John H, John B, Ken,
many thanks for this last set of discussion e-mails: as another lurker I'm
prompted to come out and say how much I appreciate this last one. At last it
looks like we're getting our learner-support centre (or whatever it's going
to be called), all such discussions are more and more useful to us here -
Jim
John Bradbeer wrote:
> As another relative lurker to this list, I would like to echo John's
> comments about diagnostic on entry testing. Here in Portsmouth we
> have exactly the same system and when I worked in the Geography
> department I got complete listings of all my tutorial group and their
> self-ratings. As I was closley associated with the department's study
> skills support programme, I also asked for and received a summary
> of the whole of our entry cohort's profile. This was very useful but as
> John says, it is simply the time constraint that prevents either a unit
> leader or a tutor from getting down and working with the information
> and the individual student. Extreme modularity also works against
> seeing the student as a whole person and makes it hard for one unit
> alone to try to offer study skill development. Give academics a choice
> between proposition knowledge specific to their subject matter and
> procedural knowledge about how to study or how to do things, then
> academics will plump for the propositional knowledge every time.
> Like John, it must be age and I do find it depressing.
>
> Might I be making a little difference now with changed responsibilities
> for the ILT recognised programme for our new staff? I'd like to think
> so, but the emphasis on 'know that' rather than 'know why' and 'know
> how' does go so very deep. Students probably quickly pick up on this
> and push both new and experienced staff in the 'know that' direction
> (especially when a key 'know that' question they pose is "will it be in
> the exam?")
>
> John
>
> John Bradbeer
> Principal Lecturer in Higher Education
> School of Education and Continuing Studies
> 141 High Street
> Old Portsmouth
> Portsmouth
> PO1 2HY
>
> 023 9284 5203
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