OCR Text |
Show , Fall 2006 page 11 PHOTOGRAPH BY BROOK ROBINSON able sharing stories from their lives. Students learn so much from each other in this way." Martinez has also been known to bring panelists from the metro gang task force as well as former prostitutes. She believes "these panels have a profound impact on students and teach valid lessons that cannot be learned from a lecture or a text." According to Jim Fisher, assistant professor of communication and recipient of the Student's Choice Professor of the Year Award, his discussion-oriented teaching style demands a lot from himself and his students. "It assumes a mutual curiosity and delight in the subjects at hand. It also relies on mutual respect for everyone's humanity and ability to choose consequences," he said. Fisher said, "I don't think much can be taught in lecture-only style. Never did. The fact is, that doesn't get even the most interested student as far as discussion and challenge does. But it's ridiculously easy to prep and perform. You control. You PowerPoint the world. You're done when the screen goes black. Questions? Arguments? Not now. What that teaches leads to disinterest. But it will stay as long as there are teachers poorly equipped to walk in well-prepared to lead an active discussion wherever it goes, without confinements." Fisher also allows his students to discuss what they choose, to work in small groups, and even to write their own exams. As an associate instructor for the English department, Disa Gambera also uses small group discussions as a way to "move my students from passive listening to more active participation in class. WebCT discussions have also turned out to be very useful in this respect." Gambera says that she also incorporates a mix of enthusiasm, humor, and improvisation in her teaching style. "I love to teach literature, and my enthusiasm tends to be contagious. I'm also very interested in my students' ideas. My best classes are the ones where I do less talking." Lisa Diamond, assistant professor in the psychology department prefers engaging in active discussions for her smaller classes, however for larger classes, she finds it "simply impossible," so in those cases, "I rely on a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and humor in order to make lectures interesting, and I try and highlight ways in which the course material is relevant to individuals' own lives." According to Diamond, analyzing one's own learning or teaching style is a lifelong process in which she still periodically sits down evaluate her own teaching. "Just as every student is different, so is every professor. The best advice |