The Learning Environment: Instructor/Classroom/Students
Class Snapshots
Aspects of Fairness:
Role of the Instructor
Class Observation Presentation
Stacey Childress
&
Harry Spence
Transforming Public Education
Strategic Management for Public Purposes
Naushard Cader, Wendy Robinson, Charles Lang
"Almost every action in the classroom - the hands that are recognised, the questions that are asked, the readings that are assigned - betrays a point of view." ~ C.R. Christensen
Corrections
Harry Spence
Stacey Childress
Factual error corrected with positive reinforcement
No room for error
- Students referenced case exhibits, instructor followed closely and asked clarifying questions
- Threat of "social death"
- Being "right" privledged
- May impact the participation of some students
- Example of instructor as "referee"
- Correction didn't stop conversation flow
- Student maintained legitimacy
- Students learned correct information
- Instructor modeled positive way to address misinformation in discussion
- Example of teacher as "coach"
- High Tension
- Sustained energy
- Respectful
- Impact on student learning?
- Less intense
- Lower energy
- Respectful
- Impact on student learning?
- Not quite as tall
- Female
- Punchy, brisk
- Formal
- Tight control
- Strong presence
- Tall
- Male
- Soft spoken, yet firm
- Philosophical
- Casual
- Strong presence
What responsibility does the instructor have for acknowledging their own position/ideology/world view?
Instructor as Expert
Environment
- Discussion focused on case material
- No students referenced experience in comments
- Comments had observational, objective tone
- Discussion broader and less nuanced
- Instructor not part of discussion, so no co-constructing of knowledge amongst instructor and students
- Maintained a neutral facilitator role
- Didn't reference any personal experience
- Deferred to 'experts'
- Students gained a deeper understanding of process and history of case
- Less abstract/more real
- Clearly linked case with reality
- Signaled it was acceptable to refer to experience in discussion
- Discussion nuanced and deep
- Extensive student-student
- Teacher controlled space
- Extensive board use
- Students "on display"
- Heavy discussion of case elements
- Directly shared knowledge of events and protagonists in response to student comment
- During concluding remark, shared a "lesson-learned" from his work
- Gave a lecturette on "diffusing the cycle" of conflict in partnerships
- Steep stadium seating
- "Tough" - Prof. J. Honan
- Awkward board locations
- Students spread out
- All seats face pit
- Little room for teacher movement
- Harsh lighting
- Wide angle
- Intimate feel
- All seats occupied
- All seats face center
- Space for teacher to move about
- Boards at front
- Soft lighting
- Little student-student interaction
- Teacher was pivot point of discussion and stayed in pit
- Students could "hide" in classroom
- Fewer points of discussion
Generating debate
Students
- Learn to advocate for viewpoint
- Learn to use evidence offensively/defensively
- Students voice strong opinions; few discuss tension between options
- Presumption of right and wrong
- Many students spoke
- "One and done" - modeled case method style of participation
- Used evidence to support argument
- Discussion centered on case content more than experience
- Learning to listen and respond to evolving conversation
- 50/50 M/F
- More formal participation
- No computers
- Prepared answers
- Students appeared engaged
- Mostly HBS, early career
- No pre-work before class
- No promotion of opposing viewpoints, even when opportunities arose
- No vote or similar device to identify different opinions
- Questions and follow-up questions oriented towards how/why/action
- Fewer voices
- Questioned process outlined in case: "How did complex change happen so quickly with few actors?"
- Did not always use evidence, specifically from case, to support point
- Learning from peer experience
- Took vote beforehand and split class on opinion
- Instigated opposing viewpoints
- Visibly responds in encouraging and attentive way when student disagrees with previous comment, signaling approval
- 50/50 F/M
- Less formal participation
- Using computers
- Thinking "out loud"
- Some students visibly distracted
- Students from across Harvard, early to mid-career
- No right/wrong answer
- Learn consensus building
- Less awareness of opposing views
- Students not foreced to play a role or take sides