Students will naturally and reasonably resist a change which disadvantages
them in relation to their course assessment and to make learning more
difficult, even if possibly more enjoyable, is a prescription for disaster.
I explored student motivation in L. Elton (1996), 'Strategies to enhance
Student motivation: A conceptual analysis'. Studies in Higher Education,
21, 57 - 68, following the earlier work by B. Snyder (1973), 'The hidden
curriculum', Boston: MIT and preceding the work by Biggs on alignment. I
have still to be told of a single instance where PBL changed merely the
delivery method so that a comparison with a trad curriculum in terms of
exam results would be permissible. Any offers?

Lewis Elton

At 20:30 01/10/04 , you wrote:
>If you respond to this long post (14kB) please don't hit the reply
>button unless you prune the original message normally contained in
>your reply down to a few lines, otherwise you will inflict this
>entire pedantic post yet again on all suffering list subscribers.
>Also, if you object to cross-posting as a way to tunnel through
>interdisciplinary barriers, please hit "delete" now.
>
>In his POD post of 29 Sep 2004 titled "Student resistance to changes
>in professional education practice," physicist Mano Singham (2004)
>wrote [bracketed by lines "SSSSSSSSSSSSS. . .  ."]
>
>SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
>I have been approached by faculty and administrators in the Law and
>Dental schools at my university who say that while they are trying to
>improve the way they teach by including more active and participatory
>methods, they meet resistance from students who ask them to "just
>tell them what they need to know" and to forget about all this
>"higher-order thinking stuff."
>
>Is there anyone familiar with the literature on education in
>professional schools that deals with the causes of student resistance
>to change and with strategies for dealing with them. Are there
>success stories?
>SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
>
>I'm cc'ing this message to three discussion listservs (i.e.,
>discussion lists that use LISTSERV software and hence have excellent
>archive search engines):
>
>AERA-I (Education in the Professions) with archives at
>      <http://lists.asu.edu/archives/aera-i.html>,
>
>DrEd with archives at
>    <http://list.msu.edu/archives/dr-ed.html>,
>
>PBL with archives at
>    <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/pbl.html>.
>
>The above deal with professional school education and/or PBL
>(Problems Based Learning). Possibly some subscribers to those lists
>may know about causes of student resistance to change, strategies for
>dealing with them, and success stories in the use of more active and
>participatory methods of education.
>
>BTW, with regard to more general aspects of the resistance to change
>of the educational system see my recent post "The Inertia of the
>Educational System" [Hake (2004a)].
>
>As I indicated in a previous post "Re: Case (or case study)
>definition" [Hake (2004b)], the resistance of students to active and
>participatory methods of education in professional schools has a long
>history.
>
>David Garvin (2003), in his fascinating article "Making the Case," wrote
>[bracketed by lines "GGGGGGGGGG. . . "]:
>
>GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
>Christopher Columbus Langdell, the pioneer of the case method,
>attended Harvard Law School from 1851 to 1854 - twice the usual term
>of study. He spent his extra time as a research assistant and
>librarian, holed up in the school's library reading legal decisions
>and developing an encyclopedic knowledge of court cases. . . .
>
>In his course on contracts, he insisted that students read only
>original sources-cases-and draw their own conclusions. To assist
>them, he assembled a set of cases and published them, with only a
>brief two-page introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>. .
>
>Inducing general principles from a small selection of cases was a
>challenging task, and students were unlikely to succeed without help.
>To guide them, Langdell developed through trial and error what is now
>called THE SOCRATIC METHOD: AN INTERROGATORY STYLE IN WHICH
>INSTRUCTORS QUESTION STUDENTS CLOSELY ABOUT THE FACTS OF THE CASE,
>THE POINTS AT ISSUE, JUDICIAL REASONING, UNDERLYING DOCTRINES AND
>PRINCIPLES, AND COMPARISONS WITH OTHER CASES. Students prepare for
>class knowing that they will have to do more than simply parrot back
>material they have memorized from lectures or textbooks; they will
>have to present their own interpretations and analysis, and face
>detailed follow-up questions from the instructor.
>
>Langdell's innovations initially met with enormous resistance. MANY
>STUDENTS WERE OUTRAGED (my CAPS). During the first three years of his
>administration, as word spread of Harvard's new approach to legal
>education, enrollment at the school dropped from 165 to 117 students,
>leading Boston University to start a law school of its own. Alumni
>were in open revolt.
>GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
>
>Regarding the law school version of "The Socratic Method (TSM), my
>understanding is that the modern-day version [see, e.g. Elkins's "The
>Beginner's Guide to Legal Education" [Elkins (undated #1)] is about
>as far from:
>
>(a) TSM of the HISTORICAL Socrates [Vlastos 1990, 1991, 1994)], and
>
>(b) TSM of effective physics pedagogy [Hake (1992, 2002a)],
>
>as is Plato's version of TSM as presented in the "Meno." For a
>discussion see Hake (2002b,c,d).
>
>Unfortunately, confusion of TSM as presented by Plato with the TSM of
>the historical Socrates and with effective physics pedagogy is
>rampant among physics education researchers (PER's) [e.g., Morse
>(1994), Redish (2003)]. This pedagogical misconception is probably a
>factor in the neglect by PER's [Hilborn et al. (2003), Redish (2003),
>McCray et al. (2003), Mestre (2003)] of effective TSM physics
>pedagogy.
>
>
>Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
>24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
><[log in to unmask]>
><http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
><http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
>
>
>REFERENCES
>Elkins, J.R. undated #1. "A Beginner's Guide to Legal Education," online at
><http://www.wvu.edu/%7Elawfac/jelkins/orientation/webguide.html>.
>See also Elkins (undated #2) & Elkins (1990).
>
>Elkins, J.R. undated #2. "A Beginner's Guide to Legal Education: The
>Socratic Method," online at
><http://www.wvu.edu/%7Elawfac/jelkins/orientation/socratic.html>.
>
>Elkins, J.R. 1990. "Socrates and the Pedagogy of Critique," in 14
>Legal Stud. F. 231. A revised version is online at
><http://www.wvu.edu/%7Elawfac/jelkins/pr-03/virtue/socrates.html>.
>
>Garvin, D.A. 2003. "Making the Case: Professional education for the
>world of practice" Harvard Magazine, September/October; online at
><http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/090322.html>. A footnoted
>pdf is available at this site. Thanks to MIT's Lori Breslow and John
>Belcher for bringing this article to my attention.
>
>Hake, R.R. 1992. "Socratic pedagogy in the introductory physics lab."
>Phys. Teach. 30: 546-552; updated version (4/27/98) online as ref. 23
>at
><http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>, or download directly by
>clicking on http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/SocPed1.pdf (88 kB).
>
>Hake, R.R. 2002a. "Socratic Dialogue Inducing Laboratory Workshop,"
>Proceedings of the UNESCO-ASPEN Workshop on Active Learning in
>Physics, Univ. of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2-4 Dec. 2002; also online
>as ref. 28 at
><http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/> or download directly by
>clicking on
><http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/Hake-SriLanka-SDIb.pdf> (44 kB).
>
>Hake, R.R. 2002b. "Re: Socratic Method,"
>Phys-L/PhysLrnR/Physhare/AP-Physics post of 14 Nov 2002
>14:32:54-0800; online at
><http://lists.nau.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0211&L=phys-l&P=R9157>.
>
>Hake, R.R. 2002c. "Re: Socratic Method,"
>Phys-L/PhysLrnR/Physhare/AP-Physics post of 13 Dec 2002
>13:33:26-0800; online at
><http://lists.nau.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0212&L=phys-l&P=R15999>.
>
>Hake, R.R. 2002d. "Re: Socratic Method,"
>Phys-L/PhysLrnR/Physhare/AP-Physics post of 18 Dec 2002
>17:48:07-0800; online at
><http://lists.nau.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0212&L=phys-l&P=R19258>.
>
>Hake, R.R. 2004a. "The Inertia of the Educational System," online at
><http://lists.nau.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0409&L=phys-l&O=D&P=25165>.
>Post of 28 Sep 2004 16:53:09-0700 to AERA-C, AERA-D, AERA-J, AERA-K,
>ASSESS, Biopi-L, Chemed-L, EvalTalk, Math-Learn, Phys-L, PhysLrnR,
>Phys-L, POD, & RUME.
>Later sent to AP-Physics, Physhare, and STLHE-L.
>
>Hake, R.R. 2004b. "Re: Case (or case study) definition," online at
><http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0408&L=pod&P=R7876>. Post of
>16 Aug 2004 21:48:01-0700 to POD, PhysLrnR, & STLHE-L. Later 17 Aug
>2004
>21:20:22-0700 sent to DrEd.
>
>Hake, R.R. 2004c. "Re: Effectiveness of PBL," online at
><http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0405&L=pod&P=R11019>. Post
>of 21 May 2004 18:42:23-0700 to Dr-Ed, PhysLrnR, STLHE-L, EvalTalk,
>AERA-J, ASSESS, and PBL. See also Hake (2004d).
>
>Hake, R.R. 2004d. "Re: Effectiveness of PBL - Response By Don Woods,"
>online at
><http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0405&L=pod&P=R11428>. Post
>of 23 May 2004 12:02:34-0700 to Dr-Ed, PhysLrnR, STLHE-L, EvalTalk,
>AERA-J, ASSESS, and PBL.
>
>Hilborn, R.C., R.H. Howes, & K.S. Krane. 2003 "Strategic Programs for
>Innovations in Undergraduate Physics: 2003. Project Report," online
>at
><http://www.aapt.org/Projects/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.c
>fm&PageID=4495>
>(a 568kB pdf).
>
>McCray, R.A., R.L. DeHaan, J.A. Schuck, eds. 2003. "Improving
>Undergraduate Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
>Mathematics: Report of a Workshop," Committee on Undergraduate STEM
>Instruction," National Research Council, National Academy Press;
>online at <http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10711.html>.
>
>Mestre, J. 2003. Appendix I. "Physics Education Resources" pp. 56-64
>of Hilborn et al. (2003). Mestre also ignores the ASU Modeling
>Program <http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html>.
>
>Morse, R.A. 1994. "The Classic Method of Mrs. Socrates," Phys. Teach.
>32: 276-277.
>
>Redish, E.F. 2003 "Teaching Physics With the Physics Suite" (TPWPS),
>John Wiley, footnote 5 page 146. TPWPS is online at
><http://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/>, scroll to the bottom of the page.
>
>Singham, M. 2004. "Student resistance to changes in professional
>education practice," POD post of 29 Sep 2004 16:18:14-0400; online at
><http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0409&L=pod&O=A&P=23321>.
>
>Vlastos, G. 1990. Private communication to R.R. Hake, September 17.
>Vlastos  wrote: "Though Socrates was not engaged in physical inquiry,
>your program . . . . [Hake 1992, 2002a - NOT in the spirit of "The
>Meno")]. . .  is entirely in his spirit."
>
>Vlastos, G. 1991. "Socrates, Ironist and Moral Philosopher" (Cornell
>Univ. Press, 1991), esp. Chap. 2, "Socrates contra Socrates in
>Plato." See also Vlastos (1994).
>
>Vlastos, G. 1994. "Socratic Studies" Cambridge University Press.


**********************************
Lewis Elton
Hon. Professor of Higher Education
Educational and Professional Developmnt
University College London
1 - 19 Torrington Place
London WC1E 6BT
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