At a recent dean's luncheon, an undergraduate student asked, "Can I get credit for passing the exam even though I don't go to class?"”
He said he was asking questions on behalf of all transfer students because they had to retake several courses when they transferred to a new major, but some courses conflicted with existing ones.The problem will be solved if you can skip class but get credit through the examination.
There is no one but a coincidence.Recently, I visited the student dormitory, and some undergraduates asked the same question.The reason is that it is better to take some teachers' classes than to teach themselves, or to watch online videos or learn MOOCs.
In response to the "self-study" in the student's mouth, the author joked that he would send you a self-examination diploma, can you accept it?One student immediately retorted: "During the epidemic, online classes, although many students are online, but most of the time they do not listen to lectures, and rely on other ways to study courses, do not take the same credit?"”
The students' questions are challenging and I don't think so.When I think about this problem again, I feel that the students' problem is not only an individual problem, but also a question of the times.
The first question is: What factors should determine whether a course is worth credits?
There seems to be no standard answer to this question.And the reality is – it often depends on schools, teachers, curricula.
The first question I have to ask myself when I teach any course is: What do I want students to learn from this course?This means that students can earn appropriate credits if they learn what the course requires of them.
This notion of determining credits based on competence and outcomes (regardless of time and place) is somewhat like a "results hero" and may be criticized for neglecting the essential, or even more important, educational process than outcomes.This is also the main reason universities generally use attendance rates as part of their usual course grades, and even decide whether to disqualify students from taking classes.
But this setting must pay attention to two points - the most important thing in the student's learning experience is "results heroism", typical is the college entrance examination; any learning results have a process, but the process is different.
The effectiveness of Lidshu people is the fundamental standard for testing all school work.According to this, whether a course is creditable or not depends not on the subjective will of the school or the teacher, but on the actual gain of the students, that is, the learning effect.
If we acknowledge this, we can think about the second question: Is class the most productive way to learn?
Classrooms have long been the near-only place for students to acquire knowledge (or "education").Today, however, anyone who owns a smartphone has immediate access to almost all of humanity's knowledge.The digital revolution has given students more educational options.In this case, the prerequisite for class to be compulsory should be at least – it is more productive than any other way available to students.
Unfortunately, modern learning theory tells us that the learning effect of different learning methods is pyramid-shaped from high to low, and listening to teachers is the worst of all learning methods.
This theory is constantly being tested.For example, a study by Nobel Laureate Carl Weiman and others compared the effects of traditional teaching with interactive teaching based on learning research and found that "it is almost certain that lectures have been ineffective for centuries."
A study published in 2019 by Harvard University professor Louis Deslaurie and others also found that professors who are good at lecturing induce students to think they learn more than they actually learn, which may be at the expense of students' active learning.
It is true that universities have been carrying out classroom reform and innovation.But it's undeniable that student diversity fundamentally determines that it's hard to be effective for every student, no matter what kind of reform and innovation there is in the classroom.
The third question is: What kind of class can make students feel compelled to attend?
Come to think of it, students ask the questions at the beginning of this article, and there are two hidden aspirations - barrier-free personalized education, from passive education to active learners.
In reality, more and more students want to have a similar experience with the current popular shopping, watching movies, listening to music, and can choose what to learn (including majors, courses, skills, etc.).…
In contrast, requiring students to take classes to earn credits is like "buying and selling", which hinders the realization of students' wishes.
Are students' wishes reasonable?Clearly, they are in line with both educational and cognitive theory and represent the direction in which university education should strive.
We are or are about to enter the age of intelligence.Some scholars have pointed out that as machines become better at becoming machines, the main purpose of education must be to help humans become better human beings.Students' active learning continues to surpass machine deep learning and is the only choice to achieve this goal.
Therefore, what universities and teachers should really care about is not whether students can not attend classes but can pass the examination to get credit, but what kind of classes can make students feel compelled to attend.