NPR article: Changing the Way Undergrads Taught (Sounds like homeschooling to me ;))

[umsami]

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/04/14/465729968/a-nobel-laureates-education-plea-revolutionize-teaching

 

In reading this article, it sounded like the goal of a lot of homeschoolers...teaching our kids to learn, to track down their own info, follow their own rabbit trails.

 

 

[Bluegoat]

I find this underwhelming TBH.  It doesn't surprise me that these are not arts departments.

[regentrude]

There is nothing new about this. "Active learning" has been around for a decade, and instructors are well aware that students do not learn in the lecture, but by solving problems. Colleges have been incorporating active learning for years.

In our department's introductory courses, 50% of the class time is devoted to active engagement with problem solving. In addition, we offer ten hours of open Learning Centers per week for each introductory course where students can drop in to work on homework in groups on blackboards, with trained peer instructors and faculty available to help.

Now, whether students avail themselves of those opportunities or not, is up to them.

 

ETA: At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy:

None of this existed when we were undergrads. We went to lecture, spent hours in the library reading various textbooks presenting the material, worked problems. There was no tutoring and no help sessions - we formed study groups and studied. Motivated students were able to learn the material just fine. A lot of the modern teaching techniques cater to students who must be coaxed to do the work because they would not otherwise put in the effort: reading quizzes so they get points as a reward for doing the assigned reading, homework collection as an "incentive" to do the homework... none of this would be necessary for students who have work ethic.

Edited April 15, 2016 by regentrude