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[both of
them gave a suggestion, but neither was written as direct questions that
she could ask the students.]
[I think only A because she asked
us what she should ask or observe etc and B doesn't do that it jumps to
more assumptions]
[The "A" response is only one
that actually involves asking students about their assumptions. In "B,"
advice is given based on someone else's assumption.]
[asking students to assess their own level of comfort using
email and collaboration may be your first step. if you are going to have
collaboration be an emphasis in your classroom is is always important to
explain the theory behind it and why it is a useful learning
tool.]
[Only A presents questions Mary
might ask to help her decide what to do next. B gives Mary advice about
how to teach the same assignment "better".]
[A
asks for information about how students learn. B assumes a reason without
verification.]
[You asked:" "I would like to get
some information from my students that might give me a clue about what (if
anything) is wrong about my theory or assumptions." A elicits a better
understanding of student beliefs, skills and practices... B doesn't.
]
[ ]
[ A actually suggests what Mary
might ask of her students. While B suggests a potential reason why
students are not demonstrating improvement and could suggest something she
could ask of her students, it is not a direct answer to her
question.]
[ ]
[
]
[ ]
[Only A advises Mary on what
questions to ask her students so that Mary can decide what to do next.
Option has the advisor assuming the students mindset, assuming what Mary
has not done in class, and telling Mary what to do. ]
[In A
she's seeking information, in B she's seeking to impart it. ]
[Mary
asked what she should ask or observe, i.e., what information does she need
from her students. (A) gives her a way to get that. (B) assumes an answer
to a different question- what actually went wrong. That's not what Mary
asked, nor is the assumption necessarily correct. It may be, but we don't
really know. ]
[ ]
[
]
[a number of possibilities are there. All causes listed could
have resulted in the result. So one has to eliminate one by one.
]
[ ]
[However, the question assumes
that the quiz was related to the homework, that the results of the
homework indicated that the students were ready for the quiz and then the
students failed. We have no information about the results of the homework,
etc. More information about the learning associated with the quiz is
needed. ]
[Both explanations seemed to be
logical reasons students did not improve provided the assignments were
effective teaching tools. An assessment would need to include the
effectiveness of a plan as well as if a plan had been carried out.
]
[While only A actually gives a direct answer to Mary's question,
both respond to it. "A" offers the sorts of questions Mary may ask her
students, but "B" does offer strategies for dealing with the situation.
]
[Both make sense and are helpful but A answers Mary's question
directly.]
[The effectiveness of
collaborative learning relates to how the class is structured. Some
courses are more conducive to students working in teams than others. Many
students think that collaborative learning takes more time and do not see
the benefits of such pedagogical strategy. Therefore, it is very important
that clear objectives are defined so that students are prepared to share
their ideas before they meet in cyberspace. Mary needs to find out what
the students think and the reasons for nonparticipation.]
[I
waffled between "only A" and "neither". "A" is not as explicit as it could
be about specifying whether these are questions for students or something
to somehow be observed, but I think it translates into three questions to
ask students: 1) did you collaborate online when doing your homework? 2)
do you use email outside this class? 3) do you distrust collaboration as a
way of studying? As such, it answers Mary's question. Whether it is a good
answer is a separate question, but I think it gets at a couple of very
significant concerns very nicely. "B" assumes knowledge of why things are
not working and goes straight to attempts to fix the problem and skips
Mary's request for help in getting information from students.]
[Answer A describes what Mary could ask her students or observe
about them. Answer B only describes what Mary could do without responses
from students.]
[Answer A gets at part of it, but
is too limited in its focus. Mary needs to find out what students actually
did and why. She also needs to find out if collaboration does contribute
to learning on the type of assignments she is giving.]
[Both
reponses addressed Mary's question. Two different suggestions were
given.]
[WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START,
FOCUS IS ON THE STUDENT AND FINDING OUT WHAT WAS HELPFUL/NOT HELPFUL AND
WHY VERSUS ON CHANGING INSTRUCTION WITHOUT FIRST SEEKING SOME
ANSWERS.]
[Mary wanted to know what she
should ask or observe about students. Answer A addresses that. Answer B
makes assumptions abouat students and responds to the
assumptions.]
[A was a good piece of advice.
Neither answered Mary's request for information on how to find out what
her class needs so that she can respond appropriately and get the
improvement she is seeking.]
[I can't just tell students to
work cooperatively without showing them how to do and how it can be
effective for them. I can't assume they know how to work cooperatively
because they have probably never been shown HOW to do it.]
[Both
responses suggest strategies for acquiring valuable information about her
students as well as making certain they are aware of the requirements and
advantages of the assignment. We teachers often make assignments based on
information we assume the students already have. Not an underestimation of
their abilities, but of their expertise in areas we might take for
granted, like using email.]
[Mary wants to get information
from her students. Suggestion A does that by asking the students for
information related to the underlying assumptions she made when designing
her assignment. Suggestion B does NOT address her concerns - instead makes
more assumptions about what the students' beliefs are and suggests she
give a minilecture to address what could be faulty assumptions]
[The
question was what could I learn from my students.]
[You
are not assuming but finding out]
[Only question A has suggestions
for things Mary could ask her students, question B has only observations
and instructions, no questions]
[The answers seem strongly
related. They both concern student attitudes toward the value of
collaborative learning.]
[Mary exhibited a student
centered perspective with her question, and both answers A and B are
teacher centered in nature. Mary is asking, "How can I adapt my teaching
to actual student needs and interests?" However, answers A and B
illustrate an attitide of "stick with your methods but force the students
to adopt your perspective." Ugh.]
[While it is tempting to answer
"neither", as that is often the correct reply to questions like this, I
believe that the suggestions in "A" are capable of being implemented by
asking students questions and observing students' behaviour.]
[Mary
wanted to know what to ask and what to observe. The answer A is the only
one that suggests questions she might ask her students. Question B assumes
what the students are thinking which is not part of collaborative,
feminist teaching as I understand it. I do, however, agree that Mary
should not assume that her students all know how to use e-mail
appropriately. She definitely needs to incorporate that aspect into her
teaching.]
[I chose B because it addresses
students beliefs and assumptions and she asks about her own theory and
assumptions. It also deals with the practical email skill
issue.]
[One assumption to flesh out is
why students are enrolled in Mary's class and what they want to get out of
it. If this type of survey is really done anonymously, Mary might be
surprised at the responses from students such as this repsonse: "passing
the class is enough for me." In this particular case, that student is not
going to go out of her way to do anything extra. Further, many students
don't even know why they do not do what they are asked to do in college
classes. They are poorly self-regulated and do not know how to learn. Mary
and many other faculty need much more theoretically undergirding before
they have the pedagogical IQ to increase learning in their
classes.]
[B is telling Mary information,
and suggesting what she should _tell_ her students. A is suggesting
questions that Mary can _ask_ her students, thus answering her
question.]
[Mary asked what she could ask or
observe, not what she should tell students. She needs to assess whether
her plan was implemented. Outcomes are based on what was implemented, not
what was planned. Answer A suggests data for her to gather that indicate
what parts of her plan were implemented. The assessment needs to occur
before her evaluation.] |