Subject: Role of a Teacher

Posted by Richard Plate on 11/29/2004
In Reply To:Role of a Teacher Posted by Scott Guthrie on 11/28/2004

Message:

Scott Guthrie made a point about the need for a test that shows the efficacy of a systems approach to education. I'm working on such a test for my dissertation research, using cognitive mapping and narrative problems (basically, long word problems).

The cognitive maps I plan to use will show students' interpretation of an issue, including the perceived important aspects, the associations between those aspects, and the perceived causal connections between those aspects.

The narrative problems will consist of verbal descriptions of complex systems and questions regarding management/behavior decisions.

I'll spare the list the details, but if anyone has interests along these lines, I would welcome a dialogue regarding this kind of "standardized" (i.e. independent of course content)assessment.

I plan to work with college students, but as many of the responders to this "Role of Teacher" email have said, many of the same methods could be applicable.

Follow Ups:

Role of a Teacher - Linda Booth Sweeney 12/6/2004 
Role of a Teacher - David Wheat 11/29/2004