Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
Date of this Version
1982
Document Type
Article
Citation
To Improve the Academy, published by The Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, volume 1, 1982.
Abstract
The conspiracy of silence is breaking up: we are learning to talk more openly about our joys and fears as teachers, our achievements and frustrations in the classroom. As I have listened to my colleagues talk about their students and their classrooms, the one fear and frustration mentioned more than any other, as for Henry Adams, was in leading a discussion. No matter how many articles on technique we read, or workshops we attend, the dreaded discussion continues to bother us more than any other part of our daily teaching lives. Freshman seminar and discussion-based core programs continue to develop. Pressures not only to "do more discussion" but to do it well, reinforced by student evaluations and faculty development centers, do not go away. We are learning, alas, that to walk into class and hold up one's copy of the assigned text, asking, ''how'd you like it?" does not necessarily guarantee an enthusiastic, rewarding discussion.
Comments
License: CC BY-NC-ND