Spring 1998
Vol 6 Issue 2

IN THIS ISSUE...

Change or Efficacy?

Propensity to Change...

I Can Never Go Back

New Alignments in Calculus Instruction

Change: Do We Really Have a Choice?

Change, Learning, and the Future.

Kaleidoscope Education

...the Learning Continues

Using a Student's Fund of Knowledge to Guide Discovery

You Say You Want and Evolution?

SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth

Discussion

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction

Using a Student's Fund of Knowledge to Guide Discovery
Maria Romo Chavira, MCC

In addition to receiving a college education, today's student is looking for a smoother transition from college to work. In order to fulfill this need, teachers are seeking new teaching methods that will enable students to make a cohesive transition from high school to college and from college to work. All too often, the traditional didactic teaching approach makes students passive learners and does not take into account a student's interests and experience. Students need to learn how to transfer their knowledge to other settings and develop the ability to think critically and learn independently. The classroom provides the perfect opportunity for the instructor to guide the student to new discoveries.

Research conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress "indicate[s] that current curricula and teaching methods successfully impart facts and rote skills to most students but fail to impart high-order reasoning and learning skills" (Bruer, 1993). Each teacher has the opportunity to design a unique learning community through the decisions they make about curriculum design/presentation and assessment of learning. In my opinion, traditional educational approaches are not meeting the needs of a large majority of students because the student population is more diverse compared to the student population 20 years ago. For example, the Digest of Education Statistics (1996) illustrates an increase in the number of students who work in order to finance their education. The number of older students has been growing more rapidly than the number of younger students. Between 1980 and 1990 the enrollment of students under age 25 increased by 3 percent (Digest of Education Statistics, 1996). Between 1993 and 1995, enrollment rates in 2-year institutions for Hispanics increased (Digest of Education Statistics, 1996).

To account for the changing demographics of today's typical college population, I have adopted a teaching framework which I believe will help to prepare students for the many challenges they will face in the work force and in their academic careers. My philosophy has been influenced by Vygotsky's (1978, 1988) assertion that acquisition of psychological tools, language, concepts, (et cetera) is influenced by social variables. According to Wertsch (1985) "One of the most fundamental assumptions that guided Vygotsky's attempt to reformulate psychology ... [was] to understand the individual, one must first understand the social relations in which the individual exists." Under this assumption, it is important to understand the knowledge that students bring to the classroom. This awareness can then be used as a teaching tool to help students understand concepts which are unfamiliar by bridging the concepts with the student's unique knowledge and experiences.

My teaching methodology emphasizes that students learn to answer "why" questions and are encouraged to explain and defend their positions. My assessments do not typically include the standardized tests which require rote memorization, but rather require that students demonstrate their understanding of basic principles. Some of my teaching strategies include:

1. critical thinking and conceptual understanding
2. problem solving based on real-life problems
3. meaning-centered rather than memorization-oriented learning opportunities
4. active learning and activity-based instruction
5. contextualized learning which makes connections to students' experiences
6. collaborative learning in groups
7. interdisciplinary learning

For example, in my research methods course, students develop a research project based on their own interests and then work together with other students as a research team. One of the goals of the team is to allow students to critically analyze the research methodologies of the other students in their group. This method allows students to use their knowledge and understanding of research and apply it to a real problem. For instance, in the beginning of the course, the students are to develop a research hypothesis. Team members will present their research hypothesis and explain their interest in the topic. The other team members must use their understanding of the alternative hypothesis and the null hypothesis to determine if the presented hypothesis meets the requirements of a "good research hypothesis." Students share their ideas in small groups and use their Collabra listserv accounts to communicate their discussions with the whole class and instructor. The students then present their findings to the instructor who further questions their conclusions to determine the students' understanding and application.

This framework is a marked shift from the traditional prescriptive approach (old paradigm) that identifies the general subject matter objectives that students are expected to learn. Using this approach, students are able to master nine essential skills:

1. use of technology
2. problem solving
3. reading
4. integrative thinking
5. writing
6. teamwork
7. communication competence
8. quality work
9. critical/analytical thinking

The following comments were made by students enrolled in my research methods course fall 1997:

I liked the project because it helped me learn what to do with my future research papers. It gave me a good outline on how to go about doing a research paper.

It was good that you did not have tests. To me, that's all short term memory stuff. But with the project, you actually do something and learn about what the paper should consist of.

I feel as though I learned a lot about research and it gave me a good idea of what it might be like.

This class has really opened my eyes to the research world and what it portrays to the public.

I think that the project idea is a lot better than tests. In every other class there are tests and many people cram for them and forget.

Maria Romo Chavira, Ph.D.
Psychology Department
Mesa Community Colleges