Creating A Meaningful Classroom Experience

I reserve a lot of my class time for students to brainstorm ideas, reflect on assignments and share their work.  Last semester, a little past the halfway mark, we were shifting our focus to the final research paper – the classic 15 page college research paper, the kind that students put off until finals week and then, like an Octopus swimming in a sea of coffee, type 100 pages overnight in a caffeine induced frenzy.  I asked students to take out a piece of paper and fill in the blank: I am writing about x because I want to find out about y.  And then, I asked them to pose a question about their topic. 

I sat and watched the students write for a few minutes and then started the classic show and tell discussion…who wants to share?

But the first student who shared threw a curve ball.  We talked for a few minutes about her topic and then I asked, “what’s your question?”

“Will it be meaningful?” She replied.

That’s not really what I meant, but she struck at the heart of a major and often over looked question that students struggle with: what’s the point?

I remember when I was writing my Master’s thesis, I called up a friend who I trusted and admired and asked him to help read a section and help me think through a problem.  We had a long, creative and reflective email exchange.  But in his last note he wrote: I don’t know why you spend so much time on school, but I hope you find it meaningful. In other words, what’s the point?

At the time, I didn’t have a good answer. I had lots of ideas about how my work was “meaningful” that didn’t necessarily comport with reality…I’m changing the world #Obvi.  In retrospect, it had more to do with answering a question that pricked me.     

But back to the classroom.  So, what makes a paper meaningful? And what makes it meaningless? 

I threw the question back to the students and we launched into a forty-five minute discussion about college. I can’t say the conversation was on topic, but I learned a lot about the way students think about their role in the classroom.

Here’s some of the feedback:

1. A paper is meaningful if it contributes to a larger, local or national conversation.   
2. A paper is meaningful if the student feels like they have the opportunity to gain some mastery over topic or subject. 
3. A paper is meaningful when students have a personal connection to the question or the topic.
4. A paper is meaningful when students receive a good grade.

The irony, of course, is that if the students fulfill the first three items on the list, the last will almost inevitably follow.  While every student could point to a handful of classes or papers that met these criteria, the majority of classes fell short.  So what makes a paper meaningless? According to the students:

1. When the Professors are looking for a preset answer.
2. When they are trying to meet the professors expectations.
3. When they are assigned a topic (When every student writes on the same topic).
4. When they receive a bad grade.

As an instructor or a professor, it’s likely that you have an intrinsic (and possibly delusional) love of your work – how else could you have survived graduate school?  Regardless of your fantasies, it’s unlikely that your students feel the same way.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t learn.  Helping students find meaning in their work and in the classroom makes teaching and learning easy.  It means that students are more likely to meet deadlines, read assignments, write drafts and deliver quality “A” work. 

Between Preparation and Spontaneity

Spring semester begins tomorrow.  Early.  I am teaching the same class I taught last semester: PoliSci 399 Interpretation and Methods. At the same time: 8am.   Teaching the same class twice in a row saves a lot of trouble.  There’s no need to prepare new materials from scratch.  I have a baseline of what worked and what didn’t.  I know what to expect. 

But that’s exactly where the problem lies.

I've come to really appreciate the energy that spontaneity creates in the classroom.  The uncertainty, the unexpected, the unaware – they come so easily when you’re teaching a class for the first time.  For all the prepping and planning, I often rely on ideas that strike me late at night or driving to class.  I rely on the classroom dynamic, student participation, questions and reaction. 

The recipe for a successful semester is preparation, clear learning objectives, consistent communication and execution of a plan.  But that’s like mixing up crepe batter without any milk and butter.

I've heard that no one should teach the same class more than three times: once to learn the course, once to perfect it, and once to bore of it.  

While I refined the course based on my experience last semester, I’m not thinking about how I can perfect the class.  I’m approaching it with a different attitude: I’m trying to hold open a space for the mysterious and the unknown. 

Rethinking Online Education

No doubt, the internet offers a unique educational opportunity.  From Google to Wikipedia, from the New York Times to Twitter, people have unprecedented access to knowledge and information.   But the internet can also be a barrier to education -- especially when it comes to online classes at the university.  Students struggle with technology, they can feel isolated in absence of face to face communication and content-heavy courses tend to drown students in text.

The online option often feels like a poor compromise: we exchange a collaborative classroom experience for the low-cost and convenience of the web.   I have taught a handful on online courses now through the UMass Continuing and Professional Education program.  Despite my best attempt to deliver a high-quality educational experience comparable to the classroom, I always seem to fall short. 

Possibly because I still use the classroom as the model to judge the quality of the class.  Why wouldn’t I?  That’s all I've ever really known. 

I am getting ready to teach American Political Thought online over the winter term (Click the link to check out my syllabus).  And I am determined to think about it differently.  Over the next few weeks I plan on investigating Khan Academy and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in order to gain some new perspective on online education. And perhaps, discover a new model – other than the classroom – to follow next semester.

Have you ever taken online classes in the past?  Comment and share your experience.  Do you have any thoughts on what could improve online education?  I’d love to hear ‘em .