Posted by alexandra_k on November 23, 2014, at 15:10:05
In reply to Re: balance, posted by alexandra_k on November 23, 2014, at 14:29:40
I know that I will be given increasingly fewer powerpoints over the years in something like medicine...
I mean... Philosophers don't typically use powerpoints. I used to be an English major ffs...
But when you have a lot of factoids to cram... You need clear presentation of those factoids so that you can put your energy and attention to getting them into your brain instead of scrambling about trying to find the information that it is that you are supposed to learn... Especially when you are just starting out... I understand that content gets trickier once you get to graduate school... But I simply don't see why people want to try and teach first year like it is graduate school. There is so much... 'Standard content' to cram in there...
We don't have STEP exams... But it seems that we do have a major exam near the end... That must be passed... And you sit that exam every year. But they don't expect you to pass it until the end. But you are encouraged to see where you sit amongst people in your year. Anyway... That is what it is about. The teaching... Setting up your clinical skills (so hopefully you can be somewhat impressive on your placements and get a job in that area one day) and getting you passing that exam.
And some lecturers are more or less scrambled than others. But there is clear textbook content that must be learned. And a few different texts that cover the same / similar content, even. So you have room to find whichever works for you. People say that some lecturers.. Their powerpoint notes are good enough. FOr other lecturers... You need to get a good text because the powerpoints are non-existent or too bare bones or whatever.
But still... The crucial thing... Is still that the lecturers (I'm presuming) are the ones who did well... Who have an understanding of what doing well requires...
Less random. I think that is my point...
I think... Biology (first year level, anyway) is a big money earner for... Biology. I suppose. So they have this building... Where the lecturers are kept... So you can't even get to them for office hours as an undergrad because you don't have building access. That's where things have got to... Then you have a first year co-ordinator in a HUGE office... with all these books... That look unread probably for obvious reason. And she's the 'face' who does all the aministration beurocracy stuff that most people don't want a bar of. You go crying to her when you didn't get to your lab because your cat peed on your prelab that morning etc etc etc... And the Tuakana extra help tutorial people... Who give out free pizza... So that Maaori and Pacific Island students come to class... I mean... My friend from last semester went to the extra help chemistry ones... She said they were really helpful... She said that she 'didn't learn that way' when it came to drawing as preparation for drawing a face centered cubic packing cell... I don't know what they do when it comes to study... But they are there... Equity etc...
Anyway... Everyone wants to be a marine biologist...
They did talk about introducing a lottery for medical school entry. There was resistance to that. Nobody likes to think that there is a lottery component. Even those who don't get in...
Anyway... Wouldn't it be fun to swim with the dolphins all day? And you don't have to write essays in biology... Or do many equations...
Anyway...
I'll take a look at my exam script when it comes back to me... And then move on.
Since they aren't interested in using tests (for example) as learning opportunities (to explain to people where they went wrong to help them improve)... As you would do if there were ryme and / or reason and you wanted to ensure that motivated people were given opportunity...
...
Wouldn't you?
?
Or you could not distribute answers... I mean, most people won't even bother to collect their tests... Nobody will query their grade / want answers explained to them...
Then you can re-use the questions the following year.
That's a better system - right?
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1058481
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20141123/msgs/1073709.html