I am appalled by those say that lower tier universities care about attendance but higher tier schools do not and should not. My concern goes back to what we know about adult learning. Much has been written about this and I have summarized elsewhere on Quora. The core is that adults learn best when they are a) working on issues of relevance and importance to them, b) actively involved, and c) in discussions that challenge their assumptions (VABEs) about the way the world is or should be.
I taught at the Harvard Business School and the Darden School at University of Virginia. We used cases and “technical notes” (summaries of current and relevant theories, not just one theoretical approach). Field cases put real business (or medical or technical or military—in use at Quantico) problems in front of students without implying a “right” answer — for many issues none exists. Coming to class ahead of time, having read and analyzed the case and theory for the class (often 3 or more a day), and participating actively in the debate with from 20–100 peers who have also read the material is central to the case method approach. Coming to class late interrupts the developing focus and energy in the room. Not coming at all hurts the absentee AND the other 99 because they miss out on your perspective, experience and analysis.
Further, every case class is a leadership laboratory for each student as they try to persuade their classmates (forget the instructor whom you’ll never see after this year). One watches what works and doesn’t work in terms of influencing your peers—and essential skill in the world.
Instructors who lecture to or embellish a book or assigned reading are adding virtually nothing to the learning of the students, learn very little about what the students are getting or not getting, ignore the education, work experience and personalities of the people in the room, teach students not to read the material since it’s “covered” in class, and miss out on assessing one of the most important student insights, how to influence in a group.
Clearly, I am not a fan of lectures—I’ve sat through my share of them at Stanford, BYU, and Harvard. A skilled case instructor will pick cases that match the students and the topics at hand, pick technical notes and chapters that inform on current theoretical views, assume that students can and will read the material, insist that students come on time and prepared, ask carefully crafted questions that stimulate discussion, call on people who don’t volunteer, spread the opportunities to speak across the room, make appropriate notes and diagrams on chalkboards, flip charts, etc. for the visual learners, use and move seamlessly among various channels of communication like video clips, overheads, PowerPoints (sparingly), use poignant role plays as implied by student comments, manage time, manage energy, include humor, avoid any disruption to the flow of the discussion, encourage near end class reflection and insight making, and grade/assess the participation of all students after each class. Class participation comprised 50% of our grading systems.(See my book Teaching
So, the very highest tier schools who develop learning systems that recognize what we know about adult learning will demand attendance, preparation, and participation—because the combination of all of that accelerates the learning of everyone in the room. We very successfully used case method in all ten disciplines—accounting, economics, decision analysis, finance, marketing, operations, ethics, leadership and organizational behavior, strategy and communications.
In my experience over 40 years involved in worldwide academics, it’s the schools that rely primarily on lecture method, whatever tier one sees them in, that don’t care about attendance in class.
I taught at the Harvard Business School and the Darden School at University of Virginia. We used cases and “technical notes” (summaries of current and relevant theories, not just one theoretical approach). Field cases put real business (or medical or technical or military—in use at Quantico) problems in front of students without implying a “right” answer — for many issues none exists. Coming to class ahead of time, having read and analyzed the case and theory for the class (often 3 or more a day), and participating actively in the debate with from 20–100 peers who have also read the material is central to the case method approach. Coming to class late interrupts the developing focus and energy in the room. Not coming at all hurts the absentee AND the other 99 because they miss out on your perspective, experience and analysis.
Further, every case class is a leadership laboratory for each student as they try to persuade their classmates (forget the instructor whom you’ll never see after this year). One watches what works and doesn’t work in terms of influencing your peers—and essential skill in the world.
Instructors who lecture to or embellish a book or assigned reading are adding virtually nothing to the learning of the students, learn very little about what the students are getting or not getting, ignore the education, work experience and personalities of the people in the room, teach students not to read the material since it’s “covered” in class, and miss out on assessing one of the most important student insights, how to influence in a group.
Clearly, I am not a fan of lectures—I’ve sat through my share of them at Stanford, BYU, and Harvard. A skilled case instructor will pick cases that match the students and the topics at hand, pick technical notes and chapters that inform on current theoretical views, assume that students can and will read the material, insist that students come on time and prepared, ask carefully crafted questions that stimulate discussion, call on people who don’t volunteer, spread the opportunities to speak across the room, make appropriate notes and diagrams on chalkboards, flip charts, etc. for the visual learners, use and move seamlessly among various channels of communication like video clips, overheads, PowerPoints (sparingly), use poignant role plays as implied by student comments, manage time, manage energy, include humor, avoid any disruption to the flow of the discussion, encourage near end class reflection and insight making, and grade/assess the participation of all students after each class. Class participation comprised 50% of our grading systems.(See my book Teaching
So, the very highest tier schools who develop learning systems that recognize what we know about adult learning will demand attendance, preparation, and participation—because the combination of all of that accelerates the learning of everyone in the room. We very successfully used case method in all ten disciplines—accounting, economics, decision analysis, finance, marketing, operations, ethics, leadership and organizational behavior, strategy and communications.
In my experience over 40 years involved in worldwide academics, it’s the schools that rely primarily on lecture method, whatever tier one sees them in, that don’t care about attendance in class.
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