Hi!  thought I'd chime in on this - I'm still on the front end of the
learning curve vis-a-vis TBL, but have used the 4MAT system of teaching
and learning (Dr. Bernice McCarthy) and had a similar response from
students.  I've concluded that there are a number of things at work here.
1) as has been pointed out, students are used to the lecture methods of
teaching and tend to resist anything different.  2) According to McCarthy,
about 1/3 of the typical classroom is made up of Type 2 learners who
prefer the lecture method; the remaining 2/3 are Types 1, 3 & 4 learners.
I believe that students willing to learn from various styles and methods
of teaching can become "better" learners, will gain more from their
classroom experiences with a wholistic approach.  This will also, then,
make them better at their chosen field, because they've learned how to
learn and have a more broad-based perspective on things.

Change is not easy for most people, because it takes them out of their
comfort zone - not necessarily a 'bad' thing.

Chuck Killingsworth

> Ed and others,
>
> On the *student* side, this sounds like a classic case of not spending
> sufficient time at the beginning of the course, orienting students to what
> the teachers were going to do and why, in a way that gets student buy-in.
> Whenver a teacher does something different than what students are used to,
> you need to spend a substantial amount of time (1-3 hours), helping
> students
> understand (via experiences - not explanations) what the teacher is going
> to
> do that is different and why he/she is changing.  This is as true of TBL
> as
> anything else.
>         If you haven't seen it yet, there was an article in the National
> Learning & Teaching Forum a few months ago that provides an excellent way
> to
> do that. (attached).
>
> On the *faculty* side, not so sure.  It may be that someone needs to
> collect
> data on the qualityof student learning, in a way that can compare the
> quantity and quality of student learning with lecture vs. with TBL.  My
> expectation would be that the latter is higher.  If it is, that should be
> persuasive as a reason to change.  If it isn't, either one needs to find
> out
> why it isn't higher - or else go back to lecturing.
>
> Dee
>
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 3:55 PM, Ed Bell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> TBL Colleagues:
>> I coordinated a new course using TBL Spring 2009.  This 3-credit course
>> (pharmacotherapeutics) is in the 2nd year of a 4-year professional
>> pharmacy
>> program (115 students).  Three faculty taught (separate 5 week modules).
>>  We
>> followed the TBL model very closely (ie, IRAT/GRAT, IF-AT forms, AE,
>> peer
>> evaluations).  I attended the TBL conference in March.  Final course
>> grades
>> overall were quite high.  Student evaluations (8 pages total written
>> comments) post-course were "interesting" - most evaluations were
>> negative
>> and included several themes:
>> 1) students want more lecture - they want to be told what is important
>> 2) students believe we as faculty - the "experts"- should be telling
>> them
>> what is important about medications that they will need to know as a
>> future
>> pharmacist - this is our "responsibility" as faculty/teachers
>> 3) several students emphasized 2) above in light of our school being
>> private, with high tuition reasoning for responsibility of the faculty
>> to
>> tell students "what's important"
>> 4) some faculty this semester and due up next semester don't seem to
>> fully
>> accept TBL vs. still desiring to lecture
>> How do we respond to these student - and faculty - concerns?  I
>> researched
>> the TBL list serve archives and found similar concerns from 2005
>> postings,
>> yet I am seeking additional recommendations and input from seasoned TBL
>> faculty.
>> Thank you.
>> Ed Bell (Drake University College of Pharmacy)
>>
>
>
>
> --
> ***********************
> L. Dee Fink
> 234 Foreman Ave.
> Norman, OK  73069
> Phone/FAX:  405-364-6464
> Email:  [log in to unmask]
> Website:  www.finkconsulting.info
>
> **National Project Director:  Teaching & Curriculum Improvement (TCI)
> Project
> **Senior Associate, Dee Fink & Associates Consulting Services
> **Author of: Creating Significant Learning Experiences
> **Former President of the POD Network in Higher Education (2004-2005)
>