Maybe you could even say I hate them. From time to time, I see students in the hallways and around campus with flash cards. Why does this bother me? Can't I just get on with my Angry Birds analysis or something? I probably can. Here is why I am bothered.
- The flash card says that there is this one piece of information that the student must know. There is one thing that you have to know.
- Even if there is some magical piece of knowledge (like a date or an equation or a definition), couldn't you just look this up online? Shouldn't we be focusing on things that computers can't do rather than recall definitions?
- Flash cards represent the end of a journey that someone else made (or maybe the student) and they miss all the important parts of that journey.
Imagine The Hobbit as a flash card. It would just say "Bilbo returned home with some gold and a magic ring." It would miss all of the important stuff that happened along the journey.
I admit though. Flash cards aren't always bad. I could make some exceptions for classes like anatomy and foreign languages. Sometimes there is just stuff that you need to memorize. I get that. But all classes shouldn't be based on memorizing stuff. That's just silly. Also, the way most flash cards are used students just memorize things for a short time (like a day or two) so that they can take a test. If the goal is really to memorize something, you might have to use a method other than just flash cards.
Oh, I am going to put Powerpoint note printouts in the same category as flash cards.
Who's fault is it that students use flash cards? It's our fault (the faculty). If we structure the class around memorizing things, then it should be no surprise that students focus on memorizing things. The same is true for answers. If we say that THESE answers are important, why should we be surprised that students write down those answers?
Then what should we do? I think classes should be about doing things and making things. These things could be models or drawings or an essay. Classes should not be about looking at things that others have made. Ok, that's not quite true. We can use pre-made things as examples and inspiration, but not as the main point of the class.
I will just say one more thing. I think flash cards are similar to polaroid photos taken from the top of a mountain. They can be useful to see what it looks like from the top, but they don't really help you climb a mountain.
Rant Off.
