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October 27, 2007
Themes of SI
So mid-semester all my courses requested feedback from the students. For one course my professor gathered the feedback and read it (yes ALL of it) back to the class. I think he felt it would be helpful for us to see what our peers liked or disliked about the class and any other comments they provided. He also evaluated, with our help, whether we should implement any of the suggestions given. Wow talk about inclusion in the learning environment!
Finally, he discussed his interpretation of the feedback and sought our interpretation...in case he misunderstood.
Note: all official feedback was anonymous.
This was actually the first time I've had a professor share the feedback of a class AND the first time I, as a student, was giving the opportunity to change aspects of the course while it was in full swing. Sure, they may ask for suggestions and incorporate them next semester but acting immediately on it was new to me. (I also experienced this in another SI class!)
I'm including this as a blog entry because key themes were expressed here that reveal characteristics of SI.
Lets begin with the feedback and the response...
Feedback:
Exercises and assignments you give us in class aren't relevant.
Response:
The prof apologized for not being more explicit to the benefits and implications of assignments. [Encouraging to see the professor acknowledge a shortcoming and indicate the desire to correct it in the future]
Although assignments may seem abstract they are carefully planned and designed to provide a challenge with the goal of honing a specific skill, develop creative thought processes etc.
Feedback:
We need more instruction.
Response:
Limited instruction is intentional. Again encourages creativity and personalization in the end product. It allows the student to take an active role in structuring their education. The course isn't about following rules but imagining an innovative yet relevant solution.
In your career, employers admire creative thinkers, risk takers,leaders etc.
[I would argue some of this depends on your employer but he was referencing a highly respected company and leader in web development that explicitly stated this as a desired attribute!]
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Even though these comments came from a course centered on design, I have seen these ideas surface in my other courses.
SI Themes I've observed:
- SI does NOT tell you what to think but HOW to think.
- SI seeks to prepare you for real work and pays attention to what employers are asking of (future) employees.
- SI's foster ingenuity.
- SI's instructors value the opinion of their students AND act on it.
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These themes are important to me and represent what I value in an education and why SI has been a good fit for me. If these themes also resonate with you...you might consider the School of Information as your academic home too. ;)
Posted by krosalia at October 27, 2007 03:07 PM