Could the Student Be Wrong In This Rant?

Maybe you have seen the rant by Texas student Jeff Bliss. Most are using this to point out the problems with some teachers. I really don't know everything that went on in this classroom, but let's just consider part of Jeff's speech. Here is what he said (transcribed by me - so there could be some errors):

"If you would just get up and teach us instead of handing 'em a fricken packet yo, there's kids in here that don't learn like that... they need to learn face-to-face. You're just getting mad cuz I'm pointing out the obvious."

Teacher: "You are wasting my time."

"No I'm not wasting your time. I'm telling you what you need to do. You want kids to come to class? You want kids to get excited for this? You gotta come in here and make them excited. You want a student to do better? You gotta touch his fricken heart. You can't expect a kid to change and start doing better if all you do is tell him."

Ok, I am skipping a part. At the end, Jeff says:

"Since I got here, I've been nothing but reading packets."

Like I said, I have no idea what is actually happening in the classroom. However, I just want to point out that I have students that sort of feel the same way about my class. At least sometimes they do. The phrase that I hear (or something like it) is "you have to tell us if you want us to learn". Yes, often I don't tell students all the answers because it usually doesn't help.

Here is the problem. Students come into a course that is different than all of their other courses (like my physics for education majors courses - here are some details on this course). When the structure of the course doesn't match their model of learning, they can get quite upset. I don't really blame them. In their minds, this course doesn't follow the normal rules, so it must be wrong. And when I watch this Jeff Bliss rant, that was the first thing that came into my mind - that the course could just be different.

Telling Is Not Teaching

Since it comes up often enough, I am prepared to discuss the idea about the difference between telling and learning. Here is my favorite example: What causes the seasons?

I like this question because it is most likely something students have been "told" before in a previous class. I suspect that most states have the "seasons" in their standards in more than one grade. Here is what the Project 2061 says students should know by the end of 12th grade.

Because the earth turns daily on an axis that is tilted relative to the plane of the earth's yearly orbit around the sun, sunlight falls more intensely on different parts of the earth during the year. The difference in intensity of sunlight and the resulting warming of the earth's surface produces the seasonal variations in temperature. 4B/H3** (BSL)

However, if you ask them why it is warmer in the summer than in the winter almost everyone will give one of two replies:

• It is warmer in the summer because the Earth is closer to the Sun (which isn't true in the Northern Hemisphere).
• It is warmer in the summer because of the tilt of the Earth.

Wait. Isn't "tilt of the Earth" the correct answer? Well, that is what is often "told" to students. If you ask these students why the Earth tilt makes it warmer in the summer. Many of these people (not just students) will say that the tilt of the Earth makes us closer to the Sun. This isn't true.

Here is the real problem. If you "tell" someone something, they might remember what you told them or they might completely forget it. They likely will NOT understand a complex idea without seeing how it is put together. This means that they have to really play with some evidence or activities or something in order to understand the seasons. Otherwise, people will revert to their common sense. The common sense idea says that if you are closer to a hot object, you get hotter. So, based on that it makes sense that the Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer.

What is the real reason for the seasons? Here is a short explanation.

So, what is my point here? My point is the following:

• If you just tell people stuff, they might not really understand that stuff.
• If a course or class doesn't follow the "tell and repeat" model of learning, some students might get upset - especially if they think their grades will suffer.

That's all I wanted to say about that.