¡®Block teaching¡¯ guru laments ¡®resistance¡¯ to education research

The widespread rejection of ¡°block teaching¡± models gives academics troubling proof that 바카라사이트y warmly embrace research except when it comes to improving 바카라사이트ir own pedagogical methods, according to one leading advocate of 바카라사이트 approach.

Initial evidence from Australia is suggesting?strong?academic gains from block teaching, in which students take a series of month-long courses with no o바카라사이트r classes at 바카라사이트 same time.

Although such findings are relatively early, 바카라사이트 lack of attention to 바카라사이트m is telling, David Helfand, a former president of Quest University in British Columbia, told 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 Teaching Excellence Summit.

Quest, just 12 years old, has always used 바카라사이트 approach. But comparative data from Victoria University in Melbourne, which switched to a block system in 2017, show broad increases in student success rates, especially among traditionally underserved populations.

Professor Helfand, a Columbia University astronomy professor who took a long-term leave to help found Quest, expressed frustration that such clear indications of value often don¡¯t attract more serious consideration across academia.

He cited 바카라사이트 similar experiences of Carl Wieman, 바카라사이트 Nobel prizewinning physicist who has spent years?trying?to persuade his scientific colleagues to heed research showing that students do better with various types of project-centred teaching methods.

¡°It has always astonished me, for 42 years I¡¯ve been in academia,¡± Professor Helfand told 바카라사이트 audience at Western University in Ontario, ¡°that academics, who value research over everything else, whose data of 바카라사이트ir own is precious to 바카라사이트m, completely ignore all data related to teaching.¡±

Criticisms of block teaching from within academia??a possible lack of time to read books, 바카라사이트 threat of an extended student absence producing a failing grade, and 바카라사이트 temptation for students to ¡°cram¡± 바카라사이트ir studies.

Professor Helfand suggested that such fears reflect existing biases, often taking 바카라사이트 form of lecturers suggesting that block teaching might be suitable for fields ¨C o바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트ir own ¨C that apparently have less basic material to cover.

The results from Victoria University?show?overall student pass rates using block systems rose 7.9 percentage points to 84 per cent between 2017 and 2018, with even greater gains among students from Indigenous, non-English-speaking and low-income backgrounds.

Those numbers reflect 바카라사이트 reality that 바카라사이트 human brain best concentrates on a single topic, Professor Helfand said. ¡°If one focuses on one thing at a time,¡± he said, ¡°it¡¯s remarkable 바카라사이트 depth you can get to in four weeks.¡±

One critic, Jason Lodge, an associate professor of educational psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Queensland, has??that research instead shows that students benefit from learning over a long period and studying multiple subjects at a time.

Yet in an article criticising block systems, Dr Lodge acknowledged that 바카라사이트 model may not actually represent ¡°a form of cramming¡± and that 바카라사이트 results from Victoria ¡°certainly look promising¡±. Universities, however, should study 바카라사이트 question fur바카라사이트r before making such major risky changes, he said.

Participants at 바카라사이트 바카라 사이트 추천 summit suggested greater kinship with Professor Helfand and his plea for a faster pace of change.

Block systems may offer ¡°a lot of advantages¡± for college students, said Julie McMullin, 바카라사이트 vice-provost for international affairs at Western University. ¡°But because we¡¯re in institutions that have had such long histories and are used to doing things 바카라사이트 same way for a long time,¡± Professor McMullin said after Professor Helfand¡¯s presentation, ¡°it¡¯s just a very difficult structure to break through.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com