56 / ’southern
‘SOUTHERN VOICES
To most students, a good class seems
to require a perfect lecture, one that
lays out the truth of the subject with
such elegance that comprehension
is unavoidable. (Ideally, it should
be entertaining as well.) However,
if knowledge really can be imparted
by simply explaining well, then why
hasn’t someone else already achieved
such a divine arrangement of words
and published them? Indeed, as
Samuel Johnson said to Boswell, “I
cannot see that lectures can do so
much good as reading the books from
which the lectures are taken.”
That realization set me to refocus my
class from the perfect explanation of
the instructor to the muddled feedback
of the students, for therein lies the
real value. The student’s brain arrives
filled with a jumble of half scrawled
and incompletely erased fragments
of conflicting ideas—a far cry from
a blank slate waiting to receive the
truth. The teacher’s task is to engage
those ill-formed conceptions and force
them into conflict with new insights.
Resolving that conflict via vigorous
discussion leads students to a robust
understanding. Otherwise, those
misconceptions lurk in the recesses
and re-emerge after the final exam to
vanquish any gains made.
What is now called “flipping” (see
page 20) simply means reorienting
the classroom meeting away from
delivering material via lecture and
toward activities that explore the
subtleties and implications of ideas
introduced outside the class. For
example, terms and definitions,
narrative exposition, and formal
derivations are generally best
covered in private at the student’s
convenience and pace. If attempted
in the classroom, the resulting notes
are generally copied verbatim from
the board with little comprehension.
After flipping, class becomes the nexus
in which the outside portions of the
course come together and mesh.
Now, I post my former lecture notes
online for students to read before
class. To make sure they study them,
students must complete a brief essay
assignment that applies the principles
in a real-world example. Reading
those essays also gives me insight into
whatever difficulties are troubling
their comprehension, so I can plan
accordingly. Moreover, credit for
these essays depends on students
conscientiously explaining their
thoughts, not on them getting
the right
A spirited improvisation starring the students
by Dr. Duane Pontius ’81, T. Morris Hackney Professor of Physics
answer
. I know the right answer. What
I need to know is how my students are
thinking about the subject.
Being able to enter the classroom
with a basic understanding of where
the students’ thoughts are that day
is a great benefit for me. To assess
comprehension during class, I have
the students use electronic clickers to
respond to a series of multiple-choice
questions. These seem deceptively
simple because the incorrect responses
are deliberately targeted at common
misconceptions. I choose particular
questions based on what I learned
from the pre-class exercises and I add
or drop other questions as the class
progresses.
This way, the real learning takes
place as students try to explain their
reasoning to their peers. Any teacher
will agree that you learn best when
you try to explain something to
someone else! I play a supporting
role, circulating among the groups,
addressing questions, offering
hints and prodding where needed,
and taking the pulse of the overall
level of understanding. I poll the
students again when I sense general
convergence. The responses typically
go from an initial scattershot of
guesses to solid understanding of the
correct answer.
Class is thus transformed from the
choreographed performance of a
professor to a spirited improvisation
starring the students. Standardized
tests designed to assess genuine
learning confirm that students using
this method really understand physics
and aren’t simply memorizing a few
examples. The rewards are improved
learning and, frankly, a lot more fun. I
can’t imagine going back.
Pontius
