I'm not supposed to be typing with the rotator cuff surgery, but needed to share a quick post!

Taking a graduate level class creates some odd tensions for an experienced teacher. My last professor didn't have a clue about how to teach and I ended up with an A- and three of my papers were not returned.  The lack of feedback was appalling, but worse yet, she interrupted my end of course presentation and the presentation of another student because she had not planned enough time. 

Additionally, she kept saying she'd put guidelines up on her wiki, but she didn't.  So, I looked up her writings on-line, studied her style and did the best I could to determine what she wanted from her own body of work. Many college students I talk to say that well - it's up to us to figure things out and learn on our own.  I find this attitude shocking.  To the extent that college students should turn in assignments on time, follow guidelines, ask for help and clarification as needed - yes, they have certain responsibilities.  However, they have a right to expect a well-prepared professor, who doesn't post his or her syllabus two hours before the class meets for the first time. They are paying big bucks for what should be a first class experience.

Students also should expect that the department will have some coherent guidelines for writing assignments and grading.  The Dance Department at George Mason has a wonderful, clear set of expectations.  Why can't the English Department get their act together? Even though the expectations are shaky, my Intro to Cinema class is fantastic in it's scope and integration of subject matter. The professor has chosen excellent films to demonstrate very difficult concepts in film theory.  My one concern is the misuse of the Socratic questioning technique.  Film theory is filled with very difficult terms and if the students are going to be asked to define them- then we should know ahead of time - Socratic method - which is kind of what I think is the objective (of the professor) doesn't really have a definitive right or wrong answer, but expects the respondent to have factual support for an opinion.

If I had a complex set of vocabulary, I'd probably deal it out like a deck of cards and ask for a definition and then an example for the next class meeting.  In fact, I might have had a matching game. I'd probably use this over and over again because all of the students indicated we felt pretty lost in the terminology. Using some sort of repetition, I'd insure that students had a real grasp of the terms because these also apply to philosophy, art, religion, and other subjects- not just film theory.

So - no matter what age or grade level - teachers have to decide what objectives are theirs to own and how to effectively use technology or "whatever" to make the learning stick. 

Now for your technology goody!    If you want a free PowToons account to develop animated presentations here is the link " title="Link: http://www.powtoon.com/blog/effective-teaching/"Discover the New Method for Effective Teaching >>