Interviews with more than twenty international faculty members and teaching assistants at Harvard University deal with topics ranging from language problems to how to keep discussions lively. Classroom scenes from courses in anthropology, economics, and physics with an analysis of successful teaching strategies adopted by international faculty. Collaborative Learning in Science. In each class, students discuss problems and devise solutions with the help of their instructors and peers. Includes interviews and classroom scenes.
Teachers make assumptions about what motivates, excites, and frustrates their students.
To help answer these questions, the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning interviewed over forty Harvard undergraduates in the spring of 1992. What Students Want presents their reflections on what facilitates learning, definitions of good and bad teachers, and the nature of the student-teacher partnership. Five short vignettes depict classroom moments when the role of women is an issue, either because of the gender of the teacher or students, or because of the topic under discussion. The examples can be used to initiate discussions about how gender issues affect learning, with an underlying goal of making classrooms more open for women. The problems illustrated include gaining authority, gendered modes of expression, male and female dominance, race and gender conflicts, and faculty responsibility.