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My experience with school, both on the student end and the instructor end, is that the people who are actively engaged float to the top, those who aren't don't generally have the best success in sink-or-swim settings.
Don't worry about the "Oh, I can just take a pic with my iPhone, that's as good as listening, contributing, and taking notes, right?" crowd. They will be weeded out.
When I was in college before, the students whined and complained about why they had low test scores and would even call me out asking why mine were so high.
I get it, but I just don't get it. If there is nothing I have taught my son, I have taught him that he needs to take good notes. If he needs to go over them 50 times to get the info in his head, then go over them 50 times.
These kids are something else. Maybe they will just prove me wrong. I don't know.
You are 40 years old though. They are half your age, and in a lot of cases half your maturity.
I'm pretty sure if you fast forward 20 years from now, most of the students in your class would agree they should have taken it more seriously. Not that I don't respect what you are doing, I do, but it has to be taken into account when you are talking about direct competition with these kids. You have the benefit of real world experience behind you. They don't.
I know if I were to do it over, I'd have never left the library and double majored in something like EECS and Microcellbiology.
In any case, it sounds like you should be able to do really well, and I hope everything works out for you.
You are 40 years old though. They are half your age, and in a lot of cases half your maturity.
I'm pretty sure if you fast forward 20 years from now, most of the students in your class would agree they should have taken it more seriously. Not that I don't respect what you are doing, I do, but it has to be taken into account when you are talking about direct competition with these kids. You have the benefit of real world experience behind you. They don't.
I know if I were to do it over, I'd have never left the library and double majored in something like EECS and Microcellbiology.
In any case, it sounds like you should be able to do really well, and I hope everything works out for you.
Thanks. I guess I see where you are coming from, but once again, when I was many of their ages, I was helping with the household. When I was 20 I had my first child and less than a year later I was helping my mother take care of my father until he passed due to cancer.
Twenty years ago when I was their age, I was still far more responsible than they were.
That's no excuse. I was 18 when I first when to college and I STILL took notes. That's ok, let them fail.
I only knew one student who didn't take notes. She would bring her embroidery projects to class, and would sit working on her craft while giving the instructors her more-or-less full attention. She was an outstanding student. Most people aren't like this, though. In a couple of my classes, there was no textbook, only the prof's lectures, so everyone had to take notes. I, too, find that taking notes helps absorb the material, the physical act of writing the material down is a memory aid.
OP, part of what you're seeing with the girls in your team is people who have no experience with interviewing, researching and analyzing. They don't know what to do for the assignment, and are at a loss, so they just wander around looking at the building. Instead of being frustrated with them, you could make some suggestions about how to tackle the assignment. They'd probably be grateful.
I only knew one student who didn't take notes. She would bring her embroidery projects to class, and would sit working on her craft while giving the instructors her more-or-less full attention. She was an outstanding student. Most people aren't like this, though. In a couple of my classes, there was no textbook, only the prof's lectures, so everyone had to take notes. I, too, find that taking notes helps absorb the material, the physical act of writing the material down is a memory aid.
OP, part of what you're seeing with the girls in your team is people who have no experience with interviewing, researching and analyzing. They don't know what to do for the assignment, and are at a loss, so they just wander around looking at the building. Instead of being frustrated with them, you could make some suggestions about how to tackle the assignment. They'd probably be grateful.
Well of course I did that. I helped them. I spoke with people in front of them and gave them suggestions. I will not, however, do their portion of the assignment. I also suggested they write things down but they were certain they would remember. It's possible they will but it is not probable that they will mention what the teacher is looking for....
There are lots of different learning styles. Many people, myself included do not need to nor benefit from notes.
Additionally, many teachers post their notes, entire power points etc. and students want to LISTEN to the teacher rather than write. Nothing wrong with that.
Maybe instead of expecting everyone to spend their time learning how you do, maybe focus on your own education.
My experience with school, both on the student end and the instructor end, is that the people who are actively engaged float to the top, those who aren't don't generally have the best success in sink-or-swim settings.
Don't worry about the "Oh, I can just take a pic with my iPhone, that's as good as listening, contributing, and taking notes, right?" crowd. They will be weeded out.
Well, in the OP's case they were supposed to be making observations about a building--taking photos with a cell phone is a very reasonable way to capture elements of that building....
like lkb below--some learners DO learn by listening. I have one of those at home. He never takes notes, it distracts him from paying attention to what the teacher says. He then follows up by reading any other material necessary....considering his 4.0, I think it works for him... Again, just because it is different then how you do it doesn't mean it's wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
There are lots of different learning styles. Many people, myself included do not need to nor benefit from notes.
Additionally, many teachers post their notes, entire power points etc. and students want to LISTEN to the teacher rather than write. Nothing wrong with that.
Maybe instead of expecting everyone to spend their time learning how you do, maybe focus on your own education.
I would definitely find out how the group project is going to be graded. In many of the ones I had back in the day, the group was given a single grade. Each person filled out a survey on what work each of the members did, and the professor had a formula for whether the overall grade was made higher or lower depending on the individual's participation.
Sometimes the formulas meant I could let the less responsible team members sink or swim on their own and be sure I'd get a decent grade for just doing my part. Sometimes I ended up doing 90% of the work because otherwise I'd be stuck with a bad grade it the other group members didn't do their parts well. You don't know whether they'll be assets or liabilities until you've seen some of their work.
I had an intro to statistics class that I rarely went to, and when I did I had trouble staying awake. I never took notes. I probably looked like a slacker....and I had the highest grade in the class, because that material came really easily to me (and I had the book and a copy of the professor's powerpoint slides so I could review before the tests). Different people learn differently and you can't always judge by appearances in class.
Some students are lazy, some are preoccupied with other courses, and still others are just not prepared for college because high school was too easy. Other have figured out how to succeed in school already and will ace the class with 1/10 of the effort that you are putting into it. I teach chemistry and the wide range of both effective and ineffective approaches to learning boggles my mind. From students that can memorize everything to students that can barely memorize the letter in their name, the top students find a way to succeed. Some institutions do have a lot higher percentage of success-capable students than others though. I would make sure that the students you are discussing actually fail before criticizing their approach. You never know, the ditzy airhead that never talks could be a 4.0 student or an amazing writer. A guy I knew in college who we all thought was a huge slacker just published his first #1 New York Times Bestseller last year and it is being adapted into a film with an A-list cast.
That being said, I always tell my students that everything I discuss in class is relevant to the topic, but it is up to them to make the determination what is most important. When I underline something, raise my voice and repeat something three times, or preface the sentence with "Half of your final exam will include..." I am giving them a very strong hint, but I feel that I am doing them a disservice if I give them an outline of my notes because they learn by doing the work, not memorizing the work that I did in putting together the course. Thus note taking is strongly encouraged.
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