Exit Survey for Faculty Researchers, Spring 2005
Denise Ezell
1) What are the three most important things you've
learned about the ways (English 189) students learn?
Repetition of material (in slide show and then in
Students NEED CLEAR
visual demonstration of the lessons (and the more stimulating the visuals,
the more captivated they are)
Students need the gradations
of lessons—SUBTLE steps between each slightly more difficult level
2) What are the three most important things you've
learned about yourself as an instructor?
The way I’ve been teaching (writing
on the whiteboard, sans technology) is a time-waster—students lose valuable
learning time and the drag kills their motivation, even if I’m energetic—working
this way also drains MY energy
Despite some initial fear about it, I
now believe I’m going to be extremely comfortable with the technology in the
classroom, and in fact, it will be a relief in many ways (more “space,” as we
discussed last week)—it will also make getting in flight pattern to prepare for
the semester EASIER with every passing semester.
I have been too fearful of giving
students too much work at the 189 level, but I see that even the weaker ones
will eventually rise to the occasion and get “hooked” on doing the homework, if
it’s on the computer, so I’m changing my views on the homework issue for
at-risk students. (In a side note, while
reading high school essays for the placement test service, when responding to
the topic of “good” and “bad” teachers, almost ALL the students who wrote on
“good” teachers discussed how they first felt intimidated by too much work but
ended up appreciating the discipline and insistence on working hard. And these were 11th graders.)
3) What are the three most important things
you've learned about technology-based instructional materials for developmental
English instructor?
The students learn better—it keeps their attention, it
offers them visuals, and gives them the opportunity to review review
review!
It saves time over writing on the board—it’s more
efficient—you can pack MORE practice in
4) What are the three most important
"things" you will take to your next/first semester of teaching
English 189?
The essay feedback form—the MOST important!
MORE WebCT work (LOTS of drills), including the
vocabulary
The student paragraphs ON DISK so that they can read each
other’s papers
The MUSIC during the writing period (to keep them settled
and quiet)
5) Can the instructional materials be transmitted
successfully to other instructors without a "cloning" of Mr. J? Can
they stand on their own? Why or why not? (Give three reasons? Ha!)
They CAN stand on their own, though
the professor will have to be AS organized and clear as Mr. J himself ~
The exercises can DEFINITELY be used
by everyone, though some will have to teach to the quiz (e.g. what KIND of
fragment is this is a particular approach that not all books use)
Ditto on the lecture slides
The essay feedback form and the
student samples can be used by anyone, even though the feedback form might be
modified
6) What are the
(three) most important things you've learned about conducting pedagogical
research? What can we do better?
The
research was thorough ~ it included observations of students, private (away from
the teacher) interviews with students to see what their honest attitudes were,
we ourselves did quizzes and observed the instructor ~ this seemed to cover all
the bases in terms of the students’ learning experience and “outsiders’” views
of what was happening in the classroom.
In taking this information to modify the materials we’re already using
(creating more “bridge” quizzes to link levels of difficulty in certain
practices and re-thinking what lessons need more time—e.g. do verbs need to be
taught? If so, for how long, and which
verb lessons are most important?), we’re continuing to hone the lessons and the
students’ learning experience. Beyond
continuing this process, I can’t imagine what could improve the research. I know that research will be done outside the
classroom (class statistics to compare the success in a class taught this way
with the success of students in other 189 classes), and that, too, should prove
to be useful information.