The January 13, 2009, NY Times article, At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard, By SARA RIMER, describes how MIT has replaced its required freshman Physics course which was given in a large lecture hall, with a smaller student centered course in a technology enhanced classroom. In the new course, students learn in groups around computer terminals with the professor acting more as the "guide on the side" by giving short tutorials and reviewing difficult concepts as students work through problems. The article claims that as a result of this revamped introductory course attendance is up while the failure rate has gone down.
My question is how this can be applied to the elementary and high school setting. Is such an approach best only for the sciences or can it work equally well in other General and Judaic Studies courses? What experiences have you had with successfully (or unsuccessfully) implementing such courses in a Yeshiva day school? I have strong opinions about this type of approach but I would like to hear from others in the field. I welcome your constructive feedback.
You can follow this discussion, which I also posted on the Jewish Educator's Bulletin Board, Lookjed, at http://lookstein.org/lookjed/read.php?1,17604,17604#msg-17604.
I liked this idea and article. I feel the idea of student-centered learning etc. has validity since they tracked the attendance and failure rates of both types of teaching modes. Texas Instruments does have technology to allow a teacher to know in real-time if students are understanding the concepts presented. It is a large investment of time and money but the technology allows the teacher to view the windows of each students graphing calculator from her moniter. I just don't see how this apporach would work for all topics in a single course. It mihgt be an idea for select topics such as graphing. I know I would want a whole summer plus more to develop all the materials though. Definately something to try and implement in phases in various classes regardless of level.
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