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Sunday, September 9, 2012
eSchool News Online: Creating a Digital Learning Environment
tomorrows-professor Digest, Vol 66, Issue 2 - Power of Teaching by Walking Around (TBWA)
Power of Teaching by Walking Around (TBWA)
In this short article we, a lecturer and a student,
introduce the concept of Teaching by Walking Around (TBWA) and attempt to draw
similarities with Management by Walking Around (MBWA). We also explore the
strengths of TBWA against the current trend of on-line delivery of university
courses and the opportunity to differentiate traditional teaching and learning
from on-line delivery.
Lectures are the backbone of university curricular worldwide,
and can make or break a learning experience. Often, lecturers are the main
party responsible for the success of this learning experience. They are like
the ?customer service staff? of a university or college. Some lecturers deliver
a lecture to satisfy the minimum requirements while the others will
passionately try to impart knowledge to their students. Apathy created by the
minimum requirements approach often has negative effects on students, who might
have paid large amounts of money in the hope that a university degree will
improve their career prospects, and perhaps assist them in achieving their
dreams. The apathy is part of the grand ?emotional barrier? (Bligh 1985) that
exists between lecturer and student during a lecture. One of the characteristics
of this emotional barrier is the physical distance between lecturer and
student. Other characteristics could be differences in age, education and
experience. The reduction of the
physical distance in order to achieve better learning outcomes, including a
more interactive class, an engaged audience and a better understanding of
students? needs is critical to the survival of the traditional face- to-face
learning.
Future of Face to Face Learning
In the midst of a proliferation of cost effective online
courses, universities will have to differentiate in order to charge a higher
fee for similar courses with face- to-face contact. This is the main challenge
for differentiation in order to charge a premium price.
TBWA is the concept of the lecturer reducing both the
physical and emotional distance between the lecturer or her and the students.
As a result, they become more empathetic towards the students. This might be
the distinct advantage of face-to-face teaching over online teaching that will
command a premium price. The general concept is not new, as Management by
Walking Around (MBWA) was a term coined by David Packard co-founder of
Hewlett-Packard, in the 1940?s and later formalized by Tom Peters (Peters 1985)
as Management by Walking Around (MBWA). This was a concept of breaking down the
rigid, hierarchical management structures that existed, to improve the
effectiveness of organisations and develop empathy between management and
junior staff. Likewise, TBWA breaks down the emotional barriers, thus forming
empathy and improved effectiveness of the teaching and learning experience on
both sides (lecturing staff and students).
Teacher the relationship builder
Modern sales techniques place emphasis on the importance
of relationship building. It goes as far as to say: build the relationships and
sales will come in good time. Relationship-based sales are high-quality sales.
The same applies to teaching. Relationships help communicate the message and
develop an overall understanding of the students? needs. Overseas students in
particular expect the teacher to play a strong role in building a relationship.
This, when done properly, could not only benefit the student but also enrich
the teaching experience for the teacher. It is essentially free flow of
information where, with the help of a deep relationship, both the teacher and
the student break down the barriers to achieve effective communication.
Recently, I was asked to take a class three weeks into
the term. I took up the challenge and prepared for the fourth lecture, and to
highlight the practical relevance of this Financial Planning class, I also took
some copies of relevant articles. As usual I wanted to spend the first fifteen
minutes linking lecture four to what they had done in the first three weeks and
?set the scene? for the topic of the fourth lecture. So I asked the class ?What
have you done so far?? and the answer was ?nothing much, he just read the
PowerPoint slides.? Jokingly one student went as far as to say ?we finished the
class very early though?. Students? frustration was quite evident from their
comments.
Teacher the listener and helper
With TBWA the teacher gets the opportunity to assess
particular needs of the students and assist them accordingly. Often students
will not ?ask? for help until the teacher builds empathy-driven relationships.
TBWA gives the opportunity for the teacher to get closer to the student so that
even the ?shy? student feels comfortable to ask questions. Some students may
not talk but just whisper. The disturbing reality is teachers seldom hear the
students? whispers when they teach from the front; they are enjoying their own
PowerPoint shows while feeding their egos (Felder 2005). Weaknesses of such lectures
are well documented.
If a teacher is willing to help and treat teaching as a
?calling? rather than just ?another job?, then there are real opportunities to
make real differences in the lives of young people. Once a red-eyed student
looked very tired and I asked him whether he had been studying till early hours
of the morning. The student quietly replied ?No sir, it?s the Facebook?.
Teacher the counselor and motivator
Some undergraduate students in particular will benefit
from the counselor role as much as from teaching. A young student from Mongolia
highlighted this need. She was quiet (and perhaps fearful) and did not
participate until I talked to her after the lecture. For the first time, she
had left home and was totally fearful of the environment. Only after
establishing a counselor-like relationship, did the student actively
participate in class. Breaking the emotional barrier appears to be instrumental
in enhancing the learning experience. The student not only did well in
Financial Planning but also developed a positive attitude towards the rest of
the undergraduate subjects she had to complete.
As Seligman (2002) puts it one could re-craft any job to
a higher calling. Likewise, we can also re-craft teaching just for a paycheck
to a higher calling ? a vocation with passion. Those who teach mainly for their
paycheck are undoubtedly keen to do a ?quick job? and move on. This is
especially true for the visiting and part-time staff.
Teacher the provocateur
To facilitate effective teaching, a lecturer should, to
some extent, be selectively provocative in a non threatening manner. At the
same time, the lecturer should be sensitive towards the students? learning
style and needs. It is a delicate balance. Effective facilitation requires ?a
degree of provocation? to encourage the students to think and realize that
without active learning, teaching alone will not deliver good results. To
impart knowledge, there is no magic formula in the absence of learning (or
willingness to learn). Some students may need continuous reminders to highlight
the importance of learning. Here teachers may even have to step into their
?provocateur role?. When teachers depend on PowerPoint they become passive
teachers and the students view lectures as a spectator sport. But, we all know
that learning is no spectator sport.
However, provocation of students negatively could also
confuse students. A lecturer teaching Applied Finance endorsed himself as a
theorist at the outset. Indeed, the lecturer may have a theoretical bias in his
research interests. But the students were taken back. They were confused as to
why a lecturer who is not flexible enough to move away from his research area
for the students? sake is teaching them.
Benefits of TBWA
Some of the benefits of TBWA are:
? Students feel the presence of the teacher - the teacher
is no distant object and not just a PowerPoint reader.
? There is a free and open exchange of communication
(ideas) - students will understand the importance of learning and active
participation.
? Students receive timely and high quality feedback - as
the teacher walks around the students should be asked relevant questions.
? Opportunity to develop mutual respect ? as the teacher
get closer to students there is an opportunity to develop mutual respect.
? Enrichment of teacher?s teaching and student?s learning
? mutual respect will also enrich the teaching and learning experience.
? Opportunity to understand unspoken words (body
language) ? this will be one of the key benefits of TBWA.
? Differentiation of face to face learning from freely
available on-line learning ? this is necessary to attract full fees.
? Establishment of long-term relationship between teacher
and student ? mutual relationships in class may grow well beyond the classroom.
The above benefits could become the key drivers of
differentiation in product delivery and, therefore, such differentiation could
be absolutely necessary for the future survival of the face-to-face teaching
and learning. Moreover, the real joy of teaching will flow when lecturers
consider teaching as a ?calling?. Recently, a student summed it up ?The purpose
of this email is just to say special thanks to you on being such a great
teacher (lecturer). I enjoyed being your student a lot and on exam day I was
jubilant to see the exam as it was the easiest in my life. My concepts in
finance are crystal clear and this is because of your dedication and passion
towards your profession.?
Potential downside of TBWA
If the lecturer is not thorough with the material then
leaving the podium and the PowerPoint pack would be a daunting task. TBWA
requires the teacher to be at least familiar with the key messages to be
delivered. Once a key message is on the board or on PowerPoint, then, the
teacher can walk around. There is no need for the notes but the skill to
elaborate on the key messages while walking around and prompting students. If a
teacher is not comfortable in physically walking around at least the teacher?s
eyes could do the ?walking around?. This needs to be practiced.
Economics of TBWA ? opportunity for high value pricing
Against a wave of online learning initiatives even from
elite universities, the traditional teaching and learning will have to add
value in order to command a high-value or a premium price. Porter (1985)
emphasized the importance of sustainable competitive advantage. How could
universities derive sustainable advantage? Already, some universities have made
the decision to ?down size? and let go of hundreds of, once valued, academics.
Kotler (2003) developed nine pricing strategies that can reflect the pricing of
university courses as well. Without overcharging or perceived overcharging,
universities will have to differentiate the product in order to attract a ?high
value? or a ?premium? price. The teacher will have to play a number of key
roles as discussed above in order to differentiate face-to-face learning from
online delivery. Just like Management by Walking Around (MBWA) took the manager
out of the office Teaching By Walking Around (TBWA) will take the teacher out
of the
comfort zone of
the podium and the PowerPoint slides.
Against this background we need to question whether the
future of face-to-face teaching and learning is, in fact, in the past. That is,
we may have to go back to small classes with personalized delivery supported by
e-learning tools.
Bang, J, 2006, eLearning reconsidered. Have e-learning
and virtual universities met theexpectations, e-Learning Europa 30 May 2006 http://www.elearningeuropa.info/en/article/eLearning-reconsidered.-Have-e-learning-and-virtual-universities-met-the-expectations%3F
Bligh, D, 1985, What?s the Use of Lectures?, Journal of
Geography in Higher Education, 9:1, pp105-106.
Felder, R, 2005, Chemical Engineering Education, 39(1),
28-29 (2005).
Kotler, P, 2003, Marketing Management 11th Edition, p472,
Prentice-Hall Publishers-Pearson Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Peters, T and Austin, N, 1985 MBWA (Managing By Walking
Around), California Management Review, Fall 1985 Vol 28 Iss 1 pp9-34.
Seligman, M, 2002, Authentic Happiness:using the new
positive psychology to realise your potential for lasting fulfillment, Random
House Australia, Australia.
The AAUP Online: News for the Higher Education Community September 2012
 Out this week from the AAUP is a new report, Regulation of Research on Human Subjects: Academic Freedom and the Institutional Review Board. (http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/comm/rep/A/irb.htm) This is the third report the AAUP has issued on the tensions between preservation of academic freedom and the protection of human participants in research through the establishment of institutional review boards (IRBs). In 1981, a subcommittee reported on new federal regulations and warned that “the IRB mechanism can be a serious threat to academic freedom.” In 2006, a second report noted researchers’ complaints about the IRB system and recommended, among other things, a change in federal regulations to eliminate IRB oversight of “research on autonomous adults whose methodology consists entirely in collecting data by surveys, conducting interviews, or observing behavior in public places.” In July 2011, the federal government took what may be the first step in the most substantial change in the regulations since 1981, issuing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, or ANPRM. More than 1,100 individuals and associations submitted formal comments, and the new report, drafted by a subcommittee of the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, is the our response to both the ANPRM and the comments. The current report notes the subcommittee’s continued frustration with the structure of the current regulations, which require IRB review of any research with humans unless it fits one or more listed exceptions. “Out of respect for liberty,” the report notes, “it is normally expected that government regulation of behavior will consist in listing what is forbidden, all else being permitted.” The report goes on to suggest ways in which the regulations could be rewritten along these lines. The report also questions the current reliance on local committees whose members have no special competence in assessing research projects in the wide range of disciplines they are called on to assess, whose approval is required for an only minimally restricted range of research projects and who are invited to bring to bear in assessing them an only minimally restricted body of what they take to be information, who are only minimally restricted in the demands they may make on the researchers, and whose judgments about whether to permit the research to be carried out at all are, in most institutions, final. When one steps back from it, one can find oneself amazed that such an institution has developed on university campuses across the country. It notes that university departments, faculty committees, and trustworthy researchers themselves might be better suited for some of the tasks now assigned to IRBs and their staffs. And it calls for the federal government to develop more evidence on which to base its policies. The subcommittee was chaired by Judith Jarvis Thomson (Philosophy, MIT), who also chaired the 1981 and 2006 subcommittees. Committee A welcomes comments on the report from Association members and other interested parties. They should be addressed to B. Robert Kreiser (bkreiser@aaup.org) at the AAUP’s Washington office by September 28, 2012. |
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Hanover - Library Update - August 2012
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