would give a handout each class of the class notes he would go over, and he also had a strict no-electronics policy. His class notes handout really helped because everything I needed was right in front of me, I didn't have to worry about copying notes, and I could just add my own comments here and there on the points I wanted to clarify. I didn't get an A in the class unfortunately; I got a B+ but I would've done much worse if he hadn't had those class notes and if he didn't have a strict phone policy.
Again this is another issue of what is comfortable for the student and what is best for the student in the long run. I like being treated as an adult where I am trusted to handle my own internet-use etiquette in class, but honestly it is better for me in the long run if I'm told that I can't use my phone. However, it is frustrating and annoying when other people are on there phones during discussion, and it can be distracting if people are on their laptops surfing the web or applying for jobs, and I'm sure other students feel the same way.
I've taken many courses over the years with different formats and have seen what works for me and what doesn't, versus what I like and what is good for me in the long run. Personally, I'm the type of student that, in order to truly grasp the information being taught, I can't be focusing on making sure I've written down what has been written on the board. I also can't be distracted by my phone or the internet. I also have to truly be interested in the material being taught or it is very difficult to pay attention and my mind wanders. I don't always come out with this, but I have ADHD-inattentive type (previously known as ADD - attention deficit disorder, without the hyperactivity). So all of this plays into how successful I am as a student. Unfortunately, most of the time, the courses are fast paced enough that I can't focus on truly learning because assignments and exams pile up and it becomes about making the points rather than actually learning.
Getting into the two main discussion points of this prompt- attendance and the use of electronics in class, I have conflicting feelings with both sides of each issue and they both mainly stem from deciding what I like and what's comfortable versus what is good for me in the long run.
When the semester started out, because you took attendance for each class session, I thought that attendance was required and that completing the survey was just optional for extra credit, but attendance was still required. If you look back on the attendance records in the beginning of the semester, you'll see that I was really good with coming to class and attending the lecture. However, once I found out that attendance wasn't actually required, my record started to falter a little, but I still came because I wanted the extra credit from completing the surveys. Once the extra credit from the surveys stopped, I lost some motivation to attend class since I got busy with other grind work that comes in the middle of the semester.
I wish I was the type of student where I felt I had to diligently attend each and every class session, but I'm not because I usually weigh my options when it comes to attending class. In many other classes (not this one), I weigh the opportunity cost of going to a class where I most probably won't pay attention with using that same time to stay in. Staying in usually wins if I'm not penalized for missing class. The difference with this class was the fact that there was a discussion component. Before, I had always pictured upper-level classes being mainly discussion oriented with conversations between students and the instructor going back and forth. I learn best in this manner because I can actually apply the concepts taught in class and challenge ideas that I don't understand. I really wish most of my other classes had a discussion aspect rather than just sitting down and watching the instructor go through powerpoints. My only personal problem in regards to my attendance in this class was that I am not a morning person AT ALL and it is VERY hard for me to wake up and get out of bed, and yes even for an 11am class. If this class were at 1:00pm and onwards, I guarantee my attendance would be much better.
In the end, attendance policy should really be what's best for the student. Yes, we're adults and so it should be ultimately up to our responsibilities as students to come and attend class, same way as how we shouldn't need to ask for permission to use the restroom like we had to do as children. But for me as a student, requiring attendance with the added bonus of extra credit is the best incentive I could have to come to class, along with interesting discussion and an interactive exchange of ideas. It could also be noted that discussion was more lively when more people attend class, but I also like the idea of a small class size because it makes the learning environment more intimate.
As for the use of electronics in class policy, I'm the type of person who needs a strict enforcement of no using phones or laptops in class or I will get distracted. Of course, taking 30 seconds to answer a message or something wouldn't be an issue, but I will pay attention much better if there was a strict policy. The only issue I have with no laptops is that it is much harder to take notes because taking notes by hand for me takes time and I can type faster on a laptop, and I don't have to worry about making sure I copy everything down; I can just focus on absorbing information. What best worked for me was taking Econ 490 Economics of Coordination taught by Ali Toosi. It wasn't an easy class, but he would give a handout each class of the class notes he would go over, and he also had a strict no-electronics policy. His class notes handout really helped because everything I needed was right in front of me, I didn't have to worry about copying notes, and I could just add my own comments here and there on the points I wanted to clarify. I didn't get an A in the class unfortunately; I got a B+ but I would've done much worse if he hadn't had those class notes and if he didn't have a strict phone policy.
Again this is another issue of what is comfortable for the student and what is best for the student in the long run. I like being treated as an adult where I am trusted to handle my own internet-use etiquette in class, but honestly it is better for me in the long run if I'm told that I can't use my phone. However, it is frustrating and annoying when other people are on there phones during discussion, and it can be distracting if people are on their laptops surfing the web or applying for jobs, and I'm sure other students feel the same way.
I appreciate your opening up about the ADHD. I have one son who has that, so I'm aware of the issue. However, I'm not sure about what the right teaching strategy should be to accommodate this.
ReplyDeleteI also thought some of what you said a little bit wrong about the purpose of the class, which was not as much about information dissemination as you made it to me. I'm a big believer that ideas have to be constructed, from primitives, meaning from other ideas we take to be true and from experiences we agree have happened. So the point of our discussion is to have a conversation that does this. Therefore, the path that we cover is not nearly as predictable as the path would be if I simply lectured on the subject. What the students contribute matters.
We could, contrary to current practice, have everyone but one student put away the laptops and have that one student as the designated note taker, rotating that function among the class. At committee meetings I used to attend, before I retired, that's how we did minutes, some of the time. Other times, there was a secretary whose job it was to produce the minutes. We don't have a secretary, so we could to that.
Quite a few other students, however, said they don't need notes at all for our discussion. Also, I do make it a practice, after many classes, of extending the discussion on the course Web site. I wonder if that helps you at all or not.
On a more humorous note, way back when Ali Toosi was a graduate student here, I taught him microeconomics. He will know what year that was. For me, it is now a blur.
Finally, let me comment about your time of day preference. You are not the first student to tell me this, though you are the only one to bring it up so far this semester. I have taught at this time slot for every offering of the course, so I'm kind of used to how it breaks up the day for me. I suppose I could offer the class later in the future. As it is now, I do kind of the opposite to what you do. I take a nap after class. Returning to how this issues affects you, what will happen after you graduate? Do you think you'll be able to find a job that accommodates your preference, time-wise? Or are you going to have to adjust to the routine of 9 to 5?
Your class really focuses more on the learning and construction of ideas than other classes I've taken and it is proven by the way you conduct class and the use of our blogs. Your implementation of soft deadlines also proves that. What I meant before was for most classes in general that are taught in a lecture-style format. I think having conversation in class really benefitted me because it was very hands-on and that's how I learn best.
DeleteTo your point about the right teaching strategy, I can't really speak for all people with ADHD but what works for me best is an interactive method of teaching, which is a bit what your class offered. I can imagine that a lot of people would be better able to make use of class time when there's an interactive component to the class. I really wish more instructors utilized this, especially in 400 level classes where the class sizes are smaller and the information is more specific. Students spend four years and a considerable amount of money for higher education and it's kind of sad that many instructors waste it on boring powerpoints. It's also crazy how none of the instructors or TAs are actually taught HOW to teach.
I think your idea on note taking would be a good practice to implement. I've also heard of students sharing the same Google doc so they all can contribute there notes to it and it's a solid collection of notes. I personally wouldn't like taking notes during a discussion because I like to focus more on the topic at hand than note-taking, but if there was a brief or summary of the points made during discussion that was given afterwards, so we can remember the content, that would also be useful. I'm not always the best at remembering all the specific points that were made, especially if it was something I didn't catch.
Lastly, to your question about what will happen after I graduate, I will most probably stick to a 9-5 schedule since that is how most of the corporate world works. Over the summer, my internship was an hour drive away from me with prime time traffic. My hours were 8:30-4:30, so I left the house at 7:30am and got back home by 5:45pm. To do this, I had to wake up no later than 6:15 to get ready. After a couple of days, I got used to the shift and schedule and usually went to bed around 10:30. Working is different than school because I'm getting paid, and the risk of losing my job and being seen as unprofessional is enough motivation to get me out of bed. Also, since I'm only 21 now, I hope that as a get older and mature a little more, my time of day preference will adapt accordingly. Another thing is with college, every day isn't a consistent schedule like it was in grade school (7:30-2:25 M-F) or how it would be with work with the same hours 5 days a week. With a varied schedule currently, this makes it much harder to keep a consistent sleeping schedule.
You make an interesting point about college being the first opportunity where one gets to conduct herself and learn. For me, high school was that time because I had to find my balance since I lived in a boarding house. Living with many girls can be distracting at times, but one just has to find what works for them. For example, we had allocated time to study everyday, but there were students that never studied during that time. They distracted others or slept when they weren't being supervised. This same students were the night owls, who stayed up studying when most people had gone to bed. They were asleep before many woke, so it was hard to know when they studied. I think I am more of a morning and afternoon person. I hardly do all-nighters, so I always try to get most of my work done on time. This gives me enough time to go over my work, study and still get a decent night sleep.
ReplyDeleteAs team members, we all brought good strengths to the table. Even though it might take you guys some time to get work done, you guys always did the best work eventually. We also work together in our student organization, Illini Women in Economics, and you always show great leadership skills. I never knew you had ADHD, and I must commend you for still always being on top of your game. Thank you for sharing.
I am also glad this class was discussion based as it aided my learning experience. As seniors, it is nice to have classes that focus more on learning the materials, and not just about the grade. My other Economics class was great for discussion, how to do research, find data, and evaluate proposals. The class is poverty Alievation (Econ 490 section A3), in case you are looking for an Econ class to take next semester.
Over all, One of my best parts about this class is professor Arvan knowing all our names, and our working style as students. That is a great motivation to do well as that one-on-one connection is there.