First of all, we met the instructor of
the" Data Structure and Algorithms "course Dr. Jarkko about 15
minutes before the lecture started. The session started at 10:00 am in
Metropolia university. The professor was very cooperative and well prepared. He
provided us with useful handouts explaining the course outline in general, the
first lecture slides, and this lecture slides. Also he provided us with a
handout of the advanced course of course he is teaching.
As understood from the professor and the handouts, the course consists
of theory lectures and lab. Because the method of learning in this class was in one way, the methodology
that was used in this class is behaviorism. The professor had to do all of the
work of teaching, preparing, and explaining to the students. I noticed that no any kind of interaction
between the professor and the students.
What I was wondering for me and it have never seen in
my life is no one from the students were following their teacher, and most of
them play games or puzzle. Also, I noted that no books or notebooks or papers
were in their disks. Maybe the reason behind
this is the attendance is not a must for the lecture part, but it is for the
lab section.
A student has to finish all the
labs and to take a final exam in the period of exam time which is at the end of
the semester. The handouts are available to them through the university system.
Finally, in my opinion, I think
there are a gap between the theories of teaching, and the real work, is it right?
To answer your last question: yes indeed!
ReplyDeleteI think that, sadly, engineering education in many places still follows the structure you describe: theory and practice are structurally separated! As a result teachers many times "slip" into just lecturing. Can you suggest some ways in which the teacher of this class could have shifted the focus from teaching to learning? In what ways could he have involved the students better?
It never ceases to surprise me that students actually go to classes (when it is not obligatory) only to play and do other stuff than follow the teacher! I mean, if it is not necessary to be there, wouldn't it be nicer to stay at home and play? If the student goes through the trouble of attending, one would think he also pays attention!
- Irmeli