Wednesday 18 July 2012

BEWARE THE EVIL LECTURE

Yesterday's reading included computer-supported collaborative learning and "how people learn together with computers" (Stahl et al.). With this in mind, what  -if any - role does the traditional lecture and its inherent instructionism (Papert) play in teaching and learning, particularly e-learning when the goal is to "use a computer as a cognitive too for learning that occurs socially" (Rochelle and Teasley as cited in Stahl et al.).

CASE STUDY: Ital 310: Dantein Translation (an Open Yale course)

For anyone who has taken a liberal arts course, the style of  Ital 310 - specifically the delivery of information - should be quite familiar. The professor, NAME, stands at the front of an auditorium and speaks to the class. Students take notes and (maybe) ask questions at the end of the lecture. Those (like me) viewing the lecture series via my laptop, can review, stop, fast forward, but could not contribute to question period (the lone interactive component).

Professor Guiseppe Mazzota is a charismatic dynamic and passionate Dante scholar. His understanding (in English and Italian) of Dante's life and work is more than impressive. In addition, Professor Mazzota’s thourough examination of Dante’s cultural milieu through critical reading - including historically significant as well as contemporary literature –  looks intimately into the ideas, phrases, and words of Dante’s greatest work. And when Professor Mazzota reads - aloud in lyrical Italian - Dante's truly divine work, you are sorry when the reading stops even though you may not even understand the language.

REFLECTION
I audited the lectures and enjoyed them immensely. I would not change a thing. However, a friend and I did create our own mini-collaborative learning approach. We read ahead (some of Dante's other work plus related articles) and we met on a weekly basis to watch the lectures and discuss.

INQUIRY
What do you think is the viability of lecture in e-learning?
What would you do with a course such as this to make the learning more collaborative?

POP QUIZ: How is Dante's great work a "comedy"?

REFERENCE

Stahl, G. (2006). Computer-supported collaborative learning. The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. New York: Cambridge.
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2 comments:

  1. John18 July 2012 at 16:55

    You raise an excellent point, and I'm glad that we had an occasion this afternoon to see that not all lectures are bad. That's quite a relief because, like you, I rather enjoy a good lecture and get a lot out of them. I guess the problem is the bad lectures, and the over-emphasis on the format. Certainly, technology can play a great role in helping people make sense of what has been said and apply its meaning to their own lives.

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  2. Matt_S18 July 2012 at 22:20

    Kathlyn, you clearly are a fan of this professor and of Dante. In many circumstances, we are faced with learners who are taking classes because they have to and not out of personal interest. I think it's important for the instructor to "take the measure of the room" and determine if the lecture is the best method to work with the students in his/her room at that time, and to proceed accordingly. Technology enhances the range of options which the instructor has with regards to format... and provides many pedagogically sound alternatives to the one strategy of talking at the front of the room.

    Taking a stab at the pop quiz...

    I believe Dante's work is a a comedy because it seeks to understand (and celebrate) the human condition as a whole... from the depths of inferno to the heights of paradise. Dante begins the journey lost... and through much journeying and many travails finds himself where he should be (in heaven)(everybody likes a happy ending).

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