Pointing Fingers

I have heard some variations of this theme in my time through higher education, and it's one that has perplexed me quite a bit.

There seems to be a pointing fingers game within student success between student and professors. Students blame the profs for being bad teachers, and the profs blame the students for being lazy and unwilling to learn. So where is the line?

Many of the professors that I know are unwilling/unable to change their teaching style. To many, "changing teaching style" is equated with "dumbing down the class", which obviously they are unwilling (rightfully so) to do. However, as many in education know, there are many ways to teach the same material without "dumbing down" the class or making it easier. Making the material easier to learn does not mean making the material easier overall.

I guess I come down on the side of the student: if the material is being taught unsuccessfully then the style of teaching needs to change. I think the way to tell this is the continued success rates in a classroom. If semester after semester large numbers of students are failing the same class taught by the same professor, then maybe that professor should take a look at the teaching methods (not material...) being used in the classroom.

Maybe it's that I have a hard time thinking entire classes of students would not turn in homework in class after class... again, if that is happening where is the information getting lost?

However, this isn't to say that there aren't lazy or bad or poor students out there (I've been one too at times!), but when it's consistent then I think it's a problem.

On the other side, if there is a student failing similar classes over and over and over again at what point is there an intervention to understand how the student learns best and find where s/he is struggling? I know this takes time and manpower on the side of the school, but isn't the retention of a student worth it? Again, this isn't to say to put together a specialized plan for the student, but simply to help him/her understand how best to approach school work.

I was 23 before I realized I was an auditory learner. If I take notes I am far less likely to remember information than if I simply listen to it- at which point I can replay it in my head like a tape recorder. I recall a class in which I was yelled at in front of the class because I was not taking notes- and when I tried to explain that I learn better by listening and processing the information rather than mindlessly writing down the words being spoken it just resulted in being forced to write down the notes that he insisted people took to remember things- he even stopped to check that I was writing at points that day. It's a good thing that was only a one day for work kind of class, because I would have never gone back had it been a regular college class! (Yes, I'm stubborn like that.)But it would have been much better had it simply been accepted that I knew what kind of a learner I am and moved on from there. I think also had I known this earlier in my college career some classes would have been easier and I would have learned more, rather than trying to fit into what I "should" be doing to retain information.

The latest place where this has come up is with online vs. traditional vs. blended education. Obviously the some of the three formats work for some students and professors better than others. But they seem to all be pointing fingers accusing the other style (whichever one that is) of holding them back. A study came out showing blended education to be bringing in a lot of good results with students as well as high retention rates, but naturally there is outcry against having to change a teaching style or a learning style.

Again... we get profs blaming students for not knowing how to use the software (Blackboard, Angel, etc.) properly and students blaming the profs for not structuring/designing the class to be online user friendly. (A lovely quote from a comment on the subject: When it works, it's not an online utopia--it's just another space for meaningful learning. )

So at what point must the student or professor or admin at a school step back, stop pointing fingers at everyone else and say "Maybe it's not "them"... maybe it's me?"

Sadly, that's a very, very hard statement for many people to make.