Thus, over the years, my perspective of teaching has evolved, so that I no longer base a course on the amount of material I will discuss during a semester. Rather, I focus on how much students will learn. My goal is to find ways to encourage the students to take initiatives in the learning process. In some settings, I still use a lecture format as a way to outline or review a subject in a relatively short amount of time. However, I also look for ways that promote active student learning.
Students work through exercises or labs in groups.
For most purposes, I encourage groups of size 2 or 3, as such small groups encourage discussion, but make it difficult for a student to hide. For integrative exercises, the resulting work may be 5 or more pages in length. Submission is via e-mail, and questions are due at least 6 hours before the class time. At the same time, I strive to provide considerable encouragement and help. As a specific example of this type of activity, the introductory computer science course at Grinnell emphasizes collaborative, lab-based work.