Inquiry trumps lecture

Lecturing, for generations of professors, has been the traditional method for transmitting information in the college classroom. But, within the academy, there is a creeping awareness that it might matter less what the professor transmits than what the students actually receive.

Numerous studies have shown that many students leave college without knowing how to continue learning. To remedy this, the Boyer Commission Report (1989) recommended that professors relinquish the lecture method in favor of an inquiry-based model of teaching.

For the past four-and-a-half years, WSU has been host to a faculty group that is experimenting with this new model of teaching. They are participants in the Visible Knowledge Project -— a collaboration of professors across the United States who believe teaching is the heart of scholarship, and who are trying to discover how students learn best.

Professors at a research university like WSU may look at teaching as a distraction from their research and writing, but Carol Sheppard, associate professor of entomology, and her VKP colleagues believe it is one of the most important things they do.

“People think of research as being in a lab, at a bench or doing field work,” she says. “We need to look at the classroom as a lab for research and begin asking questions. Do students learn better one way than another? Does a certain component help? Are students learning what you are trying to teach them?”

One of a few

WSU is one of only a dozen universities to share a $4 million dollar grant under the care of Georgetown University. Susan Kilgore, WSU associate director of General Education, is custodian of the five-year staggered grant received by WSU and the spark of energy who keeps the project moving forward. The grant, combined with a faculty stipend awarded by WSU’s Honors College, allowed Kilgore to invite four professors to participate with her in this joint project of the General Ed and Honors College programs.

She chose Michael Delahoyde (English), Lydia Gerber (history/Asia Program), Ray Sun (history) and Sheppard because “they all had good reputations as concerned teachers.” “We are a humble group; we know there is always room for improvement.“ says Sheppard.

Significant effect

“VKP’s effect on my teaching has been quite significant,” Sun said. He credits discussions with VKP colleagueswith helping him clearly conceptualize how he wants his students to integrate their studies and develop intellectual and moral capacities to understand contemporary culture and events.

Even before his involvement with VKP, Delahoyde was headed in the direction of interactive teaching; but, he says, “VKP forced me to think in pragmatic terms to measure learning.”

A telling moment for him was when he posted images of Renaissance tapestries on a website and, without further instruction, told students to “spend some time with them” and post a comment on the Bridge. To his surprise, “the wide-open, unguided discussion was absolutely brilliant.”

When a professor is successful in helping students grasp and make use of the basic concepts of the class, WSU’s core values of inquiry and knowledge, engagement and application are supported.

According to Kilgore, VKP is designed to help faculty develop assignments that make students’ learning “visible” to them and to their professors. “In view of accreditation and the emphasis on assessment, demonstrating that students are learning what teachers want them to learn is more important than ever.”

Independent learners

Each member of the VKP team has a project that uses media in the classroom. While media is one tool for teachers, Delahoyde says, “Good teaching need not have anything to do with technology.” The greater emphasis of VKP is on getting teachers to think about how students can take control of their education and become independent learners.

The VKP team at WSU is working with the newly created Office of Undergraduate Education to spread these teaching techniques and perspectives to a broader audience. They are committed to publishing and presenting papers, as well as developing a network at WSU so professors can share their ideas with others in their fields. Professors and teaching assistants who want to learn from their experience are encouraged to contact VKP team members.

Now in its fifth and final year of the grant period, the VKP team has formed a bond and expects to continue informally as a group. Kilgore hopes WSU will become a center among western campuses for disseminating ideas about the scholarship of teaching and learning.