L5-To lecture or not to lecture?

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Jim Green (see below) was promoting a Socratic Method of
teaching two days ago. After doing something similar for
three years I am considering "going back" to lecturing. I wish
I had time to compose a sequence of observations extracted
from the essays my students submit last night. The topic was
was "How are we doing?" It is a calculus based University
Physics night class and about 2/3 of students are serious and
are doing reasonably well. It started with 24 students but
now I have only 18. For several of them English is not the
first language. The registration figure for the next semester
do not look good, only 6 and 8, for two sections I was
expected to teach. Is this "voting with their legs"?

Students recognized good aspects of self learning but
also brought same valuable criticism. It can be summarized
like this. "I do not learn much from somebody mumbling
and struggling in front of the class. I do not want to embarrass
that person by asking questions. The method would work if
we had time to study the textbook at home as much as
necessary to come really prepared. We work full time, we
have families, we have other courses. You are asking the
impossible." Many asked me to change the method. I can
not ignore this.

Jim Green wrote (in two messages)

> I use a Socratic Method of teaching... ...by the third or fourth
> week the students see that the only way to get a grade in the
> class is to come prepared and to join the discussion -- they must
> show _me_ how to solve a problem, they must explain the
> material to _me_ by answering _my_ questions -- phrased as
> a student might ask them.
>
> For those first few weeks many of the students clearly hate the
> process --they are not used to it.  But later we have good report
> and we all become friends and enjoy the learning. ...
>
> Again I strongly recommend that physics teachers move away
> from straight lectures.  Students come to class with a blank mind
> and sit in standard student position and copy everything from
> the board to paper -- with their minds still blank -- all the while
> carrying the ridiculous idea that they can cram this stuff in the
> night before the tests.  Students should come to class with
> questions and get them answered in class.